Book Review: Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

Release Date: March 1st, 2016
Read: March 2nd-9th, 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Series: Burning Glass, #1
Format: ARC, 512 pages
Source: Traded

Description 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. But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, and she can’t always 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 charming-yet-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

Review:

   I was darkness personified.
   I had heard a few things from bloggers before going into Burning Glass, excitement, etc. But when my friend received the ARC, she told me to stay away from it. Well she wasn't wrong.
   Going into Burning Glass I immediately felt a similarity to Poison Study by Maria V. Synder, this feeling stuck with me throughout the whole book. Then eventually I started to feel another similarity, this time to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. When I got to that point all I was was bored and annoyed for everything being so similar to the two.
   Along with being annoyed about the similarities, I was also so aggravated when it came to Sonya and the King. Being abusive, annoying and manipulative, I just could not handle Valko. I hope in most cases it was Sonya feeling his "affections" for her that lead her to him, because otherwise I just don't understand what Purdie was thinking.
   Because I could not see Burning Glass as anything other than knock offs of Poison Study and Throne of Glass, I could not enjoy anything from the novel. Saying that, I do not see myself reading anything else from this series, in the future.

Rating:

Favourite Quotes:

"I'm not a mirror. And I don't break like glass."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, High Fantasy, War, Magic, Powers