The Ones We Burn

By: Rebecca Mix

Narrated by: Roisin Rankin

An instant New York Times bestseller!

Love and duty collide in this richly imagined young adult debut about a witch whose dark powers put her at the center of a brewing war between the only family she’s ever known and the enemy who makes her question everything. Featuring a brand-new short story and character art!

Monster. Butcher. Bloodwinn.

Ranka is tired of death. All she wants 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 the 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 help Ranka learn to contain her deadly magic. 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 to decide 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.

Easily one of my favs

I recently got back into reading/listening to books, and at first the story started off a bit slow but by the end i was IN LOVE. I've gotten very attached to the characters and definitely would've loved to see more about Percy and Garlans relationship (I saw a comment saying that they also would like to possibly see a 2nd book centered around the development of their relationship and I wholeheartedly agree)

Really enjoyed!

The characters are 17 but the audiobook reader vocalizes them like they’re 12, it took some getting used to.

Only warning I’d give - there are some gory depictions and pretty intense death scenes.

The book is well written and the character development, chemistry between characters, and inner monologue is so well written, relatable, and beautifully heartbreaking.

The first part of the book, for whatever reason, I struggled to get into. It moved so fast and it was hard to remember names without context (more a me problem than a book problem) but by the 2nd part, it hits its stride!!

Wonderful!

If you’re looking to jump back into reading this I’d the book for it! It’s pretty easy to follow along but is still wonderfully complex. The inclusion of non-binary people was amazing and we always love gay rep. It’s a wonderful story and I highly recommend it!

Sweet but Dark Sapphic Tale

I loved it so much. I love all things witchy and this book did not disappoint. If you love queer stories about found family and fighting your inner demons this book is for you!

Overall, enjoyed it

While the beginning of the book was slow to get into the story and a tad confusing, by the end, I quite enjoyed the tale. Afterward, I listened from the beginning, and it made more sense.
Regardless of other reviews, the character had a good development arc. By the last word of this stand-alone novel, everything fell into place nicely.
I am hoping for a Percy & Garlin book! I'd love to get a background story as well as an adventure in Percy's home land full of dragons!
Roisen Rankin did a fabulous job with narration.