The Morning Star (Katerina Trilogy , #3)

by Robin Bridges

[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.