Review: The Burning Sky

"When you will have done what you need to do, you will have lived long enough."

The Burning Sky (Elemental Trilogy #1)
Sherry Thomas
464 pages

Rating: 4.5

Magic! Not ghosts, parallel universes, psychics, glamours, fae, or paranormals, but wand-wielding, spell-casting, Latin-adulterating, Hermione-would-be-proud magic! I never realized how much I missed it until the first few chapters of The Burning Sky. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all those other fantastical concoctions, but sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned Wingardium Leviosa!

Unfortunately, The Burning Sky couldn't live up to its own promise. It seemed to be heading down a great road. British boarding schools? Girls pretending to be boys? Evil kingdoms to overthrow? Strange beasts and super-powerful mages? I'm there. But Thomas tries to weave in too many threads and ends up dropping half the stitches.

Iolanthe Seaborn is, as described, a supremely powerful elemental mage living in a the magical kingdom of the Domain. The Domain is technically ruled by Prince Titus, but he's just a figurehead, as the oppressive Atlanteans are really the ones in charge. Titus know he's prophesied to be the one to protect and guide Iolanthe, and she'll eventually overthrow Atlantis and free the country. But he didn't know she was going to be a girl. Their lives become intertwined and thus begins the adventure.

It's pretty straightforward stuff, but Thomas starts strong. Iolanthe may be powerful and outwardly kind and carefree, but she's been secretly covering for her drug-addicted guardian for years and its taken its toll. Titus is a refreshing subversion of the standard prince-character: his outward selfishness and who-cares-about-my-people-I'm-rich attitude are just a cover for his plan to sacrifice his life to save his country.

The narration alters between them, which I think is the first major misstep of the book. Either would be enough separately, but trying to cover both of them doesn't work. Titus is the much more interesting character and I wish Thomas had written the book solely from his perspective; plus, then we'd have the novelty of reading a YA book with a male protagonist and subverting the expected tropes by telling the hero story from the mentor perspective. Instead, the more subtle, interesting characterizations are quickly lost in a muddle of Iolanthe's irrational anger toward the Prince because he thinks he trapped her (even though she's being hunted by the Atlanteans?) and the Prince's moping about how he's in love with her (and makes a fake version of her in a training exercise so he can kiss her??). Their insta-love doesn't even stand out, since most developments in the book appear out of nowhere when the plot demands it.

This problem is constantly repeated: Thomas brings in too many topics that would be interesting individually, but are strangled by all clutter around them. Iolanthe is in hiding as a boy at Eaton, they have a magic book that makes a training world, Titus's mom left a book of prophecies, Iolanthe's guardian gave up his memories, a crazy lady might have the memories but then later she's not crazy, the Atlantean inquisitor is evil, she's also a mind mage, the inquisitor works for someone even MORE evil who's also immortal, Titus's mother was involved in an uprising, Iolanthe is also an athletic cricket prodigy, insert random training sequence that accomplishes nothing, the magic training book has even more magical abilities, there's an oracle for more prophecies, bullies at the school, a ball, on and on and ON. The story never has a chance to breathe. Instead of nurturing the original sprouts, Thomas just keeps planting new seeds every time she wants to move the story forward (I'm just using metaphors all over the place today).

Plus, what happened to the ending? Nothing the book spent time on ended up mattering much at all. I found myself skimming the last chapters so I could finally be done.

I don't understand the effusive praise for this book at all. I feel like everyone read something completely different. I want to have read that book, with the beautifully crafted blending of historical and fantastical and a romance to make your heart swell. Maybe it's in disguise on a boarding school bookshelf somewhere.