Tatiana and Alexander (Paperback)

I was not disappointed, but quite frustrated at times! I was anxious for Paullina Simons to immediately take up the protagonists' story where she had left off, but since this novel has to be accessible to readers who have not read 'The Bronze Horseman', I found myself wading through pages of recaps of the main events of the previous book, told only from a slightly different perspective (Alexander's instead of Tatiana's), when I only wanted to know what happened next.

Persevere, and if you are not impatient like me, you will find some beautiful description of how Alexander and Tatiana fell in love, as well as added details that avid readers of 'The Bronze Horseman' will relish. Once the new story gets underway, the level of intensity and emotion experienced by the characters is almost unbearable at times, and left me in tears.

I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone, but there are several unexpected plot twists that made me gasp (particularly in relation to Tatiana's twin brother Pasha), and the last section of the book, entitled 'Alexander', had my heart thumping in my chest and me desperately turning the pages.

It's very difficult to compare this book to its prequel, as both books are at once very similar and extremely different in their style. However, they both contain the same ability to move the reader, and the same depth of emotion expressed through Paullina Simon's beautiful prose. 'Tatiana and Alexander' is sadder, has more pain and longing and less vibrant innocence than 'The Bronze Horseman', but is just as beautiful.

Read this book, but read 'The Bronze Horseman' first, or you will not be able to appreciate fully its subtleties. Be warned, though; Tatiana and Alexander are characters who will become real to you, who you will find yourself thinking about long after their story has finished, and who will move you in a way that very few books ever will.

I would not advise reading this before the first book as it deals with much of the same plot in a more detailed fashion, and you will not get the full effect of the layered narratives if you read them out of order. On the other hand, if you have already read the first book there is no point in you reading this review- you will already be a devotee of both Simons' gorgeous dialogue, narrative and imagery.

One thing that impressed me about this novel was its elaboration on the violent undercurrents of the first novel: here Alexander's 'addiction' to violence and need to protect his wife is fully explored and worked through, not simply pushed under the carpet as with most romance novels. The appearance of a character assumed to have died in the first novel (not wanting to give too much away here) is also a brave move by the author and sets the novel up for a completely emotionally satisfying climax.

One small gripe I have is that the novel is called 'Tatiana & Alexander' here in the UK, and 'The Bridge to Holy Cross' in other countries- the latter title is infinitely preferable in my opinion because it expresses the epic nature of this work and does not merely reduce it to a romance novel. However, this is a tiny problem and probably only annoys me, although obviously it has not spoilt my enjoyment of the novel.