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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Will never understand why Simons created a love story with a male love interest that is so unlikeable (putting it mildly). It’s so disappointing and such a lost opportunity. I’ve never read a love story before where I was hoping the female protagonist would run far away from her male amor.
I thought the first part of the book was good. Alexander and Tatiana are scarred (literally and figuratively) from their traumas. The travelling across America, the tension, the sadness, the hope was compelling. I was still rooting for them.
It’s when they settle down in Arizona for the rest of the book where things go array and Alexander is shown for the ugly misogynist that he is. Emotional manipulation, domestic violence and some sexual interactions that seemed to border on marital rape, abound between Alexander and Tatiana. No matter what Alexander does or says, Tatiana accepts it all like a docile doormat. Through Tatiana’s acceptance and forgiveness for ALL things, Simons normalizes truly dangerous behaviour and attitudes exemplified by Alexander.
The arguments surrounding the bachelor/bachelorette parties, working for the Balkmann’s, working as a nurse at PMH were horrible and deeply offensive to Tatiana, to motherhood, to marriage, to any and all women reading this book.
The last part of the book with Anthony and Vietnam was so boring and such a poor attempt to mimic Tatiana rescuing Alexander in the second book. The Vietnam portion really had no place in this book.
With the amount of sex Alexander & Tatiana have throughout this book I thought it was a tall order for the reader to believe it takes them 10 years to conceive another child.
I thought the first part of the book was good. Alexander and Tatiana are scarred (literally and figuratively) from their traumas. The travelling across America, the tension, the sadness, the hope was compelling. I was still rooting for them.
It’s when they settle down in Arizona for the rest of the book where things go array and Alexander is shown for the ugly misogynist that he is. Emotional manipulation, domestic violence and some sexual interactions that seemed to border on marital rape, abound between Alexander and Tatiana. No matter what Alexander does or says, Tatiana accepts it all like a docile doormat. Through Tatiana’s acceptance and forgiveness for ALL things, Simons normalizes truly dangerous behaviour and attitudes exemplified by Alexander.
The arguments surrounding the bachelor/bachelorette parties, working for the Balkmann’s, working as a nurse at PMH were horrible and deeply offensive to Tatiana, to motherhood, to marriage, to any and all women reading this book.
The last part of the book with Anthony and Vietnam was so boring and such a poor attempt to mimic Tatiana rescuing Alexander in the second book. The Vietnam portion really had no place in this book.
With the amount of sex Alexander & Tatiana have throughout this book I thought it was a tall order for the reader to believe it takes them 10 years to conceive another child.
2020 review:
Things that have no place in a self-proclaimed love-story: cheating, hitting your wife, a man who goes on for 600-something pages about how much he hates that his wife works three days a week, and a man forcing his wife to have sex with him.
Things that are in this book: all of the above.
The Tatiana and Alexander from book 1 and 2 were not perfect, but they deserved better than what Paullina Simons did to them in this book. I don’t care how much trauma Alexander has from the war, it doesn’t excuse him actually abusing his wife.
Things that have no place in a self-proclaimed love-story: cheating, hitting your wife, a man who goes on for 600-something pages about how much he hates that his wife works three days a week, and a man forcing his wife to have sex with him.
Things that are in this book: all of the above.
The Tatiana and Alexander from book 1 and 2 were not perfect, but they deserved better than what Paullina Simons did to them in this book. I don’t care how much trauma Alexander has from the war, it doesn’t excuse him actually abusing his wife.
Oh my gosh this book!! It killed me! It broke my heart, and it made me so mad I couldn’t sleep.
What a disappointing ending to a trilogy!! I loved the first two and this was such a let-down. It felt like a mundane retelling of daily lives and at times I wondered if I was reading 50 Shades of Grey because there was so much sex and not much else. I ended up flicking through the last third of the book and things didn't improve so I'm saddened.
I was desperate to know what happened after the previous two books, and I must say I was confused for a while as to why things were going the way they were. After I worked it out and compared the situation to myself I understood and there were moments I found myself arguing with character's choices. I have to say that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the other two. There was something not quite right for the first 100 pages or so, but I suppose that's exactly how Tatiana and Alexander felt too. All in all I love this series as a whole and the ending was satisfying. Highly recommended to anyone who loves a good love story fraught with danger and risk and true dedication.
I would have been a lot happier with the series had I skipped this book and been content with my daydreams of how it ended, rather than how the author chose to. I understand that one of the character's dramatic transformations is supposed to be a statement on the effects of war, but am I supposed to trudge through six decades of him being a monster with no redemption?
This is a very heavy series. Not for someone looking for a light, easy read. It was very good, though.
Knížka mě nebavila tolik jako ty předchozí ale posledních sto padesát stran stálo za to. Na konci jsem byla úplně dojatá. Tahle série je rozhodně jedna z nejlepších, které jsem kdy přečetla :) <3