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  <id>6323104</id>
  <title><![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[006185414X]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780061854149]]></isbn13>
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  <description><![CDATA[<p> The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad. </p> <p> Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever. </p>]]></description>
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    <author>
    <id>47499</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Paullina Simons]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
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  <average_rating>4.47</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>6</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Historical Fiction Readers, Romance Readers]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Belinda Sheehan]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 02 22:23:19 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 20 04:26:09 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I am now forever indebted to my friend Belinda who begged me to read this book (I believe I am now one in a long list of Paullina Simons converts for Bel). I had previously read 100 pages of Tully and wasn't too impressed but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. <br/><br/>God am I glad I did! <br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23579263">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>12171186</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jimmyjane]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>5</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 10 12:22:05 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 12 15:19:39 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is probably the greatest love story I will ever read.  That's not an exaggerated statement, it's just a plain fact.  Tatiana and Alexander stole my heart, made it sing, made it bleed, filled it with hope and smashed it a dozen times and god<em>damn</em>, I loved every second of the agony and the ecstasy...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12171186">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12171186]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12171186]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18457771</id>
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    <id>761630</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Meagan]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <read_at>Fri Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 23 15:40:17 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 15 23:00:24 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[(WARNING: Not a book for everyone.  See details below)  This was an amazing love story that take place in Russia during WWII.  It is heart wrenching and almost painful to read at times, yet I felt I developed such a personal connection to the two main characters that I wouldn't have dared to put it ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18457771">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18457771]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>56561366</id>
    <user>
    <id>2307899</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ivy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cooperstown, NY]]></location>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">7</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.19</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>21</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the international bestseller <em>Tully</em> comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin's Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious.<p>Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past.<p>Once the relentless winter and the German army's blockade take hold of the city, the Metanovs are forced into ever more desperate measures to survive. With bombs falling and food becoming scarce, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn to each other in an impossible love that threatens to tear her family apart and reveal his dangerous secret -- a secret as destructive as the war itself. Caught between two deadly forces, the lovers find themselves swept up in a tide of history at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.<p>Mesmerizing from the very first page to the final, breathtaking end, <em>The Bronze Horseman</em> brings alive the story of two indomitable, heroic spirits and their great love that triumphs over the devastation of a country at war.</p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Romance lovers, war buffs]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[book club]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon May 18 19:34:43 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 20 20:47:56 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Once in a while a book comes along that will capture you and doesn't let you go until it has shared its last word. This is such a book. <br/><br/>The Bronze Horseman is the first book of three that deal with the lives of Tatiana and Alexander, a young couple who meet and fall in love amid the firs...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56561366">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56561366]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56561366]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41452259</id>
    <user>
    <id>1375548</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Misfit]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 31 17:03:44 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 17 11:29:54 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman begins in 1941 as the Germans have just invaded Russia, but seventeen year old Tatiana Metanova still stops to enjoy the day with an ice-cream, and as a bus passes she sees a soldier staring at her from across the street. Alexander Belov is mesmerized from the first at the sight ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41452259">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41452259]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41452259]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20890605</id>
    <user>
    <id>1028219</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Shannon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1028219-shannon-davis]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who like historical romance fiction]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 24 10:17:53 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 24 10:24:03 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Paullina Simons' triology-- The Bronze Horseman, Tatiania And Alexander, and The Summer Garden-- were recommended to me by another Diana Gabaldon fan.  In some ways, the books are quite similiar (even some of the plot lines made me wonder if Simons had read Gabaldon!!), but in other ways the books a...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20890605">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20890605]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20890605]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81289349</id>
    <user>
    <id>2120940</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sara]]></name>
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  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 17 07:55:07 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 15:23:05 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Maybe one of the BEST love stories ever written. I don't make that statement lightly. I've read many, many books and don't know why I only just came across this one. You will never read another book this powerful and touching. The only downfall is that I can't get into any other book since I've read...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81289349">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81289349]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81289349]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>80637011</id>
    <user>
    <id>3029388</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tania]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Guildford, N7, The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3029388-tania]]></link>
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  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 11 03:15:57 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 11 03:23:29 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Beautiful and heartwrenching, this book has it all: forbidden love, war, loss - you name it and it's there.  <br/><br/>Alexander is a soldier in World War Two Russia who spots Tatiana across the street and wants her immediately only catch is he's already entangled with her sister, Dasha.  And there ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80637011">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80637011]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80637011]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>79826508</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Amira]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Australia]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">6323104</id>
  <isbn>006185414X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061854149</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">7</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.60</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>30</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p> The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad. </p> <p> Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 03 20:02:58 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 03 21:11:02 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Words are not adequate enough to describe how I love this book! The Bronze Horseman is absolutely locked in as an all time classic and favourite of mine, (up there with Pride and Prejudice). I feel such a deep connection with the main female protagonist Tatiana Metanova, I share so much in common wi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79826508">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79826508]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>64801961</id>
    <user>
    <id>2543670</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[White Hall, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2543670-katie-dreyer]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">5391078</id>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.29</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>7</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[E-book exclusive: The author's tribute to her grandparents, survivors of Russia's twentieth century.<br/><br/>An unforgettable epic of passion, betrayal, and survival set against the shimmering beauty and brutal terror of 1941 war-torn Leningrad.<br/><br/>From the author of the international bestseller <em>Tully</em> comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin's Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious. <br/><br/>Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past. <br/><br/>Once the relentless winter and the German army's blockade take hold of the city, the Metanovs are forced into ever more desperate measures to survive. With bombs falling and food becoming scarce, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn to each other in an impossible love that threatens to tear her family apart and reveal his dangerous secret -- a secret as destructive as the war itself. Caught between two deadly forces, the lovers find themselves swept up in a tide of history at a turning point in the century that made the modern world. <br/><br/>Mesmerizing from the very first page to the final, breathtaking end, <em>The Bronze Horseman</em> brings alive the story of two indomitable, heroic spirits and their great love that triumphs over the devastation of a country at war.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 24 11:15:28 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 24 11:21:03 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Ah, the epic story of Tatiana and Alexander. Simons attempts to create a story that follows in the tradition of classics like 'Gone with the Wind', but doesn't quite succeed. The story's engrossing enough, although at times very predictable. Boy meets girl, they fall in love. Yes, it's a cliche, the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64801961">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64801961]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64801961]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>58044761</id>
    <user>
    <id>2250020</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tatiana]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Greensboro, NC]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jun 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 01 06:27:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jun 06 19:44:35 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Seeing how highly rated “The Bronze Horseman” is, I guess I’ll be one of those very few who don’t  care for this book and brace myself for negative backlash. Oh, well, I just can’t stop myself from writing this review.<br/><br/>First of all, I am not sure why people love this story so mu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58044761">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58044761]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58044761]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>29217734</id>
    <user>
    <id>1356469</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Fiona]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[06605 , The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1356469-fiona]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[want a strong love story]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 04 10:28:55 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Aug 08 11:08:23 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved this book when I was a teenager, I still like it fondly now. It's part of a trilogy - but don't bother with the third book, it's rubbish. In fact, don't bother with the second book either - though it isn't bad.<br/><br/>The love story between Tatiana and Alexander is heart wrenching and be...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29217734">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29217734]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29217734]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62749281</id>
    <user>
    <id>959546</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Duntay]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/959546-duntay]]></link>
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  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
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            <shelf name="off-to-charity-shop" />
        <shelf name="unfinishable" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jul 16 08:22:08 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 09 05:10:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 16 08:22:08 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Not off to the best of starts... frankly I can't see why people think this book is so fabulous.  I've been put of by  Alexander's big secret is that .. he is American.. what, the siege of Leningrad did not provide enough dramatic tension to set characters against ? That he is a Red Army officer in W...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62749281">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62749281]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62749281]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75655863</id>
    <user>
    <id>1501042</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Elizabeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1501042-elizabeth-scott]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">6323104</id>
  <isbn>006185414X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061854149</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">7</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/63/104/6323104-m-1255974069.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6323104.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p> The golden skies, the translucent twilight, the white nights, all hold the promise of youth, of love, of eternal renewal. The war has not yet touched this city of fallen grandeur, or the lives of two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanova, who share a single room in a cramped apartment with their brother and parents. Their world is turned upside down when Hitler's armies attack Russia and begin their unstoppable blitz to Leningrad. </p> <p> Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander's impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Oct 25 05:10:50 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Oct 26 05:53:59 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a great escapist read, especially if you like love stories and don't mind love scenes (I know some people don't like them). The Bronze Horseman takes place during World War II, and mostly in Leningrad. It's  about Tatiana  and Alexander, a seventeen-year old girl and a soldier, who meet and ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75655863">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75655863]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75655863]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>52846124</id>
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    <id>1746727</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Arlene]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brea, CA]]></location>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 15 19:08:38 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 23 08:23:45 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons is such a beautiful story of two people who fall in love in the midst of a country at war. I loved the two main characters, and their devotion and self-sacrifice for each other was beauteous! The author did a splendid job of mixing a good amount of history with...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52846124">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52846124]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52846124]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>63941706</id>
    <user>
    <id>1812864</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Raya]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1812864-raya]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 17 21:00:28 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 17 21:00:28 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I was sooo close to giving this 5 stars. Set in war-torn Soviet Union during WWII, this is the story about...hunger, literally. Hunger for food, hunger for love, hunger for a different sort of life. This book was full of so much wanting and desperation for anything from stale bread to the right to p...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63941706">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63941706]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63941706]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>73798676</id>
    <user>
    <id>2169370</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Berkley, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2169370-kim-duhame-mcneil]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 07 17:46:38 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 18 15:49:45 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I LOVED this book.  I am not much into romance but this had a lot of history and what a love story it was.  I highly recommend it.  I even shed tears reading this book.  It was so touching and haunting. The characters stay with you long after you put it down.  I have ordered the next two books in th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73798676">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73798676]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73798676]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>73090193</id>
    <user>
    <id>2098381</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Heather]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Nashville, TN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2098381-heather]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">83144</id>
  <isbn>0006513220</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780006513223</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">134</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640m/83144.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036640s/83144.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83144.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[A magnificent epic of love, war and Russia from the international bestselling author of TULLY and ROAD TO PARADISE  Leningrad 1941: the white nights of summer illuminate a city of fallen grandeur whose palaces and 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.  The routine of their hard impoverished life is shattered on 22 June 1941 when Hitler invades Russia. For the Metanov family, for Leningrad and particularly for Tatiana, life will never be the same again. On that fateful day, Tatiana meets a brash young man named Alexander.  The family suffers 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 inexorably to each other, but theirs is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart, and at its heart lies a secret that could mean death to anyone who hears it. Confronted on the one hand by Hitler's vast 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="historical-fiction" />
        <shelf name="shite-books" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Oct 01 08:04:57 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 11 12:16:14 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Oh what fresh hell. I thought this book would never, ever end. I am certain that had this book been written in the times of Dante, he would have surely included it in one of the layers of Hades.  This book makes for fantastic punishment. I literally wept tears of boredom.<br/><br/>I never knew how...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73090193">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73090193]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73090193]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>33106666</id>
    <user>
    <id>940776</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Melissa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Opelika, AL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/940776-melissa]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">1655965</id>
  <isbn>0060199261</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060199265</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">7</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186438543m/1655965.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1186438543s/1655965.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1655965.Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>771</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[From the author of the international bestseller <em>Tully</em> comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin's Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious.<p>Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past.<p>Once the relentless winter and the German army's blockade take hold of the city, the Metanovs are forced into ever more desperate measures to survive. With bombs falling and food becoming scarce, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn to each other in an impossible love that threatens to tear her family apart and reveal his dangerous secret -- a secret as destructive as the war itself. Caught between two deadly forces, the lovers find themselves swept up in a tide of history at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.<p>Mesmerizing from the very first page to the final, breathtaking end, <em>The Bronze Horseman</em> brings alive the story of two indomitable, heroic spirits and their great love that triumphs over the devastation of a country at war.</p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[fans of historical romances who aren't put off by characters getting it on...a lot.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 17 12:57:08 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 17 13:30:58 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>2</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman was the first romance novel I ever read. I hesitate to call it that but I don't know how else to refer to a love story that includes 70 straight pages of explicit sexual situations. <br/><br/>The setting is Leningrad during WWII. A very serious subject and yet this book offers ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33106666">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33106666]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/33106666]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>21025706</id>
    <user>
    <id>754268</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Julie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Verona, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/754268-julie]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">83142</id>
  <isbn>0061031127</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061031120</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Bronze Horseman]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036639m/83142.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171036639s/83142.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83142.The_Bronze_Horseman</link>
  <average_rating>4.36</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>64</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>From the author of the international bestseller <em>Tully</em> comes an epic tale of passion, betrayal, and survival in World War II Russia. Leningrad, 1941: The European war seems far away in this city of fallen grandeur, where splendid palaces and stately boulevards speak of a different age, when the city was known as St. Petersburg. Now two sisters, Tatiana and Dasha Metanov, live in a cramped apartment, sharing one room with their brother and parents. Such are the harsh realities of Stalin's Russia, but when Hitler invades the country, the siege of its cities makes the previous severe conditions seem luxurious.</p><p>Against this backdrop of danger and uncertainty, Tatiana meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army whose self-confidence sets him apart from most Russian men and helps to conceal a mysterious and troubled past.</p><p>Once the relentless winter and the German army's blockade take hold of the city, the Metanovs are forced into ever more desperate measures to survive. With bombs falling and food becoming scarce, Tatiana and Alexander are drawn to each other in an impossible love that threatens to tear her family apart and reveal his dangerous secret -- a secret as destructive as the war itself. Caught between two deadly forces, the lovers find themselves swept up in a tide of history at a turning point in the century that made the modern world.</p><p>Mesmerizing from the very first page to the final, breathtaking end, <em>The Bronze Horseman</em> brings alive the story of two indomitable, heroic spirits and their great love that triumphs over the devastation of a country at war.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1994</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Outlander fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[LibraryThing]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 26 07:13:33 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 03 11:36:17 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved this book! A great read!  <br/><br/>A memorable love story set during Soviet Leningrad at the outset of WWII and the Blockade and Battle of Leningrad. So many descriptions of the city and life therein.  I found it interesting seeing what life was like under Communist rule under Stalin duri...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21025706">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21025706]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21025706]]></link>
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