Iolanthe has spent her whole life trying to protect her caregiver. He seems more and more insane and she does her best to cover his tracks after he has lost jobs after jobs. He keeps telling her she should hide her powers, no explanations what so ever, and his craziness finally make sense when the whole realm start chasing her after a lightning incident. Who would’ve thought she was supposed to be the greatest mage of her time?
I loved, loved, loved The Burning Sky! The world was vivid and extremely engrossing, and really, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! I have a confession to make, I haven’t read the Harry Potter books, but I’ve seen the movies and The Burning sky reminded me of them. Of course, both are really different, but I must draw a comparison. First, both heroes are prophesied to be really powerful and yet they don’t really believe in their own powers, though in The Burning Sky, that hero is female. While Harry leaves the human world to join the magic world, Iolanthe leaves the magic world to hide in the human world and both plots mostly happen in schools. While there is also magical incantations in The Burning Sky, there is also elemental magic and even though it can be trained and developed, the caster must be born with the talent. That’s where the similarities ends, but let me tell you, it makes for a pretty amazing playground!
Despite the common points, The Burning Sky isn’t just ‘another Harry Potter book’, it has a strong spirit of its own and will turn your world upside down. I particularly loved the characters. Iolanthe has always thought she was a level 3 elemental mage (which means she can manipulate 3 out of 4 elements), but turns out she’s a level 4, a rarity. Poor girl has always been a cast-out and I really felt for her. She has no idea she is special until Titus, prince of the Domain comes for her after she called lightning (something only legends refers to). Titus has trained and plotted his whole life for the day he would find the prophesied mage. His seer mother told him he would have to protect that mage to defeat The Bane (a tyrant supressing The Domain). Only Titus assumed Iolanthe would be a boy, which makes for some very funny situations. Titus really stole my heart from the beginning. He acts the part of a jerk to keep everyone at bay to fulfill his destiny which makes for a very lonely life. Deep down though, he is funny and caring on top of being super smart. He is dedicated to the cause and I admired him even though he had to lie and betray Iolanthe’s trust. The developing relationship between the two of them kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
The world-building was also extraordinary. There is a magic world, where Titus and Iolanthe were born. Even though Titus is the rightful Prince of The Domain, it’s under the control of Atlantis, its Inquisitor and The Bane. I really love the different types of magic, spells and potions. I wish there had been more description of this world, but since most of the action takes place in the human world, it makes sense that it wasn’t the primary focus. Humans are totally unaware of the existence of the magic world even though exile mages live amongst them. The story also takes place in the past which gives the story an historical feel I appreciated. On top of those two world, there’s also a virtual world our heroes can access via a book and it’s an integral part of the story. I loved it’s originality and it allowed much more flexibility to the plot, simply brilliant!
Speaking of the plot, I was totally engrossed by the quest to defeat Atlantis. I loved how our heroes trained and plotted and dodged the Inquisitor. The story was told in third person narration with alternating point of view and I loved that it allowed us to follow both heroes as individuals. They have different talents and personalities and it allowed them both to shine. The non-stop action and mystery made it really hard to put the book down and I’m sure you’ll agree when reading it. The conclusion was heart-pounding and I am terribly sad I will have to wait so long for the second book.
I urge you to pick-up this novel as soon as you can because I am convinced you won’t be disappointed. Magic, action, lovable heroes and a touch of romance, what’s not to like?
Great review! I can't wait for The Burning Sky to release. I've been hearing nothing but positive things about this book. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope youll enjoy it too :)
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