The Ones We Burn is a story about a witch, who has been chosen to marry a prince for a treaty that has tentatively managed tensions between the ordinary people and those with magic for years. Ranka, a bloodwitch, does not want this fate. So when her people suggest that she play along with the ruse, only to kill the would-be king, Ranka jumps at the opportunity, both to give her people back some power, and to investigate a mysterious illness that has been slowly infecting witches further and further North. 

If you know me, you know I love worldbuilding, and this book is one of the best worlds I have ever seen to be created from scratch. It's imaginative, inventive, consistent, and delivered to us not as a dump, but slowly, as we traverse the world. I honestly loved uncovering it, and felt really immersed in the land that Ranka was living in and discovering at the same time. The world was also super diverse, which was both refreshing and really interesting, I liked reading about how power could be linked to gender while still making space for trans, NB, and other genderqueer witches.
The plot fell right alongside the worldbuilding. It was fleshed out, consistently interesting, and was just so tense. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and really did not want to put it down. It was so easy to get sucked into it.

Character wise, everyone felt so real and important. Never just there to further the story, people developed and changed in the background, and Ranka developed so many relationships, not just the one between her and her love interest. A romantic subplot, for sure, with just enough that left me wanting more. 
My only criticism on that front was that we didn't see enough of Ranka and her love interest to fully grasp their complex relationship and how those emotions changed, ebbed, and resurged. We needed to really trust that a lot of that development happened between the lines, it wasn't given to us immediately. 

I hover right between 4.25 and 4.5 stars for this book. 
The worldbuilding bumps it up immensely: if you're a fan of an intricate and in depth world, this is a great book for you. But what sort of gives me pause on pushing it all the way to 4.5 is what the book tackled, and how I didn't respond to it.
There's a lot in here about abuse, being used by those you love, manipulation, and really needing to rediscover your own worth. So many times, the characters would speak and say things that were so kind, so sweet, about putting yourself first, about not needing to be what everyone else has shaped you into. Ranka got to choose her own path, something she desperately needed to do. I unfortunately, just didn't resonate with what they were saying as much as I wanted to. It was a personal gripe with it, but it keeps me from giving it that full 4.5 stars, because it just wasn't as powerful as I wanted it to be. 

It's a great book, that I think all fantasy fans should give a try, especially those who love a good sapphic romance.