ARC Review: The Morning Star (Katerina #3) by Robin Bridges

The Morning Star (Katerina #3) by Robin Bridges 

Publishers: Random House
Published Date:  August 27th 2013
From: Publisher
My rating: 5 out of 5

A huge thank you to Nicole of Random House for
letting me review this book to give my honest opinion.

Synopsis:
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.

Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.

Previous Reviews of The Katerina Trilogy

The Gathering Story (#1)

The Unfailing Light (#2)

Review:
It's such a happy and sad moment when you reach the end of such an exciting series. The Katerina Trilogy is one of my all time favourite reads and I've read the first two books many times in eagerness, quietly waiting for the third and last book. I had so many expectations of what would happen. Would George be cured of his mystery illness? Would Katiya and George finally be able to marry? What would happen with the Lich Tsar and would they be able to finally get rid of his evilness from the face of the earth to let everyone live in peace at last? And what of Danilo, evil Crown Prince that he is. His plans may have been scuppered for now but he was surely going to make a return to finish off Grand Duke George for good. Now that Katiya's secret is out what would happen when the rest of her close family knew of her secret, being a necromancer would never be a story for the relations to discuss over afternoon tea.

What I truly loved about this series was the extensive research that Robin Bridges must be commended for. Anything to do with the Imperial family of Russia intrigues me, and Robin has had me researching the true stories of the family for my own personal pleasure. It was clear from the outset after reading The Gathering Storm that this series would be exquisitely represented as the characters deserved--in their true proper, elegant, and magnificent manner.

So, if you enjoy tales of intrigue wrapped around evenings of dinners, dances, with a bit of paranormal romance and mystery, then I must urge you to pick up this series.

In the final chapter of the Trilogy we are brought into a scene with Katiya doing what she wants to do most, and that is to study medicine to become a Doctor. I really loved her ambitiousness even when faced with such close relatives who would try and talk her out of it. At one point she even contemplated breaking off her arrangement with George to further her studies and her heart broke as did mine. They're meant to be together after all!

But even in the face of danger, Katiya and George decide to forego all the family's wishes to get married in secret. Once they're married then no one can interfere with their livelihoods any longer. George agrees that he might be struck off by his father, Tsar Alexander III, but he's willing to move to Zurich to enable Katiya to study at the University.

However, the past never stays away for long and disaster happens shortly after they leave. The evil Lich Tsar is looking for the one true Morning Star which will enable him to take control of the Grigori and using the Talisman of Isis (which is permanently around Katiya's neck) he can have what he believes is rightfully his--the throne of Russia.

Once again the story becomes a battle of Light against the Dark. The two Russian courts are involved, the Order of Lazarus (the revenants), Princess Alix and her werewolves, the Montenegran Vampires, Katiya's own Mother (who is now the Striga) and the Bogatyr. If ever there was a story that included all these magical creatures to their fullest it was this one! The only thing missing was unicorns!

We're taken on a thrilling journey of capture and conquest through Ancient Egypt and meet up with new and old friends. With magic now such a huge part of George's life I was never in any doubt that he would find Katiya eventually.

The final chapter was a heart in mouth moment. And a surprising gesture saved the day. I loved how it ended with all loose ends nicely tied up, and once finished I had to read the whole book again just to enjoy it one more time.

I really hope the author can bring us more from her wonderful world she's created using the historical people and sumptuous scenery. I feel like I'm waving goodbye as I finish this review but I'm so glad I read this series. And I can't not mention the wonderful Family Tree of all the characters on Robin Bridges website!

If you like historical books especially ones to do with royalty mixed with the paranormal and things that go bump in the night then this series is a must.
-CB x

You can reach Robin Bridges here:
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Review: The Unfailing Light (Katerina #2) by Robin Bridges

The Unfailing Light by Robin Bridges

Publishers: Delacorte
Published Date: October 9th 2012
From: Bought
My rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis:
Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.

Review:
The First 20%
We start with a sneaky Prologue that at the time of reading means nothing but an awful tragedy. Gradually you begin to realise that the enemy of the Tsar, Konstantin, is involved, albeit with his daughter--and suddenly we're cast back into the wonderful story that began with The Gathering Storm. We know things are going to go array almost immediately when Katiya glimpses Grand Duke George Alexandrovich whilst she's on holiday with her family. After a few heart-fluttering moments he insists that she return to Smolny, her school, instead of attending University in Zurich which happens to be her lifetime ambition. While the Grand Duke insists it is only for her safety, Katiya is unsure and feels like the Imperial family are holding her against her will, even forbidding her to leave the school. Things take a turn for the worse when Katiya accidently comes across an ancient throne hidden in some caves and reads out loud the decription written in an ancient language. She's transported to a place called the Graylands-an inbetween place of life and death-where she comes face to face with the dreaded Konstantin (wannabe/was Tsar). She escapes with the help of an unknown young man.
Eventually her holidays end and she does indeed return to Smolny. But things are different there also. Now there's a ghost to deal with and the secretive Princess Alix.

The Main Characters
Katarina Alexandrovich, or Katiya, continues her adventures as she did in the last. She never once thinks for herself, always of others. And there's no point in mystery or intrigue in her life because she will immediately dive into them whatever way she can to solve them.
The one thing I do love is that she epitomises Russian High Society, she's very well educated and always on the lookout for more interesting foreign texts to read, always wanting to learn more. But the quaintness floods in every now and again. Sometimes she doubts that someone such as George can really hold her heart. She hopes it's true. Gradually through the story she hears tales of what George is doing in Paris and it's not all good.

The Story
I loved the first book, and eagerly awaited this one's release. The story is centred around Smolny again. We have more characters from the school coming into the story. Now we have were-wolves, vampires, the undead revenants, dark and light faeries and our own heroine as a Necromancer. We also hear about the antics of Katiya's brother and the various Order's. As we go on we also begin to doubt who is sincere and who is being traitorous. The clues are all there, and there are more than a few surprises. Suffice to say that i loved this book. Anything to do with Imperial Russia holds my interest, and the author did a fantastic job of informing us and spinning us a great yarn.

The End?
Oh boy. It's always about a boy, isn't it? George is seriously injured. As he walks away from Katiya I'm seriously wanting to know what happens next!! It isn't going to be good because the enemies are all still alive!

Overall
It took less than a day for me to devour this. I had only one moment, around 30%, where I was wondering which direction the story would take. However, I continued and was so far in without realising. Brilliant, amazing world-building, fun glittering balls, handsome love interest-what's not to like!!

-CBx

You can reach Robin Bridges here:

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Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

THANK YOU TO NET GALLEY AND RANDOM HOUSE CHILDRENS BOOKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO REVIEW THIS BOOK AND GIVE MY HONEST OPINION

Synopsis:
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?

Review:
Being a European, and very inquisitive (!) I loved reading about the Romanovs, Imperial Russia and the European family tree when I was younger. This part of Russia history was always fascinating especially the balls, the polite society rules and the politics that go with it.
So, for me, it was an absolute delight to read this book. The author has kept very close to the rules of titles i.e. what to call each nobility, the etiquette, and the traditions which I loved. Unlike other reviewers I didn't think it was that difficult to keep up with the who's who of characters and how they were all related. I particularly liked the twist of faeries (light and dark), vampires, and werewolves that all basically stem from darker and older European history also.

The plot was great. The story flows very well and the danger increases gradually and at a nice pace. Katerina was a little too naive in some places especially when she's handed the Necromancer's Companion and has no wish to read it regardless of being a Necromancer herself. Sometimes she's amazingly strong and ambitious with her quest in the medical profession but other times she lets her youth and naivety get in the way, particularly when it comes to Elena and her family. Her relationship with George intrigued me from the beginning and without giving any spoilers suffice to say it wasn't an instant romance, which I enjoyed.

Overall I found it a fantastic read, as long as everyone can get past the numerous characters titles and past history of the supernatural beings, this should be one that doesn't get put away on the shelf unread.

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