Initial Impressions 8/9/16: 4.25 - 4.5 stars, but rounding up because it was so enjoyable 
 THE BURNING SKY was great! I didn't quite know what the series entailed before I started and it was different than I expected but in the best way. I loved the Mage Realm vs Non-Mage Realm. The characters are tough, passionate, and clever. There's banter, romance, danger, prophecies, villains (omg she reminded me of Umbridge), and more! I really loved so much about this book and I can't wait to see what the series has in store! 
 I listened to this on audio and fully plan to binge the trilogy. In fact, I've already started book two! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 8/22/16: I was so excited to finally start THE BURNING SKY! I feel like I had heard a lot of good things before I started it and immediately, I knew why. The series had an overall Harry Potter-type feel to me and I mean that in the best way possible. Right off the bat, the feelings started creeping in with an orphan main character who is watched by her guardian and a separation of the mage world and non-mage world. I really enjoyed that the book kicked off with the mage character and then moved into the non-magical world instead of vice versa like so many stories tend to do. We already know the magical characters and then they bounce back and forth between worlds and figure out how to best stay protected in either one. 
 The characters are fantastic. I love, love, loved the banter between Titus and Iolanthe and these two are some of my favorites. They're quite a pair and they play off of each other so well, Iolanthe being independent, stubborn, and sarcastic and Titus being protective and stoic. Their banter (really throughout the whole series) gives me life and I absolutely adore how even in the most dire of times, they're still being witty and sarcastic and adorable. There's young love, forbidden love, hate-to-love, and awkward love and I loved every bit of it. 
 Elemental magic is one of my favorite kinds and I loved all of the different ways it was used, but even more so than that, I really loved how elemental magic wasn't the only kind. So often, if elemental magic is present in a book, that's the only magic there is throughout but I liked how it was a different kind of magic, one that put mages on an entirely different level. Other mages still have the ability to execute magic with and without wands, though wands amplify and assist their spells/curses/hexes. There was so much to do and so many more characters were able to be included with magic not being exclusive to elemental mages. There's also an aspect of Seers and the prophecies that play an enormous part throughout the whole series. 
 The element of the Crucible is one of my favorite things ever. It's a magical book based on sets of fairy tales that mages may enter to experience as if they were really there. Their bodies stay in the actual world and they're essentially mentally transported into the crucible but are still able to feel and sense everything as if it were real. No harm can come to a mage's physical body within the crucible unless using it as an actual portal so Titus uses it often to practice particularly challenging bits of magic and defense against possible situations. I love the scenes in the crucible and I just adore its involvement throughout the whole series. It's such an important part and is used so many ways. 
 The non-mage world is magical in its own right. Titus and Iolanthe spend a large amount of time at Eton College, a school for boys in Britain (yes, school for boys. Girl masquerading as a boy, I love it), and the camaraderie at this school is fantastic. There are a variety of friendships formed, from inquisitive Kashkari, to eager Wintervale, to adoring Cooper, to the glue that ties them together, Titus and Iolanthe aka Archer Fairfax. The friendships are just beautiful and I just love this group of boys (and girl). They're so much fun to watch and I adore the way their friendships work and grow. 
 There is so, so much more I could say about this book but I'll leave words for the other two books in the series. I'll wrap this one up by saying that THINGS happen in the end (as they always do) and so many things are set up for the next book that I couldn't stand it. Luckily, I didn't have to and as soon as I finished this one, I kid you not I immediately started book two.