It's no secret, really, that I don't read historical romance. I dabble once in a while and I finally decided to read this trilogy, being Russian and all. The book is based in 1940s during the German blockade of St. Petersburg (former Leningrad) and follows a story of Tatiana, a teenage girl and her family. One sunny day she meets a handsome soldier while eating ice cream on the bench without a care in the world, as if the war isn't on the doorstep. Things are about to change drastically for Tatiana and her family. 
 I won't bore you. Long story short, there's huge love triangle here. The soldier that she meets also happens to be someone Tatiana's sister is enamored with. And, being a good sister that she is, Tatiana lets her sister have him. 
 So I'll tell you one thing. I've gotten this book on audio and it was... um, about 35 hours long. In other words, long book is long. Now, it isn't a bad thing, really. I couldn't get enough. BUT. By the end of book 1 I literally felt like I've read 4 full size novels lol. But I loved it. Loved the characters and loved the setting. The situation kept getting progressively worse and going into book two I'm not sure what to expect. How much can one take before they give up the will to live?