I’m not a great reader of YA, so I may be coming at The Burning Sky from a slightly different angle from its target audience. But Sherry Thomas is one of my favourite writers and I’d probably read the back of a cereal packet if she’d written what was on it!

The premise of the story isn’t especially original; an evil empire (Atlantis) oppresses a neighbouring realm (the Domain) and our heroes are the ones who will ultimately overthrow the dictatorial regime and liberate their homeland. What sets this book above the run-of-the-mill, is the superb characterisation and the relationship between the two protagonists, Prince Titus and Iolanthe Seabourne, a young woman described as the greatest mage of her generation.

A prophecy made by Titus’ late mother tells him that a lightning bolt in the sky will lead him to find a mage who will be able to overthrow the Bane (otherwise known as The High Commander of the Great Realm of Atlantis) and that Titus must guide and protect him at all cost, even though it will eventually lead to his own death.

Titus has been aware of this for years, and has been working in secret to perfect his magical and fighting skills. He attends school at Eton College in Victorian England (accessed via various portals between the worlds) and has invented a good friend named Archer Fairfax, with a view to hiding him at Eton while they make their preparations.

Obviously, Titus hadn’t paused to consider that the mage might be a girl.

I’m not a fan of chicks-in-pants stories in general, but I can just about accept that a sixteen year old girl might be able to run around the playing fields of Eton dressed as an adolescent boy and not be found out.

Iolanthe and Titus are very well-rounded and strongly drawn characters, and while one of my niggles with the book is that they are both a little TOO good at everything they do, in other ways they’re not perfect. Titus is handsome, charming and dedicated – but he’s also manipulative and sly, gaining Iolanthe’s trust and then using it to compel her co-operation. And while Iolanthe is brave and capable, she’s not one of those super-heroines who laughs in the face of danger and is only too ready to save the world; no, Iolanthe is confused, scared and at one point, tells Titus she’d rather be a coward and live.

Titus’ deception throws a wedge between them early on in the book, so there is time spent on developing their relationship and showing how Iolanthe gradually comes to see exactly what Titus is up against, how hard he has worked in order to do what he must, and to realise that perhaps what she wants isn’t such a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And Titus sees that he was wrong to force Iolanthe into this situation – especially as his feelings for her are becoming harder and harder to ignore. Falling in love with her will be a mistake of epic proportions if he’s going to be able to leave her – but by the time he realises that, it’s already too late.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about reading a romance (albeit a fairly low-key one) between two sixteen year-olds, but once I got into the story I found it rather charming and not lacking in warmth. This is Sherry Thomas, after all, and no-one writes romantic tension like she does. Titus and Iolanthe need each other – not just for their mission to defeat the Bane – and it’s clear from the tiniest look or touch how they feel, no matter how hard they try to hide or deny it.

In spite of a few minor niggles, The Burning Sky is a terrific read, and one I’d certainly recommend if you’re not averse to YA or fantasy stories, and are in the mood for some light reading. I was thoroughly captivated from the first page to the last. The protagonists are engaging and fully-rounded characters, the verbal sparring between Titus and Iolanthe is sharp and funny, the romance is sweet (but not without a little warmth) and, as one would expect of Sherry Thomas, the writing is superb.