“Vivid characters, terrifying monsters, and world building as deep and dark as the ocean.”–Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen I am Henrietta Howel.The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years.The prophesied one.Or am I?Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s … to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers.
Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.
But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.
As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?
Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess’s spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare.
“The magic! The intrigue! The guys! We were sucked into this monster-ridden, alternative England from page one. Henrietta is literally a ‘girl on fire’ and this team of sorcerers training for battle had a pinch of Potter blended with a drop of [Cassandra Clare’s] Infernal Devices.”
—Justine Magazine
“Cluess gamely turns the chosen-one trope upside down in this smashing dark fantasy.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Unputdownable. I loved the monsters, the magic, and the teen warriors who are their world’s best hope! Jessica Cluess is an awesome storyteller!”
—Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A fun, inventive fantasy. I totally have a book crush on Rook.”
—Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author
“Pure enchantment. I love how Cluess turned the ‘chosen one’ archetype on its head. With the emotional intensity of my favorite fantasy books, this is the kind of story that makes you forget yourself.”
–Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen
“A glorious, fast-paced romp of an adventure. Jessica Cluess has built her story out of my favorite ingredients: sorcery, demons, romance, and danger.”
—Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters
more
Ambitious series with a mythology I wasn’t familiar with that I liked but didn’t love. The world and the mythology were interesting, but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters or care about their relationships.
I voluntarily received an ARC of A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess in exchange for an honest review.
I was very excited when I received my ARC of A Shadow Bright and Burning in the mail, because one, the book is absolutely beautiful and two, the summary sounding like a great fantasy story. I was also a little hesitant after reading several reviews complaining about it being too similar to Cassandra Clare’s The Infernal Devices series. Yes there were some similarities, but A Shadow Bright and Burning is still an different, independent, and well told story.
Henrietta sometimes made me very frustrated, but I loved her strength and determination to fight for everyone no matter where they are in the social hierarchy. Even in the frustrating moments of this book, I seriously enjoyed every moment of it. I read the 400 page story in two days because I could not put it down and kept wanting to know what happened next. And now I can’t wait to find out what happens in book 2.
An alternate Victorian London, and OMG, this may be my favorite of this year, along with its sequel, and will Ms Cluess hurry up with the final book, please? This is one that left me gasping, “Oh no she didn’t go there, she did not go there,” when yes indeed, she did go there. Ms Cluess makes story choices like I make story choices which means twists and turns and going places you really didn’t think she’d go.
~oOo~
“I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years. The prophesied one.
“Or am I?”
Henrietta Howel can burst into flames.
Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers.
Wow! Such a well done story and an impressive world of magic.
My caveats: there were too many characters to keep up with. The SIX other sorcerers, the sorcerer masters, the SEVEN Ancients, the magicians and sorcerers from history, etc. The name would be mentioned once and then referenced again a few chapters later and I would be completely lost.
Also, this story felt like it was borderline reverse harem, and I HATE reverse harem. Having read through it, I can safely say that only two boys were actively pursuing Henrietta, so at least that’s something.
But the love triangle – THE DREADED LOVE TRIANGLE. It was bad. Henrietta was super flighty. Pledging herself to one guy, and then literally IN THE NEXT SCENE almost kissing another guy and not feeling bad about it at all.
I don’t mind love triangles as long as they’re done tastefully. I prefer the heroines of my books to be decisive instead of thinking she can just BE with two guys at once. That’s not very classy.
But I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The climax was super intense. By the time I was 40% of the way through, I COULD NOT put it down. A real pageturner, and an intricate and exquisite magical world. A really enjoyable read.
I loved the world building and the take on magic.
Love it. Great characters. Great world building
This is the first book of the series and it was enough to get me interested and want to read the second one. This author has great potential. I’ve read reviews on the second book that say it’s much better than the first.
What a wonderful story this was, from the very first word on the very first page! It was full of magic, sorcery, friendships, betrayals and romance too. What more could you ask for?! The characters really came to life for me. I originally wanted to read this book because I requested the second book through Netgalley. Now that I have read the first book, I will certainly read the second book even if my request through Netgalley is denied. I want to read more by Jessica Cluess!