11. The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons

I'm not always a huge fan of historical fiction, but I really was drawn into this. It takes place in Leningrad in 1941. The scenes of war time rationing and how it all went so terribly wrong as the German invasion loomed are harrowing but at the same time, I was drawn in by the realism in the way the characters were described. They were definitely flawed but you still were hoping against hope that they would make it through. I learned a lot about the history of this time that I probably already should have known and it inspired me to do a bit more research on my own too. It's not perfect - it does drag a little at times, but a really enjoyable read none-the-less.