Przekleństwo Soni

Burning Glass #1

by Kathryn Purdie, Anna Pochłódka-Wątorek (Translator)

 – Wierzę, że sami stanowimy o własnym losie – powiedziałam jak zawsze z uporem. Lepsze to, niż pozwolić, by serce mi pękło. – Nikt nie ma prawa dyktować nam, kim jesteśmy ani czym możemy się stać. Wydawało mi się, że też w to wierzysz, że o to właśnie walczysz.

Auroczułe posiadają niezwykłą umiejętność wyczuwania emocji żywych istot. Z tym darem urodziła się Sonia Petrova. Przez lata żyła w ukryciu, była świadoma swoich umiejętności, jednak nie umiała z nich korzystać. Pożar klasztoru, w którym przebywała wraz z innymi auroczułymi, przyśpiesza jej przybycie na dwór imperatora Valka.

Młoda, niedoświadczona i osamotniona dziewczyna z dnia na dzień staje się jedną z najważniejszych osób w otoczeniu władcy. Jej zadaniem jest wyczuwanie złych zamiarów poddanych oraz gości. Sonia zmaga się z nową rolą i ze swoimi zdolnościami, których nie zdążyła jeszcze opanować. Wydaje się, że jedyną przyjazną jej osobą jest brat imperatora Anton. Staje się on jej sprzymierzeńcem oraz powiernikiem, a z czasem wtajemnicza ją w spisek.

Tymczasem w kraju rośnie niezadowolenie. Lud głoduje, despotyczne rządy Valka nie podobają się również arystokracji, a relacje między braćmi się komplikują. Sonia musi wybrać, któremu z nich zaufać. Czy będzie umiała wykorzystać swój dar, by wpłynąć na losy imperium?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, High Fantasy

448 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Kathryn is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the BURNING GLASS series, the BONE CRIER'S MOON duology, and the THE FOREST GRIMM duology. Her love of storytelling began as a young girl when her dad told her about someone named Boo Radley while they listened to the film score of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. Kathryn is a trained classical actress who studied at the Oxford School of Drama. She also writes songs on her guitar for each of her stories and shares them on her website. Kathryn lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband and three children.

Instagram: @kathrynpurdie
TikTok: @kathrynpurdie

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

A love triangle between two brothers, and a fingernail-on-chalkboard type of heroine. Reader, this book is so bad it hurts.

What can I say? There is nothing about this book that's anything than a shallow romance "fantasy," fantasy is in quotes because this book hardly qualifies as such. Throw in a new world, put some random ass unexplained magical shit in it and call it a fantasy. No, it doesn't work that way. My standards are higher than that.

The love triangle is the plot. There is very little else to this book besides that. This book is about the last survivor of the Auraseers, the rest having died through a stupid and senseless act courtesy of our intrepid heroine herself.

So much life had been snuffed out while I slept without dreaming. While a stranger died beside me. So much death and destruction.

All because of me.

Brilliant.

Sonya, our heroine, is an idiot. There really is no other word for it. What is most frustrating is that she uses her abilities as an auraseer (one who can sense others' emotions) as an excuse for her volatility and her idiotic actions.

I was more than wild—I was a walking keg of gunpowder.

Again, let me emphasize. I do not expect a heroine to be perfect. But neither do I expect them to be so frustratingly dumb that I wish I could enter the book and knock her out myself. Her powers are out of control - not an excuse. Kill her off or have her grow the fuck up. No excuse.

So because of her idiocy that killed most of her fellow Auraseers, Sonya is rewarded. Of course, she doesn't think of it as a reward, but what else can you call it when accidentally killing your fellow "sisters" gets you an invitation into the palace to guard a hot emperor and chill with his equally hot younger bro? Not cool, sis. Not cool.

Sonya steels herself to be cold. To do her duty.

The only remedy was to be cold to them. Distant. Compassionless. Because any love I ever gave in this world only ended up destroying the very ones I cared about the most.

THAT DOESN'T LAST LONG.

Sonya is a whiny wuss. She spends the entire book feeling sorry for herself and not much else. She cries easily. She gets scared.

Tears slid down my cheeks. Too many expectations. Too many people to disappoint. Too many teeming emotions begging to be defined. I felt like a glass figurine skittering to the edge of a mantel in an earthquake. Any more of this and I would fall, break into a million pieces. “Make them stop,” I pleaded as I hung on to Anton, my words jumbled and scarcely audible. “I can’t . . . I can’t do this.”

And she is completely fucking unprepared to be the Sovereign Auraseer, because she didn't really give a fuck about learning about her skills during training with her fellow Auraseers.

“Pull yourself together, child! Remember your training.”
I wanted to weep. What training? While the other Auraseers at the convent had sat in the study hall and wrote essays on the subtle distinctions between hunger, avarice, and desire, I’d scribbled notes to Yuliya or used too much of my inkwell to play mind-numbing games of X’s and O’s.

Cute. Not.

And so many tears. Oh my god, she just can't control herself. And I'm talking about herself, and not the emotions she reads from others.

His face was blurry through my watering eyes.

I didn’t let the tears fall until he grew bored of me.

The love triangle is terrible. The emperor and his younger brother. Bitter rivals. One dark, one light. I couldn't have made this more clichéd if I tried.

The sun through the stained-glass window, which had made Anton appear so gilded and beautiful, had an equally mesmerizing, though much darker, effect upon Valko, as his face caught in a patch of unsettling crimson.

There was no point to this book and no point to Sonya. There really was no reason for her to be at the palace, in my opinion. She can sense emotions! Whooo! Useless. What good is that when she can barely control her own emotions? Sonya spends the book being seduced by either brothers and that's it. The revolutionary plot, what little of it, didn't even factor into the majority of the book until the very end. It's like at the end, the author realized "oh, crap, there's no plot!" and tries to jam the rest of the book into a few chapters because there's a limited word count. No, thanks.

[Emily May · Rating 1 out of 5]

Excruciatingly boring tale of a love triangle, where an annoying heroine is forced to choose between two brothers.

Let it be known - somewhere in the last third-ish I started skim-reading, just because I wanted to know where the author would take this recycled story. So, while I know how it ends, feel free to consider this a DNF at 60% review.

Firstly, there is no plot. In my opinion, some vague mentions of slavery, a Black Death disease, and the possibility of freedom constitutes neither plot nor world-building. You find these things in almost every single fantasy novel. And these elements, as well as the politics, pretty much remain in the background behind a heavy serving of romance.

Sonya is an Auraseer - someone capable of feeling what those around her feel. After behaving like a dumbass results in all the other girls with the same ability being wiped out, Sonya's gift is out in the open and she is forced to be the emperor's sovereign Auraseer. This sexy, tortured emperor also has a younger brother... you see where this is going?

Before we even get to the love triangle, Sonya herself is a whiny and frustrating heroine. I dislike the way her "gift" is used to absolve her of all responsibility for her actions and emotions. One minute she is kissing Valko and waxing poetic about how he makes her feel:

My aura pulsed with Valko’s in perfect synchronicity. I shared his aching desire, the urge to indulge in what we secretly wanted when so much of our feelings were restricted by our lives.

...and the next she is thinking how she feels sick because of what she's done. There is a suggestion in the book that Sonya is unable to refuse the emperor - even his sexual advances - because of his position of authority, which has sadly been all too true throughout history. And yet, a few paragraphs later, her supposedly non-consensual relationship with him is romanticized. It makes for a very troubling read.

I spun around, my nightgown swishing at my ankles. “I did not come here for this!” I shook with rage. “He owns enough of me.” A sob broke through my words.
“Then don’t let him take more.” Anton’s jaw locked.
“How?” My palms pressed to my temples with desperation. “How can I deny the emperor?”

The love triangle is the only thing driving the book. Even when council meetings are taking place and the slavery issue is touched upon, suddenly Sonya's mind is wandering back to Anton, or remembering the taste of Valko's mouth.

Burning Glass is one for hardcore romantics who are not yet tired of angsty love triangles.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Store

[Melissa Baez · Rating 5 out of 5]

*deep breathe*

Finally!

It's felt like an eternity since I've read a book that I've had to 5 star it for the sheer awesomeness it made me feel.

This beauty made me feel everything.

➮I was anxious
➮I was elated
➮I was devastated
➮I laughed
➮I gasped
➮I felt betrayed
➮I felt the angst
➮I felt the hurt
➮I felt the relief
➮My toes curled
➮My stomach knotted
But most importantly...
I reveled in every second of it

The thing is, this story may not wow you, it may not sweep you off your feet. It will possibly not take your breathe away but for some reason this pushed all the right buttons at the right time and reminded me of why I love to read.

As you may notice, it's not a short one, having more than 500 pages, but I can honestly say it never felt like something to work through. Every chapter left me wanting more. More of the characters, more of their lives, more of the drama, the plot. It made me need more because stopping was not an option. I don't know about you but my sleep will always come before reading. I'll probably be the odd one out of all us bookworms but when it comes between my snugly sheets or a book...The bed will always win out. So when I'm able to find a book that makes me need to stay up past my bedtime (because yes, functioning the next day is imperative), you can say the book has me hooked. And boy did Burning Glass have me hooked

Look, I can't say this has riveting action that will undoubtedly make your heart stop, or a story so complex, it'll do you in, or a magic system you haven't seen before. I can't say it's something that hasn't been done or something that will stand out in it's originality. The thing is, what makes a book so great is when an author is able to take simple things and weave them together to make something wonderful. And all that comes to mind when I think of this is...


I admit, it's not perfect but all I can say is that I am completely and wholly satisfied. I'm in love with these characters. Every single one of them. I'm in love with the perfection of that ending. In love with the succession of events. But mostly? I'm in love of what's to come because the possibilities are endless.


P.S. I know my reviews about YA epic fantasy are usually more lively but I'm in a reviewing slump so bare with me.
xoxo

[Ben Alderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do i start!

Honestly, this story was just what i needed. Mythology and Magic ( subtle ), court issues and PRINCES!
Really loved the ending of this, can't wait for book two!

[booknuts_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

REREAD: 6/25/22 4/5 Stars

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me just go ahead and shout this out....I LOVED THIS BOOK! I couldn't put it down! However, I am not happy but still excited that it's going to be a trilogy.

So this book follows Sonya who, after a tragic accident is chosen to be the Soverign auraseer for the Emperor. Sonya has 8 months of training under her belt and feels the burden of such a task as feeling other people's emotions/auras in order to sense danger toward the Emperor.

Sonya is a very complicated character. There were a few times I was confused and felt she cried too much BUT I still REALLY enjoyed how complicated as a person she was. There was some slow character development which was great! She was faulty, strong yet weak-which was relatable, she was kind and overall good. Again, I did really enjoy the complexity of this character.

The Emperor was fun to read about. I expected more.....evil from him. From
the way Anton; his brother, made him out to be I kept waiting for heinous things to happen. However I pictured him, a pretty boy who acted like a spoiled child. He was still very interesting to contemplate and figure out. I expected him to be more ruthless; which he was but at the same time...not.

Anton was flat out amazing. Talk about everything swoon worthy in a male character! SHEESH! I loved him from the get-go. So mysterious, brooding, gentle, sweet *sigh* amazing. He has everything worthy of being the emperor and a great leader. I loved the complicated relationship with Anton and all the other big characters.

The romance is this was exhausting. LOVED the dynamics between Anton and Sonya. I loved the complication between other characters. I overall was pleased with romance.

Overall I loved the book, I loved the complicated storyline and characters I loved that it was completely clean and you won't be able to put it down. I loved the creepy feelings I got with certain aspects of this story. I am definitely excited about this new author and this trilogy.

Sexual Content: moderate/mild
Violence: moderate (talk of self-inflicted pain, fighting)
Language: none
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
LGBTQ+: none

[Rachel (APCB Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick Review: Ever since I first heard about this book I had a feeling I'd love it. And so I did! Such an amazing concept well developed, Burning Glass held my attention from cover to cover. This book wastes no time and throws in plot twists left and right. A character-driven plot, beautiful writing, a rebellion, political intrigue, and a tangled romance (although it is love triangle, the main character clearly favors one guy) make this book a definite hit. March 1st, 2016. Be ready for this one!!

Read the full review @ A Perfection Called Books

In the empire of Riaznin, the Auraseers, people who can sense others' auras and moods, are rounded up and sent to a convent. There they learn to hone their skills in the chance that they might be called up to serve the Emperor as his Sovereign Auraseer to protect and warn him against threats on his life. Sonya has enhanced powers even among Auraseers, and a fatal accident puts her in line as the next Sovereign Auraseer, a position so precarious that one slip up means a death sentence. As she struggles to assuage Emperor Valko's temper and stay in his good favor, she uncovers a plot to overthrow Valko and realizes she might be fighting for the wrong side.

The Auraseer element of this novel really plays such a huge part in this novel. I feel I understand the characters so much better. I understand their feelings, their motives, their deepest insecurities through Sonya's gift. I felt my grasp and breadth of knowledge for these characters is greatly expanded compared to other books and their characters.

"My task might be monumental, but my gift-my curse-was the only means I had of making a difference in this world."

Sonya struggles to separate her own feelings and emotions from others. She constantly lives in fear of being overcome by others' auras and fights to stay herself. She grows from a meek and timid girl to a fierce and courageous woman. Valko's character is so complex. Raised in a fractured childhood, his insecurities and fears are laid bare to us as they are to Sonya. He's mercurial and power-hungry yet vulnerable and kindhearted at times. His character was so well developed and frankly quite scary. Anton is the younger prince, the idealist who struggles to overcome his own issues. I love how Kathryn developed such three vibrant characters. I felt like we understood them all so well.

"My feelings for you are here when I am alone, when you are miles form the palace I keep you with me. I choose to. you are the most impossibly stubborn person I have ever met. You are also the most honorable, the most caring. I love every part of you."

There's a unique dynamic among the three. Valko feels threatened by Anton, and Anton loves Valko regardless. Both have feelings for Sonya, yet this love triangle is not as it seems. Since Sonya is an auraseer, it's difficult for her to distinguish her feelings from those around her, and likewise it's hard for others to be sure that her feelings are truly her own and not a projection of someone else's. Sonya clearly favors one person, and you'll distinguish the toxic relationship from the tender one almost instantly. The romance was a definite highlight for me. It was blisteringly hot at times yet sweet and tender at others. By the end everything is made clear.

Kathryn's writing is amazing. Not only did she do well with the romance and character development, but there are so many beautiful prose lines and gorgeous descriptions she adds. There are plot twists and unpredictable moments around every corner. The political intrigue, balls, court functions, and Russian-influenced culture were also high points in the novel.

Although there isn't much action until the last quarter of the book, there's always something to engage and hold your attention. It's a long book, yet so much happens by the end. Kathryn wastes no time! Every scene carries some importance towards the story. The Auraseer element really infused so much more emotion and feelings into this story that truly sets it apart from others.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy debut, and I hope you do too!

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Actually, just 3 stars. The more I thought about it, the more the romance bothered me, EVEN THOUGH it's a now resolved conflict that made me hate the romance (meaning, I hated the romance while I was reading the book because it seemed very triangle-y... until the very end, in which the triangle aspect completely disappears).


***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie
Book One of the Burning Glass series
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: March 1, 2016
Rating: 3 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sonya was born with the rare gift to feel what those around her feel—both physically and emotionally—a gift she’s kept hidden from the empire for seventeen long years. After a reckless mistake wipes out all the other girls with similar abilities, Sonya is hauled off to the palace and forced to serve the emperor as his sovereign Auraseer.

Tasked with sensing the intentions of would-be assassins, Sonya is under constant pressure to protect the emperor. One mistake, one small failure, will cost her own life and the lives of the few people left in the world who still trust her.

But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, her feelings easily usurped, and she sometimes can’t decipher when other people’s impulses end and her own begin. In a palace full of warring emotions and looming darkness, Sonya fears that the biggest danger to the empire may be herself.

As she struggles to wrangle her abilities, Sonya seeks refuge in her tenuous alliances with the volatile Emperor Valko and his idealistic younger brother, Anton, the crown prince. But when threats of revolution pit the two brothers against each other, Sonya must choose which brother to trust—and which to betray.

BURNING GLASS is debut author Kathryn Purdie’s stunning tale of dangerous magic, heart-rending romance, and the hard-won courage it takes to let go.

What I Liked:

I'm going to be honest - the very beginning of this book didn't go well for me. I pushed past it, and made it to about 40%, and I realized that I was rapidly losing interest (mostly due to the romance at that very point). However, I am so happy that I was adequately encouraged, because the book was pretty good. Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those cases where I was so happy with the ending... but the more I thought about it, the less I liked the book. Still, three stars means I was okay with the book overall, I liked it overall.

Eight months ago, Sonya was finally captured and taken to the convent were Auraseers - like empaths - are trained to serve the emperor. Auraseers are supposed to be trained from a young age, but Sonya's been going from caravan to caravan since she was little. Fast forward to present day - Sonya's power is out of control. She feels everyone's emotions too strongly, and a terrible mistake leads to her leaving the convent and becoming the Sovereign Auraseer, protector of the emperor. In the palace, she'll discover that she must master her power, because she's realizing that she can't tell the difference between what she is feeling and what others are feeling. Sonya will learn the truth about what the emperor's younger brother is up to, and she'll have to decide who to betray.

First thing I will say: the official synopsis makes it seem like everything hinges upon Sonya "choosing" the emperor or his brother (they're a year apart). This would make you think that there is a love triangle. The answer to that: yes and no. Technically no, because Sonya only feels a certain type of way to one of the brothers. The other one is very manipulative... I'll discuss more on that later. If you're bothered by love triangles (like me), you'll reach a certain point in the book (like, 40%, as I mentioned), and this book will make you irritated. But I will also say that there is no real love triangle in this book.

Anyway. I got off to a rough start, with this book. I immediately did NOT like Sonya; I kept thinking, gosh she's so dumb, how could she let this and that happen?! But when she is taken to the palace, I found that I could understand her better, and place myself in her shoes, and I ended up liking her in no time. Which surprised even me because I reacted very strongly to her (in a negative way) in the very beginning.

From the start, I adored quiet, calm Anton. He is the younger brother, the crown prince. He's calm and cool and collected and determined to keep Sonya out of his business and life. I feel like as soon as you even try to do this, with anything, the "thing" comes ricocheting back. Sonya and Anton are like magnets. I found Anton to be three three-dimensional, very complex, and definitely so much more than a love interest. He has plans and dreams that are bigger than the emperor, than the empire, than what he feels for Sonya.

Sonya's duty in the palace is to detect malice and bad intentions and general danger that is directed at the emperor. And it's difficult for Sonya, because she's never been exposed to be so many people and so many emotions, and she has a difficult time handling the overload, as well as she has a difficult time discerning what she is actually feeling (or is it someone else's feelings).

That last line - just keep that in mind, as I talk about the romance. I said there was no love triangle. Kind of. There isn't, because when Sonya is clear-headed, there is only one person she thinks of (*swoons over Anton*). But there is someone that wants to manipulate and possess and own her for the sake of having her power to himself (and nothing really feelings-based). So... the thing is, she never feels anything real towards the "other guy", even though it seems like HE is the primary love interest in the book. At 40%, I was so sick of the deceit. Sonya knew something was wrong with the affection, but she couldn't say no.

I hope that makes sense? In terms of what was real and what wasn't, Sonya knows who she cares about - when her power isn't scrambled by This Other Guy's dominating emotions of lust. And this aspect disappears around 60% (ish?), and it's pretty much gone for good. I can't see the potential love triangle aspect resurfacing at any point in the trilogy, which is good. Because I really like Anton and Sonya together. The thing is, as much as I hated how much Sonya was manipulated by The Other Guy's emotions, I LOVED how strong her feelings towards Anton were, in order to kind of break free of The Other Guy's control. If that makes sense. Like, her feelings for Anton were what grounded her, and made her see things clearly.

Enough about that romance! I was satisfied with Anton and Sonya together. I was satisfied with how the story moved, though the book was long. And the ending was very VERY satisfactory! Wave goodbye to the love triangle, as well as to the insane plots of the emperor. I'm curious to see how this story will be turned into a trilogy, because this book ended so well! A perfect balance of open-ended and resolved story. I'm almost scared of two more books!

What I Did Not Like:

I think, initially, upon finishing this book, I was so relieved that the "love triangle" was over with (at least as far as I can tell), that I could have given this book all the stars. The more I think about it though, the more I remember how close I came to chucking my poor Kindle across the room, when reaching the 40% mark. That particular set of scenes made me want to rip out my hair. Or this book!

OBVIOUSLY this book isn't getting four stars because of the implication of a love triangle. And while it isn't a "true" love triangle - Sonya only loves one person - things get physical with the other person, and FIRST, before she ever touches Anton. This bothers me on some level, even though I know she was being manipulated. Even she knew she was being manipulated, but she couldn't break free. So I'm not completely throwing this book out, because in the end, she's "free", and it's pretty much guaranteed that the "other guy" will never make an appearance in terms of romance.

Still, as someone who HATES love triangles or even the insinuation of them, I feel the need to mention that it will seem like there is one. If you get to ~40% and you feel like throwing the book, I promise it gets MUCH better (in terms of the romance) just a little after that point. I'm being very explicit in my words because I want others who hate love triangles (like me!) to understand why I'm rating this book so "high" (despite me saying that was/wasn't a love triangle). I did drop two stars though, because of the triangle. As soon as Sonya and The Other Guy kissed, I knew this book wasn't getting more than three stars. No matter how the romance ended up (quite well, actually!).

Something not romance-related - I would have liked to see Sonya's power in action, in terms of warning and actually saving Valko (the emperor) from a threat. She never actually picks up anything dangerous that is a threat to Valko's life, which is kind of sad, given how much everyone is supposedly trying to kill this guy.

Furthermore, on a technical note... I have no idea what the title means, what it represents, what it signifies. That I recall, the phrase or words never appeared, and there was no glass metaphor, or burning motif? I'm not sure I understand; this is a small thing, but it's really bothering me!

Would I Recommend It:

I would say to skip or hold off, if you're someone who hates love triangles. I didn't hate this book and I didn't rage at the presence of a potential love triangle (I KNEW there was something not right), but I can't see myself recommending this book to those who hate love triangles (like me). Had I known a little more about this book in terms of the romance/non-romance, I might have skipped it before I downloaded it from Edelweiss. However, the book was good! The Anton/Sonya romance is good (and very solid, especially at the end of the book). I just wouldn't have put myself through that 40% point. Overall the book was pretty good though. The fantasy is well-crafted but nothing entirely new, but I will definitely say that it's an intriguing world of fantasy and politics. I'd like to see more politics and different scenery/settings in the future.

Rating:

3.5 stars. It was a bit difficult for me to decide if I wanted to round down or up - usually if I'm undecided, I round down - and so I'm going with rounding down.

[Reads With Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s like a 1.5.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT HAPPENED! I finished :)

I won an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway. I WAS SO HAPPY TO GET THIS. This was one of those books where I saw it, and I just had to have it. I thought the March 2016 release date was total torture. I started this book the very day I got it.

I've been in...a bit of a slump the past few months. RL got in the way and I quickly went from averaging 25 books a month...to MAYBE 5. I've actually been working on this book for a while, but it had nothing to do with the book. I just could only read a chapter here and there.

I loved this book. I only gave it 4 stars though, because I thought that it could have been a little more exciting, a little more daring, a little more adventurous. As far as first books go though, this was impressive.

I loved....and didn't love, Sonya. She is the main character. The beginning was a little confusing, writing-wise, but once you understand what is happening, the confusion actually makes a lot of sense. I mostly liked her, but there were a few times........AND THEN WE HAVE ANTON, he's a jerk at the start, so OF COURSE, I really came to like him. *sigh* ANYWAY, this book was really good, and I am really looking forward to its release date so I can see what all my awesome Goodreads, Fantasy loving, friends think.

come find me: IG: @ash.reads

[Sara Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a breathtakingly spectacular debut fantasy from my friend Kathryn Purdie. I can't wait for everyone to get to read this phenomenal story. I will do a more detailed review closer to pub date, but for now, trust me when I say you want to add this to your TBR pile immediately!

[Nova Zaiden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Want more reviews, discussions and fun-filled posts? Check out my book blog, Out of Time.

After hearing such positive reviews of this novel from reviewers I trust, I feel as though I wasn't reading the same novel. - Nova @ Out of Time

This review is a rant. It is angry and possibly long winded. If that is not your thing, I advise that you don't read on.

About a year ago, I wrote a review for The Sin Eater's Daughter in which I highlighted things like a useless main character and nonexistent plot that bothered the crap out of me. This review goes down as one of the most negative I've ever written. I never thought I'd be in a position to write another review, but here we are again.

Burning Glass started off very quickly. It immersed me into the story without much warning so I felt as though I was being thrown in the deep end. I was actually a little confused. But that went away really quickly. What first struck me was how quickly the disaster happens. I felt as though the disaster was written really well and really darkly. I could feel Sonya's pain and survivor's guilt. But after a few chapters, it's like she forgot that all the people she grew up with are dead.

Nevertheless, I kept going and realized that things started to get better. We're introduced to Prince Anton and Emperor Valko. Immediately, I got the sense there would be a love triangle. Cue an eyeroll. The story doesn't do much, going between idle politics and the push/pull between the characters. Nearing the end, it's like the book realizes it hasn't done anything and thrusts and entire story worth of action in a few chapters. The plot itself is very dry and not original. Corrupt ruler gets overthrown by an unlikely heroine. You already know how this ends. It concludes with the main character doing something "strong" and proving that she's got power even though there was no building of any kind. Things fell into place too easy. It made no sense.

Sonya was idiotic and you know, if there was development, I wouldn't have minded. However, there wasn't. Being away from boys for your entire live and then sensing the allure of a prince [and an Emperor], I get it. The initial swoony feeling is totally natural. But once one of the two starts to force themselves on you and treating you like a mistress, I feel as though the choice is pretty clear. Sonya, unfortunately, did not. In the end, she does do something but it has nothing to do with the way the character treated her, which, to me, is SO NOT OKAY. It took her a long time before she realized a person's true nature. It's even more of a joke when you realize that Sonya's Auraseer power makes it so she's supposed to be able to sense people; their intentions and emotions. For someone of that power, she's exceptionally naive and useless.
This went from bad to worse nearing the end as I say it again. When she finally realizes her power, it's like there is no work involved to reach her goal of saving people. The people who have been terrorizing the fictional world since the beginning of the novel happen to bend to the will of a teenager without consequence?

I'm honestly so sick of this trope where the main character has more power than the entire country in her pinky. It stunts development, in my opinion. The worst part is that it's evidently clear that Sonya lacks any kind of control with her power. I don't understand why that wasn't a setback in the novel. Instead, it was all smooth sailing. More setbacks would slow down the story but it would also encourage development and natural growth.

The rest of the characters were no better. I felt as though I was in a wax museum the entire time. First we have the ruler bent on control. Then, there's the naive girl in the wrong place. Lastly, a prince with good intentions and a smoldering gaze who can do no wrong. I love how unique these characters are!1!11!1 Oh wait. This story relied on Sonya as the focal point. The other characters came into when it was in relation to her. It's hard to believe Sonya was not born in the palace with the way people kept kissing her ass.

I'm shaking my head while writing this review. I have no idea how to express my thoughts on this one. I found it a complete waste of my time, only pushing through because I kept assuming there would be something more; that there would be a part that blew my mind and made me realize why I heard so many great things. This didn't happen and now I'm snarky.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

“Do you never take responsibility for your own emotions?” he asked.
“They far too often belong to someone else.”

This book took a long time to get interesting.

Sonya was an okay character, but I didn’t love her. She seemed to have no backbone at all, and had absolutely no idea what were her feelings compared to what she was feeling from other people! Talk about allowing people to walk all over her, and not sticking up for herself at all.

The storyline in this was about Sonya being taken to be the Emperor’s Auraseer, even though she didn’t particularly want to, but the pace just dragged, and I really lost interest. We also got a bit of a love triangle going on with Sonya, the Emperor and the Emperor’s brother.

The ending to this was probably the best part of the book because Sonya suddenly became a much stronger character, and actually seemed to be taking charge of the situation for a change.



6 out of 10

[Kathryn Purdie]

Sale alert! BURNING GLASS is available for only $1.99 across all e-book formats until August 14, 2017 (the day before book two, CRYSTAL BLADE, releases).

Also, check out my pre-order incentive for CRYSTAL BLADE on www.kathrynpurdie.com

Pre-order by August 15, 2017 and claim a fully-colored map of the BURNING GLASS world, a signed bookplate, a free download of the song I recorded, and a bookmark.

.........................................................................
I'm thrilled to announce my new duology!

From Publishers Weekly:

"HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen has bought Kathryn Purdie's new YA fantasy adventure series, Bone Grace—in which star-crossed lovers Ailith, a magical siren and soul-ferrier, and Bastien, her soulmate who's hell-bent on avenging his murdered father, are fated to kill one another. Book one is scheduled for fall 2019."

If you'd like to add BONE GRACE to your "Want to Read" list, click here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my most anticipated reads from Harper Teen for 2016. Between the gorgeous cover, the kick butt synopsis and the hopes that this would be something unique and fun, I was so excited to start it and hoped like crazy it would live up to all those pretty promises that both cover and synopsis claimed.

I am thrilled to report that this was a nonstop, can't put down, page turner for me. Ms. Purdie's debut novel held and captured my attention like only a well written fantasy novel can.

It was unique, different, fun, and had a plot line that kept me guessing and turning the pages. With a protagonist that wasn't always likable but still easy to read about.

With an almost old world historic feel and yet the thrill of a new magic filled fantasy land where anything can happen with it's unknown horrors, dangers and magic, this truly lived up to all my expectations and ended up being a read that was every bit as hard to put down as I was hoping it would be.

*ARC copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

[tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at page 4

at page 4 and already too bored and confused

okay.

[haniah · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 41%...
2.5* because the first 30-35% was decent-ish!!

My only motivation at this point was to finish this so I could write a rare review ranting on it, but why not do that early? I would rather be reading a load of other books on my TBR - and I have, this has just been sitting on my shelf unread - so we might as well part our ways now. I keep telling myself I'll pick this up again some time in the summer - I am lying to myself. I will get rid of this at the first opportunity.

Take a look at this book's synopsis. I would copy and paste it here but then I would be pasting the entire thing.

We've all heard it before.

Burning Glass is a watered down version of Red Queen, and how many other YA fantasy books out there, in that there's some speshul girl who has spEciAl powers, a handsome prince takes her to the palace, and then we have a love triangle with two princes - in this case, an emperor and a prince - vying for her heart or whatever. I'm not complaining edit:yes I am - I love the tropes! edit wtf was I high or smth when I wrote this??- well at least that's what I thought before reading this book. I'm all for reading every single copy of my favourite YA books out there. But like... this just kinda fell flat. spoiler: because of the romance!

Well, it started off reasonably good - Sonya lives in a convent with Auraseers - people who can sense others feelings, both physically and emotionally - and after she unintentionally causes a fire and kills everyone living there *gasp*, she is now the eldest Auraseer and must serve the crown.

But the thing is, Sonya is not very good at distinguishing between her emotions and others around her. Like that time a pack of wolves goes by and SONYA THINKS SHE IS A WOLF AND STARTS ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT.

*starts coughing uncontrollably*

wtf am I reading?

*continues*

Oh yeah, and she can't eat meat or wear furs because she can sense the pain and anguish of the dead animal....okay.....

So anyway, handsome Prince Anton whisks her away to the palace, where the plot begins to unravel...…the love triangle. There's literally only 3 characters that are important in this - because ✨love triangle✨.

Heads up, if you don't like love triangles, you really aren't going to like this book.

We have Emperor Valko - charming-yet-volatile - and since all I can say about Prince Anton is that he's bland, I was rooting for Valko and Sonya. Because Valko seemed fascinating! I can see that's not going to happen.

Emperor Valko = Maven
Prince Anton = Cal

That up there gives no justice to Maven, from Red Queen okay? Maven is 100 times better than Valko.

Anyway, Valko is messed. up. Well, he was the most intriguing character in the book, and he was my automatic ship with Sonya, until he started acting like a control-freaking jerk. This is what Aveyard should have been going for if she wanted us all to give up on the ship Mareven.

The romance is depressing. Because I ship no-one. And Sonya is a boring MC, she has no defining traits, and easily forgettable. Both the love interests are simply not good enough. Well Valko was, until - Since Valko went down the drain, I decided to DNF this, because there was nothing in it for me anymore.

Honestly, I don't think this book is worth it, there are SO many brilliant YA fantasy novels out there, and this isn't one of them. Okay, if you like a good royalty love triangle and you're obsessed with reading even all the obscure ones, I guess you might pick this up, like me. But heads up: it's nothing special.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This and other reviews are on my blog My Friends Are Fiction

My Thoughts:
I really loved that Purdie created a character with a power she was unable to control. The use of empathy and how feeling other’s emotions would make someone feel was mesmerizing as well as executed to perfection. Sonya can’t distinguish at times what she’s feeling versus what others around her are feeling…imagine not knowing if the passionate view you felt was really yours? It is an incredibly interesting idea and I thought it was such an amazing element to this book.

Burning Glass didn’t hesitate to throw the reader into the intensity of Sonya’s life and power. The first few chapters were insanely gripping for me and I was hooked. The rest of the novel’s pacing does slow down some as we focus on political intrigue and the characters. The story centers on Sonya taking the role she was believed to be ‘born to’, the Auraseer. She will work for the emperor and seek out if any around him means him harm.

For those curious there was a love triangle-but in this book it really didn’t bother me. I think it’s clear early on who Sonya prefers but the manner of her gift/curse to feel other’s emotions would lead her to confusion. I felt it all played out rather realistically assuming someone had her ability. I felt chemistry with both fellows but preferred one over the other easily.

All of the characters I felt were well developed and I loved seeing alternate sides to each. Sonya’s closest friend in her new role, Pia, was a breath of sunshine and I thought her interactions with Sonya were so genuine and sweet.

For me, the best part of this book was Sonya and her struggles with her ability. She veered on insanity more than once and those scenes were written so well and had such a dark nature to them…really brilliant. I loved the fact that as I was reading I couldn’t discern what Sonya was feeling and what she was mirroring from those around her.

Final Thoughts:
Burning Glass was an emotional read that used its slower pacing to introduce the reader to the characters and political intrigue and the main characters mental and emotional instability. Don’t expect a ton of action in the majority of the book but go into reading this looking to know Sonya and question what having her abilities would be like.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sonya is an Auraseer, which means she can sense peoples emotions and intents. After a devastating loss, she is conscripted into the service of a tyrant king. There she must navigate the complex emotions of complicated nobels and servants alike as she tries to control her wild gift that often leaves her overwhelmed.

This book started off really strong, the relationships between Sonya and Pia were always charming and fun, and the complex dance between Sonya and the King was well choreographed. However the pace was very slow, by the 50% mark not much had happened, and there was a lot of repetitiveness regarding a will-they-won't-they romance. Any who hate love triangles, beware.

Despite the slow pace and slightly juvenile love triangle, I was still enjoying this for the unique settings and interesting relationships, but sadly the nail in the coffin ended up being the finale. It felt very rushed after the meandering pace of the first 75% and while I am not against neat endings this felt...disingenuous.

Despite my grumblings, overall this was a decent story and there were large parts of this that I did enjoy. I got this as a kindle daily deal for $2 and for that price I have no regrets with this book. I think that this author has great potential and in time could be an amazing writer.



Check out more of my reviews here

Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Borrow

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a superpower.

Not a very good one, and it’s one I don’t really tell people for fear they simply won’t believe me.

I’m an emotional chameleon.

I literally feel the emotions of people around me. Like an empath.

It was not that long ago that I confessed this useless and uncontrollable superpower to my husband when we were sitting in the car and I said to him, “Are you feeling down? I’m suddenly feeling down for no reason.”

Which, yes, sometimes does legitimately happen to me, but I am slowly beginning to be able to feel the difference between my (somewhat over the top and overwhelming) emotions and the emotions I’m tapping into. Well, not being able to feel the difference so much as recognising when it’s not mine, logically.

It doesn’t happen all the time. I’m not exactly an empath (though that does explain why I don’t really like second hand books). I can’t control this. I never know when it’s going to happen. Sometimes I emotionally align with my husband, which is scary, because he’s a diagnosed depressive and has been suicidal in the past. For example, just this last weekend, my husband, who occasionally takes sleeping tablets due to insomnia (and the depression, PTSD, and anxiety) took a sleeping tablet Friday night. All day Saturday both of us were groggy and needed naps. I was clearly feeding off him, or ‘chameleon-ing’ as we’ve started calling it.

My mother didn’t understand why I bawled my eyes out at the funeral of a great uncle I’d met maybe twice in my life.

When I went to parties, I could get naturally high just by being around drinking people without drinking myself.

It could be a cool superpower, if I could control it.

Part of the reason I’m so unsure about myself is because sometimes I just don’t know whose emotions I’m feeling. Are they mine? Are they my husband’s? The stranger in the car park whose child just threw up and made me almost hurl as well, even though I’m in a car driving away? The character on TV crying over the death of another character I don’t even care about?

Similarly, in Burning Glass, Sonya can feel, and is overwhelmed, by other people’s emotions. She’s called an Auraseer, although she can’t really see auras at all. After a tragic accident propels her into the role of the young emperor’s sovereign Auraseer, his personal bodyguard, Sonya becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to bring the monarchy down.

PLOT
I found the plot to be one of those generic YA spec-fic plots about bringing down a dissatisfying government. Nothing particularly original about it – and especially not in the pseudo love-triangle between the emperor (Valko) and his younger brother (Anton) the crown prince. We mostly spent our time with Sonya as she attempted (and frustratingly, failed) to learn to control her power, with the emperor who was trying in various ways to expand his kingdom and seduce her, or lost in the uninterpretable interactions between Sonya and the crown prince.

CHARACTERS
Sonya was an OK character. I liked how she actually struggled with darkness and badness inside her rather than just saying she was bad and unworthy – you know, the way Edward from Twilight is supposed to be this bad boy but you know he actually won all of the Boy Scout awards ever. In the hands of a lesser author, Sonya’s badness would have come directly from the evil of the people she was surrounded by, but there were no excuses made for the way she was and the actions she wanted to take to hurt people. She struggled with badness the way Kylo Ren struggled with goodness in The Force Awakens.



Also, Sonya never really had any agency until the very end, which I found frustrating. The main mystery she was meant to be working on only cropped up occasionally (and wasn’t even mentioned for about half the book) and she never made any progress with her power (except one time, which was a fluke) until the very, very end. She was determined to barge in on the revolutionary plot but kept coming up against immovable objects that couldn’t move the plot along. Sonya never learned! She never changed anything. She just thought that she, an untrained, uncultured, uneducated, half-wild gypsy girl was better than everyone else at court and knew better than everyone about everything. Her level of hubris could rival Celaena Sardothian from Throne of Glass.

The pseudo love triangle between Sonya, Valko, and Anton was never really going to be a real love triangle because from the start you could tell where the real chemistry was coming from and where Sonya was feeding off Valko’s feelings. That being said, I kind of guiltily enjoyed her early interaction with Valko, before he turned abusive. Valko is the kind of person who has had everything he ever wanted but is still spiteful, so I could understand the way he treated Sonya to spite Anton. Anton, on the other hand, was your typical bland heroic princeling. The real frustration was all of the descriptions of the moments between Sonya and Anton that essentially led to nowhere and then repeated themselves over and over again.

The way Valko and Anton were described, I kept getting a picture of Bolin and Mako from The Legend of Korra. Valko was described to have kind of a baby face while Anton looked very aristocratic with fine angles. Just imagine Bolin is the elder of the two:



WRITING
The writing was fine, I didn’t have any issues with the way the story was told. I did sometimes find it confusing to define the difference between Sonya’s emotions and those she was feeling from someone else, but as that’s entirely the point of the story, I can’t really criticise that. What I can criticise is the ending – specifically the climax. I was simply too confused to figure out what exactly had gone on, and I found it frustrating that moments beforehand seemed to repeat themselves as Sonya struggled to control her power. There were also no consequences for her being, truthfully, a crap Auraseer. The other issue I had was that the main mystery seemed only to come up when it was convenient. What I absolutely loved about this book was the fact that Sonya’s culture seemed to be roughly based on Slavic culture, with similar names, titles, traditions and objects used. Diversity doesn’t just mean non-white culture, and I enjoyed seeing the Slavic influences in the book.

One of the things I like to do is figure out why the book has the title it does, but unfortunately there is no burning or glass motifs, Sonya can’t be said in any way to be fragile like glass, and I can’t figure out why it has the title it does.

PACING
Yeah, the pacing is really this book’s greatest weakness. After a fantastic opening chapter, the pace drops dramatically right into the second chapter and struggles to regain itself. I found it slow and struggled at times to maintain my curiosity. There’s no real action, what with it being a book about feelings and emotions. It’s generally a slow book, and it really doesn’t help that at over 500 pages some scenarios are repeated ad nauseum.

OVERALL
If you like slow romances and those kind of fake love triangles where the girl never really has her heart set on both of them, then you might like this. Unfortunately this book is so hit and miss that I can’t recommend it specifically for romance lovers or fantasy lovers. I wouldn’t particularly recommend it for fantasy lovers but the hint of fantasy might be OK for non-fantasy readers. Similarly the fantasy elements and the main plot about the plotting revolution might be too much for those who just want to swoon over hot royal brothers. I certainly wouldn’t NOT recommend this book, but for once I am uncertain about which audience might enjoy it best.

I received this book for free from Katherine Tegan Books via Edelweiss. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[mads · Rating 2 out of 5]

TW: self harm, suicide, mental illness, trauma, grief, manipulation (emotional, physical, and mental), abusive relationships, hinted rape.

Before I get into the actual review, I want to say that the rep for self-harm in this book can be - in my opinion - harmful. The author had good intentions, and I believe she wanted to craft a powerful story of overcoming these struggles. However, so much time is spent in this head space and very little is spent overcoming it. The first mention of self harm is literally on page 2. If you want to read it, please make sure you're in the right head space and take care of yourself.

Now, onto the actual review. There are going to be spoilers. Like, a lot. And I'm not going to block them because I'm past that point. Only keep reading if you don't care about spoilers, or you've already read this.

Ready?


On to the spoilers.

Alright, so the story starts with our protagonist, Sonya, feeling the overwhelming auras of the starving villagers trying to break into the convent she and the other auraseers reside in. While everyone else is saying letting the peasants in would be their ruin, Sonya feels overcome by their pain and emotions so she locks nearly every auraseer in a room and rushes to let the peasants in. Yet, in a twist of fate, wolves show up and chase every single peasant away except for a man suffering from severe madness. Still wanting to help, Sonya welcomes him in to their home. She becomes overwhelmed by his madness and reaches for the flame in the fireplace, causing half the convent (the side with the locked auraseers) to burn down. (Sonya is fine, but the mad man is dead. I'm not exactly sure how.)

Feeling incredibly guilty, Sonya realizes - with relief - that the fire didn't touch the other side of the convent where her sick best friend was being tended to. Here's the first place where the rep gets a bit uncomfortable.

We find out on page 2 that Sonya's friend, Yuliya, sought an emotional escape from the overwhelming auras by self-harming. (And when Sonya mentions this to their caretaker, the caretaker describes it as 'her emotional release' and urges Sonya to find her own??) When the other half of the convent burnt down Yuliya had just come out of her fever and, feeling the agony of her fellow auraseers burning to death, took her own life. So... yeah.

From here, things get dodgy so I'm not going to explain them plot-point by plot-point and instead focus on the things that stood out to me.

Along the lines of self-harm rep, self-harm isn't always about causing physical lacerations. And we see this with Sonya throughout the book as she clutches an idol that is stained with Yuliya's blood so she can relive the pain of her best friend's death repetitively as a punishment for her actions that led to this. It isn't a constant thing, but it happens enough. At the very end of the book, she allows herself to feel the aura long enough to feel the moment Yuliya entered the euphoria of the afterlife. Which.... yeah, I don't like this. I don't like that it's telling a YA audience that this girl killed herself, it hurt until the euphoria set in. It would be one thing if this book was targeting an adult audience that isn't highly susceptible to influence, but it wasn't. There's a fine line between finding peace about death, and making it sound like there's a reward for suicide.


Moving on to the love triangle.

Which isn't, really, a love triangle. This is basically Cal and Maven 2.0. Except, even Maven had more standards than this dude and yet Valko (emperor and one part of the faux love triangle) kills two people the whole book. The difference here is that Maven wasn't a perv, and Valko most definitely is. I swear all this man thought about was sex and making his brother angry.

With that being said, I don't believe the author meant this as a love triangle. She meant it as a clear indicator of a healthy relationship (Anton) and a toxic one (Valko). She literally wrote parallel experiences that show the differences in their character. For example. a senator guy calls Sonya a whore in front of Valko and our beloved perv is like, "Yeah, no, bro, you're totally right." In contrast, several chapters later, a woman calls Sonya a tart in front of Anton and my man LOSES IT. "She is a woman of HONOR." And the whole spill. Quite admirable.

Now, while I admire the author for her attempt at flipping the usual love triangle trope on his head, that doesn't make it so that I can forgive the lack of plot. 3/4s (if not more) of this book consist of Sonya making out with Valko, feeling guilty, remembering she loves Anton, before making out with Valko again, and on and on the cycle goes.

Which actually leads me to my next point.


This is the tropiest book I've ever read.

I'm not exaggerating. Main character that is bland, blond, skinny and has more power than everyone else? Check. A love triangle with two brothers, one good and in power, the other righteous and fighting for his kingdom? Check. One of the love interests pushing the girl away because he 'knows what's good for her'? Check. A young maid the MC befriends that's in love with a soldier and also can't read? Check. A grumpy lady's maid? Check. Absent parents? Check. Dead parents? Check. A creepy senator? Check. A rebellion with half baked plans that somehow work out? Check.

I know this book is from the 2015 era and I get that things were very cookie cutter during that time, but holy crap.


Finally, let's talk about our main character.

The main character cried. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. As in, I don't remember a single scene where she doesn't cry a little. I get that this was part of her empathic nature and her inability to separate her emotions from everyone else's but goodness gracious it got annoying. Then there was the matter of every decision she made being the consequence of someone else's emotions, therefore absolving her of any and all guilt, as well as personality. This girl had no agency, no beliefs, no morals other than 'I won't have sex with Valko, but I'll do pretty much anything else', and added nothing to the kingdom. Idek why the emperor still felt the need for a soveriegn auraseer when she did NOTHING.

And yet Anton still had his, 'You're my savior' speech for her. What did she save you from, buddy? What has she done in this entire 528 page book to save anyone or anything? She cried, then she cried, then she made out with Valko, then she cried, cried again before making out with Valko, and THEN coming to your room to make out with you. *facepalms* If I was an empath, this girl would be insulting to me. Feeling the emotions of others doesn't mean you're a limp noodle with no personality.


Overall

I think it's safe to say I won't be continuing the series. I gave it 2 stars because the author had some really clever ideas, and I found the concept (as well as some of the settings) to be quite neat; it just never fully delivered. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, except for maybe Maven Calore so he can feel a little better about himself.

[Alicia Batista (Addicted Readers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 BEAUTIFUL, BURNING STARS...

BURNING GLASS was such a powerful read that I LOVED to pieces!! It quickly stole my breath away with it's different tone and forceful characteristics. It was such an unfamiliar kinda a read for me, that I enjoyed it for that aspect alone. But then you add in all the other great traits, and you have yourself an UNPUTDOWNABLE book that you won't want to miss a single breathtaking moment of!

Their were many reason of why I loved this book but I'll save all that for my juicy review closer to the release date. But know this: If your expecting a fast-paced, action-packed book, with a blood-thirsty rebellion, and tons of vivid, graphic killings, with a sword-wielding main character, then you will be sadly disappointed.

BUT.....

If your looking for something so utterly and hopelessly unique, that it touches the depths of your soul, and still has more to give, with a pounding rage of pain, suffering, and hopelessness, intertwined with a fierce determination, and force of emotions and feelings like you have never seen, and a heart-breakingly beautiful slow burning romance, that barley touches the ache my heart desires. And of course with a brilliant, but definitely flawed main character, with an untrained power that has never been seen before, and a determined rebellion, with two royal brothers-one with a power for greed and lust, the other for equality and compassion, and an onslaught of emotions that I never even thought possible. If all that doesn't intrigue you, then you definitively should look else where!

But I tell you this: BURNING GLASS is a 2016 read that you won't want to miss!!!

Rating & Review To Come...After I can think coherent thoughts again, and not rambling (Like I did above;)

[Jaime (Two Chicks on Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Just wow! This book was freaking fantastic! Burning Glass had me enraptured on page one! Kathryn Purdie has a hit on her hands and this will definitely make my top 10 of 2016 list!

I adored the MC Sonya she was an awesome heroine! She wasn't perfect heck she was far from it and that's what endeared me to her! And I fell in love with Anton from the moment I met him (well almost it may have taken a couple of pages lol). OMG the story! It was amazing! I loved that it was high fantasy but it had aspects of Russian culture woven in! Ok I'm going to start rambling if I don't cut it short.

All I'm going to say is once I finished this I almost wanted to pick it up and start reading it again. Burning Glass will sit on my favorite fantasy shelf along with Maria V. Snyder's books and Rae Carson's!

[Paige Bookdragon]

I have an ARC but I'm kinda scared of reading this. I smell love-triangle...

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard about this book back in August, and was immediately intrigued by the premise. Sonya is born with a gift where she can feel and interpret the emotions of those around her, and that makes her extremely valuable to the empire. Girls like her are rounded up as soon as they start showing their abilities, and trained to one day become the Sovereign Auraseer for the emperor. Sonya is different though, for 17 years, she's been kept hidden from the government, to keep her safe from the clutches of the emperor, and its only now that she's taken to start her training. After an incident at the convent, she becomes the only one able to replace the disgraced Sovereign Auraseer, with next to no training. When she arrives at court, she realises that she's in too far over her head, and her life is at risk, as well as her heart.

I really enjoyed Sonya. I know some people have had issues with her, and though I also found her slightly annoying at times, I felt like her nervousness and naivety was valid, considering how her life had gone. She was a complicated character, but grew quite a bit throughout the course of the book.

Fair warning, there is a love triangle in this book, but I didn't find it too problematic. Her feelings for her two love interests were different, and it's not surprising, considering the personalities of said love interests. The fact that they were brothers is a bit of a cliche, but whereas one was aloof and intriguing, the other was charismatic and down-right scary at times.

The romance was a large part of the plot, but the politics were so developed, and kept me on the edge of my seat at every turn. The action just kept getting more and more intense, until the climatic conclusion. I'm in awe of Purdie's world building, and plot, and can't wait to read more from her in the future, and the next installment of the trilogy.

[Gabe Novoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. Just finished reading and not totally sure what to say yet but WOW. I'll post a full review closer to release, but if you're a fan of YA Fantasy seriously add this one to your TBR lists.

My only regret in reading this is I need the sequel and the first book hasn't even been published yet. The struggle.

Full review:

Right from the start, Burning Glass drew me in with probably one of the most intense first chapters I’ve read in a long time.

Burning Glass is the type of book that grabs you by the throat from the first page and doesn’t let go until the end. With fascinating court politics, very complicated characters (and no pure evil antagonist), intense conflict and so many fascinating layers of world building, I really loved reading this. The world vaguely reminded me of a Shadow and Bone Russia-type setting, but the magic was completely unique and soooooo interesting to read about. I loved some characters, hated others, was suspicious of many more and all in all really enjoyed reading this.

I will say there was one background mythology and a throwaway line about it that was kind of ableist, that I didn’t love, and the love triangle didn't work for me in that one character was...not a viable option to me at all for spoilery reasons. But neither of those points ruined the book for me, personally, and I still found it a very enjoyable read.

Overall, Burning Glass is a wonderfully written, very exciting and emotional YA Fantasy, and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Diversity note: Sadly, I don't remember there being much of any.

[Jess]

Now now, I know we say words, intentions and feelings are the true deadly weapons but really? Will the girl really do much to "protect" her emperor? I'd hire some muscle and weapon if I was in danger, no offence. A little more insurance, you know? If you were valuing life that is.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

To our lovely heroine, Sonya.


Congratulations on being the dumbest, most naive, insufferable, helplessly incompetent, desperate, selfish bitch heroine I've had the displeasure of reading.

This book is one step for crappy literature, but 1000 steps back for feminism and high fantasy novels everywhere.

INCOMING RAGE RANT
I'm fucking easy. Like, no matter HOW BAD a high fantasy novel is, I will still probably enjoy it more than other types of fantasy. And I've read some really terrible high fantasy novels....

...Until this book. I tried. I tried SO hard to like this book. The fact that I finished this entire, unnecessarily long book despite my level of hatred just shows how much I tried to find something redeeming about it.

I literally tried to excuse all the terrible shit that happens, time after time, to the point where it gets so bad that you just get desensitized, and it becomes "Meh, it's all on par for the course" kind of awful.

If I could give this book negative stars , I would. This book singlehandedly managed to crush a bit of my high fantasy obsession. Congratulations Sonya!

I guess in someways this book achieved the purpose of a book. It made me feel so many emotions - so much rage, frustration, hatred, sadness (over how I managed to spend fucking 5 hours of my life on this), etc. - that I will probably never forget this book.

READ THIS BOOK IF YOU WANT A CAUTIONARY TALE ON WHAT TO AVOID WHEN WRITING.
Literally, in my entire library, this book will probably go down as the "greatest time suck of a book by being the longest book I ever finished, despite knowing MANY MANY MANY MANY times that I should have just DNF it"

I guess that just shows who the real loser of this situation is... ._.

Sonya. I am actually speechless. She's so ridiculously incompetent that I don't even know how she is alive. She even sucks at being the "special snowflake."

Who the fuck says this, a few days after ACCIDENTALLY murdering 20 innocent lives

I searched myself for some fragment of gratification that the once-senior Auraseer was gone, but all I found was my own self-loathing.

Fucking GOOD! You should be loathing your despicable self for even attempting to excuse and derive gratification for killing someone, no matter how terrible she was to you.

As the heroine, Sonya must be the virtuous, holy, completely good girl, whereas everyone else is a mean girl. And in the mind of a teenage, hormonal, spoiled brat (Sonya), "mean girl drama" can justify death.

Oh right, I forgot. Sonya and her special, highly unique powers are MUCH more sensitive and naturally must be an isolated loner. Even if you wanted to talk to her, YOU must put in all the effort to gain HER friendship, or else you're just the one furthering alienating her it's not like friendship and acceptance is a two-way street or anything.

The book skims over WHY the girl is terrible - because, ya'know, she gets killed by Sonya's incompetence within the first chapter - so I'll just have to take Sonya's word for it that this girl was obviously a major bitch to the point that her BURNING SLOWLY TO DEATH, LOCKED IN A CONFINED ROOM, WITH 19 OTHER HELPLESS YOUNG GIRLS, BECAUSE OF SONYA = warranted.

At this point, warning bells should've told me to put the book down and back away slowly. But like the naive idiot that I am, the book teaser seemed to promise redemption for Sonya's mistake.



And so I read on....
Sonya "nobly" sacrifices herself (after killing all other 20 candidates) to save the last two remaining Auraseers, she expects her guardian to MOURN HER NOBLE SACRIFICE. LOL. NO. Go do you job and repent on the fact that you brought this shit onto yourself instead of acting like such a matyr.

My sorrow for leaving Ormina was one-sided.

Are you kidding me right now? So the girl who HATED Ormina, thought of it as some sort of prison, never opened herself up to anyone, never took the help they offered her seriously, never made an attempt to stop feeling sorry for herself and make friends outside of Yuliya, all of a sudden feel SUCH PROFOUND SORROW for leaving this "dreaded place"? You sure that's not GUILT? And then expects the one who just lost 20 of her girls due to the mistake of one incompetent, unruly student to put her on a pedestral for being so brave and being drafted for something that was ALWAYS AN EXPECTATION FOR HER.

Do I think the Auraseer law is unfair? Yes.
Do I think Sonya had a right to bitch about it? Yes.

However, I wish she'd realize that
a) if SHE didn't kill everyone else, this wouldn't be a problem
b) even if everybody was alive, someone would've been forced to condemn to this fate. Is their life not as valuable as hers to the point that they can be some sacrificial lamb, as long as Sonya was free to be blissfully ignorant and irresponsible?

Not only that, did I mention she felt guilt and sorrow for her stupidity? My bad. I forget that once she reaches the shiny capital and lasers in on her future husband, she loses sight of everything else besides him.

When she reached the castle, she just further proved her incompetence. And this cannot just be accounted for her lack of training. She lacked in EVERY aspect. However the most glaring one is that: she was a terrible Auraseer. I swear, she did NOTHING. NOTHING at all. If the book didn't explain what an Auraseer did albeit a crappy explanation I wouldn't even know what her job was. Was it to dress up and complain about everything, while hanging out with her serving maid and hopelessly pining for a man?

She failed so many times as an Auraseer, she either
* doesn't sense the danger
* senses the danger but thinks she all of sudden feels such a profound murderous hatred instead of realizing it's a potential assassin
* senses something and says NOTHING

If she actually got beheaded for every failure, she'd have to have more lives than a damn cat.

But NOOOO. Unlike all those Auraseers who died before her, Sonya is a special snowflake. She must live! Oh. Look how special she is!!!

Anton. Naive. Hopelessly idealistic. Pacifist to the point of stupidity. The only valuable thing that came out of his mouth was

"Do you never take responsibility for your own emotions?" to Sonya.

But then he became a lovesick idiot. No more rational Anton after that. :(

Valko. I was rooting for him the whole time. You know why? So he could destroy Anton & Sonya in one fell swoop, then go down with them due to his arrogance and utter incompetence as a emperor.

Romance. LOL. NO. Just NO. This love triangle was more like a fail triangle. Insta-love, it'd be everywhere. Don't you just hate it when it is 110% obvious who the oh-so-beautiful-one-of-a-kind-goddess is going to end up with, and yet I'm over here suffering through her beautifully angsty debate on who to choose: the complete bastard vs. the other one.

Do I want a guy who treats me worst than the ground he walks on or do I want a guy who blatantly ignores me?
HMMMM. Oh the choices!

AFTER SHE OUTRIGHT SAYS WHO SHE WANTS TO BE WITH, I'm still forced to sit through another 200 pages of the author forcing her "romance" to be with the obvious loser of this triangle, while the other guy has this whole cold and negligent vibe going off. FUCK THIS.

Sonya actually spent more time with Valko through the majority of the book. And then she pulled out this after the first 200 pages:

My breath caught in stunning revelation. I wanted Anton. I cared for him more than I'd ever dared to admit.

...Excuse me. WHAT? How did this even happen? You mean in the 2 seconds you managed to corner him and force him to talk to you?

Plot. Plot? What plot? Oh, you mean the complete garbage I had to trudge through to get to "The End" page? I had to suffer through so many pages of political bullshit. Not even good political intrigue. Just bullshit. If I had wanted to do that, I would just watch Trump's campaign; at least it seems like he is more self-aware of his own idiocy.

I have no idea how the author is going to drag out this hot mess for another 2 books. There was barely any plot in this one. All I see when I hear about the upcoming sequels:

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy for review!

I seem to be not getting along well with all of the super hyped fantasy titles this year. I struggled with this book and there were a lot of things that made me cringe.

First though I did like the concept. I feel like if the characters had all been aged up about 5 years (because let's be real, this wasn't YA. There was NO reason why these characters HAD TO BE teens. They didn't.) and some of the issues were fixed then I probably would have enjoyed this. I LIKE dark fantasy. I grew up reading some of the darkest adult high fantasy the late 90's had to offer.

I also really liked the idea of Sonya's power. I really liked how easily she was overwhelmed by the emotions of those around her. I know that I can be a VERY emotional person that that the moods of people around myself can greatly affect me, and the extent that they affected Sonya was rather terrifying.

The writing in this was very intense and probably what kept me going. I didn't DNF because I WANTED to see what was going to happen and the writing kept me turning the pages to find out.

Sadly I had issues with the characters, the abuse, and the lack of proper world building.

First off I thought Sonya was quite brainless. At the beginning of the book I actually thought it was told from her POV as a child! I was shocked when I found out that it wasn't a prologue, but just the first chapter!

I understand that her gift overwhelmed her, but she didn't really try to do anything about it. In the beginning when she's living at the covenant she apparently spends all of her time being all "woe is me" because the other girls don't like her. She also apparently spent all of her time NOT training. It drive me MAD later on when she was always like "what training, I didn't get any training... because I was too busy not paying attention". Like duh. You didn't get training because YOU CHOSE NOT TO WORK FOR IT. She also was so blind at times to what was going on around her. And her impulsiveness was absurd. I get that she's young but she had literally NO instinct for self preservation. Even when she was alone. Ugh, she didn't really grow much either, like she finally tried to train herself, but again it wasn't like she was disciplined about it or anything.

I hated both of the brothers. I did like the darkness in Valko and how he was so manipulative but the abuse that he inflicted on Sonya and how she JUST TOOK IT was disgusting. I felt dirty reading those parts... I also hated the way that he would fondle her under the table during important meetings with his advisers. Some of that was just too much for YA I felt. Too dark and twisted and too much for a character of that age and experience. Anton was also a weird one because he just had no personality and I didn't understand at all how the two of them developed feelings for each other. Valko was crazy so I just chalked his crazy passion up to that. Anton though... it just never felt real to me.

So yes, Sonya is caught between two brothers... is it a love triangle? Some would argue no because Sonya's feelings for Valko are really just his emotions taking over her. Either way she's torn between the two brothers and there's a lot of ~moments~ between her and the brothers. And I couldn't get behind either pairing.

Another thing that greatly bothered me was the way that Sonya's gift worked... because it's never really explained. We know for sure that she can feel other people's emotions. But it's more than just feeling them, their emotions get inside of her and take over. I thought THAT was cool. But then there are times when she can practically read people's minds? And other times when she feels things but doesn't realize that it's someone else's emotion? And then other times when she can't feel ANYTHING? And then even other times when she can take over other people THROUGH their emotions? And at the very end I don't even know what happened. It's all very vague. Oh and apparently she has a super "special" gift because she can sense the emotions of dead people and animals. It seemed a bit far fetched to me that she could sense the anguish of a clam having it's pearl ripped from it's body or the death of a cow through the leather of a boot but whatever?

And the politics and world building was all very bleh. Again, I'm coming from a fantasy background where books spend hundreds of pages describing the intricate politics and schemes and lands, but this was just teens playing at politics. Making rash choices for POWER and GLORY. And not really understanding how an economy works. None of it really made sense and it was all very lame.

So yeah. Nice writing, nice tension, interesting ideas, but a lot of poor execution that could have been fixed up and fleshed out with older characters and possibly a longer, "adult fantasy" length novel.

[Laurie Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

People, get excited for March 1st to arrive.

When I got my hands on an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, I knew I was in for a treat if the words inside were even remotely as gorgeous at that cover. I can honestly say that BURNING GLASS blew past those expectations and continued wreaking havoc with my head and heart. This is a story filled with complicated relationships and political intrigue and cartwheeling emotions and romance—oh, the romance!

BURNING GLASS is the story of Sonya, who is an Auraseer. Her powers give her the ability to feel what others around her are feeling, both physically and emotionally. It’s both a gift and a curse, as Sonya’s power is reckless and all those emotions can combine into a deadly cocktail threatening to consume her. It was this concept that made me want to read the book immediately. After a terrible mistake (trust me, you will probably forget to breathe during the first few chapters) leaves Sonya the only Auraseer able to serve Emperor Valko, she is forced to use her powers to discover would-be assassins in his court and protect the emperor against internal threats. But as seeds of rebellion grow in the palace, Sonya grapples with rebellion within herself, and she must decide where her loyalties (and heart) lie—to the emperor, with whom she has forged a tenuous alliance, or his brother Anton, the crown prince who makes Sonya feel things she hasn’t before.

As someone who loves twisty plots, changing relationships, and complicated, forbidden romance, this book sucked me in from the first page. Sonya is the kind of protagonist you’ll root for and also relate to. Yes, her power makes her unique, but her dueling emotions make her so uniquely human. Author Kathryn Purdie’s writing is deep and lush, gorgeous and evocative, just like the setting and all of its details she so beautifully weaves throughout the book.

Warning: You’ll get to the end of the book wanting more of these characters, more of this world. The good news is there are two more books in this trilogy. The bad news is that we all have to wait a little longer for them.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO much freaking fun. This, to me, felt like a mash-up of Shadow & Bone and Pride & Prejudice, or *something* Austeny, at least in the best way possible. I had a blast reading it and even though it's relatively long, I felt like I mostly flew through it. There is a bit of a "two books in one" feel to this, but I think that's sort of to be expected for the first book in a trilogy. Purdie did an excellent job of introducing the world, letting you get to know the characters, *and* moving the plot along on a macro-level. Highly recommend for fans of romance-heavy fantasy. LOVE.