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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Actually thoroughly enjoyed. Only critique is somewhat ambiguous plot lines but they end up mostly sorting themselves out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
I really enjoyed the last book of the Tatiana & Alexander series. This book was a little more drawn out. It reviewed old memories, as well as continued their love story. This book tells more about the kids, which I enjoyed. The middle to ending was the best part and at that point it was hard to put down.
June 2021
3.25 stars
For most of this book I wanted Alexander go eat some dirt and shut up. He was a complete asshat almost the whole damn time and when Tatiana finally grew backbone I really wished she kicked him in the comrades. Anthony was blessing in this book and the epilogue was wonderful.
Trigger Warnings: Trigger Warnings: war, violence, death, loss of loved ones, PTSD, cheating and physical assault
March 2015
4.5 stars
My goodness this series has put through me happiness, crying like a true fangirl, and "almost" heart attacks. This would've have gotten 5 stars but, somethings in the book made me rage. If you have read this book you'll understand where I coming from.
Greyland Reviews
3.25 stars
For most of this book I wanted Alexander go eat some dirt and shut up. He was a complete asshat almost the whole damn time and when Tatiana finally grew backbone I really wished she kicked him in the comrades. Anthony was blessing in this book and the epilogue was wonderful.
Trigger Warnings: Trigger Warnings: war, violence, death, loss of loved ones, PTSD, cheating and physical assault
March 2015
4.5 stars
My goodness this series has put through me happiness, crying like a true fangirl, and "almost" heart attacks. This would've have gotten 5 stars but, somethings in the book made me rage. If you have read this book you'll understand where I coming from.
Greyland Reviews
Reviewed on: Ashes Books & Bobs.
NOTE: If you plan on reading this series, you may want to skip this review! Spoilers are likely, with this being the third and final book in the series.
It has taken over two years since I finished the first book, but the bittersweet journey of Tatiana and Alexander has finally come to an end for me. I started The Summer Garden in February of this year and finally got around to finishing it last weekend. I had to take a break from this story because I have never read a more agonizing book in all of my life. I had to let my thoughts of the series as a whole marinate. I couldn’t seem to put my emotions into words.
Be ready for this punch to the gut, my friends…
This was my least favorite book in the series. I struggled hard with reading this one. It felt like the characters I had grown to love were gone. Of course, they were growing and aging in the ways life naturally transforms us, and no marriage will ever be picture perfect. Unfortunately, I felt their struggles became excessive and their American lifestyle ruined them. In my last review, I was commending their loyalty to one other and the resilience of their relationship through such horribly difficult times. Then, The Summer Garden comes along, life in America comes along, and makes me take back my words. The heartbreak (scratch that, heart-shredding) I felt over the characters’ new lives and the decisions they made was the worst I’ve experienced by the hards of fictional characters. All I could think was, “NOW! This happens now?! After all they have been through?”
Maybe the mark of a good book is making the reader feel every emotion imaginable, but I can’t reconcile that fact with this book. I felt rage, I wanted to stop reading, and yet, I still had to know how this series would conclude, even if it ruined everything in the end.
There were quite a few issues with this story, like the abrupt disuse of quotation marks throughout one chunk and the frantic time jumps to condense many years into one book. The story felt disjointed and wasn’t nearly as cohesive as it should have been for the finale. I wish it had been plotted a little more effectively. The last quarter of the book felt like I was reading an entirely different story.
Naturally, there were some things I really enjoyed. There had to be for me to finish over 700 pages of nearly fine-print type. I was sure the series would conclude in an entirely different manner. I loved how it covered the majority of Anthony’s life, allowing readers to see decades in the span of one book. Simply being able to experience how the characters’ lives unfolded is what I was looking for and ultimately, I was satisfied with the final chapter of the story. It warmed my heart but didn’t completely heal the sting I felt near the halfway mark. There were some truly beautiful moments and writing in this story, just like in the former two books. The characters showed a level of growth I haven’t experienced before, even if I didn’t like many of their choices. There were also glimpses of the past and of the Tatiana and Shura I’d grown to love. Those nostalgic moments kept me hanging on. Unfortunately, I’m torn between wishing I hadn’t finished the series and grateful to know how it wrapped up, which is altogether disappointing. Despite my feelings about The Summer Garden, this is still one of the most epic and unforgettable series I’ve ever read.
Rating: 3.5 stars
NOTE: If you plan on reading this series, you may want to skip this review! Spoilers are likely, with this being the third and final book in the series.
It has taken over two years since I finished the first book, but the bittersweet journey of Tatiana and Alexander has finally come to an end for me. I started The Summer Garden in February of this year and finally got around to finishing it last weekend. I had to take a break from this story because I have never read a more agonizing book in all of my life. I had to let my thoughts of the series as a whole marinate. I couldn’t seem to put my emotions into words.
Be ready for this punch to the gut, my friends…
This was my least favorite book in the series. I struggled hard with reading this one. It felt like the characters I had grown to love were gone. Of course, they were growing and aging in the ways life naturally transforms us, and no marriage will ever be picture perfect. Unfortunately, I felt their struggles became excessive and their American lifestyle ruined them. In my last review, I was commending their loyalty to one other and the resilience of their relationship through such horribly difficult times. Then, The Summer Garden comes along, life in America comes along, and makes me take back my words. The heartbreak (scratch that, heart-shredding) I felt over the characters’ new lives and the decisions they made was the worst I’ve experienced by the hards of fictional characters. All I could think was, “NOW! This happens now?! After all they have been through?”
Maybe the mark of a good book is making the reader feel every emotion imaginable, but I can’t reconcile that fact with this book. I felt rage, I wanted to stop reading, and yet, I still had to know how this series would conclude, even if it ruined everything in the end.
There were quite a few issues with this story, like the abrupt disuse of quotation marks throughout one chunk and the frantic time jumps to condense many years into one book. The story felt disjointed and wasn’t nearly as cohesive as it should have been for the finale. I wish it had been plotted a little more effectively. The last quarter of the book felt like I was reading an entirely different story.
Naturally, there were some things I really enjoyed. There had to be for me to finish over 700 pages of nearly fine-print type. I was sure the series would conclude in an entirely different manner. I loved how it covered the majority of Anthony’s life, allowing readers to see decades in the span of one book. Simply being able to experience how the characters’ lives unfolded is what I was looking for and ultimately, I was satisfied with the final chapter of the story. It warmed my heart but didn’t completely heal the sting I felt near the halfway mark. There were some truly beautiful moments and writing in this story, just like in the former two books. The characters showed a level of growth I haven’t experienced before, even if I didn’t like many of their choices. There were also glimpses of the past and of the Tatiana and Shura I’d grown to love. Those nostalgic moments kept me hanging on. Unfortunately, I’m torn between wishing I hadn’t finished the series and grateful to know how it wrapped up, which is altogether disappointing. Despite my feelings about The Summer Garden, this is still one of the most epic and unforgettable series I’ve ever read.
Rating: 3.5 stars
A terrible conclusion to the trilogy. The Unrealistic quick summary of all their offspring was terrible.
I'm not sure how to rate this or what to write for a review. I need to stew over this for a while. There was some if this book that I hated and other that I loved.
I loved the rest of this trilogy and I adore the writing style of the author and I developed a deep love for the characters. The first 3/4 of this book were brutally heart wrenching and piercingly romantic as Alexander struggles to adjust to civilian life and recover from his horrific ordeals at the end of the war. I was committed to the story every step of the way right up until the end of part 3 and the birth of their second son; a miracle they had been waiting for for a decade.
However, from this point on I felt like the book lost it's way. To me, Pasha's birth felt like the perfect poignant ending to an epic romance. Alexander and Tania had battled through every hurdle thrown at them and emerged stronger than ever and were rewarded with the gift of a much desired baby to round off their little family. Then suddenly we're fast forwarded 8 years and Anthony is off to Vietnam, Alexander is rushing off to the jungle to save him and we hurtle through a further 30 years of their life with excessively descriptive narratives of everyone's careers. The whole section felt rushed and unnecessary and in many ways I wish we'd been trusted to allow our own imaginations to fill in what happened during the rest of their lives.
I still think this was a brilliant series but to me the end of this particular book fell short of my expectations.
However, from this point on I felt like the book lost it's way. To me, Pasha's birth felt like the perfect poignant ending to an epic romance. Alexander and Tania had battled through every hurdle thrown at them and emerged stronger than ever and were rewarded with the gift of a much desired baby to round off their little family. Then suddenly we're fast forwarded 8 years and Anthony is off to Vietnam, Alexander is rushing off to the jungle to save him and we hurtle through a further 30 years of their life with excessively descriptive narratives of everyone's careers. The whole section felt rushed and unnecessary and in many ways I wish we'd been trusted to allow our own imaginations to fill in what happened during the rest of their lives.
I still think this was a brilliant series but to me the end of this particular book fell short of my expectations.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes