I know this book has had some controversy, and I did read the reviews beforehand, however, I didn’t let that affect my reading or review. The writing was incredible - so lyrical and built such a perfect atmosphere for the story. I couldn’t bond with any of the characters though, which is a big thing for me. I just didn’t care what happened to them and the only reason I kept reading was because I was intrigued by the plot. I spoke check out the authors future books but I’m not sure I’ll remember this.

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and author for a chance to read and review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I know there's been a lot of controversy around this book after accusations of reverse racism and antisemitism were levelled against the author before it was even published. While I'm a white woman and therefore can't say if there's something I missed, from what I read I really don't think the accusations of racism were justified. The two main Black protagonists were pretty much heroised from their first appearance in the novel, and neither society represented is monoracial.

Leaving aside the accusations, I think this is a strong debut from Mix, and I was thoroughly pulled along by the plot and engaging characters. Ranka is a classic unreliable narrator and as we get towards the end of the novel and the reasons for this become clear, a very sympathetic character. I also really loved the other main protagonists, especially Aramis. The book could have done with being a little bit shorter but overall, Mix's worldbuilding is effective and I'd read more of her work.

I really wanted to love this but it just wasn't for me however I think there is an audience for it. The story is intriguing however the execution was a little flat for me and I found it hard to make it through.

I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed in this book. I liked it, but I wasn't very impressed by anything. The characters seem stereotyped, the story a bit predictable, the twists expected and the writing style...normal? Not exceptional. It's not a bad book, just I was expecting more and the whole loyalty change seemed a bit too abrupt for me, I couldn't see the signs, to be honest.

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read this book. I absolutely adored it, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down!

The friendships, the betrayals, the romances. They were all perfect. It was action packed and gripping, the characters had so much depth.

Highly recommend

This was originally a book I was really excited about, and while hearing the allegations was upsetting and disappointing. The worldbuilding felt really weak; the world feels extremely insular, this made it hard to understand nuances in character goals, the magic system and the overarching plot.

The Ones We Burn is a moving story about a young witch's and how she discovers some truths about herself and the people around her. It's about her learning to love and heal.

Rebecca Mix portrays Ranka quite beautifully, and her process of trusting her new friends, and learning to accept this new change, and healing from her trauma is very clse to my heart.

I definitely recommend it if you want a character-focused fantasy story centered on human emotions while surrounded by magical situations.

Absolutely amazing 👏 this is what books should make you feel like. Could not put it down. Wish it was longer and immediately bought a physical copy

THE ONES WE BURN is an action-packed standalone YA fantasy about truth and lies and fighting for what you love.

This is a nice, chunky standalone. It's quite long for a YA debut but I'm so glad it wasn't crammed down into a typical YA word count (or cut up into two books.) It was nice to be able to spend that much time in a world while still being in only one volume, to get a story that didn't feel rushed or stretched.

As it is quite long, it meant there were quite a few plot points coming earlier than I expected because of twists to come. I like being able to predict something it coming but not the fall out, because it makes me feel like things are being set up nicely (hence I catch it/expect it) but then my expectations are subverted or exceeded with the consequences or exact way in which something happens.

I liked that this is a story about the fall out of a treaty with good intentions but bad consequences. The treaty was supposed to solve the country's troubles between Witches and Humans, but instead made it worse. It meant, for me, that there was no blame on either party for the situation they found themselves in. Rather it gave space for everyone to be shades of grey over how they reacted. That is where the blame lay, in who was listening or not, who was talking or not even trying, and who had seen it as a chance to gain power.

I actually started this one in audio form, and was engaged, but my brain was just struggling too much with audio as a rule (still not able to listen to spoken word yet.) I'm sure if I had been able to, I would have flown through this book as the bit I did listen to was great.

I really enjoyed this book! I was encaptured in the story telling and the world building. I loved the characters and the setting. I devoured this book in a couple of sittings and can't wait for more books from Mix!

This was a very thrilling read that kept me on my toes. It has a new take on witches that I really like, and there's a lot of conflict and choices that has to be made, but even as a reader it's hard to really say what's the right choice and what isn't. There's no one way here, no one bad guy vs the good one. It's complicated and hard and that makes the story really good and interesting.

Granted, it might not be as surprising as I would have wanted, which is also why it gets four instead of five stars here. The twists in the plot wasn't exactly unexpected and sometimes it felt a little too much like every other YA fantasy plot out there. But, that said, the writing is good, and I like the world building and the backstory given to the characters. I think most of the characters have great arcs that make them feel real and three-dimentional.

There's also enough action and forward momentum in the plot to make this a page-turner, which I really like. There was some slower parts in the beginning, but after a while, it really took off, and I wanted to learn what happened next and had struggle putting the book down. There's both action, mystery elements, a sort of "save the world"-kind of plot, and some romance, and the author really manages to weave it all together into a great story that sucks you in.

A good read that I can recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton Audio, and the author, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one book that I requested after extensive sessions of going through Goodreads review and discussions with friends. This book garnered a lot of press, good hype in the beginning followed by very bad later. I wanted to see for myself what the whole thing was about.

The book follows the story of Ranka, the only surviving blood witch who is sent to assassinate the prince of the realm and put an end to the endless hate towards the witch as the existing peace treaty between the commoners and the witches is not working.

The book is long...and I mean looooooong and yet so much of the plot is in the air. I have so many questions, like so many and absolutely couldn't find answers to any of them by the end of the book. One of which was what the hell are the powers of a normal witch, like except their nails darkening, what else make them witches? like the most basic question, yet no answer.

I feel like this was a very ambitious book with so many different concepts touched like gaslighting, manipulation, senseless hate, anarchy, biological warfare, mother-daughter abusive relationships, yet none of these actually was portrayed well enough for the concepts to sink in. Like even though the book was so long, it did not contribute any depth to any of the core aspects of the story including world-building.

One of the biggest problematic aspect of this book almost always pointed out was reverse racism. I see where that comes from as the ruling siblings (the assumed heartless and monstrous) are described as dark skinned. However, in the entirety of the story, every aspect of representation, be it racial, sexuality, gender were all done for the sake of doing it. It was in my opinion, nothing but USP. So not relevant in anyway to the plot!
For antisemitism, it’s a bit unclear to me and it is not something I would pick up. The blood witch part is possibly the reason, though I do not really see it.

Verdict: Nop, definitely not a book for me, will not be recommending this book.

Also this review took me ages to write, because I am still not really sure what happened in this one hell of a book.

TW: gaslighting, manipulation, senseless hate, implied non-consensual sex, assault, blood/gore, cannibalism, biological warfare & human experimentation, child death, death, murder, Mob violence

Really enjoyed this - characters developed well and the story was unpredictable. Hopefully there will be another!

It is a testament of well crafted story telling when a novel is able to engage you even when you are going through a slump, a tough time, or are having a drain of focus. The Ones We Burn is one such novel. Rebecca Mix weaves a tale of a conflicted world where Ranka, a wild blood-witch from the north, is sent south to kill the prince she is destined to marry as part of a precarious treaty between witches and the humans who keep burning them. But when she heads south things are not as they seem and the people she is supposed to hate are helping to cure a magical plague that has been killing witches.

Throughout the novel questions of morality are posed and loyalties are tested. There is also a well handled undercurrent of the effects of childhood trauma, not to mention fantastic queer representation and some quippy dialogue. I particularly enjoyed the 3rd act but won't mention why because who wants spoilers right? I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys sapphic, witchy vibes, a dash of supernatural medical mystery and a good measure of violence for a reason.

A great adventure fantasy.
Both horrific and funny in equal measures.

Ranka is everything I love in a main character. Slightly morally grey, and swinging an axe.
The writing is wonderful, the pacing great but the plot feels a little long at the end.

What really carries the book though is the relationships and the world building.
Marvellous debut over all I think.

This was quite a good YA fantasy with detailed world building and an intriguing plot, overall this was a good read

*Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me this arc for an honest review*

I really liked this book. I love a good witch story and it provided it. I loved Ranka as a lead characters although some of her choices angered me. But overall it was a really good book.

Main review: I was somewhat non-plussed on reading this book considering the level of abuse levelled at it and the author by the twitter hangman's circle. It was described as a reverse racism narrative (spoiler alert: that's just racism btw. Racism happens just fine without a white person in the room), colonialist, antisemitic and a whole bunch of other things. All of which were completely inaccurate. In fact, those opinions were so far off the mark, I genuinely wondered what book those people had read. Of course, most people one starring this have not read the book at all. They're taking their 'opinion' from a few tweets posted by an embittered and less successful author on twitter - or that's certainly what it looks like to a casual observer. Please just read a book for yourself before 1 starring it: refuse to join the flock of sheeple.



Anyway, I am slightly outside the target audience for this one. I think I now fall into the category of enjoying books that make good YA reads but that aren't specifically written for a YA audience. I didn't feel a massive connection for the characters and suspect that's just because I'm on the outside. I also don't love very linear plots with little to no subplot.



Having said that, this was still a good book. The story was exactly what you'd expect if you have a few fantasy novels under your belt, but unlike many other YA linear fantasy books, this one made full use of the plot to explore some very gritty and apposite issues. These included found family and breaking free of abuse, dismantling and more importantly rebuilding an unjust system and exactly what the cost would be. And most appropriate of all - especially for those people who buy a political ideology hook, line and sinker without asking what's in it for those organising the decentralised movement - how a cause can blind you to reality; how no division is ever black and white; how you must always always think for yourself and question everything. Basically, if someone is teaching you to hate someone, especially a group of someones based on their perceived power or external characteristics, you should be giving the person trying to use you some serious side-eye. Always ask cui bone? - who benefits? (You can bet your arse it won't be you).



Another point in this book's favour is that despite having strong themes and exploring that breakdown of communication between people and political ideology, it is a story first book. It doesn't just whack the reader over the head and yell 'think like this or you're not one of us' which a disturbing number of books seem to be doing lately. Whether I agree or disagree with an author's perspective, I appreciate nuance. I like someone who is not afraid to consider both sides of an argument.



Overall, I would recommend this, especially if you're in the sweet spot of really enjoying linear YA fantasy.

This book does not in any way deserve the bad reputation that has being dumped on it, a lot of times by people who haven't even read it or did not understand what they read. Do not miss out on this fantastic read because of them.

"Loyalty is not owed"
Ranka is a blood-witch, probably the last of her kind. She is sent to the south to be the bride of a human prince, due to a treaty. In truth, she is sent there to kill him. But Galen is not the evil prince she expected. His sister Aramis seems more of a threat. A mysterious plague is killing witches. Aramis and Ranka are all but forced to work together. Ranka would help with the cure and Aramis would teach her to control her magic. Will Ranka fulfill her purpose, and what is her purpose anymore?

The narrative presents flourishing descriptions for all the senses that give the worldbuilding the 'epicness' needed for this tale. But also small details that make it feel grounded. This is writing that is engaging with a powerful undercurrent, blessed with intrigue and pacing of a comfortable canter always on the verge of a brisk gallop.

Ranka is an unwilling 'hero' thrown into a simultaneously dangerous and awkward situation. She is strong-willed and wants to do what is right despite her predatorial 'curse'. Everyone fears her except for Aramis and watching them keep each other on their toes is all the money. How the privileged royal and the lonely, deadly girl butt heads. Percy with his arrogance and quips will tug at your heart.

The weaving of the plot threads is done so well, with its twists and turns, creating an attention-grabbing tapestry. The mythology is interesting, and the magic system is described so well and so vividly. I really enjoy the way the author depicts the incredible action. There is great insight into the characters. Characters that the author successfully makes you care for. Emotions that cling to the words with devotion.

This book deals with the ramifications of human greed. The brutal harsh reality of prejudice at work (in this story the 'victims' are witches) and human cruelty in the name of whatever belief. About self-worth, what really constitutes an enemy, a monster. That what is, isn't always as it should be. All is fair in love and war. Or is it?

Gut-wrenching, chest-churning, full of jaw-dropping revelations and machinations. Where enemies become allies and allies, enemies. This is an absolutely cinematic, unforgettable tale of discovery, of being better, of survival.

I got this ARC before the whole issue with potential racism, reverse racism and “black royal siblings oppressing poor white people” erupted, and because I’m trying to be someone who will try things out first before passing judgement, I decided to read this anyway despite my wariness.

Now, that I’m done, I’m on the side of those who label this book as not reverse racist specifically of “black people oppressing whites” as I’ve seen in many reviews and comments).

Why?

To begin, here’s the definition of reverse racism:
“Reverse racism, sometimes referred to as reverse discrimination, is the concept that affirmative action and similar color-conscious programs for redressing racial inequality are a form of anti-white racism.” – Wikipedia

As a Malaysian, the forms of racism I’ve witnessed and experienced are tied to the races within my own country. In this case, it’s slurs, the “go back to ____ country”, the prejudice and stereotypes against ethnicities. Racial discrimination is even embodied within the policies here. I don’t know much about what racism is like outside my country, but I’ve seen the horrors done to POC by white people on the internet. The shoot first, ask questions later. The instant prejudice and wariness against a POC, etc.

With the above in mind, nothing in this book can be specifically labelled as anti-white or anti-any colour. Yes, the main character is pale and yes, the siblings who are to rule the country are dark-skinned but there is no majority race on either side. The third member of the royal sibling’s entourage is, in fact, “dark haired and dark eyed” with pale skin (page 30). On the other hand, the witches are divided into a few covens and in the case of the Skra, “the only difference was their hands; on brown and pale fingers alike, their fingernails ranged from deep gray to the barest tint” (Page 10).

On the other hand, the siblings’ parents are a witch mother with dark skin (page 120) and their father a pale human (page 87). Their father figure after the death of their parents is a pale human with red hair (page 105). Skin tone and hair colour are, refreshingly, not constantly mentioned in this book. Moreover, to say this book is reverse racist because black rulers are oppressing poor white people would be incorrect too. The black people don’t make any ruling decisions throughout the book. The cut-off trade, the poaching, etc, are done by others (some of the notable leaders of these opposing parties are pale). The only time the siblings do make a ruling decision, it was to unite the people in the end.

Rather, if anything is to be deemed as racism in any way here, then it’d be the dislike of witches toward humans and the dislike of humans toward witches because that’s what fuels the unrest between the people in the book. ‘Monsters VS humans’ is the primary, constant focus here and we see it both externally through the conflict between humans and witches, and internally through Ranka as she struggles with the perception of what a monster (that is, what she views herself to be) truly is. What enriches this exploration of the theme is the diverse characters within a diverse social system, making The Ones We Burn a well-written debut novel.

My only issue with the book is how long it is as the story felt like it was being dragged on in the middle. Nevertheless, I do appreciate how carefully crafted the story is. If you’re a fan of the complexities related to the theme of ‘monsters VS humans’, and if you’re interested in a book where skin tones are minimally, passively focused on, The Ones We Burn is a book you should try reading.

PS: If I come off as ignorant at any moment, then I’m really sorry for that 🙇‍♂️🙏🏻 (Also ngl, writing all this here is terrifying as I don’t want to accidentally offend anyone, but I also want to be honest.)