SPOILER ALERT - Don't read unless you've reached the first page of Part 1 in "Smoke and Thunder". (Again with this damned Kindle. I'm going to have to take the book out of the library so I can figure out where the hell I am!)
I have some quiet time (thank you, Spongebob) and am reading like a fiend. But I HAD to come and tell you where I am and beg for some silent moral support across the miles from wherever you are to my spot on the couch at the (real) Jersey shore.
Tatiana just told Alexander not to call on her anymore...because of Dasha. People...she called him SHURA. And he told her not to. I am devastated. This is the best book full of angst I've read in a long time. Ask Tracey. Carol loves herself some angst. (And apparently she loves talking about herself in the third person, too.)
I am in tears because these characters are SO REAL. Tatia is one KICK ASS heroine. She might be the heroine I've most related to - ever. NOT because she's kick ass - but because she is the epitome of a youngest sibling who has been taken care of and then abused for it her entire life. So you end up with a family that does everything for you while laughing and saying "You can't do that!" Ask Tracey. She'll tell you. She's my Dasha! Although thankfully, we've never fought over a man. We have slept in the same bed, though. I'd sleep with her over the third sister any day because Tracey doesn't snore...but I digress.
Anyway - my current pet peeve about the heroines I love is that none of them care about their appearance...and they wear it like a badge of honor. You have Bella who was always "oh please...I don't care about clothes...give me your flannel"...and then you have Diana who's all "Oops - all I packed was my stretch pants for candle lit dinner with your mother." But not Tatiana. She's all "I'll die in this tight white dress with red flowers and my sister's red sandals before I'll put on my brown boots in front of Alexander". Girlfriend is REAL. That's what women DO when they're diggin' on a man. They try to look their best!
Alexander is real as well. I wasn't happy with the fact that he kept Dasha around...but I realized he only did it so he could come over and see Tania. And I wasn't happy that he let Tania go off with Dima...but once Dima put the moves on her, he never let them out of his sight again. And now he tried to say they were "just friends"...and then got really angry when she tried to push him away. He didn't get all "fine, whatevs"...boyfriend got his feathers up. And that is SO real.
OK I'm rambling and I need to "get back"... (LOL as if I live in 1941 Leningrad and they might miss me on my trek out for matches and caviar.)
More to come!
I have some quiet time (thank you, Spongebob) and am reading like a fiend. But I HAD to come and tell you where I am and beg for some silent moral support across the miles from wherever you are to my spot on the couch at the (real) Jersey shore.
Tatiana just told Alexander not to call on her anymore...because of Dasha. People...she called him SHURA. And he told her not to. I am devastated. This is the best book full of angst I've read in a long time. Ask Tracey. Carol loves herself some angst. (And apparently she loves talking about herself in the third person, too.)
I am in tears because these characters are SO REAL. Tatia is one KICK ASS heroine. She might be the heroine I've most related to - ever. NOT because she's kick ass - but because she is the epitome of a youngest sibling who has been taken care of and then abused for it her entire life. So you end up with a family that does everything for you while laughing and saying "You can't do that!" Ask Tracey. She'll tell you. She's my Dasha! Although thankfully, we've never fought over a man. We have slept in the same bed, though. I'd sleep with her over the third sister any day because Tracey doesn't snore...but I digress.
Anyway - my current pet peeve about the heroines I love is that none of them care about their appearance...and they wear it like a badge of honor. You have Bella who was always "oh please...I don't care about clothes...give me your flannel"...and then you have Diana who's all "Oops - all I packed was my stretch pants for candle lit dinner with your mother." But not Tatiana. She's all "I'll die in this tight white dress with red flowers and my sister's red sandals before I'll put on my brown boots in front of Alexander". Girlfriend is REAL. That's what women DO when they're diggin' on a man. They try to look their best!
Alexander is real as well. I wasn't happy with the fact that he kept Dasha around...but I realized he only did it so he could come over and see Tania. And I wasn't happy that he let Tania go off with Dima...but once Dima put the moves on her, he never let them out of his sight again. And now he tried to say they were "just friends"...and then got really angry when she tried to push him away. He didn't get all "fine, whatevs"...boyfriend got his feathers up. And that is SO real.
OK I'm rambling and I need to "get back"... (LOL as if I live in 1941 Leningrad and they might miss me on my trek out for matches and caviar.)
More to come!
Dima is creepy. He really needs to read that book, "He/She's Just Not That Into You". My skin crawls whenever I read his name. Blah.
ReplyDeleteI have a "Dasha" as well. My sister once threw her body over mine and screamed, "No, you can't spank the baby!!". I never did get that "wooden spoon". I didn't know what it was, I just knew you didn't want "it". We are fantastic friends now (despite the 6yr. age difference.......and the fact that she isn't past page 200 in Outlander yet. I gave it to her for Christmas!).
Back to the book...........didn't you just loooooooove their first bus ride???????? Ahhhhhhhhhh, and how he was always waiting for her with his hat in his hands? Ohhhhhhhhhh. I think that's why I liked the "library" scenes with Diana and Matthew. Diana scanning the room for Matthew every morning reminded me of Tatiana searching for Shura. AND What about that shopping trip?????? Except Dimitri shows up............ewwwwww.
Yes! Carol you are all up in TBH! I am LOVING this blog. This is so fabulous.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Tracey being your Dasha is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. And then you busted out with "I'll die in this tight white dress with red flowers and my sister's red sandals before I'll put on my brown boots in front of Alexander." and I died laughing again.
I NEVER thought I'd become so interested in russian culture, romance, etc... so I am with you on this one. I love that you are loving this book! And that you are at the Shura part!
And Jennifer J. LOL Dimitri's GoodReads recommendation :-) good call!
I am a big sister. My sister won't read Outlander, either. We never liked the same guy as there is a 5 yr. age difference.
ReplyDeleteTerry,
ReplyDeletein all honesty it took me 5yrs. of "false starts" to finish Outlander. My BFF gave it to me. I probably would have gotten into it earlier, but she mentioned something about Time Travel...........and that turned me off..........and it was sooooo big with alllllllll those tiny words! What a whiner. Once I got to the "Wedding", I was a goner. I've probably read Outlander a half dozen times now. But really, how can you NOT love Jamie? I mean REALLY???
I'm TRYING to get into "The Russian Concubine". (that sounds wrong) It was recommended by DG and others on her blog. I'm really trying. I just don't know if I'll ever find Kung-Fu enticing (or sexy?). Stranger things have happened. When I finished the BH trilogy, I had odd cravings to smoke cigarettes and bake bread.........neither of which I actually do. I'll keep plugging away.
Carol, it's been 4 years since you've read this and I am having so much fun going back through your thoughts and the comments. This is where I met JJ. How awesome is that?! I still laughed at your description of Tatiana and her dress. So true!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Hildy. I haven't read my own words for quite a few years either. How did I get away with calling Tracey my Dasha? LOL! I can't believe you and JJ met here on my little blog! That truly warms my heart. It's just like when I see pictures of Clay and Christie and their families getting together, knowing they met in chat. That is why I keep doing this. (It certainly ain't for the monetary benefits. Or lack thereof. Does anyone want to hire me? LOL!) XOXOXOXOXO 😘
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