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    Burning Glass
    Burning Glass
    Burning Glass
    Audiobook12 hours

    Burning Glass

    Written by Kathryn Purdie

    Narrated by Fiona Hardingham

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    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 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateSep 5, 2017
    ISBN9780062838728
    Author

    Kathryn Purdie

    Kathryn Purdie lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three children. Kathryn is a trained classical actress who studied at the Oxford School of Drama and was inspired to write her debut trilogy while recovering from donating a kidney to her older brother. www.kathrynpurdie.com.

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    Reviews for Burning Glass

    3.5/5

    92 ratings10 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Dnf due to mc age being 17 might revisit later as narrator was good
    • 4/5
      Sonya is a young woman with a rare talent. She is an empath called an auraseer. All auraseers are property of the emperor and are trained to protect the emperor from threats. Sonya, however, wasn't found and brought for training when her empathy first manifested. Her parents gave her to gypsies to raise and hide from the emperor. She was found at seventeen and sent for training at a pretty crucial time for the empire. The old emperor has died and the son everyone thought dead has taken the throne. Also, the new emperor's mother was recently poisoned to death and and the auraseer who should have spotted the threat was killed. Through a variety of circumstances, a barely trained Sonya now has the job of protecting the new emperor from threats.She finds herself owned by a tyrannical young man who is also strongly charismatic. She has a very hard time not being swept up in his emotions. Luckily, the emperor has a brother who helps her cope. Of course, the brother is also trying to lead a secret revolution to overthrow the emperor and create a democratic government The story was filled with tension and very graphically portrayed the situation of a young woman who feels everyone's emotions and is struggling not to be overwhelmed by all of them. She can even feel the emotions of animals killed for meat and clothing. She also finds herself torn between her duty to serve the emperor and her desire for her own freedom and freedom for all the oppressed people. Then there is the potential love triangle that is set up between Sonya and the two Imperial brothers. Fans of epic fantasy with enjoy this first book in a new trilogy.
    • 3/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Is the ability to sense other’s emotions a gift or a curse?Opening Sentence: I clutched the carved figurine of the goddess until a splinter of wood bit my finger.The Review:Until I read the synopsis I wasn’t aware synesthesia was an actual thing! I can’t imagine being able to sense everyone’s emotions around me as if they were my own; all those auras penetrating my thoughts would surely drive me to insanity. So many emotions to filter through, it was no wonder that Sonya was always so confused!Most Auraseers have years of training to master their art but Sonya is literally thrown into the lion’s den since she is the oldest surviving Auraseer. Sonya is funny, impossibly curious and can barely control her power, which usually results in her making a fool of herself. I loved her flawed character because in spite of being the ‘Sovereign Auraseer,’ she doesn’t try to prove her worth to anyone, her aim is to maintain control and somehow redeem herself from all the mistakes that have cost her loved ones lives.When Sonya is caught up in Valko’s infatuation I began to wonder whether she would be pushed to the dark side but she somehow pulls herself away. To be caught between the two brothers like that, knowing that they both have feelings for her but not fully understanding her own must have been really weird and misleading for both boys. One minute she’s embracing Valko and the next she’s begging Anton to dance with her! It’s very hard to fault Sonya because the boys’ emotions are pressing into her to the extent that she confuses them with her own. At times she doesn’t know how she really feels, which is sad because she can’t make her own decisions without doubting herself.“Do you never take responsibility for your own emotions?” he asked.“They far too often belong to someone else.”To begin with, I fell under the spell of the brooding, reserved Anton and his tragic history but towards the end he became an annoyance. Although he is the secret leader of the rebellion, Anton literally hands Sonya over to his obsessive manic brother, to do with her as he pleases. Since Valko is emperor and Anton is just a prince, I understand why he does this but that does not mean I liked it. It’s clear from the start that Anton cares for Sonya but he pretends that he doesn’t in the hope that she’ll be safe. Surely he knows his brother better than that?If Anton thought he could protect me from all the palace politics, he was wrong. I wasn’t the naive girl he took me to be, the simpleton he fleetingly tried to rescue from distress. Why couldn’t he be the hero to me in public? Why always behind closed doors?Megalomaniac Valko is easier to dislike but with almost every villain there’s a sad story, and a few times I felt sorry for him. Like Anton, Valko lost his family too but as emperor he feels obligated to prove himself as the rightful heir, competing against his brother for everything, even love. Just when it seems like Valko isn’t so bad, he does something super evil and destroys the spark of hope before it can grow further.My favourite characters were Pia and Tosya. Both of them brought the humour to the story and encouraged Sonya’s silliness, reminding the reader that despite her huge responsibility as the Emperor’s protector she’s just a young, perpetually confused girl.“No,” I smacked his chest. “You got taller.”“That’s what my friends keep telling me, but I have this theory that everything in the world keeps shrinking but myself.”“Hmm. I think your education gave you an ego.”“A necessary requirement of a poet. That and a wide range of insecurities.”There was so much build up of the peasant’s hunger and injustice, Valko’s paranoia, the growing rebellion, etc., but when it came to the crunch, the ending was a disappointment. Without revealing too many spoilers I was happy with the overall result but the last few chapters just did not sit well with me. Especially because after everything Anton does, he ends up sitting in the dungeons! It’s frustrating because had the finale been more I would have given Burning Glass a 4-star rating.Notable Scene:I couldn’t say what urged me to show this stranger I was more than the pitiful girl staring back at him, looking no better than the charred bones of the convent. I was. At least as far as he should believe. I pulled my spine erect, elongated my neck, and met his stare with every ember of fire burning within me.Dare to think of me what you will, I hoped the look I gave him said. I am Sonya Petrova. And I am not broken.FTC Advisory: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins provided me with a copy of Burning Glass. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 2/5
      It was just a slow burn book. I really couldn’t get into it.
    • 1/5
      The main Character Sonya came off as more of a young child than a sixteen-year-old girl. The ending and the romance lacked complete substance. She fell in love with someone for pretty much no reason. The most mature she acted was in the very last chapter. The book's ending felt rushed, making no sense compared to how a monarch works. Overall the book is bland and only worth listening to if you are bored like I was.
    • 3/5
      This was a good story, well written, just not captivating.
    • 5/5
      "The mighty isn't one, but many."I'm honestly stumped as to why Burning Glass isn't rated higher. Let me tell you why.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 just shocked more people haven't read this series considering the popularity of the aforementioned books.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 in its own way.Burning Glass boasts 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." Oh, my dear, but you are.From those riveting opening chapters to the very last sentence of the book, book one 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.
    • 2/5
      Rubbed me the wrong way.
    • 5/5
      Sonya was born with the rare gift to feel what those around her feel—both physically and emotionally—a gift she’s kept hidden from the empire for seventeen long years. After a reckless mistake wipes out all the other girls with similar abilities, Sonya is hauled off to the palace and forced to serve the emperor as his sovereign Auraseer. Tasked with sensing the intentions of would-be assassins, Sonya is under constant pressure to protect the emperor. But Sonya’s power is untamed and reckless, and she can’t always decipher when other people’s impulses end and her own begin. In a palace full of warring emotions and looming darkness, Sonya fears that the biggest danger to the empire may be herself. As she struggles to wrangle her abilities, Sonya seeks refuge in her tenuous alliances with the charming-yet-volatile Emperor Valko and his idealistic younger brother, Anton, the crown prince. But when threats of revolution pit the two brothers against each other, Sonya must choose which brother to trust—and which to betray.
    • 3/5
      Through a tragic accident—which Sonya causes—Sonya is left as the last Auraseer and is sent off to the palace to serve the emperor. She is expected to keep him safe, but she has no control over her power and is more of a liability.It would be really hard to feel everything someone else does. It was easy to feel bad for Sonya and form a connection with her character on that front, but I didn't always like her. Another area where she lost me was on the romance portions of BURNING GLASS. I could understand the pull between the brothers due to the emotions she is feeling from them, but at some point she has to pull herself together. She ends up doing that, but it takes the whole book. The constant love triangle was a bit boring. I actually really liked the ending of BURNING GLASS. In fact, it was probably the best part of the story. A lot happens and it played out fantastically. Will I read more? We will see.* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.