Red Queen meets Shadow and Bone in a debut fantasy about a girl forced to use her gift for sensing-and absorbing-other people's feelings to protect the empire from assassins. Steeped in intrigue and betrayal, Burning Glass captivates with heartrending romance, dangerous magic, and one girl's quest for redemption. In Riaznin, it's considered an honor for Auraseers like Sonya-girls with a rare form of synesthesia-to serve as the emperor's personal protector, constantly scanning for feelings of malice and bloodlust in the court. But Sonya would rather be free. After the queen's murder and a tragic accident, Sonya is hauled off to the palace to guard a charming yet volatile new ruler. But Sonya's power is reckless and hard to control. She's often carried away by the intense passion of others. And when a growing rebellion forces Sonya to side with either the emperor who trusts her or his mysterious brother, the crown prince, Sonya realizes she may be the key to saving the empire-or its greatest threat.
This book is an emotional roller coaster but with good reason the main character is cursed with the ability to sense others auras and the world she lives in believes she was born to serve. Sonya by no means wants to serve the emperor in fact she hid for as long as she could to avoid her future. When she is forced to the palace and becomes even more surrounded by emotions this brilliant author turns up the romance side to the point where you are drowning in it.
This is a very long book and i got worried when i saw several reviews that said the romance was heavy handed and really muddled the story, but i did not get that i felt the romance actually was more based on the political back story that the author was trying to share with us. This is not a romance it about a country trying to rebel and caught up in this rebellion is our heroic Soyna and as a result of being forced to serve in the palace and her curse she gets wrapped up in the lives of the two princes and you ache for the pain of them both.
I had tears streaming down my face at the end as a key character you get come to love life is snuffed out with barley a thought. You really hope that the character survives, their a lot to this story and i definitely recommend a light read after as the intensity of the story will leave you in a slump for a while. Outstanding job Kathryn Purdie and look forward to more from these characters.
I tweeted with the author while i read this story and you find all those tweets by search #BurningGlass
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
23 February, 2016:
Finished reading
-
23 February, 2016:
Reviewed