Destinies (Karleene Morrow)

I will admit, that although I am an avid reader, I was a touch intimidated by the length and  (and mostly) the subject of this book. My feelings proved to be completely unvalidated.
This story sucked me in immediately. We meet Katherine as she is gloating over a corpse, and we meet Christian Kehler as he is listening to his father and his friends discuss their coming immigration to Russia.
The journey is long and dangerous for the German families, as they come to realise that Russia is nothing like Germany. Katherine also has a long journey in her temporal fight to free the serfs of Russia and bring Western enlightenment to her country.
I found myself gasping aloud many times at the shocking actions of the characters in this story. There was not a moment in this book when I was bored, I enjoyed every last word. This is a wonderful look into Katherine the Great's great weaknesses, and the coming of age story of a young German immigrant (and his family) trying to find his way in the world.
Every character has a purpose, as does every storyline.  There are so many events in this book that I would love to discuss, but I want the reader to read it new and fresh, just as I did.  No spoilers!
I very much recommend this book!