In 1812, Elinor Pembroke wakes to find her bedchamber in flames—and extinguishes them with a thought. At 21, she is old to manifest magical talent, but the evidence is unmistakable: she not only has the ability to start fires, but the far more powerful ability to control and extinguish them. She is an Extraordinary, and the only one in England capable of wielding fire in over one hundred years.
As an Extraordinary, she is respected and feared, but to her father, she represents power and prestige for himself. Mr. Pembroke, having spent his life studying magic, is determined to control Elinor and her talent by forcing her to marry where he chooses, a marriage that will produce even more powerful offspring. Trapped between the choices of a loveless marriage or living penniless and dependent on her parents, Elinor takes a third path: she defies tradition and society to join the Royal Navy.
Assigned to serve under Captain Miles Ramsay aboard the frigate Athena, she turns her fiery talent on England’s enemies, French privateers and vicious pirates preying on English ships in the Caribbean. At first feared by her shipmates, a growing number of victories make her truly part of Athena’s crew and bring her joy in her fire. But as her power grows and changes in unexpected ways, Elinor’s ability to control it is challenged. She may have the power to destroy her enemies utterly—but could it be at the cost of her own life?
Burning Bright, by Melissa McShane
Apologies this is late. It’s Friday. It’s Friday after a particularly trying week and so I went to our local fusion Mexican place to have a drink for lunch and then remembered I hadn’t written this week’s review, even though I’ve had the book picked out since I finished it on Sunday. Apparently in my brain choosing the book is equivalent to writing the review and that got checked off. Hah. Very helpful, brain.
Anyway, it should not be a surprise by now that I like things in the Regency setting. That being said, I’m not adverse to bending the rules a little bit – and in this case, the rules get bent in a very interesting way, looking at what the world might look like if there were people among us who had special powers. Think, vaguely, X-men meets Regency England, except I use the X-men comparison mostly because of the genetic component that’s mentioned in the book. (You can hardly avoid it, the heroine’s father is one of the foremost experts on the bloodlines of Extraordinaries.)
Be that as it may, I loved this book. I loved the world building. I loved the hero. I loved the heroine. I wanted more and was sad when the book was done. I went out and got the audiobook, which is a clear sign that I intend to read/listen to this again. I was curious about the different groupings of powers. I though the development was clear and straightforward. I enjoyed the plot, which still felt true to the period without being obnoxious. (It does help when you escape the rules of the London setting, as she does by having the heroine escape to Naval service. I’d be really interested to see if we can get a sequel set in London.) And I was so, so satisfied with the conclusion.
Which isn’t to say that there weren’t a few loose ends I would have enjoyed seeing wrapped up. We never get a very satisfactory answer to what happens with one of the villains (I say no more than that to avoid spoilers). I’m not 100% clear on whether a sequel will follow Elinor and Miles or focus on a new couple (and make no mistake, the first book is most certainly a romance, if not explicit). (For the record, I would be absolutely okay with a new couple, but there’s no clear “next couple” as you so often see so I’m unsure which direction the plan is to go.) Miles’ best friend is introduced but not really used much as a character, which seems a little odd. But these are all small things and shouldn’t stop you from READING THE BOOK which I highly, highly recommend if you enjoy a blend of fantasy and romance.
I suspect this book is next on my listening rotation as I work on finishing up my current needlework piece.
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