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January 03, 2012

Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges - Farah



Title: The Gathering Storm (Katerina Alexandrovna #1)
Author: Robin Bridges
Publication date: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Genre(s): Young Adult (Historical Fiction)
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-book

Pages: 400
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

As I first started reading this book, I didn't know what to expect. I read "Bright Young Things" and it was also a historical book, but i didn't enjoy it. I also knew this was a historical book, but i gave it a chance.
The story is based on Katerina, and the setting is in Russia. At first, it was so confusing to me. All the names, and political positions, and the family relationships sounded all new and weird to me. I even thought about making a family tree so i could keep up with the characters.
The book was pretty boring at first, but the more I read and the story developed, the more it became interesting. Though I did feel some unnecessary parts were in the book, which would have made the book better if they were removed.
Through the middle and end, it was very exciting. The plot is very well-written as well. Even though I'm not into historical YA books, because the girls act so differently from this century, I can't say it's a book I didn't enjoy.

I liked it, not a bad tune!  

7 comments:

  1. I really like historical novels. I'm interested to see if I think the same as you. They usually do take more time to develop, but as long as it's fleshed out nicely, it'll still be good in the end. I'm pretty eager to read this one.

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  2. I really like historical novels/ got declined a lot
    tnx 4 shaaring you're thoughts

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  3. I'm pretty selective when it comes to reading YA historical books, but I have always wanted to read this. I'm glad you liked it, overall. :) Nice review!

    Sam @ Realm of Ficton

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  4. I might have to check this one out for my historical YA challenge especially since I don't know much about Russia! Thanks for the review!

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  5. I actually really enjoy historical books so I have had this one on my wish list for a while now. I will probably have to get it from the library because you just never know exactly what you are going to get from a historical novel.

    Thanks for the great review, I do hope you try more historical novel.

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  6. I love Russian setting or any foreign setting for that matter. So might give this a try.

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  7. Nice review. :) It still sounds pretty interesting to me, and I'm trying to get more historical fiction into my reading. The only ones I've really really enjoyed are Laurie Halse Anderson's books and The Luxe. Also, I guess confusing names and families is a Russian thing, cause every book I've read set there was confusing!

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