The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons

Where to start? The Summer Garden is the last book in The Bronze Horseman series. This book was a bit slow and it was the second longest book in the series (I like long books). Overall I really enjoyed it.

The book starts off a bit after Tatiana and Alexander's reunion. They have left New York and are traveling, trying to find their place in America. After being apart for so long the young couple are having some issues trying to reconnect and become a family. For me that was a little hard to read through, I really feel for Tatiana and Alexander and I wanted so much for them to be as happy and in love as they were in Lazarevo, but logically it makes sense that they would need some time to adjust.

I was surprised to find there is a flash back in this book. I was skeptical about it at first, not wanting to stray from the main story, but I was glad it was included. The flash back takes us to one summer spent at Tatiana's dasha at the Luga River. She was fourteen years old and that summer brought with it some surprising and mysterious new neighbors. In the end we learn why Tatiana's arm was in a cast and why she is terrified of the woods. Very exciting indeed. Why her family ever had any doubts about her is a mystery to me.

In the end I was sad to put the tale of Tatiana and Alexander to rest but I was very please that we get the whole scope of their lives and not just a small sliver like most stories. I liked seeing what kind of man little Anthony had become and what shape the love between our main characters evolved into and reading about all their trials and tribulations along the way. I was very satisfied.

I think I will read more works by Paullina Simons. She is a wonderful story teller and I was surprised to learn (though an interview published in part on her website) that The Bronze Horseman was her first book to take place in Russia. All her preceding novels take place in America. I have been recommending this series to everyone I talk books with and I really hope to see it come to the big screen soon.

Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons

Wow where to begin? I have heard some people did not like Tatiana and Alexander very much but I loved it! I found this book to be very emotional. After The Bronze Horseman I did not think Paullina Simons could give me much more to cry over but I was wrong!

Tatiana and Alexander takes us through three stories simultaneously. First the back story of Alexander and his loving parents and their struggle in their new country. Second the story of Tatiana and her new life in America with her new son. And finally Alexander's hard and difficult time in the Soviet Union as he tries in vain to make his way back to Tatiana's arms.

I really loved learning more about Alexander. It was quite interesting to read about his childhood and upbringing.  Then we learn how Alexander became a man and how he got involved with the evil Dimitri. We journey with Alexander through his war/prison life and along the way get to hear some of his memories of his time with Tatiana. Those were by far my favorite parts.

Reading about Alexander being left behind in the Soviet Union was very sad and difficult but it was just as sad reading about Tatiana adjusting to her new lonely life. People always seem to be drawn to Tatiana. They are concerned for her, care about her and try to help her become normal again. However Tatiana struggles to move on and in many ways she just doesn't want to.

All in all I found the novel very exciting. Expect action and betrayal and a couple of old faces popping in. I found myself wondering the whole time I read Tatiana and Alexander if our two heartbroken lovers would ever reunite. It is very hard to imagine how their reunion would ever be possible being separated by countries, ocean, war and prison but if there is a will there is a way...... now on to the third and final book The Summer Garden!

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

The Bronze Horseman is a love story. The story takes place in 1941 Russia right at the start of the war with Germany. The star of our tale is seventeen year old Tatiana who hasn't a care in the world. That is until she meets Alexander, a twenty-two year old officer in the Red Army.

Without spoiling too much there are very big reasons why these two cannot be together. All seems hopeless for them but fear not this is no Wuthering Heights. I guarantee you there is love there it just takes sometime to get to it and being a mature adult woman it was nice to see there are some *ahem* lusty adult moments, very detailed but somehow managing not to be romance novelish. Being that the war has just begun there is a lot of heartbreak, starvation and eventually even death for our cast of characters. But don't let that scare you; there is also life and love and passion!

The detail is amazing. Paullina Simons takes you everywhere from the shabby communal living apartments, to the wartime front line, to a little village by the river. You will be taken from the long hot white nights of summer in Leningrad to the dead cold harsh winter and back again. You will be there with Tatiana as she struggles within herself to please her family and go through the excitement and the unknown of our hero Alexander's mysterious past and his dangerous secret.

I really enjoyed this book. It is the larger format paperback and still manages to fill up 810 pages! For me it was quite the page turner and I could hardly put it down. In fact I read the whole book in just three days and I kept going back to reread my favorite parts. Luckily the story is not finished with the Bronze Horseman and there are two more novels in the series (Tatiana and Alexander, The Summer Garden) which just happened to arrive on my doorstep yesterday : ) I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Books I have read

Let's just get this one out of the way: Twilight yes I have read the series. My husband bought me the first book years ago. We had saw Stephenie Meyer talking about the books on some morning show, we both thought they sounded interesting and forgot all about it, he surprised me months later. I read the first book in one day and reread it that night until I could get to the store to buy the second and third book. Then I had to wait almost a year for the fourth book. I even read her other book The Host.

I enjoyed them all. Yes the writing is not great but what do you expect from someone who didn't set out to be an author in the first place. Plus authors even great authors have editors! What the heck happened to hers? Anyway its a big  pet peeve of mine when people give you crap for liking certain things, we all enjoy popcorn films and Twilight is the book version of a popcorn film, you don't expect it to be award winning but you like it all the same. I know I can't convince someone to like Twilight so I won't even try. If you don't like it that is fine I am sure we can find something in common we both enjoy : )

Moving on I love me some Stephen King. I am currently on the last book in the amazing Dark Tower series, just waiting for the hubby to catch up so I can keep going. I like Dean Koontz. I have read a lot of his books but he is hit-and-miss with me (more hit than miss but still). I LOVE Christopher Moore! He is too funny, A Dirty Job is hilarious!

I have read many books, my www.goodreads.com list has over 50 on it and that's just from what I can remember reading. My next post will be about the book I just finished this past weekend.

Who am I?

I am a daydreamer. I love to live in fantasy land. I love books, movies and music, the moodier the better. These mediums open new worlds to me where I can live through heartbreak and tragedy, love requited and unrequited, amazing adventures and personal triumphs vicariously through the author's tale.  I have a dramatic soul without the dramatic life and I like it that way.

This blog is dedicated to my love of books. I will talk about ALL the books I read whether the general public approves of them or not : )