Ponoć u Petrogradu By Vanora Bennett

review Ponoć u Petrogradu

This book has a lot to recommend itself: a stunning cover, a unique setting, and tender romance. In recent years I’ve read a lot of books set in Russia or by Russian authors. It’s a region that I don’t know much history about nor do I know much about their culture. But I’m intrigued by the area so I love reading books set in Russia or by Russian authors so I can gain a better understanding of an often forgotten culture in literature.

So needless to say this story about three unlikely characters set in a period of unrest and a period in history I absolutely LOVE, was a win win for me! There were a lot of things I liked about this novel but there were parts that I felt fell short making this just a three star book for me. That said, I hate when people knock three star reviews. The book was good and I enjoyed it…..that’s what a three star book is to me, but it didn’t blow me away.

The history was the strongest aspect of this novel for me. The story is rich in Russian history and the author was careful to help the reader navigate the complex history. I felt like I walked away with a better understanding of the period and the politics of the time. I was able to keep up and was never bogged down by the historic elements of the story.

This story also had a lot of romance. Now I love a sappy romance on occasion and this one did not disappoint. But while this had romance, I didn’t get that warm fuzzy feeling that I had expected and I think part of my issue was that I didn’t fully connect to Inna in the way that I had hoped. I think my biggest issue was I found Inna a little too fickle. I wished she was more decisive when it came to her heart and feelings. But that said, there is a happy ending and I am totally on board with how the book ended…..wonderful!

And can we talk about the cover for a minute? The cover captured my heart! It’s stunning and made me want to read this novel even more. It screams romance and history all at once. Well done with the cover, I’m completely in love with it!

While there were some obstacles with this book, overall I felt that it was a satisfying read that not only filled my desire to read something romantic, but also helps me better understand Russian culture and some of it’s history of this time period. A very satisfying, good read!

See my full review here Croatian Kada je mjesto radnje knjige Rusija, moj interes za knjigu već je tu. Kada je knjiga na tragu dobrih starih klasika - tim bolje. Dakle, ova knjiga već bi u svojoj osnovi trebala od mene dobiti prolaznu ocjenu. Tako je i bilo. Zanimljivi likovi, stvarne povijesne osobe umiješane u živote imaginarnih likova koji su se našli u ovom povijesnom okruženju Petrograda iz vremena Prvog svjetskog rata. Mašta isprepletena sa stvarnom pozadinom...

Ipak, moj dojam ostao je na razini odgovarajućoj ocjeni 3-4, a prevagnula je ipak ova veća, jer knjiga mi se, u osnovi, sviđa. Glavnu zamjerku možda bi se moglo pripisati umjetničkoj slobodi i stilu pisanja autorice, ali meni ipak nije sjela činjenica da se odnosi između likova razvijaju između poglavlja. Primjerice, na kraju jednog poglavlja likovi prvi puta razgovaraju o zajedničkim interesima dok se u sljedećem već nalaze u vrlo vrlo intimnom okruženju. Po meni, autorica tako izmiče potrebi da postepeno razvija odnos između likova, pa čak i ako je to bila njezina želja, smatram da ista uskraćuje čitatelja za puno zanimljivih i, prije svega, potrebnih redaka. Slično se ponavlja više puta kroz knjigu, pa tako dobivamo more manje bitnih informacija, ali one koje bismo željeli znati autorica ostavlja mašti čitatelja...

Druga zamjerka bila bi ta da glavna junakinja neodoljivo podsjeća na Anu Karenjinu, što samo po sebi ne bi bilo problematično da ista za mene ne predstavlja jedan od najantipatičnijih likova koji su ikad stupili u svjetsku literaturu. (Napomena, skidam kapu za Anu Karenjinu kao djelo svjetske klasične literature, moja antipatija tiče se samo osobina glavne junakinje... a i to smatram uspjehom autora, jer rijetko se razvije toliko jasan osjećaj prema nekom liku kao da je isti stvarna osoba, bio on pozitivan ili negativan). Ipak, ovaj puta junakinja je ipak ostala pozitivna u mojim očima, unatoč tim bljeskovima pozantoga.

U svakom slučaju, prevagnula je ova dosta visoka ocjena, iako postoje zamjerke i jako puno mjesta za poboljšanje. Croatian I was very disappointed in the book; I had high hopes for it as I love historical fiction and pre-revolutionary Russia is a fascinating time.

However, I did not like or understand the main characters' motivations. And I found the book dragged on; I literally fell asleep reading it a few times. Normally, I wouldn't finish a book like this (and therefore not write a review) but I kept hoping it would turn around for me and it just never did. Croatian Ovom romanu dajem velikodušnu ocjenu 4.
Vjerodostojno je prikazana atmosfera u Rusiji pred I svjetski rat i neporedni nakon njega.
Likovi su mi prilično neuvjerljivi, posebno Inna, koja me neodoljivo podsjeća na Anu Karenjinu. Međutim, njen ljubavni trougao ima drugačiji završetak. Mnogo toga je nedorečeno, ali su neki momenti osvojili moju pažnju.
Nepravedno je mala ocjena na GR, zaslužuje višu ocjenu. Croatian This is a story of a young woman, who flees pogroms of the southern Russia to take refuge with distant relatives in St. Petersburg in 1911. The turbulent times of Russian history are skillfully weaved into the story.

In St. Petersburg, she is apprenticed into violin-making workshop. As a player of violin, she also displays love for making the instrument. That deep connection for the birth of each instrument and the first sound is beautifully presented.

In her new destined city, she meets an Englishman, an artist who makes precious Faberge creations. Maybe it’s the love of art that connects them on a deeper level.

I didn’t enjoy the love triangle part, which for me weakened the plot. The story would have been much stronger without it. Nevertheless, overall it is a very engaging and well-written story.

@Facebook: Best Historical Fiction Croatian

Uvijek mi je lijepo pročitati knjigu koja posjeduje istorijske činjenice. Dodatni bonus su ličnosti koje su inspirisale stvaranje priče nebitno da li se pisac slijepo držao događaja ili je uljepšao priču.

Isprepliću se socijalni, politički, istorijski, ljubavni elementi i pitka je za čitanje.

Ocjena 3 koja naginje ka ocjeni 4. Nema toliko uzbuđenja da se jedva čeka otvoriti i nastaviti čitati, ali je dovoljno dobra za preporuku. Croatian Tipična ljubavna priča i borba između osjećaja i razuma.
Nisam neki ljubitelj takvih knjiga, ali ova nije toliko sladunjava i donosi opise Rusije toga doba, prekrasne violine i Fabergéova jaja, te neke važne povijesne ličnosti koje su tada utjecale na događaje u Rusiji.
Croatian Do you ever read a book and at the end of it, all you can find yourself saying is wow? Well, this story has the opposite effect. Instead, I found myself saying, thank goodness it's over! because this was just way too long and way too boring. I seriously thought I would love this because of the time period: pre-revolutionary Russia. I don't read many books involving Russia, so I jumped at the chance to read Midnight in St. Petersburg.

The story started off very strong with our female lead, Inna, a Jewish girl on the run to find refuge with a distant relative. It's through this relative, Yasha, that she meets and ends up staying with, the Lemans. A very interesting family that owns a workshop making violins and the place that Inna becomes an apprentice at. And that's where it stops for me. As I stated before, it was long and boring. I think the book could have been cut down a lot; maybe then, I wouldn't have felt as bored.

Aside from that, I don't quite think this is historical fiction, it's more of a romance novel. There's nothing wrong with that but I know some people in the historical fiction genre expect it to stay that way. I was okay with the romance, it may have been the only upside for me. I really would wish to read a book from this timeline and one a little more interesting. Croatian Calling this historical fiction is a bit of a stretch. It's a romance novel -- not my preferred genre -- that happens to be set in St. Petersburg. Croatian Actually a very good story, but it wasn't told well. No connection to the characters, lack of emotions/strange emotions in some hard situations, no explanations for very bad decisions... Croatian

Carska Rusija 1911. Mlada Inna Feldman s ukradenom putovnicom bježi iz Kijeva pred nasilnim progonima Židova i dolazi u Sankt Peterburg tražeći spas kod dalekog rođaka Jaše koji radi u radionici za izradu violina obitelji Leman. Inna odmah pokazuje svoje talente pa ju vesela obitelj Leman brzo prihvaća i ona postaje njihova naučnica. Ubrzo se između nje i Jaše javljaju strastveni osjećaji, no temperamentni Jaša sve više se okreće novim, revolucionarnim idejama i rušenju aristokratskog društva. Istovremeno, Inni se udvara Englez Horace koji radi kod poznatog draguljara Febergéa i u njemu Inna pronalazi sigurnost i odanost koja joj je potrebna u sve većoj prijetnji ratnih sukoba. I dok se Ruska revolucija sve više zahuktava i preživljavanje u Petrogradu postaje sve teže, Inna mora izabrati između dva muškarca, budućnosti i prošlosti, razuma i srca? Ponoć u Petrogradu