The writing in this book seems to try to encapsulate the feeling of Jane Austen's writing and it does a pretty good job at that but the plot is not at all what I expected from the writing style.
To a large degree, the book is just a female empowerment fantasy and is a bit too blunt about this in a few places. Because the MC is so capable and powerful the author struggles a bit with creating credible and tense conflict.
The pacing is almost too even imo. It's not too slow overall but it doesn't adjust to the tension of the story in some places so some things feel a bit drawn out while others move too fast.
If you enjoy writing similar to Jane Austen you will probably enjoy this too even though it is much more fantastical and has a lot more action and violence than I expected. ( )

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

Burning Bright presents an interesting fantastical world in which there are Talents present in a part of the population. These Talents vary wildly between different people and some are Extraordinary, having extra power over their Talent. The Talents are not just a powerful tool but provide status to whoever holds it.

The Talents were what I thought made the book interesting. Elinor's Extraordinary Scorcher Talent proves interesting when battling the Pirates in the Caribbean. Her fire-wielding powers are rather complicated even when at first it looks like they are just added to her at will. Some of the other Talents are a bit too convenient if you ask me, but I particularly liked the Bounders.

Elinor making the choice to join the navy will not be a surprise for anyone who has read the description. I struggled a little bit with it, as she bounces back and forth from being a lady, very un-Navy like to being -basically- a sailor. Also, as I often experience in this kind of books, everyone is very much in awe of Elinor and all she suggests, almost like there are no other capable characters aboard the Athena.

Nevertheless, I thought it was an amusing read, although it did drag a little bit at some points where I was almost ticking of the different things that I was sure where about to happen. Should there be another story in the same Talent world, I would pick it up.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Fabulous read!

Extraordonaires is an interesting series set in a Regency era where magical talent is manifest. I must admit I kept thinking about the Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books and Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series. I really enjoyed this and am sad it took me so long to get around to it. In fact I purchased the next in the series, 'Wandering Sight', after reading 'Burning Bright.'
What more do you need? A young, talented woman, Elinor Pembroke, trodden down by an autocratic, self seeking father, a handsome captain, Pirates, treachery, Lords of the Admiralty who see not the person, or disregard the person, a couple of navy Lordlings with helicopter relatives who pave their way.
Elinor is a Scorcher (fire adept) whose talent develops late. Being suddenly treated by her father as a genetic experiment to be married off to the highest bidder (think Earl or Viscount) with another talented family in order to produce prodigies, Elinor seeks another path, The Navy. As her powers increase Elinor must learn control or suffer the consequences.
A fascinating story of self awareness and development, gender discriminations of the age, all wrapped in a tightly honed package.
Those I appreciated are the ordinary seaman she works with who come to understand and accept Elinor's efforts.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

Burning Bright is the first book that I have read by Melissa McShane, and it will certainly not be the only or last! Love, love loved it! Loved the characters, the regency details, the fantastical aspect, the location descriptions, the exhilarating adventure, the inner conflict and growth of the heroine, the romance, and even the way interpersonal conflict is treated.

This book is so very addicting, and once it gets going, impossible to put down. Our heroine Elinor has many battles to face, and much to overcome, including her self-serving ass of a father, the prejudices of society about women, her compatriots' jealousy and disdain, ruthless enemies of England, and her own feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Spoiler alert, she turns out to be a pretty fierce bad-ass.

As an interesting aside, most of the gifted people are in the peerage, and their lineage is jealously tracked, perhaps in an attempt to keep all of the power in the nobility. The Royal family are gifted, which is interesting as the King's madness is attributed to having an extraordinary gift of discerning how everyone around him is feeling, and being 'unable to distinguish between his own emotions and theirs.'

The balance of historical and fantastical is just perfect. Elinor and Captain Ramsey are my idea of a perfect heroine and hero.

Highly recommended, very enjoyable.


**eARC Netgalley** ( )

Burning Bright is a fun Regency-set fantasy in a world where people have "talents" (magical powers) and the strongest of these are known as Extraordinaries. Elinor has come to terms that she is not going to manifest a talent, when at 21 she accidentally sets her bed on fire and then puts it out. This marks her not only as a scorcher, but as an extraordinary scorcher—and a prime prize on the marriage mart in the eyes of her father. To escape an unwanted match, she volunteers her services to the Royal Navy instead and thus begins an adventure that will completely change her world.

A fun, adventurous romp across the Atlantic. We watch Elinor grow in her knowledge of her talent and herself. Plus, there are pirates. Who could say no to that? Highly recommended for fans of historical fantasy, particularly the Napoleonic Wars period. ( )