I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't put it down! The book moves between modern day Washington and 1930s Lenningrad. It is a love story, a story of triumph and heartbreak, and a story of family. There is a little something for everyone.

I couldn't put it down! I love Kristin Hannah books, but this has to be one of my favorites.

Winter Garden is a book that I could read over and over again. it is beautifully told and goes right to the heart of relationships. I absolutely loved this book.

I started to read this book and i thought is was kind of slow. When you got to the part about the mother telling the fairy tale, the book was almoset riveting. by the end of the story I was crying. I would recommend this book.

This is Hannah's best novel.

This is one of the best books I've read in a while! The first 100 pages are a little sad/gloomy, but keep on reading because it gets difficult to put down as more of the story unfolds. Beautifully written and I plan to read more of Kristin Hannah's books after enjoying this one so much.

This was our latest choice for book club, it was good, a little slow to start, but interesting none the less.

I enjoyed this book very much. I enjoyed the historical reference to actual events. This book makes you step back and look at all you have and be thankful for it and question if you would have the strength to make the sacrifices and choices that were made in this book.

Loved the book. Characters were well developed. A mother's past can surely impact the lives of her children!!

Winter Garden was a good selection for discussion in our book club. It offers several themes that are great for discussion including mother-daughter relationships as well as sibling rivalry. The fact that the father in the story did not share information with his 40 year old daughters was attributed to the way families kept secrets to themselves and often did not share information with children. Most found the ending unrealistic in that after years of neglect they were one big happy family.

This author has a way of making you feel like you are in the book and experiencing everything with the characters.

Learned about life in Stalinist Russia. Liked this book better than Firefly Lane. Continues with the theme of people holding on to issues to the extent of affecting their current experience in a negative way; but at least these seemed to be making progress throughout the book.

I loved this book and will be recommending it to my book club. I thought the beginning was a little slow, but nessasary to deliver the full story. I am glad I kept with it, once I got past the beginning, I could not put it down.

I loved this book! Unlike some others,I didn't find it hard to get into. I loved the way the sisters discovered the truth about their mother through her telling of the "supposed fairy tale." This book was riveting to me. I also learned so much more about the siege of Leningrad.

The three main characters in the story Anya, Meredeth, and Nina all have a hard time getting through life. Anya, the mother. has virtually destroyed her family due to the dark secret she has kept for her childrens entire lives. The book is slow in the beginning but once the true fairy tale begins you can't put the book down.

Our book club really enjoyed this book! Many of us didn't know about the seige of Leningrad so we got a history lesson too. This has been the best book we have read this year!

I thought the story was really good until the end. Why do author's always feel they have to tie everything into a happy ending in order for it to be a good story? I would have rated the book higher if they had let the book end as a natural ending rather than something so far fetched. The Leningrad Seige was definitely interesting. I would recommend it, but it didn't knock my socks off because of the unbelievable ending. The other part that brought the book down was this love story that was supposed to take part between Anya and her husband was barely touched on when Anya was recalling her past. I guess it wasn't that great of a love story after all!

All three of the female main characters got under my skin for the first half of the book; however, as the real story unfolded I became engaged.

Although the book started off slow and the characters seemed like cliches, the story developed and became captivating, revealing the travesties of WW II and the horrors of life in the Soviet Union at that time. Many surprises in the last 125 pages. I could not put it down.

I really enjoyed the book - the book has to spark my interest from the beginning and if not it's hard for me to continue reading unless I have others that persuade me to hang in there.
This book caught my interest at the beginning and I enjoyed the storyline - there were times that it repeated itself but I still got caught up into the tragic Russian story. Its hard to believe how many countries were really effected by the war and it's something we don't think about most of the time! I would highly recommend to other Book Clubs to read.

I was totally fascinated by this book and couldn't put it down. It gave me a new perspective on WWII. I had no idea about some of the conditions related in the book.

A very beautiful and incredible story of an historic horror. I love how this tale unfolds and the surprise at the end. Brilliantly written. Can't wait to read more K Hannah!

The book made me think how a person can have many lives.....you just don't know their whole story. It made me realize how comfortable our loves can be and how we shouldn't take things (or people) for granted. Our club had a lively discussion on relationships -- between women, with men, between sisters and the ever-challenging mother-daughter bond.

I liked Winter Garden very much. A mother tells her daughters her life story through a fairy tale. This is a great historical fiction, life and times in Russia, during World War 1. Loved the characters and found it very thought provoking. Do you really know your mothers life story? If not, shouldn't you begin to find out what makes her who she is? Very good book and one that I trust you will love.

This is a very poorly written book. The characters are not well developed therefore making it hard to relate to a bunch of stick figures. I am a fan of historical fiction and the scenes which dealt with Russia during World War II were informative but again, poorly written. I moderate a book club as well as being a participant in another. I was going to do this book with the book club I moderate; I am grateful that I did not chose this weak sappy novel but only had to tolerate it with my friends. A major disappointment don't waste your time.

Loved the book.

The plot within the plot (the seige of Leningrad) was amazingly fascinating, in an "OH NO" kind of way. It was fascinating to read and to imagine anyone going through it. It tied beautifully with the primary story of the family of the survivor.

This book opened my mind to what happened to people in Russia.

The second half is very informative and shoking sometimes. If you like to read about 20th century history you may like it, but you have to be patient.

Though I began this book and hated the first chapter and put it away, when I returned to read it, I was captivated.
This is a moving story that speaks to relationships, dealing with people who might present as difficult to deal with, and the insight of parents. Not an easy read, but powerful.

Slow starter. Good story, but didn\\\'t care for the \\\"fairy tale\\\" aspect. Also thought the ending was not very realistic.

Everyone in our Book club loved this book.

How does our author weave descriptive words so beautifully? In Winter Garden I am in a 3 D \\\"shadow box\\\" as our Author builds and connects the book spine metaphorically what an adventure. Bravo, Kristin Hannah, one of the best reads in my lifetime I went on to read: Firefly Lane.. author Kristin Hannah. Have tissues ready for these two wonderful books. Fan\\\'s you will love these reads --Guarantee.

You can't go wrong with this author. She knows how to tell a story and keep you interested to the last page.

I loved this book! It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. The characters were well written and engaging and I love learning something about history that I previously didn't know. This book made me want to learn more about the history and I love that the author provides recommended reading for that purpose! This book will stick with me for a long time to come.

A very moving story which delves into mother / daughter relationships and how they deeply affect us.

Kristin Hannah is one of our favorite authors, but most of us could not finish this book. Story was not interesting enough and hard to follow.

Wonderful read!

I especially like the sister to sister and daughters to parents relationship dynamics.

The history is fascinating, and overall I am happy to have read the book. But, I agree with a club member who called it "brutal." Don't expect a Rose Garden.

Well written. Sad, yet compelling. I learned a lot about the history of the siege of Leningrad.

A slow start and complicated, depressing about the mother and daughters troubled relationships but it all makes sense in the end. The author has you immersed in the horrors of WWII in Leningrad and it's a very captivating read. A happy ending with the relationships with her daughters.