I think this is the perfect book to start my blog off with! For starters, this is my absolute favorite book of all time! Here is the books description from Paullina's website:
Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose beautiful palaces and stately 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. It is a hard, impoverished life, yet the Metanovs know many who are not as fortunate as they.
The family routine is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanovs, for Leningrad and for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On the fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young officer named Alexander.
Tatiana and her family suffer 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 to each other in an impossible love. It is a love that could tear Tatiana’s family apart, a love that carries a secret that could mean death for anyone who hears it.
Confronted on the one hand by Hitler’s unstoppable 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.
From the very beginning this book kept me on the edge of my seat! I loved the first meeting between Tatiana and Alexander. It just seemed so innocent to me. And then of course, when you find out how hard it will be for these two to actually be together, it just breaks your heart! I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster the whole time reading this book. When you read it you will know what it feels like to be in love for the first time. And you will also feel like you've been punched in the gut a few times due to Tatiana and Alexander's decisions! Also, Simon's description of the blockade of Leningrad will leave you emotionally raw, and thanking your lucky stars for the blessing you have in life. The ending will leave you wanting more of these beloved characters. I'm just glad I got to read Tatiana and Alexander (book 2), and The Summer Garden (book 3)! If I had to wait like many of Simon's fans, I probably wouldn't have any hair left!
This is a 5 Star book!
