I have finished a love story so masterful and perfect in its execution that I don’t even know where to begin to write a review for it. This book has easily become one of my favorites of 2016 and very likely one of my favorites of all-time.

One of my Favorite Love Stories of All Time: The Bronze HorsemanThe Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Series: The Bronze Horseman #1
Published by HarperCollins on January 1st 1970
Genres: Historical Fiction
Narrator: James Langton
Length: 30 hrs and 49 mins
Format: Audiobook
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During the summer of 1941 the Metanov family are living a hard life in Leningrad. As the German armies advance their future looks bleak. For Tatiana, love arrives in the guise of Alexander, who harbours a deadly and extraordinary secret.

The Bronze Horseman is a story of forbidden love set in World War II Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the infamous and deadly Leningrad blockade. The day that war is declared in Russia, 17-year-old Tatiana fatefully meets secretive Alexander, a soldier in the Red Army. From that point onward you are woven through a gut-wrenching story of two young people who fell in love at the completely wrong time.

This is an epic love story if I’ve ever read one. The first book spans a little over a year, yet so much happens in this time. Their story takes place when the Leningrad blockage is at its very worst, and the hardships and trials that these two face is heart-breaking and relentless. Someone I know complained about this book saying that it was too “oppressive,” and frankly, I think that’s the perfect word to describe it. The cards they have been dealt are completely unjust, and this book will weigh heavily on you as you read it.

Don’t let that deter you, though. You will be rewarded with a love story so pure and a relationship so multi-faceted that if you like love stories at all, I suspect you, too, will adore this book.

Now, on to the next one!

the bronze horseman

final star count
single starsingle starsingle starsingle starsingle star
Books like this make me re-think my previous 5-star ratings. Frankly, this book is in a league of its own.

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Do you have a favorite love story? Have I convinced you to read this one?! Everyone (who likes love stories) should read it!