The Bronze Horseman book review

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Series: The Bronze Horseman #1
Published by HarperCollins on September 17, 2009
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 636
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A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE.
Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and avenues speak of a different age, when Leningrad was known as St Petersburg. Two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha, share the same bed, living in one room with their brother and parents. The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander. The family suffers as Hitler's army advances on Leningrad, and the Russian winter closes in. With bombs falling and the city under siege, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast war machine, and on the other by a Soviet system determined to crush the human spirit, Tatiana and Alexander are pitted against the very tide of history, at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.

I was so surprised when I finished this one and realised that I didn’t have a review for it. The Bronze Horseman is one of my all-time favourite reads and I have recommended it multiple times, however, I was worried about the problematic content now that I’m a little older. I can see where the issues are and I definitely don’t agree with the actions but there is something about this book and the characters that draw me in and I fall in love with them all over again. I went into this book expecting to come out of it feeling a little more jaded and not as in love but that wasn’t the case, this is still one of my all-time favourite books and I have had to change some of my challenge TBR to make sure I could continue on reading the series.

The main characters in The Bronze Horseman are Alexander and Tatiana, two people who fall in love in the midst of WWII in Russia. I have to say the relationship between all the characters was beautifully done, I really loved the way it all worked together, how we see each of the character’s flaws but end up being emotionally invested in each of them. It was the finality of each of their stories I adored, and even though you are rooting for Tati and Alex you also hope for everyone else to get through all the hardship and pain. I think the family set up was perfectly done and really highlighted the controversies and real-life dramas that can play out, but the love they had for each other was beautiful and imperfect that the rest of the story you ended up loving them just as much as the two main characters. Then we have to talk about the relationship between Tati and Alex which all the way through is the light in the darkness and I adore them each separately.

I have so many good parts in this book, SO many that they’re hard to count. I love The Bronze Horseman and trying to narrow down the moments that count as the best is something hard. I definitely think the moments in the blockade are some of the best in this story, the desperation and the horror of the situation was brilliantly done. I sob all the way through this part and it is still one of the best-written part of any book I have ever read.

There aren’t many worst bits within The Bronze Horseman, but I will say sometimes the way Alexander talks to Tati grinds on me the wrong way and the way she is constantly trying to apologise and make him happy. I wish she would have been as strong in her relationship as she was in the war.

100%. If you love historical fiction especially WWII this is the book for you. The Bronze Horseman offers a different perspective on the war and it’s beautifully written. I will never not recommend this book.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know!