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kblincoln 's review for:
The Burning Sky
by Sherry Thomas
Probably more like 3.5 stars, actually.
I love Sherry Thomas. She writes the best, most emotionally intricate historical romance novels out there. She's an insta-buy author for me.
But...her foray into the fantastical YA world with this book didn't quite wet my whistle.
Iolanthe Seabourne is this fabulous elemental mage living with a ne'er do well mage-guardian who she is desperately trying to save from the poor house.
One day, she decides to call down lightning to fix a botched spell, and garners the attention of the mage overlords of Atlantis, as well as the attention of the Prince of her realm, Titus, whose whole life has been lived waiting for the prophesied elemental mage to appear.
Somehow, Titus must hide Iolanthe (which he does in our world's Eton) and also foil the attempts of the Inquisitor (Atlantean mind mage) to find out what he knows about Iolanthe. Hijinks at school and in the fairy-tale world of the Crucible (a book you can enter and experience the stories of).
We get both Titus and Iolanthe as our POV, and somehow I felt closer to Titus than I did Iolanthe. This is a common trope of adult historical romances, but for YA, I wanted more of Iolanthe's flavor. I wanted more of her reactions to being a boy scholar at Eton, her reactions to the Inquisitor threatening them, and her reactions to Titus' attitude towards her as she slowly realized an attraction.
Maybe it's just me, but I wanted the YA heroine to be the main focus of the book. Didn't know I had that prejudice in me.
So while alot of the ideas in this book (mage realms coexisting in alternate dimensions with our world; the Crucible providing training grounds for mages; the AWESOME end notes adding a touch of historical/dry flavor to the fantastic) amused me, since I never connected with Iolanthe too much, I kind of got a bit bored at the end of the book when Titus confronts both the Atlantean overlord and the Inquisitor.
Epic battles on wyverns shouldn't be boring, yeah?
So cool ideas, didn't keep my attention because I wanted to be more in Iolanthe's head. Romance level is only a bit of a kiss, so entirely suitable for elementary school readers.
This Book's Snack Rating: Baked Lay's for having cool YA fantasy ideas that lacked a bit of the YA heroine crunch of a normal chip
I love Sherry Thomas. She writes the best, most emotionally intricate historical romance novels out there. She's an insta-buy author for me.
But...her foray into the fantastical YA world with this book didn't quite wet my whistle.
Iolanthe Seabourne is this fabulous elemental mage living with a ne'er do well mage-guardian who she is desperately trying to save from the poor house.
One day, she decides to call down lightning to fix a botched spell, and garners the attention of the mage overlords of Atlantis, as well as the attention of the Prince of her realm, Titus, whose whole life has been lived waiting for the prophesied elemental mage to appear.
Somehow, Titus must hide Iolanthe (which he does in our world's Eton) and also foil the attempts of the Inquisitor (Atlantean mind mage) to find out what he knows about Iolanthe. Hijinks at school and in the fairy-tale world of the Crucible (a book you can enter and experience the stories of).
We get both Titus and Iolanthe as our POV, and somehow I felt closer to Titus than I did Iolanthe. This is a common trope of adult historical romances, but for YA, I wanted more of Iolanthe's flavor. I wanted more of her reactions to being a boy scholar at Eton, her reactions to the Inquisitor threatening them, and her reactions to Titus' attitude towards her as she slowly realized an attraction.
Maybe it's just me, but I wanted the YA heroine to be the main focus of the book. Didn't know I had that prejudice in me.
So while alot of the ideas in this book (mage realms coexisting in alternate dimensions with our world; the Crucible providing training grounds for mages; the AWESOME end notes adding a touch of historical/dry flavor to the fantastic) amused me, since I never connected with Iolanthe too much, I kind of got a bit bored at the end of the book when Titus confronts both the Atlantean overlord and the Inquisitor.
Epic battles on wyverns shouldn't be boring, yeah?
So cool ideas, didn't keep my attention because I wanted to be more in Iolanthe's head. Romance level is only a bit of a kiss, so entirely suitable for elementary school readers.
This Book's Snack Rating: Baked Lay's for having cool YA fantasy ideas that lacked a bit of the YA heroine crunch of a normal chip