The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges

The Book:

The Gathering Storm
By Robin Bridges
Random House
Due out January 10, 2012

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…and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The Review

Back in September, Publisher’s Weekly put out this article which predicted the future fad of young adult literature was historical fiction. Judging by the up rise in novels by big name authors set in past times–Bright Young Things, Anna Godbersen (2010), Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare (2010), Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson (2011)–this assessment is proving to be true. Joining the fray is Robin Bridges’ debut novel, The Gathering Storm, which is set in Russia at the turn of the 19th century.

Although this novel features a cast of characters well known to the paranormal romance crowd (vampires, werewolves, undead, oh my!), the real shining star of the story is its exotic historical landscape. Bridges spends much effort conjuring up images of what life was like for the aristocracy of a Russia caught between the advancements of the industrial revolution and the lingering grip of superstition. Through the eyes of the main protagonist, a modern-minded young Duchess named Katerina, readers are whisked through glamorous winter balls, social calls to empresses and tsars, and the complicated maneuverings of a mother intent on having her daughter marry well (à la Jane Austen). And sleighs rides. There are a lot of sleigh rides.

Bridges has obviously done a lot of research in order to make the book historically accurate. I confess I’m no expert, but I do recall from my brief attempt at reading War and Peace (it is on my ereader and I will get to it…eventually) that the Russian aristocracy spoke mainly in French and that whispering of revolution was severely frowned upon–all of which is remarked upon by Bridges. She also spends an ample amount of time name-dropping, which is acceptable in small portions, but feels a bit overdone here.

Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the historical setting, I found the rest of the book lacking. The plot was okay. Nothing extraordinary or unexpected. The action was glazed over (stating merely that they fought furiously, rather than describing the punches). The pacing at times dragged. And the romance was…well, not very romantic. Katerina and her main love-interest George Alexandrovich had surprisingly few scenes together, and those that they shared were filled more with exposition advancing the plot than building any sort of affection between the two. Perhaps Bridges was trying to channel a Darcy-type character–after all, George was often described as brooding, and Katerina was convinced he detested her–but George was too standoffish for my taste. If not for some traditional hint-dropping by Bridges I would have been just as disbelieving as Katerina when George confessed his feelings. On the bright side, this is the first in a series, so Bridges has ample room for deepening Katerina and George’s relationship.

Finally, one last note on the cover art. The publishers were given an incredible opportunity to come up with an evocative cover; something that captured the romance and glamor of olden time Russia. They settled instead on a generic cover of a girl in a traditional ushanka hat. Disappointed.

The Rating

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The Recommendation

Read it if you like a mix of paranormal and historical fiction. Those who enjoyed the settings of Clare’s Clockwork Angel and Johnson’s Name of the Star will eat up this book.

The Gathering Storm Book Trailer

In anticipation of my book review of Robin Bridges’  The Gathering Storm (Jan. 10) which will, hopefully, be up tomorrow, I am posting the official book trailer put out by Random House. Enjoy!