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The Bronze Horseman #0B
Bellagrand
They gave up everything to be together, but love was just the beginning of their journey...
Italian immigrant Gina, independent, compassionate and strong, desperately wants a family. Boston blue-blood Harry, idealistic and fiercely political, wants to create a better world, a better country. Bound together by tormented passion, they rail, rage, and break each other’s hearts, only to come face to face with a stark final choice that will forever determine their destiny.
Their journey takes them through four decades and two continents, through triumph and turmoil, from the wooden planks of the troubled, immigrant town of Lawrence, Massachusetts, to the marble halls and secret doors of a mystical place called... Bellagrand.
From internationally bestselling author Paullina Simons comes another compelling saga of heartbreak and redemption, and the devastating love story that led to The Bronze Horseman.
Italian immigrant Gina, independent, compassionate and strong, desperately wants a family. Boston blue-blood Harry, idealistic and fiercely political, wants to create a better world, a better country. Bound together by tormented passion, they rail, rage, and break each other’s hearts, only to come face to face with a stark final choice that will forever determine their destiny.
Their journey takes them through four decades and two continents, through triumph and turmoil, from the wooden planks of the troubled, immigrant town of Lawrence, Massachusetts, to the marble halls and secret doors of a mystical place called... Bellagrand.
From internationally bestselling author Paullina Simons comes another compelling saga of heartbreak and redemption, and the devastating love story that led to The Bronze Horseman.
560 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2014
120 people are currently reading
3393 people want to read
About the author
Paullina Simons
47 books5,371 followersPaullina Simons was born in Leningrad, USSR, in 1963. At the age of ten her family immigrated to the United States. Growing up in Russia Paullina dreamt of someday becoming a writer. Her dream was put on hold as she learned English and overcame the shock of a new culture.
After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullina wrote her first novel Tully. Through word of mouth that book was welcomed by readers all over the world.
She continued with more novels, including Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross (also known as Tatiana and Alexander), The Summer Garden and The Girl in Times Square (also known as Lily). Many of Paullina's novels have reached international bestseller lists.
Apart from her novels, Paullina has also written a cookbook, Tatiana's Table, which is a collection of recipes, short stories and recollections from her best selling trilogy of novels, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross, (also known as Tatiana and Alexander) and The Summer Garden.
After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullina wrote her first novel Tully. Through word of mouth that book was welcomed by readers all over the world.
She continued with more novels, including Red Leaves, Eleven Hours, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross (also known as Tatiana and Alexander), The Summer Garden and The Girl in Times Square (also known as Lily). Many of Paullina's novels have reached international bestseller lists.
Apart from her novels, Paullina has also written a cookbook, Tatiana's Table, which is a collection of recipes, short stories and recollections from her best selling trilogy of novels, The Bronze Horseman, The Bridge to Holy Cross, (also known as Tatiana and Alexander) and The Summer Garden.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
July 22, 2017
This book broke my heart in so many ways. Bellagrand is the prequel to The Bronze Horseman, I'm assuming if you're reading this review that you've read The Bronze Horseman.
This is the story about Alexander's parents that spans over four decades. It's the story of a woman who loved a man too much, a man who didn't deserve her love. A man who was selfish, a man who thought only of himself and his goals. A man who was lazy, lived in wealth and never saw the irony of what he was promoting. A man who was given everything, yet turned his back on it. A man who destroyed his family and everything that mattered. While his wife does everything to try to stop it, to protect their son. Harry Barrington never deserved their love.
It's good to get Alexander's back story, it's heartbreaking when you know where it's headed.
This book is good and now I can't wait to re-read The Bronze Horseman.
This is the story about Alexander's parents that spans over four decades. It's the story of a woman who loved a man too much, a man who didn't deserve her love. A man who was selfish, a man who thought only of himself and his goals. A man who was lazy, lived in wealth and never saw the irony of what he was promoting. A man who was given everything, yet turned his back on it. A man who destroyed his family and everything that mattered. While his wife does everything to try to stop it, to protect their son. Harry Barrington never deserved their love.
It's good to get Alexander's back story, it's heartbreaking when you know where it's headed.
This book is good and now I can't wait to re-read The Bronze Horseman.
July 31, 2022
**SPOILERS**
This is what I think of Harold/Harry Barrington:
Selfish, unappreciative. Self absorbed. Ignorant. At first admired his passion, strength ability to fight for what he wanted. Ended up appearing immature, his arguments pointless and conflicting with his own beliefs. He made it difficult to read. Harry's only good point (in my opinion) is his sense of humour, which can be enjoyable at times, however he seems to blur the lines between when it should be appropriate and when it's time to be serious. It's hard to believe that at times that this the man who raised Alexander.
This is what I think of Gina/Gia/Jane Barrington:
She was blinded by her love for Harry. I don't think very many women out there would stand for what Harry put her through. At the end of the book we find out her heart was never really into the things that Harry believed, she merely put on a face to impress him, so that he would love her. She lost everything over the years. Her mother, her brother, pregnancies...
This book was very heart breaking. Because you already know where there story ends up, there were many times something would stand out in the book that connected with something from The Bronze Horseman, and even though I KNEW what was going to happen, it still hurt. For example, with her first pregnancy, she tells her Mimoo the baby is due in October. My brain starts ticking...Alexander's birthday is in May - ah. There it is.
Gina has an affair during one of Harry's long stints in jail. With Ben Shaw, Harry's childhood friend. The two become very close, and I believe that Gina did love him. There was a conversation of theirs that stood out to me:
Ben: "Would you leave America for Harry? If he asked you?"
Gina breathed heavily, regretfully. "Let's hope we never have to find out the answer to your terrible question."
I'm not sure if Paullina's intentions were to make me hate Harry, but I nearly, NEARLY do. Gina never wanted to leave. She came to America, the promised land, an immigrant. Why would she want to throw that all away, and for Russia? She feared for her life, for Alexander's life, and still she bowed her head to her husband and followed him blindly to her death.
A lot of that was negative. I don't think I ever imagined that this story was going to be anything but. I gave it 5 stars, because it was definitely deserving of it. One thing that impressed me most of all was the dialogue in this book. AMAZING! So many interesting conversations, all very long - yes, but so informative and necessary to the story. I feel like I learned a lot.
This is what I think of Harold/Harry Barrington:
Selfish, unappreciative. Self absorbed. Ignorant. At first admired his passion, strength ability to fight for what he wanted. Ended up appearing immature, his arguments pointless and conflicting with his own beliefs. He made it difficult to read. Harry's only good point (in my opinion) is his sense of humour, which can be enjoyable at times, however he seems to blur the lines between when it should be appropriate and when it's time to be serious. It's hard to believe that at times that this the man who raised Alexander.
This is what I think of Gina/Gia/Jane Barrington:
She was blinded by her love for Harry. I don't think very many women out there would stand for what Harry put her through. At the end of the book we find out her heart was never really into the things that Harry believed, she merely put on a face to impress him, so that he would love her. She lost everything over the years. Her mother, her brother, pregnancies...
This book was very heart breaking. Because you already know where there story ends up, there were many times something would stand out in the book that connected with something from The Bronze Horseman, and even though I KNEW what was going to happen, it still hurt. For example, with her first pregnancy, she tells her Mimoo the baby is due in October. My brain starts ticking...Alexander's birthday is in May - ah. There it is.
Gina has an affair during one of Harry's long stints in jail. With Ben Shaw, Harry's childhood friend. The two become very close, and I believe that Gina did love him. There was a conversation of theirs that stood out to me:
Ben: "Would you leave America for Harry? If he asked you?"
Gina breathed heavily, regretfully. "Let's hope we never have to find out the answer to your terrible question."
I'm not sure if Paullina's intentions were to make me hate Harry, but I nearly, NEARLY do. Gina never wanted to leave. She came to America, the promised land, an immigrant. Why would she want to throw that all away, and for Russia? She feared for her life, for Alexander's life, and still she bowed her head to her husband and followed him blindly to her death.
A lot of that was negative. I don't think I ever imagined that this story was going to be anything but. I gave it 5 stars, because it was definitely deserving of it. One thing that impressed me most of all was the dialogue in this book. AMAZING! So many interesting conversations, all very long - yes, but so informative and necessary to the story. I feel like I learned a lot.
September 24, 2017
3.75 stars
The sequel to "Children of Liberty", Bellagrand continues the story of Italian immigrant Gina and her silver spooned American husband Harry and the tulmutous relationship that will set them on a future they could never imagine. Set in the backdrop of the rise of fascism and communism in the 1920's and the U.S. governments drive to squash these ideologies, Paullina Simons also takes readers into the heart of a marriage.
Whereas many authors focus on the falling in love part, Simons is brilliant at spending most of her time on the "staying in love" part. Readers who have already experienced "The Bronze Horseman" trilogy will see startlingly similarities between "Bellagrand" and "The Summer Garden" A couple passionate in love, but the actions of both do grate on the nerves of any reader. Oh, how I wanted Gina to leave that Harry at many times in the book! Of course, I also found myself quite annoyed at Gina as well.
Overall, I am glad that I gave the books the attention they deserved, but I am not sure I would re-read them.
The sequel to "Children of Liberty", Bellagrand continues the story of Italian immigrant Gina and her silver spooned American husband Harry and the tulmutous relationship that will set them on a future they could never imagine. Set in the backdrop of the rise of fascism and communism in the 1920's and the U.S. governments drive to squash these ideologies, Paullina Simons also takes readers into the heart of a marriage.
Whereas many authors focus on the falling in love part, Simons is brilliant at spending most of her time on the "staying in love" part. Readers who have already experienced "The Bronze Horseman" trilogy will see startlingly similarities between "Bellagrand" and "The Summer Garden" A couple passionate in love, but the actions of both do grate on the nerves of any reader. Oh, how I wanted Gina to leave that Harry at many times in the book! Of course, I also found myself quite annoyed at Gina as well.
Overall, I am glad that I gave the books the attention they deserved, but I am not sure I would re-read them.
March 15, 2024
4.5 EPIC STARS ⭐️
I never believed I could love a book by Paullina Simons that wasn't The Bronze Horseman this much.
Bellagrand was both incredibly beautiful and epic. We all know how it ends for Gina and Harry. But it's not about the destination, it's the journey. And it was a fantastic experience.
Paullina Simons's writing is as beautiful and flowing as ever. It's beautiful, raw, heart stopping and honest. There are no rainbows and hearts here. And thank God for that. It's all about reality. No superficial "happy endings". The only reason it's not rated 5 stars is because nothing can top The Bronze Horseman.
If I didn't believe I could possibly love Alexander more before, I do now. From the day he was born to that fateful day in Russia, my love only grow. He is my #KingOfMen. There are no words to describe how much love I have for him.
Paullina Simons is my all time favourite author. Her books are complex, intelligent and challenging.
Her characters are so well developed that they eventually feels like old friends. You will actually know them netter than most of your closest friends.
Her books are anything but predictable, sometimes you love the choices they make and sometimes they will frustrate to no end.What's true about all of her books are that they will cast a spell over you and it's impossible not to continue reading. Bellagrand is definitely one of my new favourites of her. Mayans even my second favourite to TBH triology, and that says a lot. Getting to know Alexander's parents and their story has been wonderful and added so much to my love and understanding for the triology itself.
I could discuss Bellagrand for hours (and I have.) so many amazing things happened and so many amazing characters were introduced. But like In every novel by Paullina Simons, we also got heartbreak, grief and frustration.
"Who's going to save you this time, Harry?" she whispered, wrapping the hem of her skirt around her injured hand. "Who is left to save you?" "I don't need anyone to save me. I don't need saving." But who is going to save me, Gina wanted to ask as she crept out of the room like the war-wounded. Who is going to save your son?"
Harry has got to be one of the stupidest people to ever walk this earth. When I thought he couldn't make more idiotic decisions, his stupidity reached new levels. He was briefly redeemed but fool me once...fool me twice. Maybe Gina was even stupider to stand by him through every dumb thing. It baffled me. At one point I actually felt they deserved what was coming to them. I had no remorse for either one. How many chances did they get to make things right? And every single time they chose the stupidest decision possible. Including taking Alexander to Russia. Esther (we meet her in The Summer Garden were so right when she said I was so angry at Gina, I was livid. But at the final hour, I couldn't help myself, I wanted to spare both of them their fate. It was heartbreaking to live through.
Don't let the ratings fool you, this is a magnificent book!
I never believed I could love a book by Paullina Simons that wasn't The Bronze Horseman this much.
Bellagrand was both incredibly beautiful and epic. We all know how it ends for Gina and Harry. But it's not about the destination, it's the journey. And it was a fantastic experience.
"I regret I have only one heart to love you with. I regret I have only one brief life to love you.
Paullina Simons's writing is as beautiful and flowing as ever. It's beautiful, raw, heart stopping and honest. There are no rainbows and hearts here. And thank God for that. It's all about reality. No superficial "happy endings". The only reason it's not rated 5 stars is because nothing can top The Bronze Horseman.
"How could you bring me here, he wants to ask with his most frightened voice. Knowing my life was at stake, how could you come here with me?
If I didn't believe I could possibly love Alexander more before, I do now. From the day he was born to that fateful day in Russia, my love only grow. He is my #KingOfMen. There are no words to describe how much love I have for him.
Paullina Simons is my all time favourite author. Her books are complex, intelligent and challenging.
Her characters are so well developed that they eventually feels like old friends. You will actually know them netter than most of your closest friends.
Her books are anything but predictable, sometimes you love the choices they make and sometimes they will frustrate to no end.What's true about all of her books are that they will cast a spell over you and it's impossible not to continue reading. Bellagrand is definitely one of my new favourites of her. Mayans even my second favourite to TBH triology, and that says a lot. Getting to know Alexander's parents and their story has been wonderful and added so much to my love and understanding for the triology itself.
"I stay because I love him. I stay because he is my family. Because you deserve to have a father. Everywhere he goes, I go. He is the ship, Alexander. We are just passengers. Condividiamo l’amarezza. What if the ship goes down? We go down, too. When I am dead and opened, his mother had said, the bitter tears still wet in her eyes, you will find your father lying on my heart
I could discuss Bellagrand for hours (and I have.) so many amazing things happened and so many amazing characters were introduced. But like In every novel by Paullina Simons, we also got heartbreak, grief and frustration.
"Who's going to save you this time, Harry?" she whispered, wrapping the hem of her skirt around her injured hand. "Who is left to save you?" "I don't need anyone to save me. I don't need saving." But who is going to save me, Gina wanted to ask as she crept out of the room like the war-wounded. Who is going to save your son?"
Harry has got to be one of the stupidest people to ever walk this earth. When I thought he couldn't make more idiotic decisions, his stupidity reached new levels. He was briefly redeemed but fool me once...fool me twice. Maybe Gina was even stupider to stand by him through every dumb thing. It baffled me. At one point I actually felt they deserved what was coming to them. I had no remorse for either one. How many chances did they get to make things right? And every single time they chose the stupidest decision possible. Including taking Alexander to Russia. Esther (we meet her in The Summer Garden were so right when she said I was so angry at Gina, I was livid. But at the final hour, I couldn't help myself, I wanted to spare both of them their fate. It was heartbreaking to live through.
Don't let the ratings fool you, this is a magnificent book!
Want to read
November 6, 2013A prequel to my Favourite Book of All Time (The Bronze Horseman)
OMFG...
But I'm also terrified in case it somehow detracts from TBH!
OMFG...
But I'm also terrified in case it somehow detracts from TBH!
July 5, 2017
1st read: July 18-20, 2015
2nd read: June 20-July 4, 2017
First read notes:
Wow. Well, I didn't think it was possible for me to love Alexander any more than I already did, but it has happened. I loved this book. No, it isn't the grand epic love story we get from Tatiana and Alexander, but it wasn't supposed to be. I didn't expect to love reading about Harry and Gina/Jane, but I really did. I still hate them as much as I did after reading TBH series, in fact I hate them even more...BUT I did love their story and there were times I really enjoyed them. I cried several times in this book and I laughed and I even swooned over Harry and Gia. I loved their families and friends so much. Paullina Simons always writes such wonderful secondary characters. I wanted to be right there with them all in Bellagrand. And there was nothing sweeter than reading about Alexander's birth and the early years of his life. I loved how much Esther and Salvo loved their nephew. And his "Gampa"...oh I loved Alexander with his Gampa. I am still giving this book and CoL 5 stars, even though I didn't love them quite as much as TBH, T&A, TSG, and my most recent book of hers that I'm obsessed with, Lone Star. All of those books need MORE than 5 stars for me. But I feel like this book (and CoL) was beautifully written and gave me wonderful insight into the kind of people Harry and Gina really were and for me, they were still 5 star books. I truly loved reading their story. Even though I wanted to reach into my book and shake them silly or slap some sense into them. Especially Harry!!!
2nd read: June 20-July 4, 2017
First read notes:
Wow. Well, I didn't think it was possible for me to love Alexander any more than I already did, but it has happened. I loved this book. No, it isn't the grand epic love story we get from Tatiana and Alexander, but it wasn't supposed to be. I didn't expect to love reading about Harry and Gina/Jane, but I really did. I still hate them as much as I did after reading TBH series, in fact I hate them even more...BUT I did love their story and there were times I really enjoyed them. I cried several times in this book and I laughed and I even swooned over Harry and Gia. I loved their families and friends so much. Paullina Simons always writes such wonderful secondary characters. I wanted to be right there with them all in Bellagrand. And there was nothing sweeter than reading about Alexander's birth and the early years of his life. I loved how much Esther and Salvo loved their nephew. And his "Gampa"...oh I loved Alexander with his Gampa. I am still giving this book and CoL 5 stars, even though I didn't love them quite as much as TBH, T&A, TSG, and my most recent book of hers that I'm obsessed with, Lone Star. All of those books need MORE than 5 stars for me. But I feel like this book (and CoL) was beautifully written and gave me wonderful insight into the kind of people Harry and Gina really were and for me, they were still 5 star books. I truly loved reading their story. Even though I wanted to reach into my book and shake them silly or slap some sense into them. Especially Harry!!!
August 23, 2015
Such a tragedy, but a story that needed to be told. Review to come
My favorite author and the prequel to my fave series The Bronze Horseman!!!! I can't wait!!!
March is going to be an amazing month!!
My favorite author and the prequel to my fave series The Bronze Horseman!!!! I can't wait!!!
March is going to be an amazing month!!
December 12, 2013
I love Paullina Simons. I love her writing and her stories. She is my favourite author. I love The Bronze Horseman and the story of Tatiana & Alexander. I really loved the writing and the way she told this story, and I love that I have closure now after Children of Liberty. However, the story did my head in. I wanted to continually reach into the book and strangle Harry for not putting his family first, and strangle Gina for staying with him. I fully support fighting for what you believe is right, but if you love your family they should always come first. Everyone time he needed help from someone I wanted to scream at his family to just leave him to deal with the consequences of his actions. It was also hard because I disagree with the ideas Harry was fighting for, and I was frustrated and nearly gave up. However, a good read!
So I've given it 3 stars, but thats because of the story, not because of the writing.
So I've given it 3 stars, but thats because of the story, not because of the writing.
July 9, 2017
O.M.G. Will I EVER be the same again? Will I ever recover from this? Will my tears stop and heart stop breaking?
Let me just start by saying that, Bellagrand has become my favourite book of all Paullina Simons' books so far, even more so than The Bronze Horseman from an emotional level. Don't get me wrong, TBH is still my favourite of all time, but Bellagrand has got to me mentally and emotionally like no other. It is easily the BEST and most DRAMATIC and most ANGSTY book I have ever read. It IS the HARDEST book I have ever read.
We start Harry and Gina's story from this duology, book 1 Children of Liberty and book 2 Bellagrand, KNOWING how their story is going to end, how tragic is their love story, how their actions leads to their ultimate fate. So it messes with your head when you are reading it. All the tender moments, all the trouble-less days, all the heart felt declarations, blue skies, ocean breeze, all the passionate and consuming love makings, the promises, the whispers, all of these are the moments we treasure and treasure them even more because we KNOW it will not last, because we know how the story is going to end. It will be replaced by lies, betrayal, broken promises and every single character broken hearted.
THIS is why I love Paullina Simons. She makes me HATE Harry and Gina for their foolishness, selfishness, clueless, stupidness, but at the same time I cannot help but still LOVE them with all my heart, for their passions, for their mad love, for their disastrous love for each other, for their tragic ending.
Gina, I keep thinking has she chosen the wrong man? If she has chosen someone else, will she be happier, will she have the life she thought she wanted? As a woman, I feel for her. She has loved a man madly and deeply, whatever happens to him to their marriage, she holds on and holds on. That's what love does to you, it makes you blind and bound. She makes her bed and that's what she gets. "There was a fatality to it, a feeling so irresistible it has the force of doom, which invariably compelled human beings - you, your husband - to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great and marked event had given the color to your lifetime; and the more irresistibly you returned to that spot, the darker the tinge that saddened it. Every single thing in this world is marble and mud, my darling child. The only thing you can do is make the best of it."
Harry, before I started reading Children of Liberty and Bellagrand, I thought to myself there is no way I will change my opinion about him from The Bronze Horseman... and I was so wrong. Harry is a fool, a coward, a spoiled only son of one of the wealthiest man in Boston, he is selfish and has no sense of responsibility; however I cannot help but fall madly in love with him, for his bookish charm, for his unique personality, for his dreams, for his crazy and mad love for Gina. This man is lost, so lost in his dreams he forgets about the reality. He is the reason the three of them have to leave the US and go to Russia, which has doomed them all with unthinkable future. I didn't understand Harry but I think I do now. He has lived under the great name of Barrington, the great name of his ancestors, under the expectations of what a Barrington man should live and achieve. For Harry this is slavery, all the money, all the freedom from being THE one in the highest society has suffocated him. He wants to live a different life, a radical life from believing in a radical revolution and society. I thought I would hate him but I truly do not hate him. I feel so disappointed and sorry for him. I love him for his dreams, for what he is trying to achieve but hate him and am disappointed in him the way he has tried to achieve it. Harry is a dreamer, his belief and Gina and Alexander are all he has. What a lost soul, a lost lost soul. In one of his letters to Gina, he said "You know how you keep saying You're such a dreamer, Harry. When you murmur it, it's like a caress from your lips, it's your love letter to me. A dreamer. This I freely admit. For when I dream, my beloved Sicilian princess, I dream of you." What a great but disastrous love story.
Bellagrand has also given us Alexander Barrington. The love of my life. From his birth, he has captured the heart of EVERYONE. EVERYONE loves Shura, what a lovely lovely boy. The parts where he is growing up is one of the best parts of this series. I don't think I can love Alexander more than I already do from The Bronze Horseman, but no, after Bellagrand, I have loved him even more. Knowing how he becomes the man he is in TBH really is the highlight of it all.
This is an unforgivable book. It touches your heart and soul. It wounded me deeply. Love stories have been written and told every single day, but this love story will for sure stay with me forever and ever. It is dramatic, it is angsty, it IS an epic tale for us to see. Every time I think about it, the wound will bleed, it reminds me of a tragic and disastrous, but a great love.
I will end my review with a quote from the book "If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I. Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; And the more it is bound, the less it is blind."
Let me just start by saying that, Bellagrand has become my favourite book of all Paullina Simons' books so far, even more so than The Bronze Horseman from an emotional level. Don't get me wrong, TBH is still my favourite of all time, but Bellagrand has got to me mentally and emotionally like no other. It is easily the BEST and most DRAMATIC and most ANGSTY book I have ever read. It IS the HARDEST book I have ever read.
We start Harry and Gina's story from this duology, book 1 Children of Liberty and book 2 Bellagrand, KNOWING how their story is going to end, how tragic is their love story, how their actions leads to their ultimate fate. So it messes with your head when you are reading it. All the tender moments, all the trouble-less days, all the heart felt declarations, blue skies, ocean breeze, all the passionate and consuming love makings, the promises, the whispers, all of these are the moments we treasure and treasure them even more because we KNOW it will not last, because we know how the story is going to end. It will be replaced by lies, betrayal, broken promises and every single character broken hearted.
THIS is why I love Paullina Simons. She makes me HATE Harry and Gina for their foolishness, selfishness, clueless, stupidness, but at the same time I cannot help but still LOVE them with all my heart, for their passions, for their mad love, for their disastrous love for each other, for their tragic ending.
Gina, I keep thinking has she chosen the wrong man? If she has chosen someone else, will she be happier, will she have the life she thought she wanted? As a woman, I feel for her. She has loved a man madly and deeply, whatever happens to him to their marriage, she holds on and holds on. That's what love does to you, it makes you blind and bound. She makes her bed and that's what she gets. "There was a fatality to it, a feeling so irresistible it has the force of doom, which invariably compelled human beings - you, your husband - to linger around and haunt, ghostlike, the spot where some great and marked event had given the color to your lifetime; and the more irresistibly you returned to that spot, the darker the tinge that saddened it. Every single thing in this world is marble and mud, my darling child. The only thing you can do is make the best of it."
Harry, before I started reading Children of Liberty and Bellagrand, I thought to myself there is no way I will change my opinion about him from The Bronze Horseman... and I was so wrong. Harry is a fool, a coward, a spoiled only son of one of the wealthiest man in Boston, he is selfish and has no sense of responsibility; however I cannot help but fall madly in love with him, for his bookish charm, for his unique personality, for his dreams, for his crazy and mad love for Gina. This man is lost, so lost in his dreams he forgets about the reality. He is the reason the three of them have to leave the US and go to Russia, which has doomed them all with unthinkable future. I didn't understand Harry but I think I do now. He has lived under the great name of Barrington, the great name of his ancestors, under the expectations of what a Barrington man should live and achieve. For Harry this is slavery, all the money, all the freedom from being THE one in the highest society has suffocated him. He wants to live a different life, a radical life from believing in a radical revolution and society. I thought I would hate him but I truly do not hate him. I feel so disappointed and sorry for him. I love him for his dreams, for what he is trying to achieve but hate him and am disappointed in him the way he has tried to achieve it. Harry is a dreamer, his belief and Gina and Alexander are all he has. What a lost soul, a lost lost soul. In one of his letters to Gina, he said "You know how you keep saying You're such a dreamer, Harry. When you murmur it, it's like a caress from your lips, it's your love letter to me. A dreamer. This I freely admit. For when I dream, my beloved Sicilian princess, I dream of you." What a great but disastrous love story.
Bellagrand has also given us Alexander Barrington. The love of my life. From his birth, he has captured the heart of EVERYONE. EVERYONE loves Shura, what a lovely lovely boy. The parts where he is growing up is one of the best parts of this series. I don't think I can love Alexander more than I already do from The Bronze Horseman, but no, after Bellagrand, I have loved him even more. Knowing how he becomes the man he is in TBH really is the highlight of it all.
This is an unforgivable book. It touches your heart and soul. It wounded me deeply. Love stories have been written and told every single day, but this love story will for sure stay with me forever and ever. It is dramatic, it is angsty, it IS an epic tale for us to see. Every time I think about it, the wound will bleed, it reminds me of a tragic and disastrous, but a great love.
I will end my review with a quote from the book "If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I. Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; And the more it is bound, the less it is blind."
December 5, 2013
At first I was really excited to read this book as I wanted to read more about a young Alexander as The Bronze Horseman is my favourite book. However this book is not Alexander's story but Gina and Harry's story.
I really felt for Gina, as an Italian immigrant she had her whole life of opportunities in front of her in America. But she was so blind for her love for Harry and the decision to marry him changed her life forever. After years of struggle, of living poor and with Harry in and out of jail they finally catch a break and get to live in beautiful Bellagrand with their beautiful child Alexander.
Bellagrand is paradise.
Gina finally has the life she dreamed of with the love of her life Harry and with her much loved son Alexander. But unfortunately this dream does not last. Once again Harry has turned their lives upside down. Gina's heartache, sacrifice and decision to stick by her husband even though she knows he is wrong costs her everything and eventually she pays the ultimate price - her life.
The book ends with them going to Russia and I would have loved an extra chapter from Harry after years in Russia admitting that he was wrong and acknowledging what he gave up for his beliefs.
A few conflicting feelings, as I can't be angry at Harry as his decision leads his family to Russia and ultimately leads us to the story of The Bronze Horseman. However if it wasn't for Alexander and Tatiana I would feel differently.
I really felt for Gina, as an Italian immigrant she had her whole life of opportunities in front of her in America. But she was so blind for her love for Harry and the decision to marry him changed her life forever. After years of struggle, of living poor and with Harry in and out of jail they finally catch a break and get to live in beautiful Bellagrand with their beautiful child Alexander.
Bellagrand is paradise.
Gina finally has the life she dreamed of with the love of her life Harry and with her much loved son Alexander. But unfortunately this dream does not last. Once again Harry has turned their lives upside down. Gina's heartache, sacrifice and decision to stick by her husband even though she knows he is wrong costs her everything and eventually she pays the ultimate price - her life.
The book ends with them going to Russia and I would have loved an extra chapter from Harry after years in Russia admitting that he was wrong and acknowledging what he gave up for his beliefs.
A few conflicting feelings, as I can't be angry at Harry as his decision leads his family to Russia and ultimately leads us to the story of The Bronze Horseman. However if it wasn't for Alexander and Tatiana I would feel differently.
July 19, 2017
4.5* I've thought a lot on how to rate Bellagrand, my emotions were put through the ringer with the way Paullina unfolded this one. We know the ending and yet, I still found myself HOPING for a different outcome. It was a roller coaster of being irate, sad, conflicted, on edge, rooting for them and wishing their fate could have been different because some of the time you felt and believed in their love. Harry infuriated me. I wanted to shake him and tell him to WAKE THE HELL up for the love of God and do better and be better. I'm not sure I've read a book that has made me silently wipe tears quite as much as this one did (on so many different occasions). So many beautiful moments, and beautiful side character moments, but mostly I was clutching my chest with anxiety and feeling so much sorrow and sadness for our beloved Alexander. The boy whom everyone loved with all their hearts.
January 8, 2014
Talk about a downer, just wanted slap Harry and tell him to wake up to himself!
May 27, 2023
Second reread in preparation for my The Bronze Horseman reread. I love seeing where Alexander “Shura” came from. He is truly a product of his parents and I love him so much.
August 20, 2015
"Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible was what the justice of the peace had said, quoting Tomas à Kempis. Why did the quote that was meant to strengthen them only weaken her?"
While Children of Liberty holds the foundation, Bellagrand carries all the sorrow in Harold & Gina's unfortunate love story. I knew reading this would be hard. It was 80% sadness. It broke my heart. Repeatedly. I questioned why I ever loved their story to begin with. Repeatedly. I thought, why continue if you know it does not end in happiness? But it made my heart full too. I love the cathartic process I go through when reading a Paullina Simons book. I can always expect to channel a magnitude of emotions through her writing. I felt the love, frustration, hope, anguish, and heartache. The skill that allows this author to evoke so much from tragedy is beyond me. It was ugly, but it was supposed to be. It served its purpose.
"Was it wrong to build a house like marriage, even a mansion like their marriage, on the ashes of someone else's devastated heart?"
"The Russian angst is too depressing for a man in a cell. Everything is terrible and everyone is about to die. And then they do die. What's wrong with those Russians and their entire line of literature?"
"I once wrapped you in myself," she said to him, "but you have wrapped me in your shallows. And yet look how deep they are."
"You can only live one life. We all have to choose. Like before. Either Boston or Bellagrand. One or the other. You can't have both."
Bitterness flowed through her on the dry banks of her empty rivers. "And now, as my ultimate punishment," said Gina, "I will have neither."
While Children of Liberty holds the foundation, Bellagrand carries all the sorrow in Harold & Gina's unfortunate love story. I knew reading this would be hard. It was 80% sadness. It broke my heart. Repeatedly. I questioned why I ever loved their story to begin with. Repeatedly. I thought, why continue if you know it does not end in happiness? But it made my heart full too. I love the cathartic process I go through when reading a Paullina Simons book. I can always expect to channel a magnitude of emotions through her writing. I felt the love, frustration, hope, anguish, and heartache. The skill that allows this author to evoke so much from tragedy is beyond me. It was ugly, but it was supposed to be. It served its purpose.
"Was it wrong to build a house like marriage, even a mansion like their marriage, on the ashes of someone else's devastated heart?"
"The Russian angst is too depressing for a man in a cell. Everything is terrible and everyone is about to die. And then they do die. What's wrong with those Russians and their entire line of literature?"
"I once wrapped you in myself," she said to him, "but you have wrapped me in your shallows. And yet look how deep they are."
"You can only live one life. We all have to choose. Like before. Either Boston or Bellagrand. One or the other. You can't have both."
Bitterness flowed through her on the dry banks of her empty rivers. "And now, as my ultimate punishment," said Gina, "I will have neither."
December 27, 2013
I was disappointed in Children of Liberty because I was expecting more from the story. Bellagrand gives me the rest of the story that I was looking for. The only thing missing for me was a little more about their life in Russia but I think i need to re read the trilogy because I am sure it is all in there somewhere.
Bellagrand is compelling and devastating all at the same time. I want to reach into the book and shake sense into Harry and I was willing Gina to leave him many times but I knew if she did the story we all love would not exist.
For me the mark of a good book is when you are emotionally attached to the characters and story and miss the characters after you are finished reading. Well I finished this last night and I am still thinking about the characters and wondering about their choices ect.
If you love The Bronze Horseman and need to know how Jane, Harold and Alexander Barrington came to be living in Russia then you need to read both Children of Liberty and Bellagrand. I also recommend Six Days in Lenningrad which is the story of Paullina's research/return trip to Russia with her dad.
Bellagrand is compelling and devastating all at the same time. I want to reach into the book and shake sense into Harry and I was willing Gina to leave him many times but I knew if she did the story we all love would not exist.
For me the mark of a good book is when you are emotionally attached to the characters and story and miss the characters after you are finished reading. Well I finished this last night and I am still thinking about the characters and wondering about their choices ect.
If you love The Bronze Horseman and need to know how Jane, Harold and Alexander Barrington came to be living in Russia then you need to read both Children of Liberty and Bellagrand. I also recommend Six Days in Lenningrad which is the story of Paullina's research/return trip to Russia with her dad.
October 15, 2020
Review to come. I'm still processing everything
March 16, 2019
4,5 ☆☆☆☆*
April 5, 2014
In BELLAGRAND, knowing how the story ultimately ends in THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, it's like a tragic train wreck that you know is coming but can't avoid. What ultimately is sad is the lost Gina. I found myself hoping that she somehow sees Harry for what he really is, not just for what she wants him to be. She never gives up on the dream that she first had when she met him all those years ago. Harry, I found, was not only the pitiful excuse of a husband she didn't deserve and couldn't quite let herself leave, but he turned out to be selfish, irresponsible and arrogant in his beliefs to the point where his family is sacrificed. He never really understands what he has done, even when they are exiled into Russia. The sad conclusion to this story is necessary in order to understand how a bright, beautiful girl who only dreamed of a better life in America ended up in Soviet Russia as a drunkard. This story is sad, sad, sad. I wanted to kick Harry to the curb, tell Gina to run, run far away! He was a sinking cesspool of driveling nonsense most of the time. Their epic journey reaches it sad conclusion in THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, but this story is necessary in order to know what happened in America and how they got to Russia. Simons' writing can sometimes be slow, tedious and sometimes boring in places. I think what had me skipping some pages was that I absolutely HATED Harry. There was nothing good about him 75% of the time. The only thing good Gina saw in him was back when she first met him. She struggles throughout her whole life, trying to find that again, never realizing the old Harry is gone and replaced by a self-preserving, lying Communist. I felt sorry for her. Then I came to a startling realization: Gina is not strong, nor courageous. She's weak willed and easily manipulated. Harry's sister, Esther tells Gina that she's selfish and she's taken everything away from Esther and her family. On this I agree somewhat, even if Gina did it unknowingly. However, she can never stand up for what she believes, to anyone! She never tells her husband what she really feels, and in the end it costs her dearly. So while I hated Harry, sympathized with the two families that fell victim to these two hapless souls who create havoc on everyone around them, I really detested Gina for failing to stand up to her husband. Simons does have a way of dragging things on for endless pages here, and it makes this story feel as if it goes on forever. She's a brilliant writer, so I find fault with the editors for leaving everything in this book. It could easily be shortened with the same amount of drama. Sometimes more isn't better, sometimes it's just more. In the end, I was glad it was over with because it drained me. I was sad, frustrated and depressed for two people who couldn't manage their way out of a paper sack. The only good thing is that now I can go and re-read THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, definitely the best out of the lot. For those who love this series, this book must be read after CHILDREN OF LIBERTY.
June 24, 2017
Honestly I didn't think I would enjoy Harry and Gina's story as much as I did. How can you love characters when you know the fate that they have served their son (my dear and beloved Shura). How can you become attached to characters when you know their fate is a dreadful one? Two words Paullina Simons!!!!!!!
This author is beyond when it comes to writing and conveying emotions into words that etch into your heart. After reading Children of Liberty
you must read Bellagrand.
Alexander's parents story, especially Gina, Alexander's mother is nothing short of a tragedy. Gina represents an immigrant trying to find the American dream her father wanted for her. Yet, Harry is trying everything he can to escape the dreams his father has for him.
Although at times I wanted to throw my kindle across the room and yell Gina you fool I just couldn't help loving her and Bellagrand.
I am from Massachusetts so all the history and talk of Lawrence and Concord were very close to home for me. I was traveling in Florida at the time I was reading that too was special. I was feeling everything Paullina was describing and Florida was by far Gina's happiest time! Jack Reed, Emma Goldman, and Max Eastman are not new to me I have always been intrigued by this time in history and if you have seen REDS you will also be familiar with these people.
If you are a BH lover then you may also notice how Gina and Tatiana are very much alike in many ways. Tatiana has what I wish Gina could have, courage!
I was never sure what I felt for Harry but, in the end I couldn't even hate him. I think pity would be the word, his life was such a disappointment to himself and those who loved him. In the end he knew it and you could feel his self flagellation loud and clear.
Of course this is not the love affair that Tatiana and Alexander have but the way Paullina writes you can't help but to fall into Bellagrand. All of Harry and Gina's faults will make you appreciate the strength and depth of T&A love even more.
Of course I loved it so much I had to go back and reread TBH again! :_) I also know why it was so important for Alexander to always be giving Tatiana his food :( Heartbreaking!
5++++++ stars for the Amazing Paullina Simons and Bellagrand
This author is beyond when it comes to writing and conveying emotions into words that etch into your heart. After reading Children of Liberty
you must read Bellagrand. Alexander's parents story, especially Gina, Alexander's mother is nothing short of a tragedy. Gina represents an immigrant trying to find the American dream her father wanted for her. Yet, Harry is trying everything he can to escape the dreams his father has for him.
Although at times I wanted to throw my kindle across the room and yell Gina you fool I just couldn't help loving her and Bellagrand.
I am from Massachusetts so all the history and talk of Lawrence and Concord were very close to home for me. I was traveling in Florida at the time I was reading that too was special. I was feeling everything Paullina was describing and Florida was by far Gina's happiest time! Jack Reed, Emma Goldman, and Max Eastman are not new to me I have always been intrigued by this time in history and if you have seen REDS you will also be familiar with these people.
If you are a BH lover then you may also notice how Gina and Tatiana are very much alike in many ways. Tatiana has what I wish Gina could have, courage!
I was never sure what I felt for Harry but, in the end I couldn't even hate him. I think pity would be the word, his life was such a disappointment to himself and those who loved him. In the end he knew it and you could feel his self flagellation loud and clear.
Of course this is not the love affair that Tatiana and Alexander have but the way Paullina writes you can't help but to fall into Bellagrand. All of Harry and Gina's faults will make you appreciate the strength and depth of T&A love even more.
Of course I loved it so much I had to go back and reread TBH again! :_) I also know why it was so important for Alexander to always be giving Tatiana his food :( Heartbreaking!
5++++++ stars for the Amazing Paullina Simons and Bellagrand
January 22, 2014
I found this disappointing in the main.
I am one of Simons biggest fans, especially of her dearly loved Bronze Horseman Trilogy - and so imagine my delight to discover a prequel!
Unfortunately this wasn't the book I hoped it would be. One of Simons greatest strengths is as a historian, but instead of the historical elements providing a gentle undercurrent to carry the love story (as it did in Horseman), in this book it overwhelms and drowns it. It's a book full of politics and turmoil, of big, wide issues... but it's in the tiny, miscroscopic elements of human emotion and connection I think Simons as a writer truly shines. So it fell short for me. It took me until halfway into the book to even begin to get into it... the Bellagrand stay was the pinnacle of the book and the only part I felt truly reflected the heart and soul of the series.
I didn't feel connected to any of the major characters - Ben, especially was lacking in depth, and I found it hard to remain sympathetic to Gina in the face of her unrelenting stupidity and poor choices. Probably Harry was the best character in the book - although meant to be the antagonist, he was nevertheless the most real.
Although, as ever Simons remains an exceptional writer with some beautiful passages of prose.
I am one of Simons biggest fans, especially of her dearly loved Bronze Horseman Trilogy - and so imagine my delight to discover a prequel!
Unfortunately this wasn't the book I hoped it would be. One of Simons greatest strengths is as a historian, but instead of the historical elements providing a gentle undercurrent to carry the love story (as it did in Horseman), in this book it overwhelms and drowns it. It's a book full of politics and turmoil, of big, wide issues... but it's in the tiny, miscroscopic elements of human emotion and connection I think Simons as a writer truly shines. So it fell short for me. It took me until halfway into the book to even begin to get into it... the Bellagrand stay was the pinnacle of the book and the only part I felt truly reflected the heart and soul of the series.
I didn't feel connected to any of the major characters - Ben, especially was lacking in depth, and I found it hard to remain sympathetic to Gina in the face of her unrelenting stupidity and poor choices. Probably Harry was the best character in the book - although meant to be the antagonist, he was nevertheless the most real.
Although, as ever Simons remains an exceptional writer with some beautiful passages of prose.
January 27, 2014
Oh sweet Bellagrand... I'm so glad Paullina Simons took the time to do these 2 prequels, because I love her writing - her characters are so real and you really feel for them, and it's great to know the backstory of how the broken parents we meet in The Bronze Horseman came to be so. On the flip side, this story is heartbreaking. Throughout this whole book, I wanted to beat Harry. He's just so out of touch with everyone and everything, and so self-righteous in his beliefs. I really didn't feel sorry for him in the least at the end; he got what he wanted, even if it wasn't what he thought it would be.
Gina, both saint and martyr. I think no one, both in her time and ours, would have looked down at her had she left him, and God knows she should have, many times. How much she gained at Bellagrand, and then, how far a fall.
And sweet Alexander, that poor innocent boy. He deserved the best, but instead that was ripped from him by his stupid father. Such suffering he will go through because of that man. At least it all works out in the end.
Gina, both saint and martyr. I think no one, both in her time and ours, would have looked down at her had she left him, and God knows she should have, many times. How much she gained at Bellagrand, and then, how far a fall.
And sweet Alexander, that poor innocent boy. He deserved the best, but instead that was ripped from him by his stupid father. Such suffering he will go through because of that man. At least it all works out in the end.
April 19, 2017
This book has taken me forever to read. It made me so crazy at times I had to put it down for months on end. Bellagrand is a prequel to one of my all time favorite books, The Bronze Horseman. And logically, I knew what had to happen in this book to allow everything that will take place in the next. But that didn't stop my heart from wanting to knock some hella-sense into Harry Barrington's Socialists ASS! I kept yelling at Gina to kick him to the curb and go find Ben!! Also, even though these events took place in the early 1900's, they had so many parallels to today's political climate of "anti-Capitlism." Including the senseless rhetoric and pussy protests that it just fed my contempt for Harry's staunch liberal positions even more. Paullina Simons (like Diana Gabaldon) is a genius at weaving political truths into her storylines. That might be why they are my favorite authors! This book along with The Bronze Horseman should be on every American High School's required reading list!
December 3, 2014
Alexander is everything. And I loathe his parents more than ever. So, this book essentially didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.
I did enjoy reading about Alexander's young life before Russia, and the writing style was beautiful as always-- even while I wanted to throttle Harry and Gina (which is always).
It kills me a little that I can't hate Harry and Gina as much as I want to, because without their selfish, ridiculous actions, there would be no Tatiana and Alexander so...
I don't think I have much more to say about this book to write a proper review. If you're a Bronze Horseman fan, read it. It provides so much insight into Alexander's family, but it is nothing short of infuriating.
I did enjoy reading about Alexander's young life before Russia, and the writing style was beautiful as always-- even while I wanted to throttle Harry and Gina (which is always).
It kills me a little that I can't hate Harry and Gina as much as I want to, because without their selfish, ridiculous actions, there would be no Tatiana and Alexander so...
I don't think I have much more to say about this book to write a proper review. If you're a Bronze Horseman fan, read it. It provides so much insight into Alexander's family, but it is nothing short of infuriating.
January 3, 2014
Spoiler alert!!!
Anyone who has read The Bronze Horseman will know that this book does not finish in a happy ending but it was a beautifully executed prequel. I preferred it to other books in the series, particularly The Bridge to Holy Cross, that relied too heavily on retelling the story, resulting in a repetitive and frustrating read.
I have puzzled over and over again over why Gina/ Jane would "agree" to follow her husband to the Soviet Union and am somewhat more understanding- though no less frustrated- having been given this deeper insight into the actions that led to her decision.
Anyone who has read The Bronze Horseman will know that this book does not finish in a happy ending but it was a beautifully executed prequel. I preferred it to other books in the series, particularly The Bridge to Holy Cross, that relied too heavily on retelling the story, resulting in a repetitive and frustrating read.
I have puzzled over and over again over why Gina/ Jane would "agree" to follow her husband to the Soviet Union and am somewhat more understanding- though no less frustrated- having been given this deeper insight into the actions that led to her decision.
April 19, 2018
You know what? It was SO good. It was SO thought provoking and honest and sad. My heart broke through it all even though you know how it's going to end (because obviously you've already read the bronze horseman!). Simons just nailed these characters and their flaws. And she shows how sometimes one choice can end up affecting your entire life...for the worse. Sometimes things don't have a perfectly happy endings. We "hang in there" because we "should" but truly, we shouldnt! And I Just want to say, Harold, you asshole!! You moron! You selfish idiot! READ THIS.
December 19, 2013
Better than Children of Liberty, but god does it just rip your heart out. But that's the best thing about Paullina Simons, she puts so much effort and detail into her characters so they can make you laugh and cry and be mad at them for days!
December 29, 2013
Better than Children of Liberty but very frustrating at times! Probably more like a 3 1/2 stars.
It is a good story and continues on from Children of Liberty so you already know the characters....but I found it hard to like one of them at the beginning and at the end of the book. Worth the read.
It is a good story and continues on from Children of Liberty so you already know the characters....but I found it hard to like one of them at the beginning and at the end of the book. Worth the read.
February 5, 2017
Oh man I normally LOVE her books but I struggled through the first part of this book before giving up. Might pick it up later when I'm in a different mood!
June 13, 2017
This was about 150-200 pages too long. After hanging in there for 550 pages, the ending in the Soviet Union was very rushed.
December 26, 2025
Generalnie podobało mi się, ale chyba ponad rok to czytałam (w pewnym momencie nawet o tym nie pamiętałam XD). Poznanie historii rodziców Alexandra, ich pierwsze spotkanie, dwa różne środowiska, ich walki o to uczucie, nowa rzeczywistość, niełatwe decyzje... z perspektywy tego co człowiek zna z trylogii, wnosi coś nowego – uzupełnia historię, ale bardziej boli. JAK HARRY MNIE IRYTOWAŁ, OH GOD. Gina deserved better.
Nie porwało mnie tak bardzo jak Jeździec, ale to chyba przez tę przerwę jaką miałam + mój bardzo negatywny stosunek do Harry'ego, jak on zawalił, to aż boli okej. Kiedyś na spokojnie wrócę do całości, ogarnę obydwa prequele ciągiem i może zmienię ocenę.
Nie porwało mnie tak bardzo jak Jeździec, ale to chyba przez tę przerwę jaką miałam + mój bardzo negatywny stosunek do Harry'ego, jak on zawalił, to aż boli okej. Kiedyś na spokojnie wrócę do całości, ogarnę obydwa prequele ciągiem i może zmienię ocenę.
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