The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

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Book summary:

It all began with a ruined elixir and an accidental bolt of lightning…
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 avenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.
But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

         This was one of the books everyone read and loved last year. I meant to read it for a long time but somehow couldn't find time for it. So when The Perilous Sea was close to the publishing date I knew it was time. Honestly I didn't know what to expect from this one, but it's not what I hoped for.

         Iolanthe was a really interesting character from the start. I really enjoyed her desire for knowledge and also for developing her powers. It was so easy to understand why she acted like a rebel and decided to act on her own even though it brought so much pain to her later on. Then we saw Titus, future prince of the Domain who knew that his task and future won't be only about that but that he is meant to do much more. It was so interesting to meet his characters as I really liked the layers he possessed. How he acted differently in given circumstances. He was a really good actor and he really owned the show. Then there is romance between them, which was slow building and really emotional. It was really nice to see how their emotions developed and I really enjoyed both of them.

        But the problem for me here was the world-building. I do like the idea of this story, mage and nonmage people living in this world, but honestly I had no idea where to place the palace or some other places in this story. Another thing is that this was set in Victorian England and while we don't see much of England itself it wasn't done in Victorian manner if you ask me. Everything was somewhere in the air but nothing here felt concrete.

        With the easiness I connected with the characters and really enjoyed their story, but The Burning Sky didn't develop this world for me to gasp it. So my hopes lay in The Perilous Sea.

Rating: 3 stars.

Until the next time,