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OLDER FICTION
Cole, Kamilah

This Ends in Embers

416 pp. | Little | February, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9780316534956 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780316535250 $12.99
(2) YA Divine Traitors series. This story of dragons and magic set in the warring nations of San Irie and Langley picks up shortly after the cliffhanger ending of So Let Them Burn (rev. 3/24). Faron, linked spiritually and mentally with the dragon Lightbringer and with Iya, the would-be god possessing the body of the boy she loves, hopes to free him, undermine the war effort from inside Langley, and keep innocents alive. Back on San Irie, her sister, Elara, is the new Maiden Empyrean, chosen by the gods to wield their power and charged to defeat Iya and send all dragons away, regardless of the attachments that humans—especially her own girlfriend—have with dragons. Many of the first novel’s charms carry through this one, topmost amongst them the complex, flawed, yet easy-to-root-for sister protagonists and their dedication to each other. The writing successfully balances the tension between the pain of separation and comfort found in moments of connection and solidarity. The world is lushly built, though some aspects of the series (blood magic; the fallibility of gods and dragons alike) could be further explored. Cole sticks the landing, however, with a satisfying ending including hard-fought wins, believable losses, and the end to war as its own kind of magic.
Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

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