Publication Date: September 20, 2016
Series: Kingdom on Fire (bk. 1)
Genera(s): Fantasy/Alternate-history
Subjects: sorcerers, magicians, magic, supernatural,
abilities
Setting: London, England in Victorian times
POV/Tense: 1st person POV, past tense:
Henrietta Howel
Age/Grade Level: Teen
Length: 404 pgs.
HC/PB: Hardcover
List Price: $17.99
Publisher: Random House
Summary/ product description: “I am Henrietta Howel.
The
first female sorcerer in hundreds of years.
The
prophesied one.
Or am I?
Henrietta
Howel can burst into flames.
Forced
to reveal her power to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being
executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers.
Thrust
into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the
girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity.
She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test
her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One
will betray her.
But
Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.
As she
plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have
their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be
the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?
Exhilarating
and gripping, Jessica Cluess's spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful,
unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal.
Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare.”
My Review: A
Shadow Bright and Burning is an alternative-history fantasy set in Victorian
London. Henrietta Howel has the ability to light herself on fire. She is a
teacher and previous student of an all-girls school. She has a friend who is
and Unclean (scarred by an Ancient) named Rook. Over a decade ago the Ancients
were summoned and a great war began. The seven Ancients, include R’helm the
Skinless Man, Korozoth the Shadow and Fog, On-Tez the Vulture Lady, Nemneris,
the Water Spider, Zem the Great Serpent, Molochoron the Pale Destroyer, Callax
the Child Eater.
A sorcerer named Cornelius Agrippa comes to the girl
school that Henrietta lives at and now teaches at and he believes she might be
the prophesized one. He says she’s the first female sorcerer in a long time and
that she could be the key to defeating the ancients. He bring her to London to
meet the other sorcerer apprentices who are all male. He has to train her by
the commendation on Midsummer’s eve, the summer solstice.
The other sorcerers are all males and including the
charming and flirty Julian Magnus, the brooding George Blackwood, and Arthur,
Clarence, Cellini, Isaac, and Dee. She stays in the room that used to be
Agrippa’s daughter Gwendolyn’s room. She’s been dead for the past years. She
meets a Hobgoblin doctor named Fenswick. He maid’s named is Lilly. There’s also
a magician named Hargrove who recognizes Henrietta somehow. Magicians’ magic is
outlawed, but they are allowed to live, unlike the witches who used to be
around.
Henrietta’s powers grow with the training, but they
aren’t reliable like the other sorceress. They seem to be tied to her emotions.
Henrietta may not be what she was told that she was. She feels out of place,
but will do anything to be commended by the Queen and help defeat the ancients.
With some romance, action and magic, a Shadow Bright and Burning is an exciting
tales of dark fantasy.
I recommend this book to fans of Red Queen by Victria
Aveyard, the Young Elites by Marie Lu, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo,
Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Aheirs, and The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows.
Cover Art Review: I love the burning rose image, but
it reminds me off the book series False Memory. I like the paper used for the
cover too.
No comments:
Post a Comment