Red Queen meets Shadow and Bone in this #1 New York Times bestselling debut 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 … 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.
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I found the idea of this book fascinating, with the main character, Sonya, sensing the auras or feelings of the people around her. I liked how that played out. The relationships between the characters throughout were interestingly developed, with lots of realistic nuances and complexities. This book was almost 500 pages, and in my opinion, having it be 50-100 pages shorter would’ve tightened it nicely and made the pacing drag a little less. Knowing there was a sequel, I was expecting more of an unfinished ending, so I was glad to find the plot points all wrapped up in a satisfying way.
“The mighty isn’t one, but many.”
I’m honestly stumped as to why Burning Glass is only averaging a 3.42 rating on Goodreads. I purchased this trilogy from Book Outlet earlier this year along with a YA Fantasy duology called The Glass Spare, and let me tell you: Burning Glass is far better than those books. They don’t even feel like the same genre. Glass Spare had an enormous plot hole that was never corrected along with a whole host of other issues, yet its average rating is much higher.
Whoever described Burning Glass as Red Queen meets Shadow and Bone captured the tone and setting of this book perfectly—major vibes all the way. I’m surprised more people haven’t read this series.
Burning Glass has a dark, intricate plot with characters who mercilessly pull you under. The prose is beautiful, the overall tone could be described as melancholy, and the romantic intrigue is more sweeping and complicated than any other YA love triangle I’ve read. If you’ve read Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series, imagine the attraction and emotional tension between Mare Barrow, Maven, and Cal, but much more complex and intoxicating. Burning Glass is described as having aching romance, and I can’t argue with it—it really, honestly does. The melancholy, the burning love interests, all of it makes for the perfect wintry read. I couldn’t put it down.
The extreme emotional tension in this series is exponentially compounded by the fact that our protagonist, Sonya Petrova, is an Auraseer. What does that mean exactly? Imagine if your superpower was empathy, and imagine your empathy being so all-consuming and vast that you can literally feel the emotions of everyone around you without having to touch them. If they harbor hatred or envy, uncontrollable lust and desire, profound sadness, physical torture, violent intent… Sonya can stand in the middle of a crowd and feel ALL of it. Imagine not knowing whether the emotions you felt belonged to others, or if they were actually your own. That is who Sonya is. This is further complicated by the fact that she isn’t just any ordinary Auraseer—she can also feel the final emotions of those who’ve died when coming into contact with their blood or other organic matter. Even that of animals.
And while the story seems to be about Sonya sorting through her feelings toward each royal brother—Anton and Valko—there is something deeper happening beneath the surface. This is a YA Fantasy trilogy with lots of political intrigue, games, and ideologies. If you enjoy those elements along with the heavy-handed romantic element woven throughout, you may want to see what Burning Glass is about.
I will also mention: the first chapters have one of the most tragic openings I’ve read in YA Fantasy to date. Sonya has been through a lot, she’s coping with the terrible things she’s wrought, and that makes her an incredibly fascinating protagonist in my opinion.
“I am Sonya Petrova. And I am not broken.”
From those riveting opening chapters to the very last sentence of the book, the story came full circle and I was feeling rather weepy for our heroine.
The author Kathryn Purdie was a pleasant discovery of mine, and now I’ll be interested in reading whatever else she creates. I just finished Burning Glass 2 (Crystal Blade), and I enjoyed it so much. Can’t wait to read book 3: Frozen Reign.
Don’t sleep on Kathryn Purdie.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the main character’s ability to sense emotion. It was thrilling and fast-paced. Such a great read!
The second I started reading this book I was so confused by Sonya’s magic until I was finally able to understand what an Auraseer was. But I pushed on because sometimes its takes a while for everything in a world to make sense and things normally get better when the plot moves along and gets more in depth. Somehow this book just never took off for me and I was uninterested in the story, the characters, and the love triangle. Normally, I don’t care if there’s a love triangle, but I couldn’t rally behind this one. Burning Glass had potential to be really interesting, but Sonya’s magic took a backburner to the growing revolution that further put Valko and Anton on opposites of each other.
So when it comes down to it. This book fell short and I didn’t care much about the story or the characters. I won’t be reading the next book.
I must admit I was not in love with this book when I started it. I kept putting it down and walking away. Sonya just rubbed me the wrong way and I had no connection or want to hear her story.
Finally I made a point to finish it and I am glad I did. The plot was easily followed and you could tell where it was going but you found yourself enthralled with the nuances.
That is not to say I got to like Sonya better until the very end. Her need to fill the void and follow really got to me. She had no real self and just ugh. But 3 stars for the plot and originality.
Literally just turned the last page of this book and I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY ENOUGH. The writing serves the story so perfectly, and the emotions prevalent throughout the book and our main character are so visceral. Valko is intoxicating, Anton is a steady burn, and Sonya is so enchanting and real that you lose yourself completely in her world. GET. THIS. BOOK.
And it’s part of a trilogy, guys. WE GET TWO MORE!!