Love's First Light

First of all, Happy Father's Day to my dad! I was going to scan in some pix of me with him, but they were misplaced after Doogie's graduation party, so I'll have to give you a raincheck on them. I have been very blessed in my life to have a terrific dad, fantastic step-dad and a wonderful husband. Happy Father's Day to all of the dads in my life!

We had some people over Friday night for music and fun, and a little girl named NeeNee came along to play with Mia. The girls are both six, with only 24 days between their birthdays, and in spite of never having met before, they were best friends in minutes. After some fireworks outside, I brought the girls in to watch a Barbie DVD and eat popcorn while cuddled in front of the TV. They were giggling until after eleven when they both fell sound asleep like bookends on the couch. Mia can't wait for her to come back and visit again.

Saturday morning Mom took Mia to a Fairy Party. She'd never gone before, and next year she'll be prepared. Everyone was dressed in costume, and there was a Fairy Queen and Green Man. They both had a lot of fun, and Mia came home with a fairy hair headband which she wore until bedtime.

The highlight of the day was definitely last night when Molly showed Mia how to tie her shoes! I don't which one was prouder of the two. Mia wore the tennies she had tied ALL BY HERSELF in the 80 degree heat with her pj's until I made her take them off to sleep!

Sometimes life is about celebrating the little things: a new best friend, time with Grandma, learning to tie your shoes. I count each of these as a blessing.

Love's First Light by Jamie Carie is a touching historical romance that takes place during the dark days of the French Revolution. Christophe St. Laurent watched his entire family be guillotined under the order of Robespierre before fleeing for his life into the French countryside of Carcassonne. He lives hidden in an abandoned castle, keeping to himself and working on his scientific experiments to forget about the past. Scarlett Bonham is a young pregnant widow living hand to mouth with her mother and sister Stacia. She lost her husband, Robespierre's nephew, to the Revolution before even really getting to know him, so the feelings she has upon meeting Christophe are entirely new to her. Their romance springs up quickly and purely, but when he discovers that her child is a relative of his sworn enemy, he abandons the chance of life for a taste of revenge. Carie does a wonderful job of portraying the paranoid claustrophobia of the French Revolution when no one can be sure who is friend and enemy, as well as the horror of countless lives brutally taken in the name of freedom. The story shines whenever Christophe and Scarlett are together. Their love for each other is almost ethereal and yet visceral, healing and passionate all at the same time. However, the subplot about Christophe's experiments came and went as the plot demanded without any consistency. It was completely forgotten for pages at a time. Some plot devices were a bit hard to believe, and the ending just a bit too neatly tied up. This romance is still worth the read for the powerful scenes between its hero and heroine, as well as for its portrayal of a dark time in history.

Tomorrow I'll be starting a new book contest, so I hope you'll come back to sign up!