A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Kingdom on Fire #1

 

 

Book synopsis

I am Henrietta Howel. The first female sorcerer. The prophesied one. Or am I?
Henrietta Howel can burst into flames. When she is brought to London to train with Her Majesty's sorcerers, she meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, young men eager to test her powers and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her. As Henrietta discovers the secrets hiding behind the glamour of sorcerer life, she begins to doubt that she's the true prophesied one. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city--and the one she loves? A Shadow Bright and Burning
 

My Opinion

3.5/5 starts.

Overall, I liked the book. The author basically chose tropes seen in other big fandoms, put them into a big cauldron, added her own magic to them, mixed them and... Poof! A Shadow Bright and Burning was born.

The writing is good.

The story on the short side. It needed more development aka more pages, more words.

We are not given a lot of explanation about the magic system or enough of world building.

I liked the main character Henrietta. She had strong personality, very powerful, naïve sometime... ok a lot of times.

Weird on the romance thou. There was a love square-ish. I like more mysterious guys than flirtatious guys. I love when the suppose love interests hate each other in the beginning and then fall slowly in love, not become friends but who knows. At the end, the love square becomes a love triangle. Spoiler - So, the flirt guy and the childhood love come to be the main focus of the romance while the mysterious guy... let's just say that he is still mysterious. - Spoiler end.  We do not have a lot of details about him.

I need to know more about the origins of the magic and the Ancients (the hideous magical creatures from another world).

And, we also need to know more about witches, sorcerers, and magicians (ok more about witches and magicians). The sorcerers were so self-centered and ignorant about other types of magic and magical creatures. Just because they were privileged, it does not automatically make them better than others.

Let's see what the second instalment brings to the story in September 2017.
The series has potential. I liked it. If you like historical fiction mixed with fantasy and magic, then, this is your cup of tea.

This is my sole opinion ^_^.

 

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Magic
Language: mild
Sexual content: mild to moderate
Violence: moderate to heavy-ish (more in some sections)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild to moderate (drunk characters)