In general, I found this book enjoyable, but I had difficulty fully investing in the characters as the MC felt a little flat. due to this, establishing a genuine connection with them was challenging, despite my appreciation for the writing style and plot. What I felt was lacking the most was that personal connection.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review - for a full review check out my YouTube or Goodreads account

Such an incredible book and loved it! The Ones We Burn featured strong characters that I could relate to as a woman. I loved the magic system and world building. Can’t wait to read the next one!

I will not be reviewing this as I do not agree with the authors opinions on many issues, therefore my rating is 1 star at the most.

I'm very mixed about reading this one.

At first I was super excited and loved the sound of it but then I heard some negative things and honestly I've been putting it off and don't see myself picking it up anytime soon.

I'm so sorry!

The book was review-bombed on goodreads (not a good look on the GR’s part), and mostly by people who haven’t read the book. I’m sidestepping the controversy and will just discuss the book by itself.

It dragged on a lot at the start and the middle was lagging a lot, but it really pulled through with the climax and resolution, so I think it’s a solid 4 out of 5 stars read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

Sapphic princess and witches with arranged marries which dont work.

so this book was lacking in world building and so i got a little confused to begin with, but it does pick up and so you suddenly forget about that. an enjoyable read but i was a fan of the MC as she was a little flat to me but that might have been me. there isnt much character growth but it doesnt need to be really. good easy beach read that you dont need to remember

Interesting premise and I enjoyed the way the different threads of the story were woven together.

The characters were young in a believable way and you could see them mature and grow as the story progressed.

I liked the book and would happily read more by this author in the future.

Whenever I first start a book I always tend to check the reviews that have been left by other readers, just to gather the opinions and thoughts of others. I don't do this so I can subconsciously form my opinion around the opinions of others, but just to give myself an idea of what I'm getting myself into. I did the same exact thing with The Ones We Burn and quickly discovered it had been pretty much review bombed with 1 star ratings. While I didn't exactly love this book, it definitely didn't deserve the hate it got either. I feel like a lot of the ratings were actually by people that didn't even try to read the book and were just blindly following others opinions for the sake of it. I always like to gather my own thoughts on a piece of art before even thinking of giving out my opinion so that's why I didn't hesitate a minute to just go ahead and read the book.

all controversy aside it was an okay book. I feel like Rebecca really has a talent for storytelling and world building but she just needs to let it cook a little?? if you know what I mean. the pacing was just off. The beginning reaaaaally dragged on and I almost did not finish due to this but the ending definitely pulled through for me. Though it doesn't really stand out from all of the other YA fantasy books I've read so this was a 3 star-ish read for me.

thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing an E-arc, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the themes in this book: growing up, finding yourself, choosing yourself, recognising toxic people in your life, finding true friendship, making mistakes and learning from them.. There are so many moments where I could clearly see how much thought went into Ranka's story arc. It was my favorite part of the book. She is just so angry, and I loved her for it.

What I struggled with was the worldbuilding and the magic system. I felt like some things weren't explained properly (the purpose of the treaty and the role of Bloodwinn, how the magic works, how the witches are born, etc) and I don't know if that was left ambiguous on purpose, but it stopped me from feeling fully immersed in this story.

Still, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read a story with a strong protagonist, sapphic romance, found family and so, so much character growth! However, I would encourage you to check trigger warnings, as there are instanced of body horror, graphic violence, emotional abuse and more.

Amazing premise and amazing book. I don't know why I waited so long to read this! Solid 4 stars, can't wait for the sequel!

The Ones We Burn is such a beautifully written fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. The story is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out The Ones We Burn today.

So I was clearly expecting something different when I picked this up to read.
I will say that I did not finish this and did not enjoy the portrayal of characters within this book. It could have been written better.
I read a few other reviews to see if it was just me but it seems it wasn't.

The Ones We Burn is a good debut , it’s an action-filled young adult fantasy which I definitely recommend reading. I enjoyed the story line, but my favourite thing about this story is the characters and the relationships between them, I love the growth throughout the book. Overall, a wonderful read about witches and the fight for power.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Overall I enjoyed this book but I struggled to really root for the characters. It was hard to really connect with them and although I enjoyed the writing and plot of the book the thing that was really missing for me was that connection.

The Ones We Burn is a captivating and action-filled young adult fantasy book which is definitely worth reading. While I definitely enjoyed the overall story line, what I like most about this book is the characters and perhaps especially the relationships between said characters and how they evolve throughout the story. The Ones We Burn is a solid debut book and I definitely hope to see more books by Rebecca Mix in the future!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this book, so. I h that I went out and purchased a physical cope…..you have to read it!

Well this is a hard book to rate.

I found it a little difficult to get into at first and I checked Goodreads to see it's rating. It was around 3.6 so I thought perhaps others had struggled too. However, then I discovered that it was rated down a lot of the time by people who didn't seem to have read it and had just read the 'accusations' against the author. The world of YA sure is volatile. I can see why the idea of a 'blood witch' might cause worries of blood libel and anti-Semitism however the magic in this book isn't blood libel. They don't imbibe blood but rather the blood witches' blood that is already within them starts to long for violence and death. And also, our main character Ranka, is a viking - very much coded Nordic and tall, muscly and blonde. Nothing like Jewish stereotypes.

Secondly, the race of the Sunra twins is not an important aspect of the book, they are represented favourably from their first introduction and people of all races are on both sides of the main war the novel depicts. This isn't a reverse racism novel at all.

So, while I can't criticise the novel on these terms, I still can't say that I really liked it.

There were aspects I did enjoy - Ranka's journey is nice to see. Inclusion of healing from past trauma, a character seeing that she's been wronged and learning to advocate for herself are all good things.

While I enjoyed the sapphic element, the romances largely felt undercooked to me.

I struggled to care about the characters, and felt like we were distanced from the action. The opening included information about animals that I was sure would play a role later but didn't (unless I missed this?)

Overall, this was fine but lacking the emotional connection and really solid worldbuilding that gets me excited.

I do admire the author's recovery from a serious brain injury and her determination to finish the novel.
I would read her again if the premise interested me.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read about witches and the fight for power in a broken kingdom. The characters were all interesting, my particular favourite was Aramis, but I felt perhaps they could have been explored a little further. The ending was exciting and fast paced to keep me turning the pages

Great book! I didn’t pick up another whilst I was reading this one so definitely a plus for me! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for access to this book