Where to begin with this book? 
 The Good: 
 The writing is generally good-- Paullina Simons has legitimate talent. The setting is compelling, and there were many interesting (and heartbreaking) details about life in Russia during WWII. Plus, there's the framework of a solid love story here with a ton of potential. 
 The Bad: 
 This book is so, so, so much longer than it needed to be. There's such a thing as too much detail, and The Bronze Horseman met that threshold and surpassed it by about 100 pages. I can appreciate that life was miserable in Russia during this time and that communism is bad, but there are only so many ways to articulate that before it becomes repetitive and weighs down the rest of the book. 
 The Ugly: 
 Tatiana and Alexander are both the worst. THE WORST. Tatiana is portrayed as an immature Mary Sue with a martyr complex. Alexander comes off as paternalistic, creepy, and borderline abusive. Never before have two characters so richly deserved one another. I found them both so distasteful that it was almost impossible to care what happened to them. Plug any two fully realized characters who are more than compilations of bad stereotypes (Handsome, misogynistic Russian soldier with tragic backstory! Sweet, innocent Russian girl with unrealistic ideas about love!) into this story and you have a compelling historical romance for the ages. Sadly, we're stuck with Alexander and Tatiana. As a result, The Bronze Horseman is a mediocre story about two irritating people falling in love at the expense of everyone around them. 
 This book didn't work for me primarily because of the characters. However, lots of readers adore Tatiana and Alexander, and good for them-- to each their own. I'm glad I read this, and there were parts that I genuinely enjoyed, but I doubt I'll be finishing the series. I WILL, however, check out some of Simons' other books. I think she's a genuinely talented writer, and I'm looking forward to reading about literally any characters not named Alexander and Tatiana!