The Burning Sky - Sherry Thomas (Elemental Trilogy #1)

Whaaaaat a great book!  I'm not sure the last time I read a fantasy that was quite so awesome.  This was very exciting to find--Nenia over at Readasaurus Reviews gave it a good review, which is pretty rare for a book of this variety, and since it was already on my to-read list I jumped at the opportunity to read it!

This is a fantasy set in an alternative universe in Victorian times.  There are all the normal countries we're familiar with--part of the book takes place in England and particularly at Eton--and also mage countries, which are nominally independent but all appear to be under the oppressive rule of Atlantis.  In one of the mage realms, Iolanthe Seabourne is a teenaged elemental mage who wants to go to a university.  But when she calls down a bolt of lightning to fix a ruined batch of light elixir, which her guardian ruined on purpose to keep her away from an event that might draw Atlantis' attention to her (Atlantis having a propensity to kidnap strong elemental mages, who are never seen again) she accidentally draws the wrath of Atlantis and also the attention of Prince Titus, Master of the Domain.  A flurry of escapes is then executed and ultimately ends up with Iolanthe disguised as a boy at Eton in Titus' company, and sworn to help Titus bring down Atlantis' despotic rule, the Bane.

Sherry Thomas hails from a historical romance background, and this book consequently has a lovely romance between Titus and Iolanthe, though it doesn't take over the story by any means.  Instead, it plays nicely with the other story elements--two types of magic (elemental and "subtle," which is more like Harry Potter-style charms and spells), an enchanted book with a world inside, an evil global superpower, mythological creatures, and a few tantalizing family ties that I'm excited to see truly revealed in future books.  The writing is good; it has that "right proper" feel to it that goes with English boarding school stories, and of course the magical elements added in are great.  Thomas' background as a romance writer means that, while there is instant attraction between Iolanthe and Titus, their relationship doesn't immediately ring false and instead grows and changes with them--though I'm eager to see what Iolanthe's reaction to the revelation of Sleeping Beauty will be...  Hm.

The one thing that I didn't like here was that the pace was rushed.  A lot happens in this book, considering that it's only the first one in the series.  But from the very beginning, Iolanthe and Titus rush from place to place and crisis to crisis with hardly a chance to breathe in between--though Iolanthe does manage to squeeze in some cricket while she's disguised as a boy.  The Crucible is by far one of the coolest things here, but even then it's hied and hoed across, with few bits lingering to explore the potential of a book that contains worlds.

However, despite some of the uneven pacing, I really enjoyed this; I pretty much devoured it in one sitting, and I can't wait to read the next two volumes.

4.5 stars out of 5.