So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

On the island country of San Irie, many people have the power to summon Ancestrals, manifestations of their recently deceased family members that enhance their strength and speed. Faron Vincent, however, is unique because she can summon the Gods and because of her unique ability as the Childe Emperyean she, along with her sister Elera and the young Queen Avaline were able to secure the freedom of San Irie's people from the Langlish Empire through a truly brutal war. Now, five years later, Faron at seventeen is revered almost as a god herself, which she finds unnerving, to say the least. Her older sister Elera will do anything to get out from under her younger sister's shadow to prove that she can too can protect Faron and the people of San Irie. What both of these sisters do not realize is that their love for each other and their driving need to protect one another at all costs will play right into the hands of ancient evil that the gods may not even be able to stop. 

If you are like me and The Fourth Wing didn't really do it for you, this is the book you need to read. The premise is similar, but I am not throwing any shade at anyone who enjoyed The Fourth Wing. This is simply written better. Cole does rely heavily on some tried and true tropes here, but she does turn many of these on their heads, especially at the end. All of the characters are simply lovable, Faron and Elera topping that list, and as a sibling of a sister, I can say with certainty that much of this sibling rivalry is accurate That being said, as much as I loved those two, Reeve absolutely caught my heart and kept it, and I would have done the same thing Faron does at the end of this book. But it's not just that as a aside character Reeve is most certainly present and clearly head over heels for Faron from the first time he's introduced so he is of course important, however, with the way Cole opted to end this he becomes a central figure to Faron growing up, which was desperately needed throughout the book, because dear gods is she immature. Quite frankly, San Irie's gods look like the biggest idiots ever by the time you get to the end. Seriously, who gives that much power to a *twelve year old*!? Morons. 

Elera is amazing as well, and she's always amazing. She's easily one of my new favorite characters. She is simply just warm and open, and her personality is like a ray of sunshine, and in this world, that is definitely needed. The fact that she figures out rather quickly that she can and should fight for both the people of San Irie and the people that she has come to care for in Langley is wonderful as well. She rarely second guesses this, and that shows a maturity that was needed to counter balance Faron. 

World building was really well done, especially since it's one of those books that kind of just drops you into the world. I don't feel like I was lacking any information that I needed to have. Pacing was excellent as well. Definitely, edge of your seat pretty much from the beginning. 

What I really did love the most, though, here is the ending. While I don't necessarily agree 100% with Faron's motivation to do what she did at the end, as I said earlier, I understood why. I'm not going to go too far into it as it would be a huge spoiler, but I genuinely hope that her decision is able to save *everyone*. 

I'm definitely looking forward to book two as I really need to know what happens next!