Friday, October 9, 2015

Review: THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, #1 by Paullina Simons

Publisher: William Morrow
Pub. Date: September 2009
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 Stars...obviously


Blurb:
The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad.

Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.


Review:
Where to start? I'm out of breath, out of juice, out of...everything after reading this beautifully told story. That's the best way I feel I can put it. There's really nothing anyone, as well as me, can say. Because it's the type of book you just have to go into and experience for yourself. I'll be honest, I've had this book in my kindle for what feels like years. I had heard so many things about it and I still didn't really have any idea what it was about. One day after reading the Remember When Trilogy by T. Torrest, I was in desperate need to get another book high. Because Remember When was freaking amazing, the bar was set pretty damn high. So you have to realize I have what feels like thousands of books in my kindle and none of them looked remotely appealing. That was until I stumbled upon The Bronze Horsemen. Hmm... I heard good things about this book and hey it's about a motorcycle gang, right?

Boyyyyyyy, was I wrong! The beginning had a tiny bit of a slow start but quickly picked up when Tatiana met Alexander. And let me tell ya, that whole scene when they meet each other? Swooooon! Then it all comes crashing down when we see that Alexander is actually the soldier Tatiana's sister, Dasha, has been seeing. Yeah...What. The. Hell. My heart has stopped beating and I'm lifted with my mouth wide open. Seriously, what are the odds?! Well as you can imagine, Tatiana is a good sister and pines in secret for Alexander. Who in return pines away for Tatiana in private but that's it. He pretty much treats her like a little sister when he gets around Dasha. It made me sick.

Like beyonddddddd sick. I mean I get it now, why he did what he did, but at the time, I was he was a huge douche-canoe and if it were me, I would of said to hell with you! Not to mention, you're sleeping with my sister...um, fucking gross! In the beginning, he still got to reap all these benefits from both girls. I guess one could argue that Tatiana did it to herself, but come on, the guy knew what he was doing. There were so many times I wished T would just tell him to fuck off. But she never did. And it wasn't until the very end that I realized why. Tatiana is the type of girl who loves hard, and when she loves hard, she loves with all her heart. Which is the reason she seemed liked such a slave when it came to her family. She loved taking care of people she loved and even when they did her wrong, she still loved them all the same. Including Alexander.

Which brings me to the touchy subject that is Dasha. I hate that the author made me hate her. Dasha was a selfish little bitch who didn't deserve Alexander. Except, why didn't she deserve him? They found each other first, they're around the same age... So why aren't they good together. Why did she have to become the bitchy older sister? Only to have what happen to her in the book. Which I think is a huge cop out. That whole story line is fucked up. If there are sides, I'm on the side that opts for telling the family including Dasha at the very beginning about the connection Tatiana shared with dear old Alexander. But it all goes back to Tatiana being loyal and caring for everyone but herself.

It could have saved so much unnecessary drama if she would have just been selfish for that little bit of time. Because Alexander remained with a woman whom he didn't love, but loved him with everything she had. It wasn't fair in the least. And if you're so swung, yes I'm totally team Shura and Tatia but I just wish it would have happened under better circumstances. Overall, despite the little bit of misgivings, I did love the story. The writing was gorgeous and I can't wait to read the next one.

Buy Link:

About the Author:
Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad, USSR, in 1963. At the age of ten her family immigrated to the United States. Growing up in Russia Paullina dreamt of someday becoming a writer. Her dream was put on hold as she learned English and overcame the shock of a new culture.

After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullina wrote her first novel Tully. Through word of mouth that book was welcomed by readers all over the world.

She continued with more novels, including Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross (also known as Tatiana and Alexander), The Summer Garden and The Girl in Times Square (also known as Lily). Many of Paullina's novels have reached international bestseller lists.

Apart from her novels, Paullina has also written a cookbook, Tatiana's Table, which is a collection of recipes, short stories and recollections from her best selling trilogy of novels, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross, (also known as Tatiana and Alexander) and The Summer Garden.
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