“God, we need to forget each other, Shura. I can’t believe how not meant to be we are.”TatianaI would have never picked up this book if it weren’t for the gushing review and multiple prods from my GR friend Aestas. The blurb didn’t sound like something my happy-ending romance, fantasy, pnr reading self would really get into. When another friend decided to go for it, I though, “Why not?” So we started a buddy read. I don’t know how I can adequately gush enough to describe my feelings for this book. I’ve read it said many times, and probably even said it myself, but I’ve got to say it now and mean it more than ever… There simply aren’t enough words to describe my feelings after reading this book. And after reading the words of Paullina Simons, my words couldn’t possibly do it justice. But I’ll try.First off, the subgenre list possible for The Bronze Horseman is impressive. Historical fiction- CheckHistorical romance- CheckRussian History- CheckWorld History- CheckChick Lit- CheckFlat out Awesomeness - Check, Check!There isn’t a niche in which to stick it, other than epic and unforgettable. The culture and history are rich and devastatingly accurate. You can’t get much more devastating than Russia - hell, anywhere close to that part of Europe, really - during World War II. This one starts at the beginning of the war and leads you from an already struggling communist Russia to the war-ravaged country that it became less than two years later. Tatiana is days away from her seventeenth birthday when the Stalin announces the beginning of their war with Hitler’s Germany. She is sent to stock up on food, and in her last days of innocent childhood, meets Alexander. He is a soldier in Russia’s Red Army, a member of one of the largest military forces in the world. Their mutually instant attraction quickly turns into a consuming love, though for reasons I can’t disclose, also has to be kept secret.But Germany is unstoppable, and in their city of Leningrad, the horrors quickly become apparent. Sieges, starvation, and disease become a way of life. And death is everywhere. Amid this desperation is the magical, marvelous love story of Tatiana and Alexander. Their ups and downs (and boy, are there downs!) are in turns tragic and beautiful. There were times that their obstacles seemed insurmountable, and yet they just won’t let go of each other. Actually, they can’t let go. For them both, one without the other just isn’t possible. It continually amazed me how equally they loved each other, and no matter the ugliness around them, they found perfection in the other. Tatiana is one of the most unselfish, giving heroines. Her generosity to her family and neighbors extends to Alexander in a way that only a woman in love can be generous to her man. She NEEDS him to be safe. She needs to take care of him and give him any small comfort that she is able to. In turn, Alexander literally lives for his Tatiana. Even when the odds are stacked against them and he just knows that they can’t be together, it’s enough for him to know that she is alive, even without him. Enough to just see her face and know that she is there.Their passion basically sustains them, even as they starve for food and their loved ones die around them. They face the threat and reality of bombings and death daily. And somehow, every word of this book is beautiful. Beautiful and unbelievably REAL. I swear I was in Russia, and when I had to stop reading there were a few moments of confusion, a hazy unreality that covered up my life. Heck, I didn’t even want to live my own life…I just wanted to go back to Tatiana and Alexander. I can’t recommend this book enough. Big fat kisses to Aestas, and basically to anyone who has or will ever read this story. I think we all need a hug. I just have to cry and laugh and smile all at once.
