"He wanted to explain but felt shattered. He was shattered." - Yes, I know, Alexander. Me, too. Review to follow when I feel less shattered. On to Book 2!! ^_^ ..............................12+ Hours later….5+ Stars!!! - Also reviewed at:Lady Jayne's Reading DenOkay, I figure there is NO WAY I can ever do this book justice, so, I just need to pour out this “review” now, and hopefully in the release of my swirling thoughts and emotions I’m not too nonsensical. Firstly, I would like to THANK my GRs friends, Viola and Quinn, for recommending this book to me, and to thank them and other GRs friends (Catherine, Sans, MBR and Zosia) for giving me some "emotional support" (knowingly and unknowingly) as I read this. *HUGS* Why did I need “emotional support”, you say? Well…Have you ever read a story that so CAPTURED you, that even as you put it down, the emotions it evoked in you stuck with you all throughout the day, until you could return to it again and were sucked in even MORE? Have you ever read a story that stole your breath away, made your heart feel like it was being twisted into a pretzel, and kept squeezing until you felt…SHATTERED? And yet it also filled your heart to bursting with a love so beautiful it brought tears to your eyes? Have you ever read a story that made you FEEL SO MUCH, that it felt like it was TOO MUCH - too much longing, too much pain, too much anger, too much love - and you needed breaks from it, while also feeling COMPELLED to keep reading, and you actually thought: "HOW CAN I SURVIVE THIS BOOK?!?!" Have you ever read a story of a love so INTENSE and CONSUMING, that it transcends the pages it is written on and etches itself into your heart?The Bronze Horseman was such a story, for me! Viola and Quinn told me it would be “heart-wrenching” but that didn’t even begin to cover what I (and I'm sure they) felt reading it. How can I possibly convey the sweet agony of this ACHINGLY beautiful, evocative and EPIC love story? I can honestly say I have NEVER FELT SO MUCH reading a book before!! In fact, there were moments when I wanted to hurl the book against the wall because I felt so strongly…and I have never felt that urge before. The Bronze Horseman begins on 22 June 1941 in Leningrad, when war is declared between the Soviet Union and Germany. A 17-year-old girl named Tatiana is sent out to buy food supplies by her father. As she sits in her white dress with red roses, at the bus stop, eating her favourite crème brulée ice cream, her eyes meet those of a young soldier named Alexander Belov, who is standing across the street.“It was a perfect day. For five minutes there was no war, and it was just a glorious Sunday in a Leningrad June.When Tatiana looked up from her ice cream, she saw a soldier staring at her from across the street.….Tatiana normally would have glanced past him down the street and moved on, except that this soldier was standing across the street and staring at her with an expression Tatiana had never seen before. She stopped eating her ice cream.Her side of the street was already in the shade, but the side where he stood swam in the northern afternoon light. Tatiana stared back at him for just a moment, and in the moment of looking into his face, something moved inside her; moved she would have liked to say imperceptibly, but that wasn’t quite the case. It was as if her heart started pumping blood through all four chambers at once, pouring into her lungs and flooding it through her body. She blinked and felt her breath become shorter.”As Alexander crosses the street, inexplicably drawn to this innocent blonde girl with freckles, thus begins, a tale so moving that I will never ever forget it. Paullina Simons paints a painfully stark portrayal of Stalin’s communist Soviet Union and the sufferings of the people of Leningrad, as Hitler’s siege of the city slowly starves the people to death. Amidst the starving hunger, the bitter cold winter, and the death of loved ones, burns an “impossible love” between Tatiana and Alexander. For Alexander is the soldier that Tatiana’s sister, Dasha, had declared herself “in love with”, just that very morning, before Alexander and Tatiana’s fateful meeting. But it is lies, secrets and fears that eat at their souls and will threaten to tear them apart. “What does it cost the soul to lie?” There were moments I was so angry at Alexander that it broke my heart. And there were moments when the intensity of Alexander’s love and protectiveness for Tatia made me love him so much it hurt. My GAWD!! The way he loved her?! Be still my heart! But it was the innocent, naïve, selfless and stubborn Tatiana, who grew into a woman with such strength and perseverance, who became “my hero”. And the way she loved him?? *sniffles* They both made such sacrifices for each other. I loved the yearning, the looks, the little touches, the tender and passionate moments between them, and also all their confrontations.This was by no means a perfect book. While Paullina Simons vividly paints pictures with her descriptions, there are times when the wordiness becomes too much, and may have benefited from a bit of editing down the repetitive moments. I can completely see why someone would not like this book for that reason. But because the depth and breadth of emotions that I felt reading this book surpassed any other, it was a 5+ Stars!!! read for me - THANK YOU, Paullina Simons, for penning this incredible story!I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book and make sure you have uninterrupted time to read it, if you can have that luxury. Because you will be COMPELLED to read this book into the dawn and beyond! There are two more books to this tale: Tatiana and Alexander and The Summer Garden.For those who have read the book: I loved the Kirov trips, Luga, St. Isaac’s, Pushkin's book and their chats about it, and Lazarevo! ^_~For those who haven’t read the book: What are you waiting for??? Besides some time to surrender over to this epic tale? ^_^ Seriously, though, this may not be a book for everyone. It seems that people either love it or hate it. Besides the writing style, it seems whether one loves this or not, depends on how the reader views the characters and the intent/motivation behind their actions. Anyway, if you do read it, I hope you love it as much as I do! Because this truly was the most intense and amazing experience.I'm sorry if my "review" is TOO MUCH, but I could go on and on about this story...But I won't. ^_^While there are a number of Sarah McLachlan songs that form my “playlist” to this story, this song below, for me, is Tatiana and Alexander’s “theme song”:Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlanhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAhv0X...“Her lips were on his face, on his throat, on the top of his chest. She whispered, “You know what your skin feels like to me? The ice cream that I love. Creamy, smooth. Your whole body is the color of caramel, like my crème brulée, but you’re not cold like ice cream, you’re warm.” She rubbed her lips back and forth against his chest.“So – better than ice cream?”“Yes,” she smiled, moving up to his lips. “I love you better than ice cream.”My Alexander (Henry Cavill) *SIIIGGHHHSSS* My Tatiana (Teresa Palmer)And I came across this very well done fan-made video of The Bronze Horseman, starring darling Henry. ^_^ I quite like the choice of Romola Garai as Tatiana in this video, too.Fan-made "trailer":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDxH-8...Edited to add some songs from my "playlist" for this book:And have you ever read a story that affected you so much that you found yourself constantly looking for songs to become your "playlist", so that music could capture what you couldn't in your own words? Well, this book did that to me!Song For A Winter's Night - Cover of Glenn Lighfoot's song by Sarah McLachlan:It represents Tatiana's hunger for Alexander during the winter of the siege of Leningrad, and also the starvation of the city. I love the lyrics and her haunting voice.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06t60E...And this song, Falling Softly (Kris Allen version), to me, represents Alexander's feelings about Tatiana and the whole situation in The Bronze Horseman:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQMOec...Reading Order:1. The Bronze Horseman 2. Tatiana and Alexander (also titled The Bridge to Holy Cross, in some editions) - My Review Here3. The Summer Graden – To be reviewed. DISCLAIMER: I do not hold the copyright to any of the images, videos or music used in this review. They are posted to add visuals and "soundtrack" to the review and for fun. If any of these images are yours and you would like me to remove them, please let me know, and I will do so as soon as possible. If I can identify the copyright, I will do so.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS -mature content reader discretion is advised. 5 STARS out of 5Genre: Romance“Tania,” he whispered passionately, “you are naked and underneath me!” As if he could not believe it himself. “Alexander,” she said, still trembling, “you are naked and above me.” She felt him rubbing against her. They kissed. “I can’t believe it,” he said, his breath shallow. “I didn’t think this day would ever come.” He paused and then whispered, “Yet I couldn’t imagine my life without it. You alive, under me. Tania, touch me. Put your hands on me.” Instantly she reached down and took hold of him. “Do you feel how hard I am,” he whispered, “… for you?” “God, yes,” she said in crazed disbelief. Seeing him was a profound shock to her. Feeling him was entirely too much. “It’s impossible,” she muttered, stroking him gently. “You will kill me.” “Yes,” Alexander said. “Let me. Open your legs.”A lot of my friends consider this to be one of if not the BEST Love Story ever. Of course I had to know what they were all talking about so I bought it… months ago like in..November before I knew it January, February came and gone and I still did not read it. March then April, still it sat in my Kindle..Next thing I know my friends Chiqui and Atran double teamed me. Needless to say I read and LOVED the book!Okay so I have to be honest.. I was a skeptic, so many claimed this to be “The BEST love story EVER” so of course I had to read it and I was not disappointed. I surprisingly enjoyed it! A LOT! I say surprisingly because when I first started it I did not like the heroine Tatiana but she slowly proved everything I thought about her wrong she is one of the best heroines I've ever had the pleasure of reading. And Alexander is her other half he matches her in intelligence, strength, determination, and faith.The main story lies in the romance with Tatiana Metanova and Alexander Belov. A love that seems impossible for them to have due to the circumstances they both find themselves in. And no I am not talking about the war. When Tatiana and Alexander meet they have no idea that they share a common denominator. Dasha. Tatiana’s older sister and Alexander’s lover. When the book starts it is the summer of 1951. You meet 17yr old Tatiana and her family the Metanova’s whom reside in a communist Russia in the city of Leningrad. The announcement that World War II has hit Russia, Tatiana is sent out to the market for food and so my dislike for her initially began. She came off as extremely immature to me and her lack of…her lack of will to get her family food on the one task she was asked to fulfill irked the living daylights out of me. Eventually I chalked her lack of will up to ignorance; the young girl simply did not understand what it truly meant to be at war. And I soon forgave her because that ignorance caused her path to cross paths with 22yr old Red Army soldier Alexander Belov.He spots her sitting across the street humming and eating her ice cream and so begins THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD!Later that same day Tatiana learns that Alexander, the soldier she is beyond smitten with is the same one her older sister Dasha has fallen in love with. Tatiana decides to put her feelings aside and she asks correction no she begs Alexander to stay with her sister. And so he does.Stupid stupid stupid. *Shakes head emphatically*I will re-frame from going in depth about this love triangle but I will say this you will be holding your breath, you will be waiting for all the scenes these two are in together and alone. And overall this book will make you mad, make you happy, make you cry, you will lose hope but they (Tatiana and Alexander) won’t so it will sustain you. Most of all you will experience heart ache of EPIC proportions. EPIC. PROPORTIONS. As the war progresses and makes it way to the borders of Leningrad; we watch the Metanova family go through extreme changes and through it all Alexander remains in their lives through it all.It took for me to read almost half of the book for my dislike for Tatiana to finally dissipate. As her maturity increased so did her will. I began to see her in a different light eventually her strength and determination caused me to see only the woman she became right before my eyes and not the young ignorant child she once was.When she and Alexander finally get to have each other and become one it is beautifulTheir first time along with every time after..And not just sexually… It is beautiful in every way. But let me tell you they have a whole lot of sex to make up for lost time! *wink,wink*The Bronze Horseman may not be for everyone I knew that off the bat. It's gritty, with a lot of history intertwined in to the story. Some won’t like that aspect. I loved the historical content, it gave the story an intensity that leaves you on the edge of your seat thinking “what will happen next?” The War has it’s own starring role as far as I am concerned so much so it could almost be a character itself. The war also brings out all of the characters by enhancing what you will love and hate about them. And the characters in this book are very colorful trust me you will get a little bit of everything.-Love –Hate–Treachery –Deceit –Lust -Lies–Favoritism –Ignorance –Thoughtfulness –Jealousy –Selfishness –Selflessness -DeterminedIf I had to use one word to describe this book it would be UNFORGETTABLE. Favorite scenes and or lines said and unsaid“Are you as close to her as you are to Pasha?” he asked. “Different. Pasha and I—” Tatiana broke off. She and Pasha ate out of the same bowl together. Dasha prepared and served them that bowl. “My sister and I share a bed. She tells me I can never get married because she doesn’t want my husband sleeping in bed with us.” Their stares locked. ~Alexander and TatianaDear God, Tatiana prayed in bed that night, turning to the wall and pulling the white sheet and the thin brown blanket over herself. If You are there somewhere, please teach me how to hide what I never knew how to show.She needed just one thing now— to lay her eyes on the boy who had breathed the same air as her for seventeen years, in the same school, in the same class, in the same room, in the same womb. She wanted her friend and her twin back. ~Tatiana“Babushka, where do you get your peace of mind from?” asked Tatiana one evening, brushing Babushka’s long hair that was just starting to go gray. “I’m too old to care, sunshine,” replied Babushka. “Want me to stop?” He groaned slightly. “No!” “Tania, do you feel me against your hip?” “Hmm. I thought that was your rifle.” His hot breath was in her neck. “Whatever you want to call it is fine with me.” “Dimitri,” Tatiana said without blinking, “woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has not another to pick him up.” Lines that caused me to burst in to tears “Tatiana, I love you. Do you hear me? I love you like I’ve never loved anyone in my whole life. Now, get up. For me, Tatia. For me, please get up and go take care of your sister. Go on. And I’ll take care of you.” His lips kissed her cheek. “What did I ever show you?” “That there is a God,” whispered Alexander. “There is!” exclaimed Tatiana. “And I felt your need for me clear across the steppes. I’m here for you. And one way or another we will fix this.” She squeezed him. “You’ll see. You and I will fix this together.” “How can I die,” Alexander said, his voice breaking, “when you have poured your immortal blood into me?” Alexander whispered after her, “Tatiana! Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night… nor for the arrow that flieth by day… nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near thee.” My thoughts I LOVED IT! The plot is meaty, well done, flavorful, a little tough to chew on but very filling. The plot makes the characters you meet UNFORGETTABLE.My RatingsCharacters- Loved some hated othersWriting Style- ExcellentPlot/Storyline- ExcellentSteam Factor- High/Very SteamyOverall- I LOVED IT!Now go forth and read. Then come tell us about it on Goodreads!For more reviews got to http://realitybites-letsgetlost.blogs...-------------------------------------------------------------------------Just got this for $1.99 on my Kindle, TODAY!!! 11/26/12
What do You think about The Bronze Horseman (2001)?
WARNING: F-BOMB LADEN AND SPOILER RIDDEN RANT AHEAD. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Jesus fucking rollerblading Christ. No. Fuck no. I can’t do it anymore. You wanna read a historical love story with imperfect main characters? Go read Karleen Koen’s Dark Angels. You wanna read a story about how fucked up Stalin and the Soviet Union were pre, during and post WWII? Go read The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956. You wanna read an in-depth history of the European campaigns of WWII? Go read The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945. You wanna read a book about two of the most self-centered assholes in the history of literature? READ THIS BOOK.We meet our female lead, Tatiana, the day the Nazi’s invade Russia. Her family freaks the fuck out, like everyone else in the country does, and they immediately spring into action, sending their only son to “safety”, other family members to get money out of the banks and their idiot youngest daughter, Tatiana, to go get food to stockpile. Does she understand the severity of the situation? NO. She fucking reads for a little while after everyone leaves because she never gets alone time. Okay, so that might be understandable because the girl is sixteen and has no idea what the reality of war is like (<- this is what I told myself to keep from getting pissed). Then when she finally does go to get food she starts to notice that there are lines everywhere and places are sold out of the things she barely remembers that they need.IMAGINE FUCKING THAT. Of course she starts to frantically run around the city in fucking high heels and a pretty dress because it was Sunday and she wanted to look nice. How dafuq you gonna carry that much food in ill-fitting heels, Tania? You think about that? No, no you fucking didn’t. You were too preoccupied with looking pretty, you vapid little nitwit.So, running around, running around. “I have to catch this bus to get to the next grocery store in time but OH, IS THAT ICE CREAM?” No. No you are NOT going to stop and eat fucking ice cream right now (<-this is my disbelief talking). But oh yes, yes she fucking is. Because she is a self-centered asshole. It’s while sitting on a bench and eating her ice cream, her beautiful long blonde hair flowing around her in the summer breeze, that she meets the second most self-centered asshole in the history of literature, Alexander Belov. Guess what? He’s hot. He also saves her day by letting her into the officer’s section of the grocery store so she can buy supplies to her heart’s content. Then he and a buddy carry them all home for her because she can’t because she’s in fucking heels and has blisters. IMAGINE FUCKING THAT. And so begins the basis of their entire relationship. It can be summed up in one quote: “She needs me so much to take care of her… And I desperately need to take care of her.”That’s it. That’s the entirety of this “love” story. It’s nothing but Tatiana being a fucking TSTL little Mary Sue and Alex playing the fucking white knight to her damsel in distress. I know what you’re thinking. Welp, sorry to break the news butSo Alex and Dimi, his rat of a friend, help Tania bring the supplies home and lo and behold what do we discover? That the handsome soldier our female lead has been lusting after is actually DATING HER SISTER. Meet Dasha, the only decent person in the first two hundred pages of this book (that’s as far as I got). Because Dasha is a good person she gets completely fucked over. Wanna know how??? Her boyfriend and sister proceed to fall in love behind her back. Does Alex realize what’s happening and do the right thing by breaking up with her? Hell no, he’s a self-centered asshole, remember? He’s also a fucking sadist because he parades his relationship with Dasha in front of Tatiana, who he secretly sees every fucking day. Does Tatiana tell her sister what’s going on? Hell no, she’s a self-centered asshole, remember? She’s also a fucking masochist because she continues to see Alex even with him dating her sister and acting like a monumental douche. So that’s it. Self-centered asshole sadist with a hero complex meets self-centered asshole masochist with princess syndrome. They fall in love and their theme song is FUCK EVERYONE ELSE. They’ll probably dance to it at the wedding, wide smiles on their asshole faces as they fucking tango across the graves of those they sacrificed on the altar of their love.
—Navessa
One day, Tatiana's childhood life changes forever and it's not the beginning of the War that I'm talking about. It's the moment she was sitting on a bench in the sunshine eating ice cream, yes....that moment, the moment she saw Shura for the first time and her life would never be the same. Okay, I'm sure you've seen it all before and you've maybe read a few reviews or at least a comment here or there...I think it's impossible to not have heard of this book somewhere. And you've thought, hmmmm....romance during World War II... I just don't know. Well, I'm here to somehow convince you to just give it a chance! First, I have to give credit where credit is due and thank my wonderful friend, Chiqui, for finally convincing me to read it! I think that's what we all need is just someone to give us that little extra push and I'm sooo happy she did! Anyway, back to convincing you...If you love epic love stories ~ something substantial, something with some meat on it, something that will bring you to the highest of highs and something that will drag you through the lowest of lows, something that has you smiling, something that has you crying and just something that makes you feel good...this is the story for you.Need more? Well, I'm sure you've also heard of Outlander, heck, you may even have read it...this is very similar! It has all the same elements that you fell in love with in Outlander. And if you haven't read Outlander and want to but are put off by the length of the series and it not being finished, then, this is the series for you! There are only three books, well, four if you read the prequel but that's it and...the series is complete!! Still not convinced? It's too long you say? Well, it's only 656 pages and yes, while that is considerably longer than most books, it's only about the size of two regular books and that doesn't take too long to read! But Sharon, what about the boring history stuff? Okay, that was an issue for me too and while you do get a bit about WWII, it's not laden down with tons of facts. It's more about Tatiana, her family, and what regular people go through during a War. It will make you feel deprived but the real issue is that you will probably gain a pound or two just from the shear need of having to eat whatever your heart desires and to the fullest! But what about the romance? What about the romance? Did you miss the part where I said "EPIC LOVE STORY"? Not only is there romance but there is every shade of romance ever dreamt of. There is every type of romance ever experienced...and then some. Silly me...okay, it took me a minute, but you were really asking about S-E-X weren't you? There's no fooling me, I KNOW how your mind is thinking. Well, let me just tell you this...one way Chiqui got me to read this story is to tell me that Alexander (aka Shura) is a BREASTMAN! Yes, breast-man...and that means everything you think it means but he's not ONLY a breastman. Oh no, that would be too trivial....he's a Rock 'em Sock 'em #makelovealldaylongseveraltimesaday Robot!! I seriously doubt you will be unsatisfied! How am I doing? Are you at least more interested than before? Well, unfortunately, I can't make you read this but I will tell you that you are making a HUGE mistake if you don't read it. This book will impact you and you'll experience what the Grinch did!And another bonus...you get both POV's! Most of the book is in Tatiana's POV but we do get a few chapters here and there from Alexander...and that is a wonderful bonus! If I haven't convinced you by now, then I don't think I'm really going to be able to. And yes, I wrote this review the way I did so I wouldn't give anything away besides when they first saw each other. I hope you go in blind and open yourself up so you can fully experience everything that is Shura and Tania and come away loving it as much as I did. ♥ Favorite quotes:♥ “Oh, Alexander,” she said, “what do you want from me . . .” “Everything!” he whispered fiercely.♥ "Keep everything out. Except for you, Alexander. Keep you in."♦ “I guess I thought this unalarming thing would . . . I don’t know . . . quietly sort of . . .” She coughed once. “Let’s just say the movement was also quite a surprise to me.”♥ “I found my true love on the banks of the river Kama,” whispered Alexander, staring at her. “I found my true love on Ulitsa Saltykov-Schedrin, while I sat on a bench eating ice cream.” “You didn’t find me. You weren’t even looking for me. I found you.” Long pause. “Alexander, were you . . . looking for me?” “All my life.”♥ “Are all men this beautiful,” she whispered fondly, “or just you?” “Oh, just me,” replied a grinning Alexander. “All other men are repellent.”♥ "I remember everything. Every word, every breath, every smile you took, every kiss you laid upon my body, every game we played, every Bronze Horseman cabbage pie you cooked for me. I remember it all."♥ Good-bye, my moonsong and my breath, my white nights and golden days, my fresh water and my fire. Good-bye, and may you find a better life, find comfort again and your breathless smile, and when your beloved face lights up once more at the Western sunrise, be sure what I felt for you was not in vain. Good-bye, and have faith, my Tatiana." :(
—Sharon ✽ is an emotional book junkie ✽
Once upon a time there lived a man, a shining prince among peasants, who was worshipped by a frail maiden. The maiden escaped into the land of lilacs and milk and waited impatiently for her prince, who came and handed her the sun.You and I had only one moment. A single moment in time, in your time and mine... one instant, when another life could have still been possible. I am at a loss for words here. There is no way I could write a review that will do this book justice. Five stars is not enough for this book. It was very intense, heartbreaking, inspiring and overwhelming. I feel emotionally spent. It's as if I've been through everything that happened in the book and I've lived that life. It's not a life you'd want to live, but the love between Alexander and Tatiana made even the darkest corner shine bright.This is the story of a young and innocent love during a time of war, hunger, disease and death, with an admirable strength and perseverance. Tatiana and Alexander have loved during a time of hate. They have trusted during a time of betrayal. They have lived in a time where everyone died. They have fed each other during a time of hunger. Their love was like a flower growing in concrete. It blossomed against the odds. Despite it being inconvenient and impossible, it grew and became one of the sweetest scented flowers. Both Alexander and Tatiana were extraordinary characters. They will stick with me forever. Alexander is the most amazing guy ever. He has the biggest heart and cares so much for the ones he loves. He'll walk through fire for them and give up everything he has. When you’re with me, don’t worry— I will take care of everything. He loves Tatiana more than life itself. I absolutely felt all of it and it was just overwhelming. He wore his heart for her as a medal on his chest Tatiana is just as lovable as Alexander. She is one amazing girl/woman. Her heart's just as big as Alexander's and it's all his. This couple gave a whole new meaning to the saying behind every strong man stands an even stronger woman. Tatiana was a fucking force of nature. Her strength, her wisdom, her selflessness, her innocence and her love were just too much. I absolutely adored her. She was death-defying, life-affirming, star-making, indomitable and ridiculously beautiful. She was his light, his miracle and his salvation. He was her sole defender in the world, her rifle guard, her battle brigade. Everything I have I gave to you. If you leave, you're going to take it all. They were just kids, really, forced to grow up too soon. Tatiana grew so much in the course of this book. Unfortunately, these two amazing characters were surrounded by war and betrayal. War was the ultimate chaos, a pounding, soul-destroying snarl, ending in blown-apart men lying unburied on the cold earth. There was nothing more cosmically chaotic than war. But Tatiana was order. She was finite matter in infinite space. Tatiana was the standard-bearer for the flag of grace and valor that she carried forward with bounty and perfection in herself. All odds were against them from the very start, but no matter what happened, they always found their way back to each other. I will make my way back to you The road they were forced to take was a fucking hard one and if I'd have gone through 1% of what Alexander or Tatiana has been through, I would've gone mental. “This is the best time, Tatiana,” Alexander said. “Do you want to know why?” “Please don’t tell me.” “There will never be a time like this again. Never this simple, this uncomplicated.” I can't express enough how intense this story is. It's a historical romance and the story takes place during World War II, but it is not what the book is focused on. Their love story is what this trilogy is focused on and it's one hell of a story, just based on the first book. I want to be neither with kings nor heroes, but with the queen of Lake Ilmen This book covers many different themes and that's one of the amazing things about it. It's about love, family, friendship, pain, deceit, self-preservation, selflessness, selfishness, betrayal, courage, faith, hope, trust and forgiveness. It's full of symbolism and destiny. You and I were brought together by God. When I found you, I had a sense of hope and destiny that I can neither explain nor understand. ****First reaction after finishing:This is too much.
—M. ~ B&B
