The Morning Star: Katerina Trilogy Vol. III: (Katerina Trilogy , #3)

by Robin Bridges

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.

Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.

• ISBN10: 0385908318
• ISBN13: 9780385908313
• Publish Date: 27 August 2013 (first published 1 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Cancelled
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 276
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The Morning Star was so much better than The Unfailing Light! It definitely exceeded my expectations and left me wanting more! After temporarily beating Konstantin, Katiya is anxiously waiting for him to return and come for her. She’s told about a heavenly sword that will defeat him for good, but no one knows how to get to it. All they know is that only a powerful necromancer can wield it. Meanwhile, Katiya is secretly studying medicine and holding on to hope that she can one day fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor. She’s even more determined since her love, George, is plagued with a supernatural illness. Then the tsar gives his blessing to Katiya and George, if she’ll promise to stop studying medicine, Konstantin returns by stealing the body of an old enemy, and Katiya has no clue what to do about any of it!

I love, love, loved the romance in The Morning Star! I absolutely adore Katerina and George together and I was so happy for them to finally have some time to be together. I actually squeed out loud at one point. Seriously. Then I was sad because she refuses to give up on her dream even if that means losing him, but she knows if she doesn’t pursue her degree, she’ll lose him to whatever sickness ails him. It’s a lose-lose situation. But George, being the romantic genius that he is, comes up with a plan! The plan made me so happy until it was thwarted by someone who may want Katiya a little bit more than him. Then the adventure began.

Katerina is whisked away to Egypt in order to find the sword named the Morning Star. She’s forced to work with Konstantin, although she’ll never let him get his hands on it. To do so, would mean the end of Russia as she knows it. I loved getting to see Egypt, even if it was mostly just glimpses inside of tombs in search of the sword, or a brief tour of a market place. I also liked the addition of ancient Egyptian magic in the rituals Katiya is forced to perform.

The only thing I was a bit disappointed by in The Morning Star was how Katiya still didn’t know much about her abilities. She didn’t use them nearly at all in the previous book, and this time it felt like everyone was using her powers but her. She’s also told about a few things that can she do and how to do them, since she had no clue. I know that she doesn’t want to use her necromancer powers at all, but I wish there had been more of it rather than just accidental zombies and forced rituals.

The Morning Star is a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Katiya saves the day with a little help from her friends, and Russia is safe…for now. I liked how after all of the action has settled, the last few chapters focused on George and Katerina. The very ending is quite abrupt and a little open, but I kind of liked that. Yes, I wanted to know that everything worked out and everyone is okay, but it’s nice to not have everything magically fixed. I will miss Katiya and Georgi though.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[ladygrey]

It was nice to read how this story played out but I'm kind of left unsatisfied, even though all the story threads were tied up.

I begrudgingly like how she incorporated the history of the Russian dynasty into this fantasy. But I don't like that the cost of that is a not entirely happy ending.

And even though the story was tied up, I feel like she never really delved into this world she created as much as I wanted. Through all three books I've wanted to know more about the Light and Dark courts, to understand more of Katerina's power and the scope of it, to glimpse into the magic that George was studying. With each book I hoped she'd explore the world deeper and with each book my review always says it felt like she's just skimming the surface of the story.

I also found the whole interlude with Danilo in Egypt kind of boring. It was all very plot driven but not using the interesting characters.

And I hate to say it but even though Katerina used her powerful sword and made a couple of tough choices she never really grew as a character, maybe because she wasn't that complex to begin with. It just seemed like she was still whiny and naive even at the end. She may have had powerful magic but she never became a powerful character to match that.

Which isn't not to say the book is awful at all. It's just easier to talk about the places where I was disappointed. But when the interesting characters were together, it was good. And if I didn't enjoy the dynasty I wouldn't have wanted more of them. I think I just never liked Katerina as much as [a:Robin Bridges|4094048|Robin Bridges|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1293723981p2/4094048.jpg] and so when the story is exclusively hers, it wasn't enough for me. When it involved the other characters I liked (George and Nicholas and Xenia and Alix and the striga and even Miechen) it was fun.

[kimbacaffeinate]

review to post soon