Book Review: The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

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.

Genre: 

YA (young adult) fantasy

Overall:

I enjoyed this book a lot! I love fantasy, I love seeing where a person's imagination can take them. And always seeing new ways to use magic is always exciting! Iolanthe was a great main character, she knew what she wanted, but she also knew what she needed to do, so it balanced out her character very nicely. And Titus, being kind of a jerk at times, was a great main character as well. It was really fun reading Iolanthe's and Titus's back and forth. I loved the use of magic, and all the spells, and all the creatures. Such as dragons, which are a personal favorite of mine. And Iloanthe's use of fire is awesome.

Romance:

There was a hint of romance between the two MC's. But just a kiss here and there, it was very short and sweet. But, aside from that, since Iolanthe was dressed as a boy at this school, trying to keep her identity a secret, a lot of boys thought that the Prince and her were together, and they made some comments about it. And the prince trying to be rude and very princely, made some comments about having a mistress, but only a few times. You can ignore it easily.

Language:

There were a few words, but only used a few times. Basically, if you think about what the words really mean, you'll laugh.

Violence: 

There was a tinge of violence, but nothing over done. So anyone with a weak stomach would be alright reading this.

Religion:

There wasn't really any religion in this book, just the use of magic and things like that. But it didn't bash any sort of religion. The use of magic was normal, they used spells, and they trained, it was very interesting. Probably similar to Harry Potter.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm really looking forward to book two!

Rating: 4.5/5

-M.L