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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Where do I start? I feel like this book was all over the place. The first half of the book deals with Tatiana and Alexander trying to get their lives together after the war, so it feels just like a linear timeline of things that are happening to them. There’s no real conflict or plot point developing, just telling of their day-to-day lives. I had a big problem with the way Alexander treats Tatiana At the halfway mark of the book; very abusive both physically and mentally and dare I say he Sexually abuses Tatiana. Alexander behaves as a jerk, getting mad at her for doing things he is doing himself, too macho for my taste. I feel like all the romantic aspects of the story kind of disappeared in this last installment. The part where Anthony goes off to war to me felt it came out of nowhere. It seems that he went from a teenager to a soldier in the span of no time. That storyline was OK but I felt like it didn’t go with the series. I did however like how at the end of the book the last few chapters we see Alexander and Tatiana as two elderly people with their children grown and their grandchildren and how their lives shaped the lives of the second and third generations. This is definitely the least favorite of the three for me therefore I give it 3.5 ⭐️’s.
Not as good as the first, better than the second. I am glad that I did read the third and final book of the trilogy, as it was great to see how they fared in the new world, a new life.
Sometimes a series comes along and you aren't sure what to expect but then before you know it, your world has been rocked off its axis and that's me at this very moment. I've been reading this series for a little over two weeks and I love Shura and Tatia as if they were part of my family.
"Tatia", he calls for her. "Tatiana, Tania, Tiasha..."
The Summer Garden is the perfect book in every absolute way. Perfect but tough to read because they struggled as a couple and I felt their anger, their insecurity, I felt their unspoken words, I felt their love for each other...I. FELT. IT. ALL. The decisions they made as individuals and as a couple would haunt them throughout their life and at times, it left them broken as it did me. Am I being dramatic? Maybe but I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.
“I want amnesia! I want a fucking lobotomy. Could I please never think again? Look what’s happened to us, us, Tania. Don’t you remember how we used to be? Just look what’s happened.”
Book one was pure innocence and the way the fell in love with each other was completely beautiful and breathtaking. Book two was about survival and no matter how torn apart they were, their unyielding love continued to grow. The Summer Garden is about the loss of innocence and that little fact broke my heart because they became different people but their core was still very much the same. It was a journey of healing and the ability to trust each other despite all the skeletons lurking in their proverbial closets. This was a book about life, plain and simple.
“Alexander, you broke my heart. But for carrying me on your back, for pulling my dying sled, for giving me your last bread, for the body you destroyed for me, for the son you have given me, for the twenty-nine days we lived like Red Birds of Paradise, for all our Naples sands and Napa wines, for all the days you have been my first and last breath, for Orbeli- I will forgive you. ”
Alexander was not the same man and we see that loss of who he once was towards the tail end of book two; I was worried that I wouldn’t see the Shura I fell in love with but sure enough he starts to heal. Frankly, there were a few times when I wanted to step inside this book and shake Alexander and Tatiana because some of their decisions were jaw-dropping moments for me but that’s what made this book so exceptional, it was completely “real”.
“I love you. I'm blind for you, wild for you. Sick with you. I told you that our first night together when I asked you to marry me, I am telling you now. Everything that's happened to us, everything, is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through...”
Paullina Simons has written a beautiful and EPIC conclusion to The Bronze Horseman and you will feel emotionally and mentally stressed-out but at the same time, incredibly satisfied. She weaves the past and present in way that reminds the readers, Alexander and Tatiana are still very much the same people who fell in love in Leningrad. The love that binds them together is a force to be reckoned with and that tie cannot be broken despite the challenges they faced as a couple. The flashback sequences were some of my favorite moments and at times I felt as though I was meeting Alexander for the very first time...thank goodness Alexander crossed the street for Tatiana!!!
"To cross the street. To follow her. And she will give your life meaning, she will save you. Yes, yes-to cross."
I feel a bit lost right now and I’m not sure that I can read anything else at the moment because my mind keeps going back to Shura and Tatia. My heart kept beating faster and faster with every word I read throughout this entire series. While I didn’t want this series to end, the only comfort I have is knowing that I can re-read all three books at any moment. This is by far an EPIC trilogy and this is romance at its finest. Don’t wait a moment longer to invest in these books and while they’re pricey…you won’t regret it!
"Tatia", he calls for her. "Tatiana, Tania, Tiasha..."
The Summer Garden is the perfect book in every absolute way. Perfect but tough to read because they struggled as a couple and I felt their anger, their insecurity, I felt their unspoken words, I felt their love for each other...I. FELT. IT. ALL. The decisions they made as individuals and as a couple would haunt them throughout their life and at times, it left them broken as it did me. Am I being dramatic? Maybe but I know I'm not alone in feeling this way.
“I want amnesia! I want a fucking lobotomy. Could I please never think again? Look what’s happened to us, us, Tania. Don’t you remember how we used to be? Just look what’s happened.”
Book one was pure innocence and the way the fell in love with each other was completely beautiful and breathtaking. Book two was about survival and no matter how torn apart they were, their unyielding love continued to grow. The Summer Garden is about the loss of innocence and that little fact broke my heart because they became different people but their core was still very much the same. It was a journey of healing and the ability to trust each other despite all the skeletons lurking in their proverbial closets. This was a book about life, plain and simple.
“Alexander, you broke my heart. But for carrying me on your back, for pulling my dying sled, for giving me your last bread, for the body you destroyed for me, for the son you have given me, for the twenty-nine days we lived like Red Birds of Paradise, for all our Naples sands and Napa wines, for all the days you have been my first and last breath, for Orbeli- I will forgive you. ”
Alexander was not the same man and we see that loss of who he once was towards the tail end of book two; I was worried that I wouldn’t see the Shura I fell in love with but sure enough he starts to heal. Frankly, there were a few times when I wanted to step inside this book and shake Alexander and Tatiana because some of their decisions were jaw-dropping moments for me but that’s what made this book so exceptional, it was completely “real”.
“I love you. I'm blind for you, wild for you. Sick with you. I told you that our first night together when I asked you to marry me, I am telling you now. Everything that's happened to us, everything, is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through...”
Paullina Simons has written a beautiful and EPIC conclusion to The Bronze Horseman and you will feel emotionally and mentally stressed-out but at the same time, incredibly satisfied. She weaves the past and present in way that reminds the readers, Alexander and Tatiana are still very much the same people who fell in love in Leningrad. The love that binds them together is a force to be reckoned with and that tie cannot be broken despite the challenges they faced as a couple. The flashback sequences were some of my favorite moments and at times I felt as though I was meeting Alexander for the very first time...thank goodness Alexander crossed the street for Tatiana!!!
"To cross the street. To follow her. And she will give your life meaning, she will save you. Yes, yes-to cross."
I feel a bit lost right now and I’m not sure that I can read anything else at the moment because my mind keeps going back to Shura and Tatia. My heart kept beating faster and faster with every word I read throughout this entire series. While I didn’t want this series to end, the only comfort I have is knowing that I can re-read all three books at any moment. This is by far an EPIC trilogy and this is romance at its finest. Don’t wait a moment longer to invest in these books and while they’re pricey…you won’t regret it!
4 1/2 stars. Certainly had some rather tense moments and times I cried, and I though at one point I liked this more than book 2, but then it began to feel like it needed to wrap up. I loved the first 60% or so, but the I struggled to get through the last 1/4. Have to say, the ending was beautiful!
when I finished this book all I could was hold it to my chest and cry. an amazing finale to a remarkable series. Tatiana and Alexander will always have my heart.
Not as gripping as the first two novels, but still, I am glad to read through all of Alexander's and Tatiana's story.
Wandering
I love Alexander and Tatiana. I can tell their story will stay with me for years to come. That said, this I struggled at times with the wandering structure of the story. There were many times I was anxious to know what was going to happen to a particular character, and suddenly the story shifts and now focuses on a different time, much like a flashback, but instead of a memory that helps the reader understand something, the narrative goes on for far too long about getting lost in the woods. We know that character lives to be an adult, so we know they will be ok, the best will not get them.
It is my least favorite of the trilogy, but I needed to know how everything ended for this couple. I am grateful for their story. I do recommend this book but will caution the reader be prepared to be park with the meandering organization of the book.
I love Alexander and Tatiana. I can tell their story will stay with me for years to come. That said, this I struggled at times with the wandering structure of the story. There were many times I was anxious to know what was going to happen to a particular character, and suddenly the story shifts and now focuses on a different time, much like a flashback, but instead of a memory that helps the reader understand something, the narrative goes on for far too long about getting lost in the woods. We know that character lives to be an adult, so we know they will be ok, the best will not get them.
It is my least favorite of the trilogy, but I needed to know how everything ended for this couple. I am grateful for their story. I do recommend this book but will caution the reader be prepared to be park with the meandering organization of the book.
This third and final installment in The Bronze Horseman trilogy is an extensive and messy tome of events. This book could have easily been 3 or 4 separate, shorter novels. One thing after another happened, one conflict after another, and I guess that was intentional, to represent what life is like.
There were many things I enjoyed about this novel. I liked all the events in the lives of Tatiana and Alexander. They made for a fun and quite emotional read. I like the way Simons uses language to evoke a sentimental attachment to her characters and settings. She really has a knack of making her readers feel nostalgic for places we've never seen with our own eyes, but love because of the way they're written about. I like how she spun the story full circle through the generations, showing that love and life are timeless and each generation invents the world and feels their personal experience to be unique and special.
Some things that bothered me about the novel... I HATED the treatment of women in this book. Whereas Tania was previously a strong character in her own right (to put it lightly), in this book she becomes entirely defined by Alexander. I don't like how the transgressions of men are blamed on the women, that for a woman to have something she loves other than her man is portrayed as damaging to the relationship whereas the man can find himself in his own right, without being defined by his woman. I wish the two leads would have been offered a more even ground to stand on by the author rather than placing them firmly into their stereotypical roles. And I'm not one of those feminist Nazis who needs every story to be about equality. What I mean is that it seemed out of character for a strong and persevering woman to suddenly become so marginalized once she had her husband around. I saw no good reason for this other than to create the stereotypical rescued damsel and white knight relationship so typical to romance novels.
This series has really become one of my favorites, which is surprising since I don't normally go for romances. I like the epic story, the sentimentality of the events and locations, and the historical accuracy the author achieved through some obvious diligent research. I can't wait to read another work by Simons to see if I like it just as much.
There were many things I enjoyed about this novel. I liked all the events in the lives of Tatiana and Alexander. They made for a fun and quite emotional read. I like the way Simons uses language to evoke a sentimental attachment to her characters and settings. She really has a knack of making her readers feel nostalgic for places we've never seen with our own eyes, but love because of the way they're written about. I like how she spun the story full circle through the generations, showing that love and life are timeless and each generation invents the world and feels their personal experience to be unique and special.
Some things that bothered me about the novel... I HATED the treatment of women in this book. Whereas Tania was previously a strong character in her own right (to put it lightly), in this book she becomes entirely defined by Alexander. I don't like how the transgressions of men are blamed on the women, that for a woman to have something she loves other than her man is portrayed as damaging to the relationship whereas the man can find himself in his own right, without being defined by his woman. I wish the two leads would have been offered a more even ground to stand on by the author rather than placing them firmly into their stereotypical roles. And I'm not one of those feminist Nazis who needs every story to be about equality. What I mean is that it seemed out of character for a strong and persevering woman to suddenly become so marginalized once she had her husband around. I saw no good reason for this other than to create the stereotypical rescued damsel and white knight relationship so typical to romance novels.
This series has really become one of my favorites, which is surprising since I don't normally go for romances. I like the epic story, the sentimentality of the events and locations, and the historical accuracy the author achieved through some obvious diligent research. I can't wait to read another work by Simons to see if I like it just as much.