Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared to stay up all night
Review: I had read Paullina Simons' first novel, Tully, and loved it. Now I can add THE BRONZE HORSEMAN to my list of favorite romantic sagas. This is story-telling raised to a high art. I fell in love with the two main characters in this heartbreaking book and intend to re-read it. If you like rich, complex novels, set in interesting historical times, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Dull for the Beach, Too Dumb for Anywhere Else
Review: The Bronze Horseman is one of those big, dumb historical "epics" with cardboard characters and lines like "Breathe on me. Let me smell your blueberry breath."Obviously, this book is not intended to be great literature, but its historical setting (World War II in Stalin's Russia) is just too grim for silly melodrama. There are far better novels about Russia in the 1930's and World War II such as Generations of Winter by Vassily Aksyonov and The Arbat Trilogy by Anatoli Rybakov.
Rating:
Summary: I PROMISE -- THIS ONE IS A KEEPER !!
Review: THIS BOOK IS A MUST! LEAVING LONDON IN SEPTEMBER OF 2000, I WAS SOMEWHAT DREADING THE LONG FLIGHT BACK TO THE USA. BOY, WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE! I HAD PURCHASED "THE BRONZE HORSEMAN" IN A SMALL BOOKSTORE IN CHELSEA. THIS EPIC NOVEL IS ON PAR WITH "GONE WITH THE WIND" AND "DR. ZHIVAGO". ALL AVID READERS ARE IN FOR A REAL TREAT. PAULLINA SIMONS TRANSPORTS READERS BACK TO LENNIGRAD IN 1941; SHE IS ABLE TO CAPTURE ALL OF THE TRAUMA OF A WAR TORN CITY UNDER SEIGE. IN THIS SETTING WE MEET THE METANOVS FAMILY, SISTERS, TATIANA AND DASHA AND THEIR FRIEND,ALEXANDER, THE DASHING YOUNG SOLDIER IN THE RED ARMY. READERS EXPERIENCE THE FULL CIRCLE OF THIS FAMILIES FEELINGS AND WHAT THEY ARE FORCED TO ENDURE. TERROR AND FEAR OF A WAR TORN CITY ARE BLENDED WITH FAMILY,LOVE AND LOYALTY. I PROMISE THIS ONE IS A KEEPER!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This is by far one of the best book I've ever read. If you're like me, you're always looking for that one great romance book that moves you, makes you cry and this is that book.
Rating:
Summary: What a story! (Even with its flaws!)
Review: How can I not give a novel that kept me up until 3:30 a.m. (and not later than that only because I finally fell asleep over the book) five stars? [And started me reading it again by 9:00 next day?]
It's not a perfect novel. I could wish that the author had developed the pathos of Dasha's situation more: in love with Alexander, and never realizing that he actually loved her sister, until the last days of her life. We are only given tiny hints of the reasons why Tania loves her sister enough to sacrifice her love for Alexander to her; aside from these hints, Dasha comes across as a selfish and empty character. Also, I never believed that Dasha really "loved" Alexander; from the first instant, it simply seemed liked an infatuation that would ultimately pass if he'd only stopped seeing her altogether!
The emotional flatness of most of the people around Tatiana & Alexander makes a reader work at filling in the backstories. For instance, Tania's mother makes a brief mention of Dasha's reaction to Tania's and her twin brother's birth: She said that the parents could keep the boy (who they were crazy about) but that Tania was HER baby. From that hint, a reader has to imagine a whole backstory of Dasha's protectiveness & love of Tania which we are just not given. If this had been explored, then Tania's sacrifice would make that much more sense. As it is, the reader is frustrated by it, because the Dasha depicted here is just not worth that kind of sacrifice.
Yet, the beauty of the book is, while one is wishing for fully-fleshed characterizations of Dasha; Pasha the only son (who just disappears); Tania's parents; all which would have enriched the book considerably -- the love story between Tatania & Alexander is so strong, and the amazing secret that twists Alexander's life is so compelling, you ultimately forgive all that isn't there and relish the book, which just gets stronger & stronger as the story proceeds.
The chapters on the Leningrad siege; her reunion with Alexander, and Tatiana's ultimate escape from Russia, are extremely powerful. Tatiana matures from a girl who lies across her bed reading a book instead of doing the emergency food shopping her father asks her to do, into a woman who escapes from a frozen wasteland in Finland into Sweden; that's quite an accomplishment, and long before the author got her there, I was completely absorbed in this woman's story.
Despite its faults, this is a book that stays with you after you close it, and that's no mean accomplishment either. Now I'm off to locate a copy of the sequel, because these two characters, Tatiana & Alexander, live & breathe for me; I HAVE to know what happens next. I can't remember when that's happened last. That's one damn good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating
Review: I recently read the Bronze Horseman, and found the first 100 or so pages so drawn out that I contemplated abandoning the book altogether. Fortunately I decided to persist, as it is actually one of the most captivating books I have read in quite some time. Both the story and historical context in which it is set are beautifully woven together to create a fascinating read. By the end of this book I found myself completely immersed in the characters' lives, and was unable to put it down (to the point of resenting anyone who interrupted my reading!) In retrospect, I think that some of the slower moments in this book were important for the development of the characters, as Simons has brilliantly contrasted the beautiful possibilities for the relationship between the characters with the reality of the impact of the war on their lives.
I was quite disappointed when the experience of reading this book was over. Fortunately there is a sequel ("Bridge to Holy Cross"), which I am currently reading and finding equally captivating. The sequel does not appear to be available in the US, but is available in Australia and through Amzon.co.uk.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, moving, and compelling...
Review: One of the best books I've read in a while, The Bronze Horseman was something I picked up at a library sale for fifty cents--worth every penny and much, much more. I remember not expecting much from it at all, but was pleasantly surprised at the scope of the book and the lovely character development of the main characters, Tatiana and Alexander. Though it has its share of flaws, the plot and the consuming love story have brought me back to re-read this book a half a dozen times since I first bought it.
The book begins on June 22, 1941 in Leningrad, the day when Germany first attacked Russia in WW11. Centering mostly on Tatiana Metanova and her family, the first chapter of the book follows the Metanov's desire to get their only son, Pasha, and Tatia's twin brother, out of Leningrad to a boy's camp in Tolmachevo so he can be safe from enlistment/the war. Here we meet all the many and varied characters of the Metanov family:
Tatiana-- the caring, yet uncertain and pretty heroine who is at the center of the novel. At 17, Tatia is altruistic to a fault but still has a sense of that teenage flightiness. It can be annoying sometimes, but Simons does a good job of making Tatiana mostly a very interesting and layered character. Her youth, however, is very evident in the sometimes petty and stubborn way she handles situations--like refusing to acknowledge her feelings for Alexander despite the fact that her refusal is tantamount to certain disaster.
Dasha-- Tatiana's older sister and rival. She's in love with a captain in the Red Army, Alexander Belov. He is, unfortunately, in love with Tatiana. Dasha, however, refuses to give up Alexander. It's difficult to tell, the way her character was written, if Dasha genuinely cannot see what is going on with Alexander and Tatiana or if she's just willfully ignoring it. Her character is somewhat flatly written--semi-spiteful and claiming to love Tatiana, all the while making her little sister's life a living hell. Towards the middle of the book, however, Simons seems to take more of an interest in Dasha and she shows some amazing, if albeit late, character development that finally makes her more of a fleshed out, sympathetic character.
Then there's Pasha, the brother, who disappears after the first few pages to never be heard from again. Tatiana's parents are relatively unimportant other than to serve as a catalyst for deepening the tension between the love triad of Alexander, Dasha, and Tatiana. Of course, the mysterious and handsome Alexander is actually more rounded out than either of the sisters--he is an extremely effective romantic protagonist that is a nice contrast to Tatiana's ceaseless martyrdom.
The main suspense and action of the book mirror the ever-growing threat of the war. As Leningrad becomes more and more cut off from essential supplies and June turns into the harshness of winter, the growing affection of Tatiana and Alexander's impossible and secret romance is well written. It's here we meet the "villian" of the piece, Dimitri Chernenko, a weasly and whiny frontovik in the Army, who just happenes to be privvy to a certain secret of Alexander's; this is a secret which could destroy *everything* if brought to light--and, to cap it all off, Dimitri's in love with Tatiana.
Vast and an intersting look at 1940's Russia at the height of the Red Empire, the book also manages to be emotionally moving (I cried at the end of the book) and resonant (i.e., if you've ever been impossibly in love). In short, if you're a fan of epic and unusual love tales, then "The Bronze Horseman" is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked from the start
Review: I read this book in a couple of days, rarely putting it down. The first half of the book is worth 5 stars and more. It grabs hold of you and sucks you in! The tension between Alexander and Tatiana is so strong you get goosebumps. It feels just like falling in love yourself, you really have your own love affair with this book and these two characters.
I think the 2nd half doesn't quite live up to the standard of the beginning, but is still very good. As others have mentioned the sex scenes in the middle are way too repetitive and definitely lose the impact that they gave the first time - to the point of becoming boring. From this point I also found it never quite felt as exciting to read as it had earlier... but maybe that's just me, I loved the tension between the characters earlier in the piece.
Saying all that however, I did love the book, I would still recommend it as brilliant reading to anyone and everyone. If some of the sections where a little shorter (it does feel dragged out at times with a lot of similar scenes) I would have definately given this 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many shortcomings to be really good
Review: I was surprised to see the many raving reviews about this book. It seems that many people don't notice - or don't mind - its obvious shortcomings. First, the general story idea - a moving love story in war-beaten Russia - is wonderful. The history is well-researched and equally well-presented. Actually those parts that concentrate on describing the effects of the blockade on Leningrad and the current events are the best of the book and would deserve five stars. One can feel the despair, the hopelessness and the desparate will to survive. Great writing, riveting story. However, this great five-star-deserving part unfortunately stands out alone next to the other parts of the book which range from medium to simply unbearable.
The first threehundred pages of the book have a tendency to be slightly repetitive and the setting of the love story is not really believable. Tatiana - who is so altruistic that it gets annoying - falls in love with Alexander - who in the beginning is a bit too perfect to be true. However, Alexander is the boy-friend of Tatiana's sister Dasha and so Tatiana and Alexander agree (or rather: Tatiana insists) that they hide their feelings for each other in order to protect Dasha's feelings. The lengths to which they go for this are unrealistic and slightly unnerving. The arrangement also sets the stage for an ever-repeated pattern of conversations between Tatiana and Alexander which goes like this: one of them does something in order to hide the love between them - the other one doesn't get the true intention and is annoyed - they argue without clearly saying what's actually bother them. Sometimes they make up, sometimes they don't. If one stops being annoyed, the other starts being annoyed. If they get ready to actually talk openly to each other, some kind of interruption prevents them. This happens a bit too often to still be interesting and actually by page 300 I was ready to stop reading, but forced myself to go on.
The pattern of using the same scene over and over again with slight alterations dominates most of the book, be it the above-mentioned misunderstandings or the family meal situations. The most blatant use of this technique is to be found later in the book: after the wonderful and thrilling historical bit, the story plunges deeply into the smutty romance-novel level. On 90 pages of the book, the same scene happens 33 times (!) - yes, I counted, because I thought I was suffering from a deja-vu. There are slight alterations in background and dialogue, but basically its thirty-three times (!) the same: young couple talks to each other while enjoying some leisure activities or doing daily chores, conversation becomes slightly teasing and either ends with ambiguous remark or with ambiguous remark followed by deatils about their physical intimacy. After a while I was terribly bored by the repetitions and felt ready to throw the book down and explain "Yes, I got the point, they're crazy about each other and enjoying the carefree days they have together." I seriously can't understand why no editor shortened this passage. The tendency of the author to make her point again and again seriously got over the top there.
Another issue that spoiled the reading for me was the partially bad writing. I noticed that some reviews here mentioned it as well. This bad writing is amazing, because parts of the book are written so extremely well and other parts are almost embarrassing to read because of the bad writing - mainly the dialogues.
This could have been a marvelous book - the historical details, the story idea, the well-described characters, the ability of the author to really create the atmosphere. But it has so incredibly many terribly weak points - the partly bad writing, the repetitive scenes, some extremely annoying characters (the four old village women, for example) and the plunges into the depths of a smutty schmaltzy romance novel - that it takes away too much reading pleasure. A real pity, but apparently it didn't harm the commercial success.
Rating:
Summary: Loved this book!
Review: This was my first experience with reading a book by Paullina Simons. At first it seemed a bit slow, but once I got going, wow, I could not put it down, I could not wait to get home to read it - I found myself thinking about it when I was at work.
I really enjoyed the book - learning what people in Russia went through during the war, and just in every day life. I did not care so much for the ending..........
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