Burning Glass

Goodreads Synopsis:    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.

My Thoughts:

-    I mostly enjoyed this book. It was good for a debut novel. 

-    I was surprised that the story had a darker tone to it. I liked the ominous feel.

-    I didn't love any of the main characters. I didn't hate them, but I didn't love them. They were just bleh to me. I didn't understand their motives or personalities really. I loved Pia though. Her bright sparkly personality was a highlight of the story.

-    I liked the plot well enough. It kept me interested, and I didn't know what was going to happen next.

-    The whole idea of the auraseer was intriguing. It would be hard to feel everyone's emotions. 

-    I don't think this needed to be a series. This book could stand on its own. I felt like everything wrapped up nicely. 

Kathryn Purdie

Kathryn Purdie was at the Provo Library last Tuesday! It was the launch party for her debut book, Burning Glass.

She had SO much energy, and I don't know if it was from excitement or nerves or both. She kept getting distracted from saying hi to random people she knew in the audience. She had a pretty big crowd at the library! I was really shocked for a debut book. She has lots of friends and family members.

Here are a few things Kathryn talked about:

-    Kathryn wanted to be an actress. She has been in a ton of plays, and she thought she would be doing that the rest of her life.

-    She donated a kidney to her brother Matt. It took 3 years before the doctors would let her donate even though she was a perfect match. There was a lot of medical and technical stuff to deal with.

-    Kathryn is an avid and dedicated journal writer. She has filled a lot of journals!

-    The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is the book that inspired her to write.

-    After several rejected books, Kathryn decided to write about and empath. While she was recovering from donating her kidney, she became very in tune with other's feelings. She talked to her uncle about how she was feeling and he told her to write a book about an empath.

-    Burning Glass flowed from her. This story felt different, and there was no resistance in writing it. 

 I got a fuzzy picture of Kathryn signing a book.

Here is me and my group of friends with the author!