What do you think?
Rate this book
The Ones We Burn
I am the monster. I am the shield. I am the knife in the dark.
Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik's wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.
Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn't want to marry Ranka; he doesn't want to be king at all. And it's his sister - the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis - who seems to be real threat.
But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she'll teach Ranka to contain her deadly magic. But as the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she's meant to fight for. Soon, she will have choose between the coven that raised her - and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be. But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.
Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik's wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.
Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn't want to marry Ranka; he doesn't want to be king at all. And it's his sister - the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis - who seems to be real threat.
But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she'll teach Ranka to contain her deadly magic. But as the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she's meant to fight for. Soon, she will have choose between the coven that raised her - and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be. But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.
489 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2022
About the author
Rebecca Mix
8 books905 followersRebecca Mix is a writer of stories about eerie magic, messy girls, and hope. Her debut novel, THE ONES WE BURN, a sapphic, dark, witchy YA is out fall of 2022 from Simon & Schuster. She’s often spending far too much on twitter, instagram, and tiktok @mixbecca. If you can’t find her, she’s probably in the woods, or attempting to sneak yet another plant into the house. If you're reading her bio right now, she hopes you have a nice day, and would like to remind you to take a sip of water and apply some spf. ;)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 994 reviews
June 10, 2022
i wrote this! it nearly didn't exist because of my brain injury, but i wrote it, and it's here! which means now that ARCs are rolling out into the world, it's time i post content warnings and ... leave goodreads and never return lol.
if you want to stay up to date on my books, the best place to find me is on twitter , instagram , or tiktok ! if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website!
after so many years with this story, it's surreal it's finally out of my hands. five years ago, i wrote this book for me.
but if you need it, i wrote it for you, too.
content warnings below!
THE ONES WE BURN is a book dedicated to survivors of childhood abuse. this is not a gentle book -- but it is, i hope, a hopeful one. while i have done my best to portray ranka’s story with the utmost care, there are elements of this story that may be difficult or upsetting to some readers. please note that THE ONES WE BURN includes depictions of:
general fantasy violence (murder, mild gore)
body horror (particularly, plague imagery)
light cannibalism (off screen, largely implied)
animal death (not a pet)
abuse (emotional and physical abuse from a parent & sibling)
biological warfare & human experimentation
death by burning
child death
scenes with needles, injections, etc
if you want to stay up to date on my books, the best place to find me is on twitter , instagram , or tiktok ! if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website!
after so many years with this story, it's surreal it's finally out of my hands. five years ago, i wrote this book for me.
but if you need it, i wrote it for you, too.
content warnings below!
THE ONES WE BURN is a book dedicated to survivors of childhood abuse. this is not a gentle book -- but it is, i hope, a hopeful one. while i have done my best to portray ranka’s story with the utmost care, there are elements of this story that may be difficult or upsetting to some readers. please note that THE ONES WE BURN includes depictions of:
general fantasy violence (murder, mild gore)
body horror (particularly, plague imagery)
light cannibalism (off screen, largely implied)
animal death (not a pet)
abuse (emotional and physical abuse from a parent & sibling)
biological warfare & human experimentation
death by burning
child death
scenes with needles, injections, etc
June 29, 2022
lol this white author wrote that black siblings in power are oppressing the helpless white people, another reminder that some white queers need to get some reading comprehension + LOTS of sensitivity readers.
for more info, pls check out some reviews by bipoc, specifically black readers on this subject.
for more info, pls check out some reviews by bipoc, specifically black readers on this subject.
July 3, 2022
Edit (7/2): I've added evidence from the text itself to this review to further clarify some things. These quotes were taken from the ARC.
I have seen the discourse surrounding this book, and wanted to weigh in. I don't often use goodreads, but I think this is important.
I have read an ARC of this book, and some of the information going around is factually inaccurate. I think it's important for everyone to have all of the information before making an opinion. This conversation was started by one review, and furthered by a second DNF review. I want to address issues raised in both.
Note: I'm giving this book a rating only so it can be found easier. I'm going to try and keep my opinion out of this review as much as possible, and only focus on discussing these facts. I'm not here to sway your view on the book, but instead make sure you have all of the necessary information when discussing it.
The main issue I've seen discussed is that the Black characters in this book are oppressing a group of white characters.
In the book, the royals are Black, and the POV character (a witch) is white. However, the ruling class is not entirely Black [some skin-tone descriptions include: "pale" (multiple characters), and "rich brown skin" (referring to the royal siblings)], and the witches aren't all white (some skin-tone descriptions include: "pale" "ochre" "white" and "light brown").
Also, the royals aren't oppressors. (Spoilers: the main character was manipulated into hating the royals, believing they are the reason why the witches are suffering and why her best friend is missing. Over the course of the book, she learns that they didn't take her friend, the witches were manipulating her. She discovers that there are other powers at play and the royals were merely scapegoats. In a later chapter, the main character says: "The [witches] are making a mistake. The twins are not our enemy; the Hands are.”)
A quote was mentioned in a DNF review where the white main character called the Black princess privileged. This does happen in the book.
However, the main character is later proven wrong. (spoilers: The main character had been manipulated to hate the royals, but she learns they are not privileged like she thought.)
People have also claimed that this book falls into the "dominant aggressive mean Black girl and precious soft white girl". This is inaccurate. The Black princess is the softer (not completely soft, but softer in comparison to the main character), smart character who is protective of her brother. The white character is the more murderous and violent one. In the description of the book, she is labeled as a monster. She is not soft and precious.
The final aspect I want to discuss is the issues brought up around antisemitism and blood libel. The main character is called a blood witch, but there is no blood used for the magic. She is called that because her magic compels her to kill. To be honest, a more accurate name for her would be something like "death witch". I can definitely see how the name can cause some confusion.
Most of the discussions around this book are being done by people who haven't read it. I can understand the reaction based off of that first review, but I do think it's really important for everyone to have all of the necessary information.
I have seen the discourse surrounding this book, and wanted to weigh in. I don't often use goodreads, but I think this is important.
I have read an ARC of this book, and some of the information going around is factually inaccurate. I think it's important for everyone to have all of the information before making an opinion. This conversation was started by one review, and furthered by a second DNF review. I want to address issues raised in both.
Note: I'm giving this book a rating only so it can be found easier. I'm going to try and keep my opinion out of this review as much as possible, and only focus on discussing these facts. I'm not here to sway your view on the book, but instead make sure you have all of the necessary information when discussing it.
The main issue I've seen discussed is that the Black characters in this book are oppressing a group of white characters.
In the book, the royals are Black, and the POV character (a witch) is white. However, the ruling class is not entirely Black [some skin-tone descriptions include: "pale" (multiple characters), and "rich brown skin" (referring to the royal siblings)], and the witches aren't all white (some skin-tone descriptions include: "pale" "ochre" "white" and "light brown").
Also, the royals aren't oppressors. (Spoilers: the main character was manipulated into hating the royals, believing they are the reason why the witches are suffering and why her best friend is missing. Over the course of the book, she learns that they didn't take her friend, the witches were manipulating her. She discovers that there are other powers at play and the royals were merely scapegoats. In a later chapter, the main character says: "The [witches] are making a mistake. The twins are not our enemy; the Hands are.”)
A quote was mentioned in a DNF review where the white main character called the Black princess privileged. This does happen in the book.
"Who was this spoiled, privileged girl, who'd grown up behind gilded walls, to lecture her? Who was Aramis to judge Ranka, when her very existence was only possible because of everything Witchik had lost?"
However, the main character is later proven wrong. (spoilers: The main character had been manipulated to hate the royals, but she learns they are not privileged like she thought.)
"This land, this people, this girl, they were all so different from the world she’d always known—but the pain was the same. Ranka didn’t know why that was a comfort—that she could cross the world, and meet someone with the same wounds."
People have also claimed that this book falls into the "dominant aggressive mean Black girl and precious soft white girl". This is inaccurate. The Black princess is the softer (not completely soft, but softer in comparison to the main character), smart character who is protective of her brother. The white character is the more murderous and violent one. In the description of the book, she is labeled as a monster. She is not soft and precious.
"...two opposite images; the northern warrior, a wall of muscle and scars, and the delicate princess, who wielded her indifference like a blade, and carried secrets in her ink-stained fingers."
The final aspect I want to discuss is the issues brought up around antisemitism and blood libel. The main character is called a blood witch, but there is no blood used for the magic. She is called that because her magic compels her to kill. To be honest, a more accurate name for her would be something like "death witch". I can definitely see how the name can cause some confusion.
(Context: The main character is discussing how her magic works as a blood witch) "Her vision was the first to go—the colors melting away, rendering the world in burning gray. The power rushed in like adrenaline tenfold; her nails sharpened to points, and her muscles swelled. Her hearing sharpened [...] She could break bone with her bare hands and run for miles without growing winded.
[...]
But with it came a hunger only be satiated by taking a life. And it seemed like every time she killed, the gaps of relief grew smaller. With it came the death sentence that was blood-magic."
Most of the discussions around this book are being done by people who haven't read it. I can understand the reaction based off of that first review, but I do think it's really important for everyone to have all of the necessary information.
June 27, 2022
i was really excited for this book, so you can imagine how disappointed i was when i found out it's racist.
to put it simply, this book is a reverse racism fantasy.
rebecca mix, a white woman, writing black people as oppressors and white people as oppressed is so disrespectful and racist.
please, do not support this book. instead, support authors of color, especially black authors.
edit: oh it's antisemitic as well. it's just getting worse.
i wonder what other problematic elements are in this book that got overlooked.
again, do Not support this book and its author.
to put it simply, this book is a reverse racism fantasy.
rebecca mix, a white woman, writing black people as oppressors and white people as oppressed is so disrespectful and racist.
please, do not support this book. instead, support authors of color, especially black authors.
edit: oh it's antisemitic as well. it's just getting worse.
i wonder what other problematic elements are in this book that got overlooked.
again, do Not support this book and its author.
November 8, 2022
I want to write this here and now: this book is not antisemitic. The magic in the book is not really blood-related; Ranka's powers mostly revolve around her craving death. (I mean there's also other magic but it also isn't antisemitic). This can be gross and gory and unpleasant, but it is not antisemitic. There is no blood libel in this book. Blood libel involves killing and eating babies and/or drinking their blood for 1) dark Jewish rituals and/or 2) fun. A blood witch character would need to be coded as implicitly or explicitly Jewish, and Ranka is not. Just having a blood witch character or having a blood magic trope does not make this book anti-Jewish.
updated 7/3 to add: have seen someone say that because Ranka goes to Seaswept with the express intention of murdering Galen with blood magic, that’s a harmful antisemitic stereotype. I must say, assassination is not antisemitic as a concept (and I’ve already covered how the ‘blood magic’ in this book is not blood-libel related). If Ranka was implied to secretly be controlling the world order with her blood-eating rituals, that would be antisemitic. However, she does not have any blood-eating rituals. Also, if Ranka was also implied to be Jewish, that would be problematic, but she is not - she is blonde and is not at any point is portrayed with any stereotypically jewish traits, positive or negative. Ranka is one of the Least Jewish characters I have ever read about. And I read all the 100 books.
Mix writes (7/11): “The plot line involving blood-magic draws heavily from my own experiences of the physical consequences of trauma and my brain injury. The subsequent resolution is directly informed by my daily HGH injections to resolve my major IGF deficiency. There is no ritualistic use of blood or consumption of blood in the text.” which rings true for me; whenever Ranka meets another blood witch, she is desperate to make friends with them and to share her experiences, which reads more like a metaphor for queerness or chronic illness. If it was intended to be blood libel, Ranka would have an active community of Jewish people around her, helping to commit more blood-eating rituals. Instead, Ranka is totally and brutally alone in her experiences at the beginning of the book.
Absurdly long addition 7/26:
Jake Maia Arlow (author of the excellent How to Excavate a Heart) writes (6/26): "this is also how i feel about the fact that it’s about a blood-witch. like do i think it’s purposefully anti-semitic? no. is it about a powerful witch who gains magic from blood and is persecuted for that a la literally every blood libel stereotype leveled at jews? yes"
1) it is not about a powerful with who gains magic from blood - this is not how the magic system really works, and also she doesn't gain magic from blood, she gains it from death.
2) is she persecuted for being a blood witch? yes and no? she thinks she is persecuted for it more than the actual reality of it happening (disparate people in power have different opinions about various things), and also blood witches are both rare and respected within the text (Ranka is a blood witch but the previous queen was ALSO a blood witch, and also more blood witches are happening and ...It's also a story of unlearning your previous biases and learning that you aren't a monster, so this one is complicated). Being a blood witch is something that I personally relate more to having a chronic illness than a persecution narrative. I personally didn't find it antisemitic, but I don't usually think "all persecution narratives are automatically about jewish people", although obviously we can relate to persecution narratives due to [waves hand at history, Remember That We Suffered starts playing in the background]. And due to the fact that the blood magic is so far removed from blood libel, these two facts don't really connect into something that is antisemitic. (Compare/contrast to Wild and Wicked Things which also has blood witches and lesbians. I should reread that book, which I did say I was going to do; I remember nothing about it due to the fact that I read too many books. Also probably compare/contrast to Gideon the Ninth which also has lesbians and blood magic, which I remember nothing about due to not having read it).
This is the only other Jewish person I was able to find talking about this book (with specifics), not counting the tiktok comments I trawled through, which I will not relate due to how awful tiktok comments are to follow (both in terms of content and in terms of how tiktok is set up). I also did further research bothering Everyone I Know and also some people I don't know about blood magic and if it is Always Blood Libel If It's Blood Magic, and the general consensus is this:
Blood magic is not always blood libel, especially when it does not contain any blood libelous aspects. It's a fairly universal concept to say "hey, this red stuff inside of us could be magical!" It can also be noted that we do not consider blood magic practiced by Latin-American or Afro-Caribbean cultures to be antisemitic. HOWEVER. Jewish people can be triggered by the inclusion of blood magic because of, you know, centuries of blood libel. I think that people who are affected by this content can read the synopsis and say "wow, this book is not for me, because it includes blood magic, which I am triggered by". (Obligatory; content warnings are not moral or immoral, they are literally just warnings for content).
I also really enjoyed this podcast while I was researching, The Blood Libel Accusation with Magda Teter, who wrote Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth.
update 7/28: doing regular twittering and found this thread by Dahlia Adler (editor of all my favorite anthologies) which reads "In general the amount of “This is antisemitic!!” I’ve seen going around about stuff that patently is not is uhhh disconcerting? Because I know you mean well but all it tells me is you associate us with even more terrible stuff than the baseline." Further, Abby Pickus in the quoted thread writes "I actually have read it, and it didn't seem blood-libelly to me, since I don't think anyone actually consumes blood. The "blood magic" is handled very differently." ("it" being The Ones We Burn in this context)
I am Jewish disclaimer etc etc. Nothing about us without us. Rating for visibility, this is literally the longest book review I've ever written, I absolutely cannot have any further thoughts about it. I also love to be proven wrong; please feel free to argue with me in the comments, or I have an open Goodreads inbox.
9/18 update: okay well so many people have enjoyed this review that my goodreads notifications now only read "many others previously liked it" which is the most viral I'll ever get, probably, so, check out my soundcloud as it were. I Also Have A Book Blog, please check it out here. I publish a book review every day except Wednesday.
11/8 update: I'm being annoying online again; if you can link me to Any Jewish Person who has 1) read this book and 2) found it antisemitic, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from them. Mostly I am just seeing people who are like "the majority of Jewish people found this offensive" and I think this is untrue. I Am Being Genuine, Please Link Me, I Feel Like I Am Going Insane.
I have found: a Jewish person on the fairyloot discord who DNF'd (valid), mateo who is deleting comments and has not read the book (link here ), and Ellie's review (not Jewish but discusses antisemitic elements in detail) (also I think Ellie is very cool).
People who are like "this is not blood libel and you need to chill out": me (not chill), Abby Pickus (linked above), sensitivity reader(s?) who were literally paid to read this book, somebody's Jewish roommate on the fairyloot discord, lots of people in Goodreads reviews who are like "i don't think this is antisemitic but you should listen to Jewish people" (idk if they can be legally counted in this unofficial count), and last but not least, my own roommate who was like "it's not and also stop talking to me about YA book drama".
updated 7/3 to add: have seen someone say that because Ranka goes to Seaswept with the express intention of murdering Galen with blood magic, that’s a harmful antisemitic stereotype. I must say, assassination is not antisemitic as a concept (and I’ve already covered how the ‘blood magic’ in this book is not blood-libel related). If Ranka was implied to secretly be controlling the world order with her blood-eating rituals, that would be antisemitic. However, she does not have any blood-eating rituals. Also, if Ranka was also implied to be Jewish, that would be problematic, but she is not - she is blonde and is not at any point is portrayed with any stereotypically jewish traits, positive or negative. Ranka is one of the Least Jewish characters I have ever read about. And I read all the 100 books.
Mix writes (7/11): “The plot line involving blood-magic draws heavily from my own experiences of the physical consequences of trauma and my brain injury. The subsequent resolution is directly informed by my daily HGH injections to resolve my major IGF deficiency. There is no ritualistic use of blood or consumption of blood in the text.” which rings true for me; whenever Ranka meets another blood witch, she is desperate to make friends with them and to share her experiences, which reads more like a metaphor for queerness or chronic illness. If it was intended to be blood libel, Ranka would have an active community of Jewish people around her, helping to commit more blood-eating rituals. Instead, Ranka is totally and brutally alone in her experiences at the beginning of the book.
Absurdly long addition 7/26:
Jake Maia Arlow (author of the excellent How to Excavate a Heart) writes (6/26): "this is also how i feel about the fact that it’s about a blood-witch. like do i think it’s purposefully anti-semitic? no. is it about a powerful witch who gains magic from blood and is persecuted for that a la literally every blood libel stereotype leveled at jews? yes"
1) it is not about a powerful with who gains magic from blood - this is not how the magic system really works, and also she doesn't gain magic from blood, she gains it from death.
2) is she persecuted for being a blood witch? yes and no? she thinks she is persecuted for it more than the actual reality of it happening (disparate people in power have different opinions about various things), and also blood witches are both rare and respected within the text (Ranka is a blood witch but the previous queen was ALSO a blood witch, and also more blood witches are happening and ...It's also a story of unlearning your previous biases and learning that you aren't a monster, so this one is complicated). Being a blood witch is something that I personally relate more to having a chronic illness than a persecution narrative. I personally didn't find it antisemitic, but I don't usually think "all persecution narratives are automatically about jewish people", although obviously we can relate to persecution narratives due to [waves hand at history, Remember That We Suffered starts playing in the background]. And due to the fact that the blood magic is so far removed from blood libel, these two facts don't really connect into something that is antisemitic. (Compare/contrast to Wild and Wicked Things which also has blood witches and lesbians. I should reread that book, which I did say I was going to do; I remember nothing about it due to the fact that I read too many books. Also probably compare/contrast to Gideon the Ninth which also has lesbians and blood magic, which I remember nothing about due to not having read it).
This is the only other Jewish person I was able to find talking about this book (with specifics), not counting the tiktok comments I trawled through, which I will not relate due to how awful tiktok comments are to follow (both in terms of content and in terms of how tiktok is set up). I also did further research bothering Everyone I Know and also some people I don't know about blood magic and if it is Always Blood Libel If It's Blood Magic, and the general consensus is this:
Blood magic is not always blood libel, especially when it does not contain any blood libelous aspects. It's a fairly universal concept to say "hey, this red stuff inside of us could be magical!" It can also be noted that we do not consider blood magic practiced by Latin-American or Afro-Caribbean cultures to be antisemitic. HOWEVER. Jewish people can be triggered by the inclusion of blood magic because of, you know, centuries of blood libel. I think that people who are affected by this content can read the synopsis and say "wow, this book is not for me, because it includes blood magic, which I am triggered by". (Obligatory; content warnings are not moral or immoral, they are literally just warnings for content).
I also really enjoyed this podcast while I was researching, The Blood Libel Accusation with Magda Teter, who wrote Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth.
update 7/28: doing regular twittering and found this thread by Dahlia Adler (editor of all my favorite anthologies) which reads "In general the amount of “This is antisemitic!!” I’ve seen going around about stuff that patently is not is uhhh disconcerting? Because I know you mean well but all it tells me is you associate us with even more terrible stuff than the baseline." Further, Abby Pickus in the quoted thread writes "I actually have read it, and it didn't seem blood-libelly to me, since I don't think anyone actually consumes blood. The "blood magic" is handled very differently." ("it" being The Ones We Burn in this context)
I am Jewish disclaimer etc etc. Nothing about us without us. Rating for visibility, this is literally the longest book review I've ever written, I absolutely cannot have any further thoughts about it. I also love to be proven wrong; please feel free to argue with me in the comments, or I have an open Goodreads inbox.
9/18 update: okay well so many people have enjoyed this review that my goodreads notifications now only read "many others previously liked it" which is the most viral I'll ever get, probably, so, check out my soundcloud as it were. I Also Have A Book Blog, please check it out here. I publish a book review every day except Wednesday.
11/8 update: I'm being annoying online again; if you can link me to Any Jewish Person who has 1) read this book and 2) found it antisemitic, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from them. Mostly I am just seeing people who are like "the majority of Jewish people found this offensive" and I think this is untrue. I Am Being Genuine, Please Link Me, I Feel Like I Am Going Insane.
I have found: a Jewish person on the fairyloot discord who DNF'd (valid), mateo who is deleting comments and has not read the book (link here ), and Ellie's review (not Jewish but discusses antisemitic elements in detail) (also I think Ellie is very cool).
People who are like "this is not blood libel and you need to chill out": me (not chill), Abby Pickus (linked above), sensitivity reader(s?) who were literally paid to read this book, somebody's Jewish roommate on the fairyloot discord, lots of people in Goodreads reviews who are like "i don't think this is antisemitic but you should listen to Jewish people" (idk if they can be legally counted in this unofficial count), and last but not least, my own roommate who was like "it's not and also stop talking to me about YA book drama".
November 2, 2022
Good god, Goodreads ate the entire long thing I wrote in the first place and I honestly remember most of it but the crux was: I liked the book, it seemed like a solid debut not the most amazing writing I've ever seen in my life but that's not something I expect from a debut author (part of the problem 1).
reports of anti-black elements arm exaggerated at BEST and seem to come from a place of condemning nuance while also infantilizing and hypermoralizing black representation (part of the problem 2), and I don't exactly understand or trust the motivations of people who are jumping on this since they appear to be either 1. white people overcorrecting or 2. people using this release to vent a lot of general frustrations that don't seem to have a lot to do with the text. I can't speak on the antisemitic accusations but I have also seen people debunking those to an extent, do your own research.
The book is solid, I would have given it four stars bumped it up to five for the algorithm, I'm VERY UNCOMFORTABLE with the way YA purity politics have completely destroyed the capacity to engage in honest rhetoric (the problem part 3) and I hope people actually give the book a try since I thought it was slightly less identical than most YA fantasy releases and rather better written.
Very annoyed with this platform right now (I LIKED that first thing I wrote!) but what's new. any typos or because I use voice to text since I have mobility issues. this is nowhere near as well constructed as the first thing I wrote but that's gone forever, sorry.
reports of anti-black elements arm exaggerated at BEST and seem to come from a place of condemning nuance while also infantilizing and hypermoralizing black representation (part of the problem 2), and I don't exactly understand or trust the motivations of people who are jumping on this since they appear to be either 1. white people overcorrecting or 2. people using this release to vent a lot of general frustrations that don't seem to have a lot to do with the text. I can't speak on the antisemitic accusations but I have also seen people debunking those to an extent, do your own research.
The book is solid, I would have given it four stars bumped it up to five for the algorithm, I'm VERY UNCOMFORTABLE with the way YA purity politics have completely destroyed the capacity to engage in honest rhetoric (the problem part 3) and I hope people actually give the book a try since I thought it was slightly less identical than most YA fantasy releases and rather better written.
Very annoyed with this platform right now (I LIKED that first thing I wrote!) but what's new. any typos or because I use voice to text since I have mobility issues. this is nowhere near as well constructed as the first thing I wrote but that's gone forever, sorry.
December 18, 2022
Ok, so before I get to my general review of the quality, the plot, and the characters in this book, I’m going to go ahead and address the elephant(s) in the room: the concerns of this book being a reverse racism fantasy and using anti-Semitic blood-libel magic. I’m going to have to go into spoilers at certain points to do that, but I’ll try to avoid it where I can.
To be upfront, I am not a Jewish reviewer, or a Black reviewer, but I am careful with my platform, and honestly you can take my opinion or leave it! I just felt compelled to write this because the conversation surrounding this book is really something else. I do link other reviews within my review!
First, I want to say it’s perfectly legitimate to read the plot or summary of a book and think it might not be for you, for instance the fact that a white author incorporates Black main characters (maybe you worry about the depth of characterization), or the phrase blood magic maybe sets you on edge.
However, when a series of people are giving 1 star to a book that they haven’t read (and I say that just because I have to assume it based on the wording in many of these reviews) you are putting yourself and your platform behind those accusations. In my opinion, if you’re going to do that, you have a responsibility to do the bare minimum due diligence of checking their validity EITHER by reading the book (or part of it) OR by reading in-depth reviews from other readers who have provided in-depth plot summaries or quotes that back up those types of claims.
I personally do not 1 star books I haven't read more than 50% of. I rarely 1 star or 2 star if I didn't finish. I do not believe in rating what you didn't read. I don't think it's helpful at ALL in determining the quality of the book. However, I don't control you.
Regardless, the biggest issue is that I can't find any "original reviews" that had details or even seemed as though they read the book in question (largely because they refer to two characters as "villains" who are literally never depicted that way on the page.
So when there’s an absolute dearth of detailed reviews, it becomes especially worrisome to see a trend of 1 star reviews repeating the same hot take. Listen. I’m not going to read every book in the world either. I quit two YA books earlier this year for precisely these reasons. Because as detailed, nuanced reviews POURED in for those books, they were repeating similar issues. I trusted those details and moved right along. Again, I don't review bomb. I'm not sure how it adds anything to do so, but I would at least feel better doing so if I had done my research!
If someone will comment below with THEIR review or details from such a review, I’m literally going to jump to check it out. But a Tweet with no substance (and seemingly factually inaccurate statements) doesn’t count. I'm always willing to update my opinion, but I do want there to be some basis for it. At the point I'm posting this review, I still cannot find substantial reviews for this book that support the VERY strong takes I've seen.
*****************************
So let’s address the reverse racism fantasy idea:
This would mean the Black siblings in power are oppressing the white MC, creating a kind of reverse oppression scenario, and in this case, the Black siblings would be villains, as many people have claimed.
The short version: As far as I can tell, that never happens, nor, past about 10% of the book, is the reader ever led to believe these two are A) Villainous or B) Oppressing Ranka.
While Ranka, a classic morally grey anti-hero and our MC, does not trust the siblings early in the book, the author, and the narrative presented, force her to question that from her first interaction with them.
For example, the first time she meets Galen and Aramis (the Sunra twins), the first thing she notices about Galen is how his servants react to him and his kindness (which is probably his main character trait):
Galen shook himself and turned to the nearest servant. “Rhyla, how’s your daughter?” “Better,” the woman breathed. “Thank you again, Your Highness. If it weren’t for you—” Galen waved her off, his nose wrinkling as though he was embarrassed. “It’s nothing. Truly. I’m glad she’s well.” He moved down the table, greeting each servant by name, asking after family members, neighbors, and even one man’s pet cat. Ranka blinked. The Skra didn’t dare to even look Ongrum in the eye. These people met their prince’s gaze and stood with ease.
This is from 8% in the book and is literally her first observation after meeting him.
The next part WILL include vague spoilers from the book. I'm changing formatting because Goodreads marked my whole review as spoilers! SO I will use bold again when I'm done. It's hard to discuss this claim without giving away a lot of the interactions.
Later, at 19% in the book Aramis (Galen’s sister) and Ranka have a charged conversation in which Aramis accuses Ranka of being ignorant and violent, while she, Aramis, is literally trying to save everyone:
“You think you’re so noble,” said Aramis. “The poor Skra witch, forced to head south and become the Bloodwinn. You can feign innocence all you want, but I saw you in that morgue. You’re a killer, Ranka. You are a murderer and a monster, with blood on your hands and death in your heart. Think what you will of me—but I am trying to save lives, not end them.”
At this point, Ranka thinks the following:
“Who was this spoiled, privileged girl, who’d grown up behind gilded walls, to lecture her? Who was Aramis to judge Ranka, when her very existence was only possible because of everything Witchik had lost?”
Now this quote I could understand being upsetting. On its own. However, the narrative doesn’t take Ranka’s side. At...any point. Ultimately, Ranka learns that Aramis and Galen feel trapped as well, that they have less control than she realized, and that both of them have the best of intentions for the empire. It's actually almost silly how obvious it is reading that Ranka is wrong, to the point where Mix doesn't draw out suspense on this point *at all.*
All of this happens relatively quickly in the book. Again, I could understand it being concerning for us to believe these two to be the villains and then have a sudden twist at the end. However, that is definitively not what happens. There is no time at which we trust Ranka’s version of events. In fact, there are multiple points about which we are *encouraged* to distrust Ranka’s memories and training, and at essentially every turn of her interaction with the siblings, we learn more and more that places trust in their accounts.
Ultimately, Ranka chooses to trust them too, and they learn together that the true villains are targeting the witches.
DONE with more spoiler heavy section
I saw another reviewer say that this society isn’t meant to be viewed necessarily through a racial lens, and I tend to agree. I don’t say that to discount the negative impact that stereotypes can still have in fiction, I just want to clarify that much like Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree, I don’t think that race is meant to be a societal signifier in Mix’s world. The nobility are a variety of races (and I believe Galen and Amaris are biracial), the witches are a variety of races. If there is a more oppressed group, that may be some of the witches because their powers are feared, but again, that doesn’t fall along racial lines.
LAST POINT on these two: I will add that if Galen or Aramis were coded in stereotypical ways, that could be hugely problematic, despite the fact that Mix’s world isn’t drawn along those lines. Her readers come from a world that is. However, while both siblings are tough and compelling, I didn’t find that to be the case.
Here's another review on all these points: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Again, I completely understand Black readers not really wanting to read Black characters by white authors, but when scores of reviews are calling them harmful, I think it’s worth it to investigate, if only so we can all grow as readers and writers in creating more intentional and beneficial representation.
*****
Now to discuss the blood libel BRIEFLY, I will say there is a much more in-depth review from a Jewish reader here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I will just add my observation that Ranka is coded fairly Nordic. As such, her description of "blood magic" lines up with what I’ve read in other Norse or Viking fantasies about bloodlust or battle haze (it’s just described more “magically” here):
“Ranka’s blood-magic rose—and this time she welcomed it. Her nails elongated, and power flooded her muscles, her heart, her breath. Ranka heard Aramis’s voice, crystal clear in her mind, a balm to the anger churning through her. Breathe, the princess whispered. And control it.”
This seems more like an insane fury and ability for death (it also reminds me of the witches in the Throne of Glass series) that is “in one’s blood” rather than anything USING blood FOR magic. Other fantasy series, such as Avatar the Last Airbender, have used different types of blood magic to different effect. And I do not believe Ranka is in any way coded to be Jewish, as other reviewers have said. She reads extremely Norse.
*****
As to the book itself: I found it really compelling, especially in a YA fantasy landscape that has felt a bit sparse on unique angles recently.
It’s not that Mix necessarily reinvents the wheel here. We have our morally grey anti-hero, we have the bickering found family trope, and we have a world that isn’t necessarily *completely* developed to my satisfaction (probably my biggest reason for knocking off a star), but all that being said: I really enjoyed reading every minute of this.
Ranka is super flawed, but she’s not frustrating as much as she is limited in understanding herself and others. The reasons behind her flaws are compelling as well, and I wanted to keep reading to find out if she would grow.
I loved Galen and Aramis. They were likable without feeling flat. Aramis is strong in a way I like to see in YA heroes: she doesn’t have superpowers, but she’s certainly the smartest and wisest of these three. Galen is also unique in that he has incredible power but is reluctant to use it. All three characters felt fleshed-out and three-dimensional.
Again, while certain elements of the conflict felt a bit under-explained, I was so compelled by this dynamic that I just wanted to keep going.
*****
Listen, if you see all this controversy and don't want to bother, I am not here to persuade you. I am writing the longest review in the world because I find it so unhelpful to scroll through a page of hot takes with no substance. That doesn't help me make a decision. And the more I see with less and less substance, the more suspicious I am.
I'm always happy to learn more or change my mind. But I do get tired of social media behavior that encourages commentary without substance and snark without critical thinking. You can be as critical as you want to. You can 1-star most books you read. You can absolutely warn your audience away from certain authors or books.
I don't find it a responsible use of my platform to review books I haven't read, and I'll say frankly in this case, I think this book has been lumped in with some others this year, and I think people need to be a little more careful and responsible with how they use their platforms.
I don't really want to jump into the twitter angle of this, but between this and Lightlark, it's hard not to feel as though sometimes people take a bizarre joy in these moments, from the tone their reviews start to take. So my advice is to instead take joy in what you love, and be fair and have integrity with how you present your opinions.
To be upfront, I am not a Jewish reviewer, or a Black reviewer, but I am careful with my platform, and honestly you can take my opinion or leave it! I just felt compelled to write this because the conversation surrounding this book is really something else. I do link other reviews within my review!
First, I want to say it’s perfectly legitimate to read the plot or summary of a book and think it might not be for you, for instance the fact that a white author incorporates Black main characters (maybe you worry about the depth of characterization), or the phrase blood magic maybe sets you on edge.
However, when a series of people are giving 1 star to a book that they haven’t read (and I say that just because I have to assume it based on the wording in many of these reviews) you are putting yourself and your platform behind those accusations. In my opinion, if you’re going to do that, you have a responsibility to do the bare minimum due diligence of checking their validity EITHER by reading the book (or part of it) OR by reading in-depth reviews from other readers who have provided in-depth plot summaries or quotes that back up those types of claims.
I personally do not 1 star books I haven't read more than 50% of. I rarely 1 star or 2 star if I didn't finish. I do not believe in rating what you didn't read. I don't think it's helpful at ALL in determining the quality of the book. However, I don't control you.
Regardless, the biggest issue is that I can't find any "original reviews" that had details or even seemed as though they read the book in question (largely because they refer to two characters as "villains" who are literally never depicted that way on the page.
So when there’s an absolute dearth of detailed reviews, it becomes especially worrisome to see a trend of 1 star reviews repeating the same hot take. Listen. I’m not going to read every book in the world either. I quit two YA books earlier this year for precisely these reasons. Because as detailed, nuanced reviews POURED in for those books, they were repeating similar issues. I trusted those details and moved right along. Again, I don't review bomb. I'm not sure how it adds anything to do so, but I would at least feel better doing so if I had done my research!
If someone will comment below with THEIR review or details from such a review, I’m literally going to jump to check it out. But a Tweet with no substance (and seemingly factually inaccurate statements) doesn’t count. I'm always willing to update my opinion, but I do want there to be some basis for it. At the point I'm posting this review, I still cannot find substantial reviews for this book that support the VERY strong takes I've seen.
*****************************
So let’s address the reverse racism fantasy idea:
This would mean the Black siblings in power are oppressing the white MC, creating a kind of reverse oppression scenario, and in this case, the Black siblings would be villains, as many people have claimed.
The short version: As far as I can tell, that never happens, nor, past about 10% of the book, is the reader ever led to believe these two are A) Villainous or B) Oppressing Ranka.
While Ranka, a classic morally grey anti-hero and our MC, does not trust the siblings early in the book, the author, and the narrative presented, force her to question that from her first interaction with them.
For example, the first time she meets Galen and Aramis (the Sunra twins), the first thing she notices about Galen is how his servants react to him and his kindness (which is probably his main character trait):
Galen shook himself and turned to the nearest servant. “Rhyla, how’s your daughter?” “Better,” the woman breathed. “Thank you again, Your Highness. If it weren’t for you—” Galen waved her off, his nose wrinkling as though he was embarrassed. “It’s nothing. Truly. I’m glad she’s well.” He moved down the table, greeting each servant by name, asking after family members, neighbors, and even one man’s pet cat. Ranka blinked. The Skra didn’t dare to even look Ongrum in the eye. These people met their prince’s gaze and stood with ease.
This is from 8% in the book and is literally her first observation after meeting him.
The next part WILL include vague spoilers from the book. I'm changing formatting because Goodreads marked my whole review as spoilers! SO I will use bold again when I'm done. It's hard to discuss this claim without giving away a lot of the interactions.
Later, at 19% in the book Aramis (Galen’s sister) and Ranka have a charged conversation in which Aramis accuses Ranka of being ignorant and violent, while she, Aramis, is literally trying to save everyone:
“You think you’re so noble,” said Aramis. “The poor Skra witch, forced to head south and become the Bloodwinn. You can feign innocence all you want, but I saw you in that morgue. You’re a killer, Ranka. You are a murderer and a monster, with blood on your hands and death in your heart. Think what you will of me—but I am trying to save lives, not end them.”
At this point, Ranka thinks the following:
“Who was this spoiled, privileged girl, who’d grown up behind gilded walls, to lecture her? Who was Aramis to judge Ranka, when her very existence was only possible because of everything Witchik had lost?”
Now this quote I could understand being upsetting. On its own. However, the narrative doesn’t take Ranka’s side. At...any point. Ultimately, Ranka learns that Aramis and Galen feel trapped as well, that they have less control than she realized, and that both of them have the best of intentions for the empire. It's actually almost silly how obvious it is reading that Ranka is wrong, to the point where Mix doesn't draw out suspense on this point *at all.*
All of this happens relatively quickly in the book. Again, I could understand it being concerning for us to believe these two to be the villains and then have a sudden twist at the end. However, that is definitively not what happens. There is no time at which we trust Ranka’s version of events. In fact, there are multiple points about which we are *encouraged* to distrust Ranka’s memories and training, and at essentially every turn of her interaction with the siblings, we learn more and more that places trust in their accounts.
Ultimately, Ranka chooses to trust them too, and they learn together that the true villains are targeting the witches.
DONE with more spoiler heavy section
I saw another reviewer say that this society isn’t meant to be viewed necessarily through a racial lens, and I tend to agree. I don’t say that to discount the negative impact that stereotypes can still have in fiction, I just want to clarify that much like Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree, I don’t think that race is meant to be a societal signifier in Mix’s world. The nobility are a variety of races (and I believe Galen and Amaris are biracial), the witches are a variety of races. If there is a more oppressed group, that may be some of the witches because their powers are feared, but again, that doesn’t fall along racial lines.
LAST POINT on these two: I will add that if Galen or Aramis were coded in stereotypical ways, that could be hugely problematic, despite the fact that Mix’s world isn’t drawn along those lines. Her readers come from a world that is. However, while both siblings are tough and compelling, I didn’t find that to be the case.
Here's another review on all these points: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Again, I completely understand Black readers not really wanting to read Black characters by white authors, but when scores of reviews are calling them harmful, I think it’s worth it to investigate, if only so we can all grow as readers and writers in creating more intentional and beneficial representation.
*****
Now to discuss the blood libel BRIEFLY, I will say there is a much more in-depth review from a Jewish reader here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I will just add my observation that Ranka is coded fairly Nordic. As such, her description of "blood magic" lines up with what I’ve read in other Norse or Viking fantasies about bloodlust or battle haze (it’s just described more “magically” here):
“Ranka’s blood-magic rose—and this time she welcomed it. Her nails elongated, and power flooded her muscles, her heart, her breath. Ranka heard Aramis’s voice, crystal clear in her mind, a balm to the anger churning through her. Breathe, the princess whispered. And control it.”
This seems more like an insane fury and ability for death (it also reminds me of the witches in the Throne of Glass series) that is “in one’s blood” rather than anything USING blood FOR magic. Other fantasy series, such as Avatar the Last Airbender, have used different types of blood magic to different effect. And I do not believe Ranka is in any way coded to be Jewish, as other reviewers have said. She reads extremely Norse.
*****
As to the book itself: I found it really compelling, especially in a YA fantasy landscape that has felt a bit sparse on unique angles recently.
It’s not that Mix necessarily reinvents the wheel here. We have our morally grey anti-hero, we have the bickering found family trope, and we have a world that isn’t necessarily *completely* developed to my satisfaction (probably my biggest reason for knocking off a star), but all that being said: I really enjoyed reading every minute of this.
Ranka is super flawed, but she’s not frustrating as much as she is limited in understanding herself and others. The reasons behind her flaws are compelling as well, and I wanted to keep reading to find out if she would grow.
I loved Galen and Aramis. They were likable without feeling flat. Aramis is strong in a way I like to see in YA heroes: she doesn’t have superpowers, but she’s certainly the smartest and wisest of these three. Galen is also unique in that he has incredible power but is reluctant to use it. All three characters felt fleshed-out and three-dimensional.
Again, while certain elements of the conflict felt a bit under-explained, I was so compelled by this dynamic that I just wanted to keep going.
*****
Listen, if you see all this controversy and don't want to bother, I am not here to persuade you. I am writing the longest review in the world because I find it so unhelpful to scroll through a page of hot takes with no substance. That doesn't help me make a decision. And the more I see with less and less substance, the more suspicious I am.
I'm always happy to learn more or change my mind. But I do get tired of social media behavior that encourages commentary without substance and snark without critical thinking. You can be as critical as you want to. You can 1-star most books you read. You can absolutely warn your audience away from certain authors or books.
I don't find it a responsible use of my platform to review books I haven't read, and I'll say frankly in this case, I think this book has been lumped in with some others this year, and I think people need to be a little more careful and responsible with how they use their platforms.
I don't really want to jump into the twitter angle of this, but between this and Lightlark, it's hard not to feel as though sometimes people take a bizarre joy in these moments, from the tone their reviews start to take. So my advice is to instead take joy in what you love, and be fair and have integrity with how you present your opinions.
January 12, 2023
lol stop review bombing a book you haven’t read and doesn’t come out for another 5 months.
maybe instead of believing the accusations put forth on a very brief twitter thread that provides no examples from the text consider checking out these very well thought out and in depth reviews of the book before passing judgment:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
maybe instead of believing the accusations put forth on a very brief twitter thread that provides no examples from the text consider checking out these very well thought out and in depth reviews of the book before passing judgment:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Shelved as 'dnf-or-dont-read-steph'
August 18, 2022damn, white girlie making black people the oppressors??? in the year of our lord 2022??? read the fucking room? honestly that’s just appalling. unfortunate bc the “snapshots” were cute (sapphic, zuko-esque), but reverse racism w white people as the oppressed? what a joke.
Want to read
February 17, 2021Rebecca Mix' boyfriend literally said, "it's me or the book".
She chose to write the book! 😭
*Immediately adds to TBR*
She chose to write the book! 😭
*Immediately adds to TBR*
August 31, 2022
At this point, it’s impossible to discuss this book without discussing the surrounding controversy, so I’ll tackle that first.
First, I would just like to say that, imo, calling this a “reverse racism fantasy” or a “white supremacist fantasy” is A Lot for a book that really just has some potentially awkward optics, and I use that word very particularly, because “optics” aren't about what something is, but rather how it is perceived. It's a superficial way to engage with media. So even though the optics in this book might at first glance seem weird, the narrative unequivocally portrays the Black-coded characters as heroes.
From the beginning, the Black-coded siblings, Aramis and Galen, are portrayed as multi-faceted characters, and to my view, are written to be clueless rather than villainous. They are children complicit in something far beyond their knowledge, because they themselves don’t actually seem to hate witches. Their mother was a witch! Ranka and the siblings quickly become friends, or at least reluctant allies; their animosity towards one another doesn’t last long, and never feels particularly strong on either party’s side. Sure, if you look at this from a distance, it’s humans (Aramis and Galen) vs witches (Ranka), which might at first seem like Black-coded characters oppressing White-coded ones. However, Aramis and Galen don’t even side with the humans in their city that want to kill witches! They're trying to save witches! So it's just...way, way more nuanced than people are making it out to be.
Anyway, that's all I have to say on that, but if you want a more detailed and thorough review, check out Casey's review, and if you want a review that pulls evidence from the book, check out Laura's review.
Having said all that, I personally didn't like this book very much, but I think teens might like it, and, not being a teen, I didn't want to give it a low rating for...not being an adult book. Frankly, I just need to give up on 95% of YA at this point; I've definitely outgrown it.
I just found this book melodramatic and weirdly convoluted, though I do think the author does tackle themes of abuse and gaslighting pretty well. It's...a cute story, I guess, and the magic system is kind of interesting, but the plot felt contrived and the story dragged. The worldbuilding is also really weak; the world feels extremely insular. There's also a lot that just...doesn't make sense, because the worldbuilding is so poor.
All in all I think the author had good intentions, but in general, everything here felt poorly-thought out; the story felt like a vehicle for the themes the author wanted to deliver, rather than a story in its own right.
First, I would just like to say that, imo, calling this a “reverse racism fantasy” or a “white supremacist fantasy” is A Lot for a book that really just has some potentially awkward optics, and I use that word very particularly, because “optics” aren't about what something is, but rather how it is perceived. It's a superficial way to engage with media. So even though the optics in this book might at first glance seem weird, the narrative unequivocally portrays the Black-coded characters as heroes.
From the beginning, the Black-coded siblings, Aramis and Galen, are portrayed as multi-faceted characters, and to my view, are written to be clueless rather than villainous. They are children complicit in something far beyond their knowledge, because they themselves don’t actually seem to hate witches. Their mother was a witch! Ranka and the siblings quickly become friends, or at least reluctant allies; their animosity towards one another doesn’t last long, and never feels particularly strong on either party’s side. Sure, if you look at this from a distance, it’s humans (Aramis and Galen) vs witches (Ranka), which might at first seem like Black-coded characters oppressing White-coded ones. However, Aramis and Galen don’t even side with the humans in their city that want to kill witches! They're trying to save witches! So it's just...way, way more nuanced than people are making it out to be.
Anyway, that's all I have to say on that, but if you want a more detailed and thorough review, check out Casey's review, and if you want a review that pulls evidence from the book, check out Laura's review.
Having said all that, I personally didn't like this book very much, but I think teens might like it, and, not being a teen, I didn't want to give it a low rating for...not being an adult book. Frankly, I just need to give up on 95% of YA at this point; I've definitely outgrown it.
I just found this book melodramatic and weirdly convoluted, though I do think the author does tackle themes of abuse and gaslighting pretty well. It's...a cute story, I guess, and the magic system is kind of interesting, but the plot felt contrived and the story dragged. The worldbuilding is also really weak; the world feels extremely insular. There's also a lot that just...doesn't make sense, because the worldbuilding is so poor.
All in all I think the author had good intentions, but in general, everything here felt poorly-thought out; the story felt like a vehicle for the themes the author wanted to deliver, rather than a story in its own right.
Want to read
February 12, 2022if this book is a fraction as entertaining as Rebecca is on Twitter it’s going to be amazing
September 18, 2022
Thanks to Hodder&Stoughton and Netgalley UK for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I would have rated this 4 stars if I was rating it in a vacuum, but I am rating it 5 to counteract all of the fake reviews from people who haven't read a single word of it.
I think it comes as no surprise that the book does not contain any of the racist/antisemitic elements that someone successfully started a smear campaign about. It is actually staggering how many people mindlessly followed that first accusation without checking for themselves.
I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but Rebecca Mix isn't exactly an established name in writing (and probably never will be, with this precedent). She's had a couple of threads go viral, and they have been very funny, and I would wager that this is how most people became aware of her. Someone quite clearly took umbrage and decided that they would try and ruin her writing career before it starts, and the Goodreads rating very quickly dropped from 4.65 to 3.15 with no sign of recovering, from all the people who made a Goodreads account only so they could one-star this book and perpetuate the accusations.
The situation that the accuser has made up is so blatantly NOT present in the book, all it would take for people to verify these claims would be reading the first ten pages. Instead, we've had users withdraw their previous praise because they felt uncomfortable that they might have missed something while reading. I read a couple of other books fairly recently which mentioned blood magic. Neither was targeted to this extent, or at all, which really drives the point home that this is a personal attack on this particular author. Shockingly, if people have to go back and edit their reviews because they "hadn't realised" that something was racist, chances are it wasn't racist in the first place.
Yes there is an oppressor and an oppressed group in this book - but neither is entirely white or entirely Black. Race isn't what divides the characters in this book and the main conflict and power dynamic is between humans and witches, both of which span several races and genders. Which is made clear from, like, chapter 1.
It is a good story - if a little long - told from the point of view of Ranka, who is the only living blood witch of her generation and therefore must be married to the human prince as established by a peace treaty. There are 4 central characters, all teenagers, with fairly distinct voices which is often easier to achieve in 3rd person narration, and the prose flows really well in spite of being repetitive at times (which I think is by choice for once, as opposed to sloppy editing).
Some valid criticism I have seen of the book (by this I mean criticism of things that actually do feature in the book and weren't just made up for clicks) is the use of present-day language like "lesbian" and "non binary". It doesn't really make much sense in-world. Even though each term appears only once, it would have been a lot better to come up with a world-specific equivalent.
This book is one big allegory for being brought up by a narcissistic parent (or several authority figures in the case of Ranka), yes it's a little heavy handed at times and feels like it's regurgitating instagram infographics about childhood trauma *but* I also appreciate that writing this must have been cathartic for the author as she was processing her own abuse through her characters.
I would have rated this 4 stars if I was rating it in a vacuum, but I am rating it 5 to counteract all of the fake reviews from people who haven't read a single word of it.
I think it comes as no surprise that the book does not contain any of the racist/antisemitic elements that someone successfully started a smear campaign about. It is actually staggering how many people mindlessly followed that first accusation without checking for themselves.
I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but Rebecca Mix isn't exactly an established name in writing (and probably never will be, with this precedent). She's had a couple of threads go viral, and they have been very funny, and I would wager that this is how most people became aware of her. Someone quite clearly took umbrage and decided that they would try and ruin her writing career before it starts, and the Goodreads rating very quickly dropped from 4.65 to 3.15 with no sign of recovering, from all the people who made a Goodreads account only so they could one-star this book and perpetuate the accusations.
The situation that the accuser has made up is so blatantly NOT present in the book, all it would take for people to verify these claims would be reading the first ten pages. Instead, we've had users withdraw their previous praise because they felt uncomfortable that they might have missed something while reading. I read a couple of other books fairly recently which mentioned blood magic. Neither was targeted to this extent, or at all, which really drives the point home that this is a personal attack on this particular author. Shockingly, if people have to go back and edit their reviews because they "hadn't realised" that something was racist, chances are it wasn't racist in the first place.
Yes there is an oppressor and an oppressed group in this book - but neither is entirely white or entirely Black. Race isn't what divides the characters in this book and the main conflict and power dynamic is between humans and witches, both of which span several races and genders. Which is made clear from, like, chapter 1.
It is a good story - if a little long - told from the point of view of Ranka, who is the only living blood witch of her generation and therefore must be married to the human prince as established by a peace treaty. There are 4 central characters, all teenagers, with fairly distinct voices which is often easier to achieve in 3rd person narration, and the prose flows really well in spite of being repetitive at times (which I think is by choice for once, as opposed to sloppy editing).
Some valid criticism I have seen of the book (by this I mean criticism of things that actually do feature in the book and weren't just made up for clicks) is the use of present-day language like "lesbian" and "non binary". It doesn't really make much sense in-world. Even though each term appears only once, it would have been a lot better to come up with a world-specific equivalent.
This book is one big allegory for being brought up by a narcissistic parent (or several authority figures in the case of Ranka), yes it's a little heavy handed at times and feels like it's regurgitating instagram infographics about childhood trauma *but* I also appreciate that writing this must have been cathartic for the author as she was processing her own abuse through her characters.
December 11, 2023
I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: prejudice, drugging & human experimentation, abduction, dog death (off page), themes of immolation including execution of a child, violent attacks on children, emotional & mental abuse
Okay, so I'll address the elephant in the room first and foremost- this book as come under a lot of fire recently for being called a "reverse-racism fantasy". This was originally a book I was really excited about, and while hearing the allegations was upsetting and disappointing, I decided to read it anyway and get my own take on it as a reader of Color.
I think we all have different sensitivities about this kind of thing, but in my opinion this is not a racist book, and honestly, I understand why the author isn't straight up apologizing. This is a story that involves prejudice and violence against certain communities, and had the White author made those peoples people of color she absolutely would have gotten dragged for it- understandably so, it's difficult to talk about violence against a community that is not yours in a careful and respectful way even in a fantasy setting. And had it been an all White cast, that too would have been problematic, and I think the glaring lack of racially diverse peoples in a story with these themes would have come across as tone deaf. So what option is there but to let there be people of color in a position of power? And those people of color are, for the most part, not horrible tyrants, but written as flawed but primarily Good people. This wasn't a gotcha. And calling it a "reverse racism fantasy"- a term I hate more and more each time I hear it- means it would have to be a story that actively and harmfully paints White people as victims as they are brought down to a lower level and politically attacked by Black people, which is not the story, vibe, or characterizations here. The singular thing that I will say came across as a bit tone deaf and made me uncomfortable, was the inclusion of experimentation, and along with it abduction, which is something that Black people and particularly Black women were historically victims of. So I could have done without that, but, again, I don't think that that thought even came into the brain of anyone involved in this process. And to be totally honest, I've read other published YA books that have had no controversies against them which felt much more like the author was writing with unchecked, unlearned racism.
But now onto the actual book!
Had none of the conversations about this book happened, it still wouldn't have been the book I wanted it to be. I loved the way this book sounded when it was being promoted, but it didn't really pan out for me.
What did work for me was the trauma representation and the conversations within the text about that. I thought the mental health in general was done well, and the abuse arc rang true to me, emotionally. I also thought that the tension at places was very well done.
While the characters didn't really work for me as a 20-something reader of many books, I could see plenty of other people loving the cast as a whole and happily picking their favorites as they're all distinct and all vibrant.
But the characters truly let me down. I expected gray morality, big emotional connections, ambition, all the drama and compelling personalities a story like this seemed like it would have. But the characters all felt too stock to me, and most of them also came across as too modern, something I personally dislike in my non-low fantasy. They also often felt like remixes of other people's fantasy characters, and while I know published books have to have readership in mind, it felt like Mix was trying a bit too hard to reflect back all the most popular characters- and tropes- in the most popular books. While they all had separate personalities, none of them felt 3-dimensional or unique.
And due to the flatness and non-organic feeling of these character arcs and connections, I couldn't get invested in their actual goals and intentions. They did nothing to win me over and did nothing to get me to care about their plans. They all felt wishy-washy or overly aggressive.
I can understand why some people really loved this book earlier this year, and I can in some ways see how it got itself into the trouble it did, for me this simply a middling book with a better concept than execution.
TW: prejudice, drugging & human experimentation, abduction, dog death (off page), themes of immolation including execution of a child, violent attacks on children, emotional & mental abuse
Okay, so I'll address the elephant in the room first and foremost- this book as come under a lot of fire recently for being called a "reverse-racism fantasy". This was originally a book I was really excited about, and while hearing the allegations was upsetting and disappointing, I decided to read it anyway and get my own take on it as a reader of Color.
I think we all have different sensitivities about this kind of thing, but in my opinion this is not a racist book, and honestly, I understand why the author isn't straight up apologizing. This is a story that involves prejudice and violence against certain communities, and had the White author made those peoples people of color she absolutely would have gotten dragged for it- understandably so, it's difficult to talk about violence against a community that is not yours in a careful and respectful way even in a fantasy setting. And had it been an all White cast, that too would have been problematic, and I think the glaring lack of racially diverse peoples in a story with these themes would have come across as tone deaf. So what option is there but to let there be people of color in a position of power? And those people of color are, for the most part, not horrible tyrants, but written as flawed but primarily Good people. This wasn't a gotcha. And calling it a "reverse racism fantasy"- a term I hate more and more each time I hear it- means it would have to be a story that actively and harmfully paints White people as victims as they are brought down to a lower level and politically attacked by Black people, which is not the story, vibe, or characterizations here. The singular thing that I will say came across as a bit tone deaf and made me uncomfortable, was the inclusion of experimentation, and along with it abduction, which is something that Black people and particularly Black women were historically victims of. So I could have done without that, but, again, I don't think that that thought even came into the brain of anyone involved in this process. And to be totally honest, I've read other published YA books that have had no controversies against them which felt much more like the author was writing with unchecked, unlearned racism.
But now onto the actual book!
Had none of the conversations about this book happened, it still wouldn't have been the book I wanted it to be. I loved the way this book sounded when it was being promoted, but it didn't really pan out for me.
What did work for me was the trauma representation and the conversations within the text about that. I thought the mental health in general was done well, and the abuse arc rang true to me, emotionally. I also thought that the tension at places was very well done.
While the characters didn't really work for me as a 20-something reader of many books, I could see plenty of other people loving the cast as a whole and happily picking their favorites as they're all distinct and all vibrant.
But the characters truly let me down. I expected gray morality, big emotional connections, ambition, all the drama and compelling personalities a story like this seemed like it would have. But the characters all felt too stock to me, and most of them also came across as too modern, something I personally dislike in my non-low fantasy. They also often felt like remixes of other people's fantasy characters, and while I know published books have to have readership in mind, it felt like Mix was trying a bit too hard to reflect back all the most popular characters- and tropes- in the most popular books. While they all had separate personalities, none of them felt 3-dimensional or unique.
And due to the flatness and non-organic feeling of these character arcs and connections, I couldn't get invested in their actual goals and intentions. They did nothing to win me over and did nothing to get me to care about their plans. They all felt wishy-washy or overly aggressive.
I can understand why some people really loved this book earlier this year, and I can in some ways see how it got itself into the trouble it did, for me this simply a middling book with a better concept than execution.
December 8, 2022
(Factual evidence links) If you’re all going to review bomb a book you haven’t read yet then I am to.
*ULTIMATE GUIDE WITH LINKS TO THOUGHT THROUGH & ACTUALLY READ REVIEWS. Mostly by Black people. There, that makes ya feel better doesn’t it? Scroll down a bit past my intro part for the reviews)*
You give it 1 star before you’ve actually READ it yourself or researched it for yourself or analyzed the real facts of what actually happens in the book. Really. Really?
Well, if you want the facts, read on through these analytical, thoughtful, critical reviews I’ve linked a bit further please.
Also read below for some amazingly ironic hypocrisy from you guys harassing the Black people you’re supposedly “defending and protecting and anti racism” for their ACTUAL OWN opinions of this book that you disagree with. It’s BS when you don’t even listen to them themselves. Wtfrick. Blind ridiculous disgusting irony.
Anyways, I thought we’d learned this by now: don’t cancel something just because some people on Twitter & tiktok or whatever holler and scream so you copy&paste it without looking into it fr. THINK. RESEARCH. ANALYZE.
These are From all different perspectives, races etc.
I understand that each person, regardless of one Black reader to another can have differing opinions. But these readers in specific actually researched and thought through their reviews before just copy&pasting some random, uninformed & assuming peoples Twitter rants.
************************
REVIEWS LINKED HERE:
“The claims of reverse racism and blood libel are just….not in this book”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Can we take a second with this one: she says “I am a Black, disabled YA author who is not comfortable sharing my opinion from my author account given the way other BIPOC authors were HARASSED for their reviews of this book”. I’m sorry WHAT? Do we not see the hypocrisy in this??? You’re attacking this book for racism and then attacking literally the Black people you’re supposedly defending from it to the point where they feel unsafe to even post their opinion. Please just. Omg. (Here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another Black Reader’s Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
& Another Black Readers Review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Idk what race she is but guess what? She actually read some (possibly all?) of the book!! Already ahead of THE MAJORITY OF REVIEWERS ON THIS BOOK. 10/10 points. And she presents actual facts and logic??? 100/10.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another thoughtful review saying they “did not find any racial hatred in the book” so I ask you. How is there racism then?
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another Black Readers review saying nobody will listen to actual Black Readers perspective on this situation, true!:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another review. “It is actually staggering how many people mindlessly followed that first accusation without checking for themselves”. Agreed
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was an interesting perspective:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
More thought through review links (if you want more scroll to any that aren’t a 1* by a non reader who copy and pasted “RACIST” from Twitter on a blank brand new goodreads account. Btw I can’t wait till we can read and review a book for what it actually is.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
*ULTIMATE GUIDE WITH LINKS TO THOUGHT THROUGH & ACTUALLY READ REVIEWS. Mostly by Black people. There, that makes ya feel better doesn’t it? Scroll down a bit past my intro part for the reviews)*
You give it 1 star before you’ve actually READ it yourself or researched it for yourself or analyzed the real facts of what actually happens in the book. Really. Really?
Well, if you want the facts, read on through these analytical, thoughtful, critical reviews I’ve linked a bit further please.
Also read below for some amazingly ironic hypocrisy from you guys harassing the Black people you’re supposedly “defending and protecting and anti racism” for their ACTUAL OWN opinions of this book that you disagree with. It’s BS when you don’t even listen to them themselves. Wtfrick. Blind ridiculous disgusting irony.
Anyways, I thought we’d learned this by now: don’t cancel something just because some people on Twitter & tiktok or whatever holler and scream so you copy&paste it without looking into it fr. THINK. RESEARCH. ANALYZE.
These are From all different perspectives, races etc.
I understand that each person, regardless of one Black reader to another can have differing opinions. But these readers in specific actually researched and thought through their reviews before just copy&pasting some random, uninformed & assuming peoples Twitter rants.
************************
REVIEWS LINKED HERE:
“The claims of reverse racism and blood libel are just….not in this book”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Can we take a second with this one: she says “I am a Black, disabled YA author who is not comfortable sharing my opinion from my author account given the way other BIPOC authors were HARASSED for their reviews of this book”. I’m sorry WHAT? Do we not see the hypocrisy in this??? You’re attacking this book for racism and then attacking literally the Black people you’re supposedly defending from it to the point where they feel unsafe to even post their opinion. Please just. Omg. (Here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another Black Reader’s Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
& Another Black Readers Review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Idk what race she is but guess what? She actually read some (possibly all?) of the book!! Already ahead of THE MAJORITY OF REVIEWERS ON THIS BOOK. 10/10 points. And she presents actual facts and logic??? 100/10.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another thoughtful review saying they “did not find any racial hatred in the book” so I ask you. How is there racism then?
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another Black Readers review saying nobody will listen to actual Black Readers perspective on this situation, true!:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Another review. “It is actually staggering how many people mindlessly followed that first accusation without checking for themselves”. Agreed
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was an interesting perspective:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
More thought through review links (if you want more scroll to any that aren’t a 1* by a non reader who copy and pasted “RACIST” from Twitter on a blank brand new goodreads account. Btw I can’t wait till we can read and review a book for what it actually is.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
October 13, 2022
I don't usually review books but I talked about this book in the Fairyloot discord and want to share my thoughts here because I feel like as a Black ARC reader I can clear a lot of things up. The discourse around this book is crazy, so crazy to me. I find it very upsetting there is a lot of review bombing and it's mostly white people canceling this book ignoring BIPOC reviewers that actually give evidence from the book. I doubt the cancel mob will listen to me, but oh well, here we go!
Elephant in the room. No, I do not think this book is racist. The Black teens are not the villains, they are the heroes.
So. The book. Truly I liked the book more than I expected to. I went in bracing myself for racism because I was nosy and I actually read it so fast and enjoyed myself. I think it's clever and does some new things in YA even though some parts are repetitive. It has very very good representation of what it is like to have an abusive parent. Now is it the absolute best Black rep I have ever read? Nah, it more so just feels like she was trying to be inclusive versus writing about Blackness. I feel like she definitely worked with sensitivity readers because it seems to try to avoid a lot of stereotypes. Someone in the Fairyloot discord also pointed out the editor for this book is a WOC and the agent who sold this book is a Black woman, now, if this was a racism book, why would BIPOC support it? You're telling me a Black woman worked on a reverse racism book for years and then another WOC bought it? Sure Jan.
So the book itself. It has a slow start but oh man, the last section of the book is a wild ride, so tense and stressful! You really feel for Ranka, I just wanted to give her a hug, even when she is making a terrible mistake and I also want to kill her! But the best part of this book for me were the side characters. I loved Galen's journey with his magic, it was very touching, and I really enjoyed reading about platonic love between Galen and our FMC! There was a betrayal I saw coming a mile away and yet it still hurt my heart and I was so angry for the kids.
I liked that the Black prince's most defining trait is that he is gentle and sweet. The Black princess is the smartest one in the entire book but is still allowed to have moments of weakness instead of being the strong Black woman. It's not the best book I've ever read, but teen me would have really liked finding a sapphic book where Black princess is the brilliant love interest who kicks ass and fights monsters. Honestly the only two "good guys" in the book are the Black rulers, even the MC is more of a villain. I am really disappointed by the way this book has been talked about it and I really don't love that a lot of the goodreads reviews 1-starring are from white people claiming they're such great allies by harassing this author when I can't really find anything to have a problem with about it. If other Black readers feel differently that's definitely OK. Also not related but I have ADHD and a book has not been this easy for me to read since Iron Widow. Which was refreshing.
Also something I want to point out people are saying this is a kingdom of Black people which is not true and the rulers are mixed race? Their dad, the King, was white, and their mom who was a blood-witch like Ranka was a Black woman. So from what I can tell even the royal family is not all Black like people were making it sound?
I do think this is a book that benefits from being read in full because the MC is unreliable and constantly being lied to, so some of the things in the beginning I was worried about turned out to be from her being a very unreliable narrator and I actually found the book to be a surprisingly well done example of what it is like to be gaslit by an abuser. I think this book probably wouldn't have been canceled if it were adult. I've noticed YA sometimes readers don't read as critically and don't handle things like unreliable narrators or gray areas very well? If you've watched ATLA the MC is very Zuko-like and we're only in her POV so there are a lot of things she's being lied to about but I thought it was handled pretty well.
Something I haven't seen people talk about (understandably because the controversy got so crazy) is this book is actually pretty funny. I laughed out loud a few times when I was reading. It does deal with very dark subject matter but the teen characters act very much like teens and the lighter moments are really nice and help balance things out.
Typically this would be a 4/4.5 read for me, however I am giving it 5 stars to fight against the review bombing. This was a solid debut that was inclusive and I am so upset at how people have acted. Others in the Fairyloot discord said they believe this was a smear campaign started by a rival author and her friend, and honestly after reading, I think they be on to something, because everything we have been told about this book has been lies. I encourage people to read reviews that actually pull things from the book or, hey, what a crazy crazy concept, read the book yourself instead of letting strangers on the internet tell you what to think, including me!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC
Elephant in the room. No, I do not think this book is racist. The Black teens are not the villains, they are the heroes.
So. The book. Truly I liked the book more than I expected to. I went in bracing myself for racism because I was nosy and I actually read it so fast and enjoyed myself. I think it's clever and does some new things in YA even though some parts are repetitive. It has very very good representation of what it is like to have an abusive parent. Now is it the absolute best Black rep I have ever read? Nah, it more so just feels like she was trying to be inclusive versus writing about Blackness. I feel like she definitely worked with sensitivity readers because it seems to try to avoid a lot of stereotypes. Someone in the Fairyloot discord also pointed out the editor for this book is a WOC and the agent who sold this book is a Black woman, now, if this was a racism book, why would BIPOC support it? You're telling me a Black woman worked on a reverse racism book for years and then another WOC bought it? Sure Jan.
So the book itself. It has a slow start but oh man, the last section of the book is a wild ride, so tense and stressful! You really feel for Ranka, I just wanted to give her a hug, even when she is making a terrible mistake and I also want to kill her! But the best part of this book for me were the side characters. I loved Galen's journey with his magic, it was very touching, and I really enjoyed reading about platonic love between Galen and our FMC! There was a betrayal I saw coming a mile away and yet it still hurt my heart and I was so angry for the kids.
I liked that the Black prince's most defining trait is that he is gentle and sweet. The Black princess is the smartest one in the entire book but is still allowed to have moments of weakness instead of being the strong Black woman. It's not the best book I've ever read, but teen me would have really liked finding a sapphic book where Black princess is the brilliant love interest who kicks ass and fights monsters. Honestly the only two "good guys" in the book are the Black rulers, even the MC is more of a villain. I am really disappointed by the way this book has been talked about it and I really don't love that a lot of the goodreads reviews 1-starring are from white people claiming they're such great allies by harassing this author when I can't really find anything to have a problem with about it. If other Black readers feel differently that's definitely OK. Also not related but I have ADHD and a book has not been this easy for me to read since Iron Widow. Which was refreshing.
Also something I want to point out people are saying this is a kingdom of Black people which is not true and the rulers are mixed race? Their dad, the King, was white, and their mom who was a blood-witch like Ranka was a Black woman. So from what I can tell even the royal family is not all Black like people were making it sound?
I do think this is a book that benefits from being read in full because the MC is unreliable and constantly being lied to, so some of the things in the beginning I was worried about turned out to be from her being a very unreliable narrator and I actually found the book to be a surprisingly well done example of what it is like to be gaslit by an abuser. I think this book probably wouldn't have been canceled if it were adult. I've noticed YA sometimes readers don't read as critically and don't handle things like unreliable narrators or gray areas very well? If you've watched ATLA the MC is very Zuko-like and we're only in her POV so there are a lot of things she's being lied to about but I thought it was handled pretty well.
Something I haven't seen people talk about (understandably because the controversy got so crazy) is this book is actually pretty funny. I laughed out loud a few times when I was reading. It does deal with very dark subject matter but the teen characters act very much like teens and the lighter moments are really nice and help balance things out.
Typically this would be a 4/4.5 read for me, however I am giving it 5 stars to fight against the review bombing. This was a solid debut that was inclusive and I am so upset at how people have acted. Others in the Fairyloot discord said they believe this was a smear campaign started by a rival author and her friend, and honestly after reading, I think they be on to something, because everything we have been told about this book has been lies. I encourage people to read reviews that actually pull things from the book or, hey, what a crazy crazy concept, read the book yourself instead of letting strangers on the internet tell you what to think, including me!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC
August 11, 2021
I want seven seasons and a movie. Seriously, this book is so good all I want is more of it. (Though tbh, it's also so violent that if it were on my TV I'd have to close my eyes bc I'm a wuss.) Somehow this is a coming of age book except it's about coming of age when you were groomed to be a weapon in a war. It's about figuring out who you are and what is right and how to be good even though no one taught you. It's about chosen family and love and realizing you deserve happiness. All of that comes through gorgeous prose and intricate world building and characters you want to befriend. This book is gonna knock you out.
August 17, 2022
Well. There's a lot to unpack here.
This is what happens when publishing houses turn to social media influencers for an easy dime and books get distilled down to buzzwords and tropes. "Diversity," "witchcraft," and "enemies to lovers" all make for an appealing tiktok, but such substantial subjects are heavy to handle and can be mishandled - easily. And when your audience of consumers is used to digesting your material in 15 second sound-bytes, the little nuances that come from reading a book get lost and it becomes the cancel culture drama of the day.
I was intrigued to read "the racist book." And as most reviewers that have actually read the book have relayed, I did not find any racial hatred in the pages. The "oppressors" were hardly antagonistic; the true antagonist is Ranka's prejudice against them. I have trouble, however, understanding how or why their race is present in the novel and depicted as it is. I think what's caused the outrage is what is the statement being made to put a pair of black siblings in the foremost positing of class power? I found the setting of Mix's novel somewhat interesting, but I was lost as to what the book wanted to use it to say about the past and/or future. In Game of Thrones - something Mix seems to be aspiring to - Martin's message is that all sides of political conflict have their own nuance and players. He draws from actual historical conflict and points your attention to the smallest of characters. By contrast, "The Ones We Burn" felt like a clumsy story of an imaginary race ("witches") oppressed by the very real history of burning women and queer people who were a threat to the status quo. Where Mix brags that "everyone in this book is lgbt," there's a missed opportunity to talk about, uh... the actual history of "the ones we burn(t)."
More on GoT - this book felt very adult. I actually checked more than once to see that it really said Simon and Schuster "Teen" on the back. But it does! And for what it's worth, all the romance elements of the book felt quite juvenile. I know that's not a compliment, but I mean to say that what is a pretty sophisticated political thriller will stop to describe (someone Ranka believes to be) an antagonist as "she's so pretty..." it was jarring and felt young. But, especially with the blood magic, where I'm supposed to be rooting for a political assassin who is literally bloodthirsty with graphic depictions of her going into, like, blood-heat when she's on her period... it's no Twilight, is what I'm saying. Though the characters' youth is an element of the political intrigue, it still feels like they were aged down to fit the market. They would make more sense as 22.
It's a shame that this happened with this book, because the writing is strong. The prose is strong and the choice of action is engaging. It's also too bad because the conversation - "white writers need more sensitivity readers" - is simply not a useful solution to what happened. This book could easily pass a sensitivity read. What it really needed was racial sensitivity at the level of developmental edit. Simon and Schuster's editorial team has to be more careful vs. ticking marketing checkboxes - particularly embarrassing, I think, is the front cover blurb by Chloe Gong. Can't get a blurb from someone black? Any POC will do. And that's just the beginning of the domino chain of mistakes Simon and Schuster made delivering this book to market.
Even then, books depicting diversity, as well as racial and class conflict, are going to spark conversation. I think there are already some great reviews on this page that delve into the racial politics of the book and analyze whether or not they truly are "problematic." And those kinds of conversations are why "we need diverse books" and why I think this book is better off writing black characters than not including them at all. Could she have done a better job? Perhaps. But I think this is a weakness of development of the setting, not character. Mix is quite young, and I don't expect her to have the same understanding of the nuance of the social and political landscape as GRRM. But I turn again to Simon and Schuster: is the more mature version of a manuscript much like this really not out there, sitting, right now, in one of your overworked editors inboxes?
It's a shame, as a writer, to see a debut author fulfill their dream and have it go so awry. But I wonder if, being a tiktok influencer, as she is, the grave was dug before the book was even finished. As I said, if the market really is being handed to social media influencers to sell in terms of buzzwords and tropes, maybe this is what we're gonna get.
Find further thoughts on this and other ARCs in my Fall release review roundup on youtube! Featuring other authors like Alex Aster and Veronica Roth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktTdE...
This is what happens when publishing houses turn to social media influencers for an easy dime and books get distilled down to buzzwords and tropes. "Diversity," "witchcraft," and "enemies to lovers" all make for an appealing tiktok, but such substantial subjects are heavy to handle and can be mishandled - easily. And when your audience of consumers is used to digesting your material in 15 second sound-bytes, the little nuances that come from reading a book get lost and it becomes the cancel culture drama of the day.
I was intrigued to read "the racist book." And as most reviewers that have actually read the book have relayed, I did not find any racial hatred in the pages. The "oppressors" were hardly antagonistic; the true antagonist is Ranka's prejudice against them. I have trouble, however, understanding how or why their race is present in the novel and depicted as it is. I think what's caused the outrage is what is the statement being made to put a pair of black siblings in the foremost positing of class power? I found the setting of Mix's novel somewhat interesting, but I was lost as to what the book wanted to use it to say about the past and/or future. In Game of Thrones - something Mix seems to be aspiring to - Martin's message is that all sides of political conflict have their own nuance and players. He draws from actual historical conflict and points your attention to the smallest of characters. By contrast, "The Ones We Burn" felt like a clumsy story of an imaginary race ("witches") oppressed by the very real history of burning women and queer people who were a threat to the status quo. Where Mix brags that "everyone in this book is lgbt," there's a missed opportunity to talk about, uh... the actual history of "the ones we burn(t)."
More on GoT - this book felt very adult. I actually checked more than once to see that it really said Simon and Schuster "Teen" on the back. But it does! And for what it's worth, all the romance elements of the book felt quite juvenile. I know that's not a compliment, but I mean to say that what is a pretty sophisticated political thriller will stop to describe (someone Ranka believes to be) an antagonist as "she's so pretty..." it was jarring and felt young. But, especially with the blood magic, where I'm supposed to be rooting for a political assassin who is literally bloodthirsty with graphic depictions of her going into, like, blood-heat when she's on her period... it's no Twilight, is what I'm saying. Though the characters' youth is an element of the political intrigue, it still feels like they were aged down to fit the market. They would make more sense as 22.
It's a shame that this happened with this book, because the writing is strong. The prose is strong and the choice of action is engaging. It's also too bad because the conversation - "white writers need more sensitivity readers" - is simply not a useful solution to what happened. This book could easily pass a sensitivity read. What it really needed was racial sensitivity at the level of developmental edit. Simon and Schuster's editorial team has to be more careful vs. ticking marketing checkboxes - particularly embarrassing, I think, is the front cover blurb by Chloe Gong. Can't get a blurb from someone black? Any POC will do. And that's just the beginning of the domino chain of mistakes Simon and Schuster made delivering this book to market.
Even then, books depicting diversity, as well as racial and class conflict, are going to spark conversation. I think there are already some great reviews on this page that delve into the racial politics of the book and analyze whether or not they truly are "problematic." And those kinds of conversations are why "we need diverse books" and why I think this book is better off writing black characters than not including them at all. Could she have done a better job? Perhaps. But I think this is a weakness of development of the setting, not character. Mix is quite young, and I don't expect her to have the same understanding of the nuance of the social and political landscape as GRRM. But I turn again to Simon and Schuster: is the more mature version of a manuscript much like this really not out there, sitting, right now, in one of your overworked editors inboxes?
It's a shame, as a writer, to see a debut author fulfill their dream and have it go so awry. But I wonder if, being a tiktok influencer, as she is, the grave was dug before the book was even finished. As I said, if the market really is being handed to social media influencers to sell in terms of buzzwords and tropes, maybe this is what we're gonna get.
Find further thoughts on this and other ARCs in my Fall release review roundup on youtube! Featuring other authors like Alex Aster and Veronica Roth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktTdE...
July 11, 2022
Everyone. Hold tf on. This book does not come out for months so many people haven't read this yet. So where do some of the responses come from if they didn't receive a copy? I am also very confused by many people's comments. First, is the blood witch item. I believe I have learned quite a lot about all the ways this world has been vile and cruel to the Jewish people.
But I have not heard about how blood magic is antisemitic before. Avatar: The Last Airbender uses blood magic, for instance, but I do not recall anyone saying that it was a terrible thing to use as a story device. I've read about blood witches in other fiction too, so again, I want to understand how in this case it is different if the author is not using the character as a caricature of an entire group of people to use as a tool for storytelling?
Also, as someone pointed out, I thought the white characters (or some of them) were led to believe that the royals (who aren't all Black or non-white) were oppressive but that they actually are not and that it was all a lie that Ranka realizes later?
Again, I have not read the book because it's not out and I didn't get an early copy but I am genuinely curious and feel like I can't find any specific depictions of how this novel is, what? "Glorifying" the falsity of reverse racism? Which obviously does not exist. So please stop right there.
I just want more clarity but I see that people are very, very upset and then it's making other people upset and then it's just sort of cascading into hating the book, saying the author is racist and on and on. I have read several comments, I am trying to understand more but I am coming up with just anger and not much else. No need to throw any of that anger toward me for saying anything of this. You can keep that to yourself.
But I have not heard about how blood magic is antisemitic before. Avatar: The Last Airbender uses blood magic, for instance, but I do not recall anyone saying that it was a terrible thing to use as a story device. I've read about blood witches in other fiction too, so again, I want to understand how in this case it is different if the author is not using the character as a caricature of an entire group of people to use as a tool for storytelling?
Also, as someone pointed out, I thought the white characters (or some of them) were led to believe that the royals (who aren't all Black or non-white) were oppressive but that they actually are not and that it was all a lie that Ranka realizes later?
Again, I have not read the book because it's not out and I didn't get an early copy but I am genuinely curious and feel like I can't find any specific depictions of how this novel is, what? "Glorifying" the falsity of reverse racism? Which obviously does not exist. So please stop right there.
I just want more clarity but I see that people are very, very upset and then it's making other people upset and then it's just sort of cascading into hating the book, saying the author is racist and on and on. I have read several comments, I am trying to understand more but I am coming up with just anger and not much else. No need to throw any of that anger toward me for saying anything of this. You can keep that to yourself.
May 28, 2024
From page one I knew I would love the authors writing style is wasn't quite lyrical but it flowed so well it was easy to get lost in the story. The action started pretty much straight away with an element of brutality and gore which as a horror reader I appreciated. I wasn't sure about the main character at first but she really grew on me.
The character development/relationship building was impeccable, the found family element was also really well done. I would say the plot line felt a little obvious and convenient which seems to be the norm with YA fantasy at the moment. Some of the action scenes got messy as well and I was left wondering who had the upper-hand. There were some really emotional moments too, the storyline that no matter our differences everyone deserves to be happy was really nice.
I loved the magic elements of the book and I am a sucker for witchcraft. The author is really successful in transporting the reader into Ranka's past and expresses her feelings so perfectly. There are a few twists and turns but I found them quite obvious, the main battle scene at the end was really impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the ending was really sweet too - finally a standalone fantasy I could really sink my teeth into.
I will be on the look out for more books by this author!
The character development/relationship building was impeccable, the found family element was also really well done. I would say the plot line felt a little obvious and convenient which seems to be the norm with YA fantasy at the moment. Some of the action scenes got messy as well and I was left wondering who had the upper-hand. There were some really emotional moments too, the storyline that no matter our differences everyone deserves to be happy was really nice.
I loved the magic elements of the book and I am a sucker for witchcraft. The author is really successful in transporting the reader into Ranka's past and expresses her feelings so perfectly. There are a few twists and turns but I found them quite obvious, the main battle scene at the end was really impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the ending was really sweet too - finally a standalone fantasy I could really sink my teeth into.
I will be on the look out for more books by this author!
April 1, 2023
—3 stars—
“My strength is not owed to the wounds you gave me, but my willingness to let them scar.”
————about the book————
Age: YA
Genres: Fantasy, Witches,
Cliffhanger: no
Writing: 6/10
Quotes: 7/10
World building: 6/10
Characters: 6/10 (all for Percy)
Romance: 5/10
My rating: 6/10
⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS⚠️: abuse (emotional and physical abuse from a parent & sibling), human experimentation, death by burning, child death, etc.
‼️spoilers below‼️
———my thoughts———
When Ranka is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her with one order: kill the prince.
Except, Ranka is tired of death, and living at the palace, she grows closer to both the prince—Galen—and his wickedly smart and devastatingly beautiful sister, Aramis.
But when witches begin turning up dead, murdered by a magical plague, Ranka, Galen and Aramis must find a cure, and fast...
When a girl has an entire goodreads shelf dedicated to witches, you can safely assume she likes them.
And I do.
I was excited about this for a few reasons, the witches, the cover, and the quotes on the cover.
I was slightly deceived.
I’m not saying this was a bad book, but it definitely wasn’t my favourite.
The quotes remained the best part of this book (except for the epilogue), powerful, and just simply pretty.
Now, perhaps because this is a debut, the writing felt a little clunky—it went from those beautiful quotes to the characters talking like 21-century teenagers! I don’t mind modern dialogue in some fantasy novels, but it just felt out of place in this world! I can’t quite imagine a courtier in a castle saying “like, ever.” and “congrats!”, but apparently they do...this is just me being picky though, the rest of the writing was quite engaging, and fairly quick and fun to read.
One thing I really liked was how different Ranka is from the witch stereotype, she’s blonde, muscular, and tall—she’s 6’2!
Ranka herself was an interesting character, but I felt like she was very naive and a little too caring? I was expecting her to be ruthless and morally grey, but she’s not at all.
Honestly, all the characters felt too young—they’re seventeen, but they felt even younger than that!
My favourite character was Percy—he was sarcastic and witty, and I loved it!
For the romance, STEP ASIDE MISCOMMUNICATION, here we have, to quote Percy, “the commutation skills of a dead fish.” I mean, why would you need to communicate at all? Why talk to your girlfriend? The girlfriend you kind of betrayed?
While Aramis and Ranka were sweet yes, I just couldn’t connect with them and much preferred Percy and Galen’s cute little flirtation!
All in all, while this book had quite a few flaws, it was an engaging read and I enjoyed it.
———characters ———
Ranka: loyal and brave, she’s sweet and afraid of her own power.
Aramis: smart and caring, I think if we’d had her POV too, I would have liked it more...bcos she’s pretty amazing!
Percy: sarcastic and witty, I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH! The best characterrrrr
Galen: shy and quiet, he’s very sweet and I would GREATLY enjoy a book about his and Percy’s adventures!
————quotes————
“To be born a witch is to be born afraid.”
“Letting someone go doesn’t mean you stop loving them. It just means you’re giving yourself permission to keep living.”
”Would you choose me, still?
Would you throw it all away, for a monster of a girl?”
“She was so tired of failing. Of letting the ones she was meant to save burn or die.”
“Out here, she was no one. Out here, she was free.”
———random extra thoughts———
Tbh that epilogue made it a 3...so cute!
Thanks for reading!❤️
“My strength is not owed to the wounds you gave me, but my willingness to let them scar.”
————about the book————
Age: YA
Genres: Fantasy, Witches,
Cliffhanger: no
Writing: 6/10
Quotes: 7/10
World building: 6/10
Characters: 6/10 (all for Percy)
Romance: 5/10
My rating: 6/10
⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS⚠️: abuse (emotional and physical abuse from a parent & sibling), human experimentation, death by burning, child death, etc.
‼️spoilers below‼️
———my thoughts———
When Ranka is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her with one order: kill the prince.
Except, Ranka is tired of death, and living at the palace, she grows closer to both the prince—Galen—and his wickedly smart and devastatingly beautiful sister, Aramis.
But when witches begin turning up dead, murdered by a magical plague, Ranka, Galen and Aramis must find a cure, and fast...
When a girl has an entire goodreads shelf dedicated to witches, you can safely assume she likes them.
And I do.
I was excited about this for a few reasons, the witches, the cover, and the quotes on the cover.
I was slightly deceived.
I’m not saying this was a bad book, but it definitely wasn’t my favourite.
The quotes remained the best part of this book (except for the epilogue), powerful, and just simply pretty.
Now, perhaps because this is a debut, the writing felt a little clunky—it went from those beautiful quotes to the characters talking like 21-century teenagers! I don’t mind modern dialogue in some fantasy novels, but it just felt out of place in this world! I can’t quite imagine a courtier in a castle saying “like, ever.” and “congrats!”, but apparently they do...this is just me being picky though, the rest of the writing was quite engaging, and fairly quick and fun to read.
One thing I really liked was how different Ranka is from the witch stereotype, she’s blonde, muscular, and tall—she’s 6’2!
Ranka herself was an interesting character, but I felt like she was very naive and a little too caring? I was expecting her to be ruthless and morally grey, but she’s not at all.
Honestly, all the characters felt too young—they’re seventeen, but they felt even younger than that!
My favourite character was Percy—he was sarcastic and witty, and I loved it!
For the romance, STEP ASIDE MISCOMMUNICATION, here we have, to quote Percy, “the commutation skills of a dead fish.” I mean, why would you need to communicate at all? Why talk to your girlfriend? The girlfriend you kind of betrayed?
While Aramis and Ranka were sweet yes, I just couldn’t connect with them and much preferred Percy and Galen’s cute little flirtation!
All in all, while this book had quite a few flaws, it was an engaging read and I enjoyed it.
———characters ———
Ranka: loyal and brave, she’s sweet and afraid of her own power.
Aramis: smart and caring, I think if we’d had her POV too, I would have liked it more...bcos she’s pretty amazing!
Percy: sarcastic and witty, I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH! The best characterrrrr
Galen: shy and quiet, he’s very sweet and I would GREATLY enjoy a book about his and Percy’s adventures!
————quotes————
“To be born a witch is to be born afraid.”
“Letting someone go doesn’t mean you stop loving them. It just means you’re giving yourself permission to keep living.”
”Would you choose me, still?
Would you throw it all away, for a monster of a girl?”
“She was so tired of failing. Of letting the ones she was meant to save burn or die.”
“Out here, she was no one. Out here, she was free.”
———random extra thoughts———
Tbh that epilogue made it a 3...so cute!
Thanks for reading!❤️
November 4, 2022
Leftists are insane. This is fiction. The notion that black people are sinless and perfect and can't be depicted as "oppressors" is utterly ludicrous. Such depictions are not racist and does not mean the author hates black people. There's good and bad people in all walks of life/races/societies/etc.
And, even though this should be irrelevant, I am half black, so you can piss off with your "omg she's racist" garbage.
Author, don't cancel the publication of your debut novel - that's stupid. A handful of complete psychopaths on GoodReads and Twitter mean precisely nothing. They don't represent the world.
And, even though this should be irrelevant, I am half black, so you can piss off with your "omg she's racist" garbage.
Author, don't cancel the publication of your debut novel - that's stupid. A handful of complete psychopaths on GoodReads and Twitter mean precisely nothing. They don't represent the world.
July 1, 2022
a reverse racism fantasy you can’t make this shit up
https://twitter.com/ashiamonet/status...
UPDATE 7/1/2022: oh so it's antisemitic too. jfc. don't support this book or the author. she's active on twitter but alarmingly quiet about all of this
https://twitter.com/ashiamonet/status...
UPDATE 7/1/2022: oh so it's antisemitic too. jfc. don't support this book or the author. she's active on twitter but alarmingly quiet about all of this
September 9, 2022
i know the controversy happened a while ago and most people have forgotten/gotten over it, but it’s been sitting in my chest, weighing me down since i realized what was going on while reading. i didn’t speak up about it: i was ashamed, embarrassed, frustrated, even, that i had spent so much time promoting an book, and an author, which turned out to be full of racism.
the thing is, for a lot of people, this is frustrating, right? for a lot of white people, i should say, this is annoying, frustrating and maybe, maybe, maybe, angering. but for me, and for most people of color, first and foremost, this hurts. i don’t think i can explain it in any other way. i’m not black, so this book didn’t directly attack me. and here i’ll say it’s a good idea to go to black readers who have reviewed this and read what they’ve said because they’re the ones to follow here.
however, as a person of color who’s ancestors have suffered and who’s grandparents have suffered and who’s homeland is continuing to suffer, this book hurt. it hurt in a way that very few books hurt. it took an experience that my family has gone through, where white people forcibly place themselves in power and don’t consider anyone else, and flipped it. this author took the experiences of millions upon billions of people in the world, and throughout history, who have suffered at the hands of white people and turned it into a fantasy story, where suddenly, we’re the oppressors?
let me back up for a minute and tell you a story. let me know if it sounds familiar. people and their families took over land years and years ago. as they grew wealthier, they bought more land til they had a kingdom. a monarchy is born. henceforth, the firstborns get the crown and continue ruling over people who have no say in the matter. regardless of what’s going on in their kingdom, these people are kept safe by guards, with taxes, and with power. unequal, unfairly taken power. the people in the kingdom are unfairly taxed, worked til they drop and many are sick with an illness that can’t be cured.
did any of that sound familiar?
yeah?
yeah.
it’s the history of how people, especially people of color, have been treated for eons. it’s what our ancestors have been through. it’s part of our family history, written in the pages of our lives, carved into the walls of our homes, told, in hushed whispers, the story passed from generation to generation.
and this author took that story, swept our history under the rug and made us oppressors. she made us into the thing we grew up seeing in our nightmares.
that’s why i’m still angry, why so many of us, are still angry. because it hurts. and it’s not okay. and we speak up, we spoke up, but nothing changes.
so please, i have a list of books by BIPOC authors in a guide on my profile, preorder those.
the thing is, for a lot of people, this is frustrating, right? for a lot of white people, i should say, this is annoying, frustrating and maybe, maybe, maybe, angering. but for me, and for most people of color, first and foremost, this hurts. i don’t think i can explain it in any other way. i’m not black, so this book didn’t directly attack me. and here i’ll say it’s a good idea to go to black readers who have reviewed this and read what they’ve said because they’re the ones to follow here.
however, as a person of color who’s ancestors have suffered and who’s grandparents have suffered and who’s homeland is continuing to suffer, this book hurt. it hurt in a way that very few books hurt. it took an experience that my family has gone through, where white people forcibly place themselves in power and don’t consider anyone else, and flipped it. this author took the experiences of millions upon billions of people in the world, and throughout history, who have suffered at the hands of white people and turned it into a fantasy story, where suddenly, we’re the oppressors?
let me back up for a minute and tell you a story. let me know if it sounds familiar. people and their families took over land years and years ago. as they grew wealthier, they bought more land til they had a kingdom. a monarchy is born. henceforth, the firstborns get the crown and continue ruling over people who have no say in the matter. regardless of what’s going on in their kingdom, these people are kept safe by guards, with taxes, and with power. unequal, unfairly taken power. the people in the kingdom are unfairly taxed, worked til they drop and many are sick with an illness that can’t be cured.
did any of that sound familiar?
yeah?
yeah.
it’s the history of how people, especially people of color, have been treated for eons. it’s what our ancestors have been through. it’s part of our family history, written in the pages of our lives, carved into the walls of our homes, told, in hushed whispers, the story passed from generation to generation.
and this author took that story, swept our history under the rug and made us oppressors. she made us into the thing we grew up seeing in our nightmares.
that’s why i’m still angry, why so many of us, are still angry. because it hurts. and it’s not okay. and we speak up, we spoke up, but nothing changes.
so please, i have a list of books by BIPOC authors in a guide on my profile, preorder those.
October 2, 2023
3.5/5
Ranka jest wiedźmą, a do tego szalenie potężną, władając magią krwi, która każe jej zabijać. Zostaje wyznaczona na Bloodwinn - przyszłą żonę króla. Ranka jednak nie myśli o poślubieniu chłopaka, a raczej o zamordowaniu go, by spełnić misję, której powierzył jej kowen. Gdy okazuje się, że tajemnicza choroba zabija czarownice, Ranka widzi w siostrze króla szansę na wynalezienie leku.
Uwielbiam motyw "zaaranżowane małżeństwa ale jedno z partnerów chce drugiego zabić" jednak mam wrażenie, że on tutaj autorce nie wyszedł. Po Rance, "Rzeźniczce" spodziewałam się silnego charakteru i pewności siebie. A już przy pierwszym kontakcie z młodym królem, czarownica bała się nawet odezwać, kuląc się na krześle. Od razu straciła w moich oczach jako postać niespójna z tym w jakim świetle przedstawia ją autorka.
Bardzo podobał mi się zbudowany koncept magii krwi - czarne palce wiedźm, magia, która przejmuje kontrole nad ich umysłem, wprowadzając je w trans zabijania. Było mrocznie i niepokojąco, szczególnie gdy do fabuły dołączył wątek choroby, który w pewnym momencie, wyszedł na pierwszy plan.
Relacja i uczucie między księżniczką a wiedźmą zadział się moim zdaniem za szybko, a parę scen i pomniejszych interakcji nie dały mi poczuć, że faktycznie rodzi się między nimi silniejsze uczucie niż samo pożądanie. Znajdziecie tu dożo reprezentacji queerowej, której w fantastyce brakuje.
Bloodwinn to przede wszystkim historia o odnajdowaniu swojej drogi i wybieraniu pomiędzy tym kim się jest, a kim się chce być.
Ranka jest wiedźmą, a do tego szalenie potężną, władając magią krwi, która każe jej zabijać. Zostaje wyznaczona na Bloodwinn - przyszłą żonę króla. Ranka jednak nie myśli o poślubieniu chłopaka, a raczej o zamordowaniu go, by spełnić misję, której powierzył jej kowen. Gdy okazuje się, że tajemnicza choroba zabija czarownice, Ranka widzi w siostrze króla szansę na wynalezienie leku.
Uwielbiam motyw "zaaranżowane małżeństwa ale jedno z partnerów chce drugiego zabić" jednak mam wrażenie, że on tutaj autorce nie wyszedł. Po Rance, "Rzeźniczce" spodziewałam się silnego charakteru i pewności siebie. A już przy pierwszym kontakcie z młodym królem, czarownica bała się nawet odezwać, kuląc się na krześle. Od razu straciła w moich oczach jako postać niespójna z tym w jakim świetle przedstawia ją autorka.
Bardzo podobał mi się zbudowany koncept magii krwi - czarne palce wiedźm, magia, która przejmuje kontrole nad ich umysłem, wprowadzając je w trans zabijania. Było mrocznie i niepokojąco, szczególnie gdy do fabuły dołączył wątek choroby, który w pewnym momencie, wyszedł na pierwszy plan.
Relacja i uczucie między księżniczką a wiedźmą zadział się moim zdaniem za szybko, a parę scen i pomniejszych interakcji nie dały mi poczuć, że faktycznie rodzi się między nimi silniejsze uczucie niż samo pożądanie. Znajdziecie tu dożo reprezentacji queerowej, której w fantastyce brakuje.
Bloodwinn to przede wszystkim historia o odnajdowaniu swojej drogi i wybieraniu pomiędzy tym kim się jest, a kim się chce być.
Want to read
February 8, 2022We have a cover!! And it's incredible!!!
August 26, 2022
Video review here:
https://youtu.be/PObph5DhHdU
https://youtu.be/PObph5DhHdU
July 29, 2022
The Ones We Burn is a book that completely blew me away. It’s raw, cruel and heartbreaking, it deals with abuse, grief, and a pain that scars deeply… but it’s also full of a hope, and of a love that is uncorrupted and real.
In the world Rebecca Mix perfectly crafted, the frail alliance between humans and witches is secured by a treaty: the strongest blood witch, charged with the title of Blodwinn, is chosen to marry the Sunra’s heir and become queen. The Ones We Burn tells the story of Ranka, a young witch and latest Bloodwinn, from the moment she is forced to leave her coven in the North and journey to Seasweapt, capital of the human kingdom, to marry Galen Sunra… and to kill him, as part of a coup planned by her coven’s leader.
But Ranka gets surprised when she discovers that Galen is not a cruel leader, like his father, but a gentle prince, and his twin, Aramis, is brilliant and extremely attractive. Walking on the fine line that separates villains and heroes, Ranka will be forced to examine all her beliefs in a journey that could change everything, or doom the whole world.
Even though the main plot is always gripping and left you curious to solve the mystery of the witch-killing plague, with brilliant plot twists that are always surprising but also perfectly fits with the rest of the narrative, The Ones We Burn is, at its core, a character-driven story: told from Ranka’s point of view, it’s sustained by all the four main characters equally (Percy is definitely my favorite, and I’m sure many will adore him as well), and as a matter of fact the plot itself is something deeply connected with the characters, not just a series of events they live through. And there is something extraordinary in the way, with a perfect balance of adorable (and quieter) scenes between Ranka, Aramis, Galen and Percy, and more active ones that move the story forward, this book is ultimately the story of how these four grown-up kids found a safe place in each other among the madness of their lives. It’s found family dynamic at its best, truly.
The characters’ development is executed remarkably well, considering the limited space of a stand-alone, with complex and stunning evolution arcs, especially Ranka’s (if you loved Zuko’s arc in ATLA, be assured you are going to adore hers as well), that is extremely realistic in not being completely straightforward, and instead interrupted by many wrong decisions and mistakes. But there is something moving in seeing how Ranka literally blossoms from the moment she starts to hang out with Percy and the twins, even when they are still her enemies (at least in name), because for the first time she got to be with people who didn’t fear her because of her blood magic or saw her only as a weapon to be used, but whom at least were able to “friendly” tolerate her.
However, the thing in which Rebecca has completely outdone herself is the relationship between Ranka and Aramis, and how it slowly evolved from hate and diffidence, to mutual respect, to something that clearly reminds of love. But nothing is too easy in this book, and the connection that bonds them is way more complicated and fascinating than this.
The Ones We Burn is able to be fun and cute at times, but also deep and heartbreaking in portraying how abuse often comes from the people one loves the most, and the immense strength it takes to shape ourselves into something different, something better than what others raised one to become. And at the center of it all, is the concept that healing is not an easy process, and definitely one that should be undertaken only for oneself, not for anyone else.
There is a part of Rebecca intertwined between every line, and that’s one of the reasons why this book is so special. She is truly a talented writer, with a prose full of highlighting-worthy quotes, and you should definitely keep her on your radar.
I recommend The Ones We Burn to readers looking for a unique fantasy with charming characters, and who don’t mind crying at least a couple of times… and I’m going to sob over that beautiful epilogue and make peace with the fact that I will have to say goodbye to my favorite dorks 😭
In the world Rebecca Mix perfectly crafted, the frail alliance between humans and witches is secured by a treaty: the strongest blood witch, charged with the title of Blodwinn, is chosen to marry the Sunra’s heir and become queen. The Ones We Burn tells the story of Ranka, a young witch and latest Bloodwinn, from the moment she is forced to leave her coven in the North and journey to Seasweapt, capital of the human kingdom, to marry Galen Sunra… and to kill him, as part of a coup planned by her coven’s leader.
But Ranka gets surprised when she discovers that Galen is not a cruel leader, like his father, but a gentle prince, and his twin, Aramis, is brilliant and extremely attractive. Walking on the fine line that separates villains and heroes, Ranka will be forced to examine all her beliefs in a journey that could change everything, or doom the whole world.
Even though the main plot is always gripping and left you curious to solve the mystery of the witch-killing plague, with brilliant plot twists that are always surprising but also perfectly fits with the rest of the narrative, The Ones We Burn is, at its core, a character-driven story: told from Ranka’s point of view, it’s sustained by all the four main characters equally (Percy is definitely my favorite, and I’m sure many will adore him as well), and as a matter of fact the plot itself is something deeply connected with the characters, not just a series of events they live through. And there is something extraordinary in the way, with a perfect balance of adorable (and quieter) scenes between Ranka, Aramis, Galen and Percy, and more active ones that move the story forward, this book is ultimately the story of how these four grown-up kids found a safe place in each other among the madness of their lives. It’s found family dynamic at its best, truly.
The characters’ development is executed remarkably well, considering the limited space of a stand-alone, with complex and stunning evolution arcs, especially Ranka’s (if you loved Zuko’s arc in ATLA, be assured you are going to adore hers as well), that is extremely realistic in not being completely straightforward, and instead interrupted by many wrong decisions and mistakes. But there is something moving in seeing how Ranka literally blossoms from the moment she starts to hang out with Percy and the twins, even when they are still her enemies (at least in name), because for the first time she got to be with people who didn’t fear her because of her blood magic or saw her only as a weapon to be used, but whom at least were able to “friendly” tolerate her.
However, the thing in which Rebecca has completely outdone herself is the relationship between Ranka and Aramis, and how it slowly evolved from hate and diffidence, to mutual respect, to something that clearly reminds of love. But nothing is too easy in this book, and the connection that bonds them is way more complicated and fascinating than this.
The Ones We Burn is able to be fun and cute at times, but also deep and heartbreaking in portraying how abuse often comes from the people one loves the most, and the immense strength it takes to shape ourselves into something different, something better than what others raised one to become. And at the center of it all, is the concept that healing is not an easy process, and definitely one that should be undertaken only for oneself, not for anyone else.
There is a part of Rebecca intertwined between every line, and that’s one of the reasons why this book is so special. She is truly a talented writer, with a prose full of highlighting-worthy quotes, and you should definitely keep her on your radar.
I recommend The Ones We Burn to readers looking for a unique fantasy with charming characters, and who don’t mind crying at least a couple of times… and I’m going to sob over that beautiful epilogue and make peace with the fact that I will have to say goodbye to my favorite dorks 😭
August 26, 2022
to address the elephant in the room: no, i do not think that this book is racist or promotes white supremacy. the Black royals who are "oppressing" the witches are very clearly framed as the main characters and heroes of the story, even when ranka, the main character, is biased against them at the beginning due to the abuse and conditioning she's suffered since she was a child. without getting into spoilers, the villains in the series are white, and it's made very clear early on that the Black royals are just kids who have been manipulated by the adults around them. additionally, witchik, ranka's kingdom, and isodal, the human kingdom, are multiracial, so i think viewing their conflict through a racial lens would be unnuanced. however, i am not Black, so i encourage you to seek out reviews from Black people who have read this book. i particularly want to highlight Casey's review, since they took the words right out of my mouth when it comes to the discourse surrounding this book.
i also want to say that this book does not contain any blood libel or antisemitic tropes (i've consulted with my jewish friends on the matter). ranka's magic is called blood-magic, but there is no ritual bloodletting involved. it's called that because it compels her to take lives, and it makes her stronger and more impervious to pain. moreover, ranka is not jew-coded. she doesn't have curly hair, a hooked nose, or olive skin, and the culture she comes from isn't jew-coded in the slightest.
now, onto my actual review: this book has heartwarming themes of friendship, breaking free of abuse, and realizing what love truly is. however, i have a bit of a gripe with how this book is marketed by the author. becca mix is super funny and nice, but i dislike how she marketed aramis and ranka as intense enemies to lovers, because ranka and aramis BARELY dislike each other. they argue about two times and even then the current of attraction between them is very obvious. as a fan of the enemies to lovers trope who has been catfished way too many times, i am TIRED.
this book is supposed to be set in the pre industrial era (and i'm saying this with a lot of confusion because i could not get an accurate grasp of the time period this book takes place in, but whatever, it's a second world fantasy), but the characters constantly used modern lingo that took me out of the story. I KNOW, this is a second world fantasy with witches and magic, but modern lingo in a pre industrial setting is super weird. why did a character describe another character as "unhinged" in the context that we would use it in the 21st century? at one point, someone gives ranka the finger. percy calls ranka a "useless lesbian." why does the word "lesbian" exist in this world?? did this world also have an island called lesbos wherein a poet called sappho waxed poetic about her attraction to women? i am confusion. also, i found percy annoying. i mean, the characters find him annoying, but it's clear mix wrote him with the intention of him becoming a fan favorite. his quips felt so out of place and forced. 😭 when percy randomly blurted out "i'm too pretty to die" after being beaten and betrayed, i cringed so hard.
also, i might just be stupid, but i had a hard time grasping the logistics of the villains' plans and one of the villains' motivations.
as you can tell, my gripes with TOWB can be boiled down to my own personal preferences. after reading adult fantasy and encountering complex, immersive worlds and interesting morally gray characters, ya fantasy just doesn't cut it for me anymore. i only picked my netgalley arc up because i wanted to see if the accusations of this book being a reverse racism fantasy were true or not. i'm not the right audience for this book, and that's okay because i think it'll resonate with a lot of teens.
i also want to say that this book does not contain any blood libel or antisemitic tropes (i've consulted with my jewish friends on the matter). ranka's magic is called blood-magic, but there is no ritual bloodletting involved. it's called that because it compels her to take lives, and it makes her stronger and more impervious to pain. moreover, ranka is not jew-coded. she doesn't have curly hair, a hooked nose, or olive skin, and the culture she comes from isn't jew-coded in the slightest.
now, onto my actual review: this book has heartwarming themes of friendship, breaking free of abuse, and realizing what love truly is. however, i have a bit of a gripe with how this book is marketed by the author. becca mix is super funny and nice, but i dislike how she marketed aramis and ranka as intense enemies to lovers, because ranka and aramis BARELY dislike each other. they argue about two times and even then the current of attraction between them is very obvious. as a fan of the enemies to lovers trope who has been catfished way too many times, i am TIRED.
this book is supposed to be set in the pre industrial era (and i'm saying this with a lot of confusion because i could not get an accurate grasp of the time period this book takes place in, but whatever, it's a second world fantasy), but the characters constantly used modern lingo that took me out of the story. I KNOW, this is a second world fantasy with witches and magic, but modern lingo in a pre industrial setting is super weird. why did a character describe another character as "unhinged" in the context that we would use it in the 21st century? at one point, someone gives ranka the finger. percy calls ranka a "useless lesbian." why does the word "lesbian" exist in this world?? did this world also have an island called lesbos wherein a poet called sappho waxed poetic about her attraction to women? i am confusion. also, i found percy annoying. i mean, the characters find him annoying, but it's clear mix wrote him with the intention of him becoming a fan favorite. his quips felt so out of place and forced. 😭 when percy randomly blurted out "i'm too pretty to die" after being beaten and betrayed, i cringed so hard.
also, i might just be stupid, but i had a hard time grasping the logistics of the villains' plans and one of the villains' motivations.
as you can tell, my gripes with TOWB can be boiled down to my own personal preferences. after reading adult fantasy and encountering complex, immersive worlds and interesting morally gray characters, ya fantasy just doesn't cut it for me anymore. i only picked my netgalley arc up because i wanted to see if the accusations of this book being a reverse racism fantasy were true or not. i'm not the right audience for this book, and that's okay because i think it'll resonate with a lot of teens.
Shelved as 'get-away'
July 13, 2022REVERSE RACISM????? 😦
Displaying 1 - 30 of 994 reviews