A review by alyssaindira
Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie

4.0

Hey guys, so I finished Burning Glass By Kathryn Purdie. Yay! I was able to read a book that wasn't a school required reading! I swear, you wouldn't believe how long I've waited to read a book for my own pleasure. But school does come first, sadly. Oh well. Anyways, I finished this novel about an empath(AuraSeer) who has dangerous but remarkable abilities that she had tried to keep hidden. Key word, tried. Needless to say, something major happens and she is forced to lead a life she never contented. One that involves entangling with two most intriguing men in the empire. The emperor, and the prince. Brothers no less! Thus, this book is filled with Sonya attempting to sort through her feelings for both of them, and keep track with the duty she never desired, and a rebellion she never meant to take place in. Gah. And, to make matters worse, each brother stands on either side of the revolution. And you know what that means...*facepalm*. Okay, so the book was pretty easy to read, when my thoughts weren't wandering about. Some of the added details was obviously needed, considering Sonya's character has a lot of internal, not external struggles that cannot be shown through just dialogue. However, I did find myself skipping over some of the excessive words that contributed to what a room in a palace looked like. Like seriously, I don't really care about that. Ha. Now...what I do care about is that prince or emperor standing half dressed in that room. Heh. Okay, so.... Gah! I have to talk about the guys. I have to. Prince Anton. At first he is guarded, aloof, but seemingly compassionate. He is more of a peaceful peace, despite his background. (I won't tell you that, gotta find out for yourselves). He seemed alright, just kind of there in the story for the first half of the book. But then...whew... Now, on the other hand, Emperor Valko. Well, that boy was just a whirlwind from the start! He holds dark passion and dark temper within him, until there comes a good opportunity to let it out with force. He is a tortured man, what emperor isn't, with all that burden? He has a bloody past in similar like to Sonya. Gah, he is just so...all consuming at times. Or maybe I just have a soft spot for dark seemingly misguided misunderstood men. For example, he reminded me of Maven from The Glass Sword. Val wanted what he cannot have basically. He wanted to exert control and dominion over everything and everyone. He wanted Sonya to be his, and only his. Without taking care for the cost. He craved power, above all else. And that, folks, shall be his undoing. So yeah, I enjoyed this storyline. At times, it felt rushed, at times it felt too slow. Also, I do kind of thing some of the romance just randomly was written into the pages. Or maybe I either missed something, or was too busy rooting for the other guy, thus denying any romance the main character had for the opposer. What can I say, I kind of like to root for the underdog, kind of. Gah. My feelings are just as complicated as Sonya's for those two alluring men. Humph. But I think by the end, the author makes it clear whom Sonya should be with....soo.. I feel like I wrote too much about the love triangle then anything else...is there anything else to be said...Well, I'll just say that this novel had some twists and spins that add flavour to the storyline and that I enjoyed getting caught up in this world. That being said, however, I don't know if I will read the second book, The Crystal Sword(I think). It think it had a pretty goodish ending. Not all the loose threads were tied up, but some for the most part. Enough to consider it an end. Okay...bye.