Winter Garden Paperback – December 29, 2022

Winter Garden was an emotional story of the relationships between daughters and their mother. It is told in two timelines, one from the present and the other from the mother's past life. It is a heartbreaking read as the story unfolds with the mother's recall of her life explaining the reason for her coldness and lack of love for her daughters.The author created an extraordinary read that expands across time and place as she takes the reader on a journey they will never forget. The story told by the mother is related to a fairy tale which she has been sharing with her daughters at bedtime since they were young. She never tells the whole story until she is forced to after her husband's sudden death leaving her to live with her daughters.It is heartbreaking to see how the two sisters struggle with life and decision making after they lose their father who has been their support. He never explains why their mother is so distant and strange toward them. He keeps telling them that it is their mother's story to tell.I thoroughly enjoyed this story that swept me away to the past life of their mother, Vera. Like all books created by Kristin Hannah, this is an exceptional story that is full of interesting characters, fascinating storylines, and expertly written prose.I highly recommend it!

A remarkable story! Such detail! Such emotion! The author’s books are hard to put down. I love the way she blends history into her books. It’s what makes them great reads and sets them apart from others! I highly recommend it!

I’m a big KH fan - I love historical fiction, and I love the way she tells stories. However, I have a love/hate reaction to this book.*Spoilers*What I loved:- the story of Leningrad; just like in her book, The Women and the mostly untold story of women in Vietnam, I was so interested in the story of a woman who survived the siege of Leningrad. I have read so many books that took place during WWII, but this was a new perspective that kept me interested- the story ending was both heartwarming and heartbreaking- the unraveling and development of Anya, Meredith, and Nina’s characters and storyWhat I hated:- I didn’t really understand why she treated her daughters the way she did… it wasn’t really explained. Yes, I understand her difficult past, but never felt that it was justified. You can love your husband, but not your children?- how quickly the book ended - SPOILER —- she vaguely says she was sent to a camp and then was rescued from it — WHAT? We’re just going to breeze right past that? Lame.- Also, what did she do to get onto that train?? She can’t just say “I won’t tell you because I wasn’t myself” - I’m pretty sure I can assume, but I don’t like how it was presented.

I have sat on this review for a week now. I just didn't have the right words to sum up my feelings. To be able to express to you all my thoughts and feelings on this book. This book absolutely ruined me. It shattered every fiber of my heart. But I am going to try to express, in words, as best as I can, how amazing this book was.I found Winter Garden to be both breathtaking and magnificent, yet heart-wrenching. It made me feel things I didn't even know I was capable of feeling. This book evoked such emotion in me. There are books that I read and I love and then there are those few that change me. That shake me to the core. This was one of them. What began as a family mystery turned into an epic story of love and survival.Kristin Hannah's writing is absolutely exquisite. She writes with a deeply profound and insightful way. Her research and understanding of people was absolutely amazing.As a mother, I cried so many tears. There was no way I couldn't read this through the lense of what I would do in Anya's shoes. All I wanted to do was hold my daughter a little longer while reading this.As I was reading, my rating went from maybe 4 stars at first, to 4.5, to 5, then it was a solid 5 stars.Please note the genre of this book is women's fiction, and not specifically romance even though there is indeed a beautiful, powerful, and heart-wrenching love story at the heart of the book.The other important things to know before you read is that I do think some readers might find the book a little slow at first and maybe even find that they didn't 'like' the characters. Don't let that worry you. I promise you there's a reason for this. This is a story that builds in layers of complexity and emotional depth. It is absolutely worth it to stick with the story because the impact and delivery of both the second half of the book and especially the ending is just so incredible and powerful!Because this book's genre is indeed different from my usual recommendations, I strongly suggest that you read the blurb before purchasing. It's a very accurate representation of the story. For me personally, I knew I wanted to read this book the moment I read the blurb. This book is a forever top favorite of mine, now.This was my first Kristin Hannah book and I seriously can not wait to read more of her books this year.

Another wonderful Kristin Hannah novel. I’ve read this novel and “Women”. Both of them I wanted to get bored of put down and say they were written for a female crowd. Both times I was wrong. She writes stories about strong women that persevere. A great story is a great story, my eyes welled up plenty of times during this read and I enjoyed every minute of it.