So Let Them Burn is the debut YA fantasy from Kamilah Cole. Our leads are two Afro-Caribbean sisters. They live on a small tropical island, which was inspired by Jamaica. We meet Faron who called on the gods and was blessed with power to save her country from colonial invaders on dragons. It’s been a few years since the traumatic battle. Now she is kind of a bratty teenager who uses her magic to win races against bullies. Much to the chagrin of her sister Elara who wants to join the army and pilot mecha-dragons to serve her country. Alas, Elara fails to qualify and is set adrift. Before she can mope too much, she meets some real dragons at a peace summit with Faron. Through fate or by accident, she bonds with a real-ass enemy dragon. Faron seeks the gods for help, but they just say to kill her. Faron refuses and vows to find a way to save her sister. The sisters are forced apart, Elara staying with the enemy to learn the way of a dragon rider. Faron returns to their island searching for a solution from an unlikely magical voice.
Book club selections often spur me to panic-read some portion of it right before book club. I don’t usually finish and sometimes I don’t even try. I believe in going to book club meetings for the vibes. However, a surefire way to force me to finish BEFORE book club is when I’m leading said book club. This was picked for The Ripped Bodice LA’s fantasy book club in June. I loved the world-building of magical gods, dragons, and robot dragons all set in a country inspired by Jamaica. The POV switches between the sisters, which took some getting used to. In the end, it makes sense why Cole chose a dual-POV. But I struggled to really know whose story it was as I read. I also had no clue there would be such a cliffhanger. I did know it was a duology, but honestly was on the second last page hoping against hope for a teeny bit more resolution. So here’s your fair warning there’s a cliffhanger, but book two comes out in 2025. The romance was full of angst and yearning. These sisters aren’t so great at falling in love, so who can blame them for their world descending into war at a young age? Even their queen was a child ruler who had to depend on a child blessed by the gods to save everyone. This was a solid fantasy with more of a dash of romance sprinkled on top. I’ll be reading the second book for the fantasy plot, not the romance. Because it’s a doozy with the whole world turned upside down.
Dragon books are coming out of the woodwork. Make time for this one as we need more diverse fantasy stories. It has an intriguing Afro-Caribbean commentary on colonialism through the fantastical concept of dragons.