Skip to main content

The Burning Sky

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas is all kinds of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while I was reading it. I received an e-galley from the publisher and I'm glad I did otherwise it may have sat on my TBR for longer than necessary. It is not without its faults, but I felt the ride was totally worth it.

Synopsis:
Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death.
Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.


This is a high fantasy with an shadowy evil overlord who works through his minions. There are countries under siege. There is magic. There are prophecies.

It is a portal fantasy. People from The Realm can come into our world-and when they do it is into the 1880's. (So I guess we can call it historical fantasy too.)

It is a gamer fantasy. Yes. You read that right. There is gaming in this book. Titus has a volume of stories and myths passed down through his family. He can enter it, recreate scenes, defeat monsters, rescue princesses. He uses the book to train himself in magic and warfare, and later on brings Iolanthe into it to train her.

Is this a lot going on in one book? Yes. Might it have been slightly overambitious? Possibly. Not all of the world building works perfectly. I have some questions but am withholding full judgement until the other books come out. (Yes, it's a trilogy.) Mostly this book reminded me of how much I love this sort of story, and how I haven't been reading enough of them lately. Despite my questions I did like the world building and thought Thomas did a fantastic job creating Eton in 1888 for the historical parts in our world. The plot is fast paced with lots going on. Titus and Iolanthe are hiding in plain sight, lying constantly, having to work through their issues with each other (I will get there in a moment), and defeat evil. And also write critical essays and do Latin translations. So. They are quite busy. And I loved reading every moment of it, from the magical monster fighting elements, to the intricate political intrigue around Titus, even the life at Eton. All of it appealed to me greatly and I did not want to put this book down. 

Now, as most of you know, I'm a character reader. This is where the book fell short for me. Don't get me wrong, I really like both Titus and Iolanthe. I just felt that their characters were not as fleshed out as they might have been. Yet strangely for me I wasn't as bothered by this as I usually am. I liked them. Titus is a tormented hero. But he is also funny, brilliant, and BELIEVABLY tormented.  He is not always likeable, but is sympathetic. Iolanthe is a bit of a "special one".  But she has to work for it. Hard. I did raise my eyebrows at how easily she slipped into the pretend role Titus created for her, but that can be explained by his magic so I went with it. At first I was taken aback by  the romantic element. Not that they have romantic feelings for one another, but the way it played out felt like a romance novel in places. (It came as absolutely no surprise to me when I discovered the author is also a romance novelist. And I like romance novels. Thomas's have been added to my TBR. I was just thrown off a bit by the presence of romance tropes in my high fantasy.) But I do like them and I like them together so am not all that fussed. I like where their relationship was at the end of this book and can't wait to see it develop in the next books.

In the end The Burning Sky leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions. It doesn't have a cliffhanger ending (yay!), but there is still much unresolved and so much more to know. I'm really looking forward to the sequel. 

If you are looking for a fun roller coaster ride of a high fantasy read, this is definitely one I would recommend. 

I read an e-galley made available by the publisher, Balzar +Bray, via Edelweiss. The Burning Sky is available for purchase September 17.

Comments

Unknown said…
Ha, I'm with you on the world building feeling a bit clunky. Love the insight you brought about gaming and portals. I do not tend to think in those terms, but you're quite right!

Totally loved the characters and the romance though. *flails*
Christina said…
Sorry about that. This is a lesson in not commenting on Blogger blogs with the wrong email address. Sigh.
Unknown said…
I love the sound of this one! I wasn't too interested until I read your review though. I'm glad that although the characters weren't as fleshed out as they should, they were still immensely likable. Great review!
Brandy said…
No problem. :) The romance here is so worth the flails. I'm a little nervous about book two...
Brandy said…
They are fun and work well together, which made up for a lot.

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

TTT: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List From Most Recent to Least: What books have recently caught your eye?

This Side of Home

What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love. Maya has lived her entire life in the same neighborhood in Portland hanging out with the same group of friends: her twin sister Nikki, their best friend Essence, and Ronnie, Malachi, and Devin-three boys her father mentors. They have plans for the future that involve each other: prom, college, life. But things in their neighborhood are changing. People are moving in and starting new businesses. Property values are going up as a result. In addition to change, this is also causing trouble. Essence has to move out of her  house when the owner decides he can make more money selling it than renting it. The racial demographics of the school, which has been mostly African American, is shifting. This presents new challenges and choices for Maya and her friends. It brings new people into their lives at the same time. Maya has to figure out how-and if-she wa

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t