Week 25 Reviews: The Gathering Dark, The Unfailing Light

From Goodreads:
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?

From Goodreads:
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.

My first review of The Gathering Dark, The Unfailing Light 
My Review:
I loved rereading these books, back to back! I got to enjoy being in this world, and being with these characters, though I'm still a bit confused on a few things, and what's happening, but yeah, who cares when this story is just so freaking great!

Katerina was an awesome character, she's nobility, but she wants to be a doctor, and in the times, where it was frowned upon women living the kitchen/house/being a wife and a mother, but she has the support of her dad, and times are changing, but not as quickly as they could've.

And she's in love with the Tsar's second son, which for me, as someone living in the 21st century, is a bit weird, because her mom, and his dad, are first cousins, because her mom, and his dad were siblings. At least, that would explain why Katerina's grandmother married a second time in secret, and why George's dad is the current Tsar. And yeah, it's not like they're 1st cousins, but that is very close in a family tree to be marrying to. But it is fiction!

I really didn't like Danilo, or his sisters, and how they married for power, and to try and gain influence in Russia. They just were very nice, and they were pretty creepy, on top of that! And I also didn't like the girl, because of the fact that she killed that maid for taking a toy that hadn't been used for a very long time!

I still don't know what the Unfailing Light is, and I know it's mentioned in the next book, but yeah, I don't know what it was, which is a bit disappointing, because it's a little bit of information that enhances the series!

All in all, really enjoyed these books, can't wait to reread The Morning Light!

Author: Robin Bridges
Series: Katerina #1, 2
First Read: July 13th, 2012, December 12th, 2012
Read: June 20th, 20th, 2014
Source: Tuebl
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2014 Books and Historical Fiction 2014 Books!
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Published: January 10th 2012,October 9th 2012

The Gathering Dark:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Unfailing Light:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars