September 15, 2012
In the sequel to The Gathering Storm (2012), the tsar forces Katerina to put aside her ambition to attend medical college and return to Smolny Institute for another year of finishing school, immersing her in the dangerous paranormal intrigue of the Russian court. Since the blood bond created with vampiric Prince Danilo in the previous effort, he now has access to her thoughts, but Katerina knows better than to trust this handsome royal. Her thoughts are centered instead on Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, but he's been sent to Paris to acquire a better understanding of magic, and besides, he's aligned with the Light Court and she's tied to the Dark. Thanks to her inborn talent as a necromancer, she can reanimate the dead at will. Now, in spite of a protective spell cast over Smolny Institute, an evil spirit has taken over the library, threatening students and staff. Katerina is determined to resolve the situation. The pace is deliberately slow; readers will have to be sustained by Bridges' complex worldbuilding rather than any rapidly rising level of suspense, although the climax is satisfyingly perilous. Given the back story's complexity, the second volume cannot stand alone. Katerina's first-person voice is smart and believable, fitting well into this atmospheric romance. The simmering tale never quite reaches the boiling point, but fans will nonetheless yearn for the conclusion. (Paranormal romance. 11 & up)
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February 1, 2013
Gr 9 Up-The teenaged Duchess of Oldenburg, Katerina Alexandrovna, continues to come to terms with her necromantic powers and her forbidden love for George Alexandrovitch, son of the tsar, who is now training to become the Koldun, the tsar's chief wizard. She must also battle a dangerous ghost that is haunting her finishing school and an undead tsar who wishes to return to power. Set in an alternate 1889 Russia where magic is real and St. Petersburg's population includes faeries, werewolves, and several different kinds of vampires, this volume has many of the same strengths and weaknesses as the previous book in the series. The setting is fascinating and quite different from what we have seen in other YA paranormal fiction. Readers will find themselves turning to Wikipedia to find out more about Russian history and the historical characters who appear in the novel. However, there are occasional odd anachronisms, and often the supernatural world-building is vague. Sometimes the residents of St. Petersburg seem matter-of-fact about magic, and at other times it seems to be secret and forbidden. It is never quite clear why Katerina is so reluctant to learn more about her powers, or why she wants to become a doctor. Purchase where the first volume is popular.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ
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July 1, 2013
Katerina's (The Gathering Storm) power as a necromancer is proving to be harmful to herself and others. When her love, tsar's son George Alexandrovich, insists she stay at her finishing school where she will be safe, she reluctantly obeys--only to find herself threatened by a sinister ghost. Bridges convincingly weaves 1880s Russian aristocracy with the supernatural in this dark, complex second volume.
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)