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andalucia's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, War, and Violence
Moderate: Death
chloe_acceber's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book will really tug at your heartstrings. It's family drama and incredible, heartbreaking family history. The characters are real and believable, the story heart wrenching. Couldn't put it down
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Child death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
amberjackonski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
kam_h's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book took me a minute to get into. I think it definitely would resonate more with mother's, but once it got going it was so good. The characters were flawed and frustrating at times, but came across very realistic. If you love a good generational trauma book this one is definitely for you 🤣. I also always love the use of stories and fairy tales to tell a story within a story, and this one did that very well. It was much sadder than expected but the ending made it all worth it. Definitely recommend if you're wanting something that'll make you tear up a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Dementia, War, Violence, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
evanvlack's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to like this book but it was So. Damn. Depressing. There were very few light moments in the book. Vera’s story of the WWII siege of Leningrad was captivating but so heavy. I’m a lover of historical fiction, and this is a piece of history that is unfamiliar to me so it was interesting to learn more. In the end I was not a big fan of the book because it was much too sad for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Child death
bookreviewmystic's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't even know how to work out my feelings about Winter Garden. This book was dumped into my lap by Amazon when I signed up for KU. It was an audiobook & I needed something to listen to while waiting in the school pickup line. Honestly, I didn't even read the summary of the book, I just started playing it. So you can imagine my surprise when I was completely captivated by this harrowing retelling of the siege of Leningrad.
This book will break your heart & tape it back together, just to turn around & completely obliterate it. Then after you become awestruck at the tremendous amount of strength & courage of these women, you will learn that you can take the pieces of your obliterated heart, mix it with some love from others, and form it into something new: a heart that holds love so strong that it stands the tests of time, trials, & tribulations because it holds close what matters most. Family: born & found.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Cursing
Minor: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt
magicinwords23's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Meredith & Nina’s mother, Anya Whitson, was a very cold woman who showed them no love as they were growing up. They often wondered why she disliked them so much and if it had anything to do with her childhood in Russia and growing up there.
Their father, who was the complete opposite of their mother, loved them very much and they loved him. On his deathbed he made Meredith promise to look after her mother and Nina to get her mother to tell them the full story of the peasant and the prince.
After a long time trying to convince her mother she finally relents and starts to tell the story. What follows is a harrowing tale of war in her hometown of Leningrad, starvation, the struggle to survive in extreme conditions without food, water, heat, medications and watching loved ones and strangers die in front of her eyes.
This started as a very slow burner and only started to flourish when Anya began her fairytale. It was heartbreaking to read what happened to Anya & her family back then but this war cost so many people their lives. Not only from starvation and illness but also from broken hearts at the loss of loved ones. Anya’s was just one story of so many. I couldn’t put it down towards the end
The characters develop continually throughout this book, looking at their lives in a very different light towards the end. We all go through hardships during our life and sometimes we have to watch those we love experience suffering which can be worse.
This was another top read from one of my favourite authors and can’t wait to pick up another of her books very soon.
Their father, who was the complete opposite of their mother, loved them very much and they loved him. On his deathbed he made Meredith promise to look after her mother and Nina to get her mother to tell them the full story of the peasant and the prince.
After a long time trying to convince her mother she finally relents and starts to tell the story. What follows is a harrowing tale of war in her hometown of Leningrad, starvation, the struggle to survive in extreme conditions without food, water, heat, medications and watching loved ones and strangers die in front of her eyes.
This started as a very slow burner and only started to flourish when Anya began her fairytale. It was heartbreaking to read what happened to Anya & her family back then but this war cost so many people their lives. Not only from starvation and illness but also from broken hearts at the loss of loved ones. Anya’s was just one story of so many. I couldn’t put it down towards the end
The characters develop continually throughout this book, looking at their lives in a very different light towards the end. We all go through hardships during our life and sometimes we have to watch those we love experience suffering which can be worse.
This was another top read from one of my favourite authors and can’t wait to pick up another of her books very soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, War, Grief, Death, and Child death
The characters develop continually throughout this book, looking at their lives in a very different light towards the end. We all go through hardships during our life and sometimes we have to watch those we love experience suffering which can be worse. This was another top read from one of my favourite authors and can’t wait to pick up another of her books very soon.tctimlin's review
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Came close to DNF several times, but stick with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, War, Abandonment, and Violence
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
Finished reading: May 30th 2023
"And maybe that was how it was supposed to be, how life unfolded when you lived it long enough. Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly because you never knew when a strong heart could just give out."
I've actually had a physical copy of Winter Garden hanging out on my shelves since 2019, but somehow I never actually picked it up... Until it was recently recommended to me again, and I decided to pick it up on a whim to avoid it slipping between the cracks of my TBR mountain like before. And boy, am I glad that I did! Winter Garden turned out to be such a powerful story, and without doubt one of my favorite stories by Kristin Hannah so far. This story definitely leans more heavily on the contemporary than the historical fiction, and it focuses a lot on family, grief and relationship problems. The Russian fairy tale was never far away though, and I personally really enjoyed how the historical part of the plot was slowly introduced in the story. It is true that Anya's past really took the plot to the next level, but it was already a very interesting story with the family dynamics and the remaining family members crumbling after the father's death. There is a lot of character growth, and I had a great time learning more about the characters and how the past can explain present behavior. Winter Garden is a beautifully written, poignant and sometimes heartbreaking read, and it's made me want to return for even more of Kristin Hannah's backlist ASAP.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Genocide, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
katalamar's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Child death, and War