Burning Glass by Kathryn Purdie
Published: March 1st 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Series: Burning Glass Book 1 out of 3
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Summary:
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.
Let me just say that I really enjoyed about the first 100 pages, and the last couple of chapters. Those sections are really only where the plot happens. Everything else is filled with love triangles and crying.
I was more than wild—I was a walking keg of gunpowder
Sonya is an Auraseer who can feel other peoples emotions, but she is untrained and she can do things other Auraseers cannot. For instance, she can touch anything dead or drops of blood and feel their last emotions. You would think with her being extra special that this would help move the plot along or something, but it is mentioned a lot and barely used.
His face was blurry through my watering eyes.
I didn’t let the tears fall until he grew bored of me.
Sonya for the most part doesn’t know who she likes, the emperor (Valko) or his brother (Anton). When one brother doesn’t show his affection or treat her the way she wants then she goes to the other brother, and it is a constant back and forth for most of the book. Until eventually she does pick a brother and then we have to watch her cry because she doesn’t feel like she is good enough. Which I guess I can understand her self pity, but if she can sense everyones emotions shouldn’t she be able to at least discern his feelings for her a little bit? Even if he knows how to throw up a wall around his feelings, some of them are bound to leak out eventually. You would think finding out peoples feelings would be almost second nature to her.
My task might be monumental, but my gift-my curse-was the only means I had of making a difference in this world.
The plot, where you would think based upon the synopsis would be about Sonya picking a brother and a revolution that puts the brothers on opposite sides. You would be right and wrong. Right in that she has to pick between the two brothers, but hardly because of the revolution. The revolution is mentioned briefly in secret messages once or twice throughout the book, until almost the very end. So that part of the plot was very minuscule in the 500+ page book. On the other hand for about 400 pages of the book, the “love triangle” takes front and center stage. Valko has “feelings” for Sonya, and he is constantly manipulating her and she seems to never be able to say no (unless he is physically abusing her). Anton seems to always push her away, and we find out its because of some gypsy prophesy that his true love will have the same birthmark as him. ::eye roll:: To top it off, he thinks Sonya is only reflecting his feelings for her, so he doesn’t believe that she really loves him.
My feelings for you are here when I am alone, when you are miles form the palace I keep you with me. I choose to. you are the most impossibly stubborn person I have ever met. You are also the most honorable, the most caring. I love every part of you.
Would I recommend this book? Yes and no. If you like plots that deal heavily with romances and little else, then you will enjoy this book. You will root for Sonya and Anton and wish that he realized her true feelings earlier. If you don’t and want more action, then this may not be for you, unless you can deal with the love triangle mess.
Sam's Little Corner 
What a terrible review. One of them manipulated her ability to make her think she loved him and the other prevented his emotions from surfacing to avoid manipulating her ability.
There is no love triangle, one of the brothers was evil and rapey and the other is the love interest.
The entire story is about emotions and what would happen to someone with the ability to feel other people’s emotions, not just *know* how they feel. Emotions cause her to cry, shocker.
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