So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Pages: 382 

Publisher: Atom 

Released: 16th of January 2024 

Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She's a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbours.

When she's forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn't expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon-or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.

As Faron's desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other's lives, as well as the fate of their world.

What I Have to Say 

So this was a really interesting book for many reasons. For one, it dealt with characters who had been chosen ones in their backstories. It showed a main character who had been chosen by the gods, gone to war and then come home along with a hidden queen who had discovered her heritage and been pushed onto the throne at a young age. It was really interesting that the author decided to have these things in the past and gave me echoings of a gifted child to disaster teenager storyline. 

It also felt at times very much like a queer Forth Wing. Which was fantastic because Queer and dragons is definitely the genre for me. I really enjoyed the complexity of Elara's relationship considering the bond that ties her to both the dragon and her love interest and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it develops in future books. 

This book was also such an easy read. I got caught up in the story so fast and both Elara and Faron's voices were easy to relate to. The politics was interesting and exciting and didn't bog down the plot one bit and I just really enjoyed the story as a whole. 

4.5 stars 

My thanks goes to Atom and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.