The Gathering Storm is an interesting paranormal fantasy set in alternate 1880s Russia. The main character is the Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg. She has a terrible secret that no one knows, not even her family or friends: she can raise the dead. Katerina regards it as a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her talent to protect a member of the tzar's family, she's caught up in a web of intrigue. Two powerful men take an interest in her: George Alexandrovich, the tsar's middle son, who is somewhat repulsed by her secret, but needs her help to protect Russia, and the handsome Prince Danilo, heir to the Montenegrin throne, to whom Katerina feels drawn. I enjoyed The Gathering Storm, though it seems like everyone has a secret of some sort. You're really not sure who to trust. It reminded me of Shadow and Bone in some ways; Shadow and Bone is not actually set in Russia, but in a similar land. There's a love triangle in both books and a lot of evil, though you're not sure which characters are the evil ones.
I enjoyed the character of Katerina, or Katiya, as her friends call her. She's in an smart and independent young woman who wants to go to medical school and become a doctor, rather than just marrying some wealthy young man. I'm not sure if her dream is at all realistic for that time period, but still, it was a nice element of her character.
The thing was, there were so many confusing Russian names. I didn't know how to pronounce half of them. Like Princess Cantacuzene. Forget it. And I kept mixing up the characters. All the Georgovichs and Alexandrovichs, all wrapped up in the story. But that wasn't the authors fault. And I still enjoyed this one. You can read Becky's review here.
Read The Gathering Storm:
- if you like paranormal fantasy
- if you like historical fantasy
- if you like books set in 19th century Russia
 | ||||
| Very Good! I would recommend this book! |
No comments:
Post a Comment