Scan barcode
A review by rachaelclarose
Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons
3.0
Maybe it's just because the first installment of this series, The Bronze Horseman, was so spectacular, but I was very disappointed by Tatiana and Alexander. I am planning to make a video review of the trilogy, but this review is specific to T&A (just as I hope that the issues I encountered will be specific to T&A and not bleed over into The Summer Garden).
Tatiana and Alexander is divided into three parts. I would estimate that about 75% of the first part and 40% of the second part was unnecessary filler - either rehashed scenes that we saw in the first book or Tania or Shura miserably bemoaning the pain of their existences and repeating the same ~significant phrases~ (mostly just the names of places where they met in TBH) over and over ad nauseum. So much angst, everywhere.
I understand the need for angst, and I would have had no problem with its presence in this book - if Paullina Simons had these characters do anything else. Ostensibly Tania is working as a nurse and Shura is fighting through hell and high water, but for the first half of the book these plotlines take a backseat and feel like an excuse for PS to write more repetitive angst. Parts of the book start to read like fanfiction; it's just too much angst and flashback sex scenes that serve no purpose, and the pacing is super wonky (I suspect that this is because PS wanted to pad her page count after the hefty first volume). Also, the supporting cast of characters honestly just sucks compared to the characters in The Bronze Horseman. The only minor characters that are any good are the ones who were also present in TBH. Even Tania, to my horror, started to seem flat and one-dimensional, although PS redeemed herself in this regard in part III (more on that later).
Despite my irritation with Simons' writing in this book (WHAT IS HER EDITOR THINKING? is the real question here), you can't help but feel for these characters because of the first book. PS basically uses TBH as a crutch - no matter what she does in the sequel, she has you in her clutches because you are already so emotionally invested in the characters. I don't like that PS took the cheap way out like this, but it did manage to save the book from being a one-or-two-star (although that could change in the future).
Okay, now that I have lambasted this book, I'll mention the things I did like. Without spoiling anything, I will just say that the plot twist occurring midway through the book was a saving grace for the war plotline and, although I had an inkling beforehand, it still packed a punch. Also, the third book was a huge improvement over parts I and II. It was interesting to see descriptions of the part of WWII that occurs during this book; it was plain to see that PS painstakingly researched the history, and I really appreciated that. And while I wish that she had cut down on the flashbacks to the events of the first book (information we knew already), I appreciated the flashbacks to Alexander's life before the events of TBH.
I'm not sure if this rating will stand or if I will move it down to two stars; I'm on the fence at the moment. I hope that The Summer Garden will be more like the first book than the second.
Tatiana and Alexander is divided into three parts. I would estimate that about 75% of the first part and 40% of the second part was unnecessary filler - either rehashed scenes that we saw in the first book or Tania or Shura miserably bemoaning the pain of their existences and repeating the same ~significant phrases~ (mostly just the names of places where they met in TBH) over and over ad nauseum. So much angst, everywhere.
I understand the need for angst, and I would have had no problem with its presence in this book - if Paullina Simons had these characters do anything else. Ostensibly Tania is working as a nurse and Shura is fighting through hell and high water, but for the first half of the book these plotlines take a backseat and feel like an excuse for PS to write more repetitive angst. Parts of the book start to read like fanfiction; it's just too much angst and flashback sex scenes that serve no purpose, and the pacing is super wonky (I suspect that this is because PS wanted to pad her page count after the hefty first volume). Also, the supporting cast of characters honestly just sucks compared to the characters in The Bronze Horseman. The only minor characters that are any good are the ones who were also present in TBH. Even Tania, to my horror, started to seem flat and one-dimensional, although PS redeemed herself in this regard in part III (more on that later).
Despite my irritation with Simons' writing in this book (WHAT IS HER EDITOR THINKING? is the real question here), you can't help but feel for these characters because of the first book. PS basically uses TBH as a crutch - no matter what she does in the sequel, she has you in her clutches because you are already so emotionally invested in the characters. I don't like that PS took the cheap way out like this, but it did manage to save the book from being a one-or-two-star (although that could change in the future).
Okay, now that I have lambasted this book, I'll mention the things I did like. Without spoiling anything, I will just say that the plot twist occurring midway through the book was a saving grace for the war plotline and, although I had an inkling beforehand, it still packed a punch. Also, the third book was a huge improvement over parts I and II. It was interesting to see descriptions of the part of WWII that occurs during this book; it was plain to see that PS painstakingly researched the history, and I really appreciated that. And while I wish that she had cut down on the flashbacks to the events of the first book (information we knew already), I appreciated the flashbacks to Alexander's life before the events of TBH.
I'm not sure if this rating will stand or if I will move it down to two stars; I'm on the fence at the moment. I hope that The Summer Garden will be more like the first book than the second.