Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

Title: The Gathering Storm (Katerina Trilogy #1)

Author: Robin Bridges

Release Date: January 10th, 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Read: February 25th, 2012 (Re-read finished April 22nd, 2014)

Pages: 386-hardcover-library (Owned for the re-read)

Series:

1. The Gathering Storm
2. The Unfailing Light
3. The Morning Star

Description:

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?

What I thought:

This was Robin’s first novel, and after reading it, I want more! This book was a great read, I loved that it was set in the past but in Russia, which was a nice change, and the added paranormal element was interesting.

Katerina has a special skill, of raising the dead, that she discovered by accident when she was a child. She tries to hide it, and has never told anyone, not even her family. Even though she goes to the balls and dances, which are meant to help find her a husband, all she really wants to do is study medicine and become a doctor. But women are not allowed to go to school for that in Russia, which leads her to wanting to apply elsewhere. Her dad supports her, as he is one himself, but her mother wants her to be normal and find a rich husband.

When she first uses her necromancer ability at a ball to help someone secretly, that’s when things start to change. She notices the paranormal world and what people really are, and they start to notice her too.We meet more people, that either say they want to help her, or secretly want to use her.

I definitely loved this book, I got it from the library but will have to get my own copy and reread it before the second book comes out. Highly recommended for people who like paranormal, a bit of romance, set in the 1800’s of Russia.

Re-read Notes:

It was honestly just as good the second time around. It helps that it’s been quite a while since I first read it though. I decided to re-read it since I have the next two books, but I didn’t remember all that went on. I’m keeping the original rating I gave it, because I honestly loved this book.