Robin Bridges

I've had The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges on my actual bookshelf for over a decade. I kept wanting to read it but I never got the nerve to actually pick it up. Silly, I know, but I finally bit the bullet. The cover was so pretty and I just had a bad feeling I was hyping the book up too much since I thought the cover was gorgeous.

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, is a necromancer in Russia. There's vampires in Russia, and they are a dark force around Russia. Throw in the aristocrats, Princes, Princesses, and all the fun of being a royal trying to marry you off for power... You've got an interesting story.

I really like the paranormal aspect thrown in with a bunch of historical fiction about Russia. The Russian side of the story was done very well and you could tell there was research behind the actual lore and history of the tale. Russian stories aren't always told from a more realistic point of view, so this was a very nice touch.

This book wasn't my favourite and I do think I hyped it up way too much for my own good. The story is a fantastic start and especially for a debut! I did think the book was too long and at time had too much history and not enough substance. I wanted character interactions, conflict, and chaos. It mostly felt like complaining about Danilo and the other women instead of doing something. There is some insta-love to that feels forced even for a YA book.

I will be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series though. I think Robin Bridges crafted a unique tale that I still want to follow.

Two out of five stars.… (meer)

This dealt with much deeper issues than the description implied but seemed to center around a romance.

Despite dealing with some pretty serious topics, this book maintained a light feel throughout. I felt it could have delved deeper into some of the topics presented, and I felt that the ultimate cause of Iris's death was very heavily glossed over.

Nonetheless, seeing the relationship between Andria and her mother as they both dealt with challenges was interesting to watch. I felt they could have communicated more, and Andria definitely held some things back, but her mom was extremely decisive when prompted to be and seemed very confident in her decisions, quite a contrast from Andria.

I felt that the romance was a bit strange at points. Andria tries so hard to justify her feelings that it made me overthink them. It felt unnecessary and kind of forced.

There was a really cute poetry thread to the story, with characters anonymously swapping lines of verse. I appreciated being exposed to poets I hadn't previously heard of. I also did enjoy the astronomy elements.

Andria seems to take over her dead sister's place in her friend group, which was one element that really bothered me. It seemed that though she had always been friends with her two best friends, they had been Iris's friends more than hers.

Overall, I was left kind of wanting more. I didn't really take anything away from this book, thoughts were not provoked, and though it entertained me, it didn't blow my mind at all.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
… (meer)

I bought this after reading her more recent book, The Form of Things Unknown and I'm grateful I did. This is one of those stories that grabs you the moment you start the first page and refuses to let you go until you finish the final one. Andria can't tell whether she feels guilty, angry, or grief-stricken following her twin sister Iris' death from heroin. That uncertainty and swirl of emotion is complicated by her epilepsy and detachment from school. Formerly an A student, she's close to failing at least one subject.
She's in love with astronomy and when her late sister's boyfriend, who ended up in drug rehab, knocks her and her telescope over in a dark dead end street, it's jarring enough so both have to begin reassessing their antagonism. What starts as a prickly rapprochement, turns to something deeper and completely unexpected when her family starts to unravel thanks to an arrest and her discovering the real reason her sister overdosed. It's a perfect blend of gritty and beautiful. I'm certainly going to read more by this author.… (meer)