✨ An Instant National Indie Bestseller ✨
✨ A Jan/Feb 2024 Kids’ Indie Next List Pick ✨
✨ Amazon Editor’s Pick - Best January YA Book ✨
✨ Indigo Staff Pick - Best February YA Book ✨
"By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond."
—Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief
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Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired Young Adult fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
SEQUEL TO COME IN 2025…
CONTENT WARNINGS: explicit language, depictions of PTSD (nightmares, unwanted memories/flashbacks, dissociation, anxiety, mistrust, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior), explicit descriptions of war, blood, and corpses, grief (expressed in healthy and unhealthy ways), racism (challenged), minor character deaths, a near-fatal beating, and stolen body/mind autonomy.
“Via the sisters’ expertly balanced dual POVs, each imbued with a lushly wrought, moving, and action-packed narrative, Cole delivers a raucously enjoyable debut that provides an insightful look into the ways in which violence and colonization can affect a populace long after a war has ended.” —Publishers Weekly ⭐
“Morally ambiguous and absolutely magical Black girls take the fate of their world into their own hands in this action-packed, cleverly crafted fantasy that will leave readers clamoring to know what happens next.” —Booklist ⭐
“Cole’s astute prose brings the world and its characters, who are predominantly Black, to life in refreshing and complex ways as it highlights themes of family, patriotism, war, identity, and sacrifice.” —Kirkus Reviews
“With rich storytelling and lushly wrought narratives, Cole's debut is not only a raucously enjoyable fantasy but also an insightful exploration of the lingering effects of violence and colonization on a populace... Highly recommended for high fantasy teen readers.” —School Library Journal
“Cole’s writing is vivid and rich; the depth and care placed in the world- and character-building make the novel a delight to read... The romances the characters explore—sapphic and demisexual—hold charm and tension, helping to propel this magic-infused, Jamaican-inspired tale.”
—The Horn Book
