Review: The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm
by Robin Bridges
The Katerina Trilogy, book one

Book Description:
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--and pulled between two young men who belong to very different and warring royal bloodlines. The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power as a necromancer, but which side will she choose--and to whom will she give her heart?

Review:
This book was very intriguing and yet at points it was also frustrating.  

I liked the idea of the Russian aristocracy being filled with paranormal beings and I loved Katerina as the main character.  She was strong and her power was interesting. I thought that the emotional roller coaster that Katerina experiences as events unfolds was very realistic.   

What frustrated me, though, were the Russian titles.  The author explains that each aristocrat would have a formal title and then a nickname, but to try to keep track of all the different princesses and counts was confusing at times.  It took until I was more than halfway through the book before I was able to easily distinguish the different MAIN characters of the book.  

Aside from that, I ended up enjoying this book a lot.  The historical setting was vibrant and beautiful.  The types of vampires and necromancers were interesting to read about... I definitely plan to continue the trilogy when I get time. 

Review: The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons

The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons
by Barbara Mariconda

Book Description:
Ever since her parents died, Lucy's house has magically awakened. An enchanted flute plays when danger is near. A sparkling mist unlocks drawers of family secrets. A mysterious woman named Marni arrives.

The magic helps Lucy keep her house out of the hands of her greedy Uncle Victor. As Lucy and Marni fight to stop Victor, Lucy makes unexpected friends and discovers the power of courage. But will it be enough to prevail in the face of her evil uncle? 

Review:

I liked this one a lot. It has a great atmosphere to it.  You could feel the magic in the air as the house responds to Lucy's wishes.  I felt really bad for Lucy as she lost her parents and had to deal with her greedy uncle.  I was extremely happy when she found Marni and her new friends.  Watching Lucy transform into a stronger, more confident girl was great and I can't wait to see where her adventures take her in following books. 

Island of Silence

Island of Silence

by Lisa McMann

The Unwanteds, book two



Book Description:
Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of Artimé are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries.

In Artimé, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and Artimé will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request—one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer.
 
And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex’s twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine’s defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power.

Review:
This is a series that I will tell you I unabashedly enjoy. It has a very similar feel to Harry Potter, but takes a very unique spin on the arts. I envy Lisa McMann's imagination when I read about the artistically inspired spells the kids use in Artime. 

As in Harry Potter, this second book has taken the series to a slightly darker place.  While Artime is still a thriving, beautiful, and creative place, the political repurcussions of opening Artime to everyone are felt throughout the land.  While the Artimeans are busy battling the Quillians, they also discover that something sinister may be occuring outside of their land, as well. In fact, even as Alex is trying to wrap his brain around being groomed to lead Artime one day and also deal with his evil twin's sinister plotting (which gave me shivers, btw...kid's got real power issues!), several of Alex's friends go missing and Alex finds himself in charge much earlier than expected. 

The only fault I found with this book was that it left off with huge plot cliffhangers!! While a few questions were answered, many more were raised, and I'm going to have a hard time waiting for book three to find out what's really going on at the Island of Silence!!

Review: Ghostopolis

Ghostopolis

by Doug TenNapel

Book Description:



Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who would use Garth's newfound abilities to rule the ghostly kingdom. When Garth meets Cecil, his grandfather's ghost, the two search for a way to get Garth back home, and nearly lose hope until Frank Gallows shows up to fix his mistake.

Review:
You may already know that I don't read a lot of graphic novels. I have a hard time sometimes following them. This one, though caught my eye with the weird skeleton horse on the front cover!

I really ended up enjoying this one.  It has an interesting story, with a brave main character, and the pictures are well colored and clearly drawn. I thought it was a really cool reimagining of the afterlife with a happy ending.