Ones We Burn

Living among the witch covens in the north, Ranka is a rare breed - a blood-witch with dangerous but hard-to-control powers. When she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride with the humans in the south, she initially tries to hide as humans venture north on the hunt. Eventually, her coven gives her a mission: kill the new king and let the humans fall into civil war.

But the plan starts to fray when the palace seems to have no part in the horrors happening to witches in the north, the prince is kind and the princess is hot. I mean, smart. But hey, a witch has eyes. Throw in a magical plague killing witches and a coup planned from within, and Ranka rapidly has to reassess her loyalties.

Between the queer romances, bigoted mobs/conspiracies and endless stacks of betrayal, what I really appreciated is Ranka’s deep history of abusive relationships controlling her and how she comes to terms with that. I feel deeply for how conflicted she is and her desire to serve others before she eventually needs to learn how to choose herself.