The Burning Sky

****

4 Stars/5

Iolanthe is an elemental mage who has spent all her 16 years living a quiet life with her unreliable guardian, Master Haywood, but when trying to fix a potion with a lightning bolt, she sparks a chain of events she could not imagine. Titus is the figurehead prince of Elberon which is run in all but name by Atlantis. Whilst he comes across as spoilt and rude, this is just a mask as all his life he has been preparing to protect and help the greatest elemental mage ever to defeat the leader of Atlantis, the Bane. His is drawn to Iolanthe’s lightning bolt but is surpised to see that she is a girl. Having to hide from Atlantis’s agents they go to the non-magic land of Victorian England, at Eton collage, were Iolathe has to pretend to be a boy called Archer Fairfax. With Atlantis closing in and Titus and Iolanthe mixed feelings for each other will they be able to complete Titus’s mission.

The Burning Sky is a really good fantasy book which has complex characters, an interesting world and story, and is hard to put down. While this book is well written and most of the time the pacing is good, it was a bit slow during the middle of the book. I really like the idea of element mages as it was fascinating to read about yet easy to understand.

Iolanthe is a likeable character as she is vulnerable and in a totally foreign place but she has a resolve and inner strength. Titus is brave and dedicated to his destiny but he can also be cunning and ruthless, he is also very lonely and conflicted as he cannot show his true self to anyone. However, while Iolanthe and Titus work well together and have a nice slow building love/hate relationship, they are both just too perfect and are good at everything.

I am looking forward to see what happens next to Titus and Iolanthe in The Perilous Sea. I would recommend The Burning Sky to fans of YA fantasy.