Summer Light

This is one of Luanne Rice's best. If you have never read Rice before, or tried to read her before,(say, Cloud Nine-Dream Country) but couldn't, "Summer Light" is a very fast paced novel and better than her previous works. I had to force myself to put it down. I don't always like to finish a novel in one sitting, but I could have with this.There were several times when I was near tears, which doesn't always happen when I read romances.The themes of forgiveness, miracles, and lots of medical terminology running through this novel, as one of the main characters, Hockey player, Martin Cartier, is going blind--very sad and tragic, as he tries to wield a hockey puck but can't see. Martin Cartier needs a miracle, and he just might have found it in his love interest, May Taylor, and her "psychic" daughter, 6-year-old, Kylie.Luanne Rice is a very emotional writer, more emotional than intellectual. The writing isn't as thought-provoking as it is emotion-feeling provoking. But this is what most romance readers want: writing that makes you feel, rather than think. Although, out of all the romance writers, Luanne Rice (along with Barbara Delinsky and Nicholas Sparks) is the most intelligent and realistic.If you liked Barbara Delinskys "Lake News" or Nicholas Sparks "A Walk to Remember" then you would like "Summer Light".So, on to Luanne Rice's "Firefly Beach", as I am looking forward to reading a lot more by this author.

Summer Light by Luanne Rice is a wonderfully heartwarming and touching story. This is definitely Rice at her best! It is romantic and sentimental, without being overbearing, with a touch of the mystical thrown in!May Taylor is a single mother with a "gifted" daughter, who claims to speak with angels. While flying home to Connecticut, Kylie is warned of the impending aircraft danger by one of her angel friends, and seeks the aid of Martin Cartier to help her and her mother to safety. Not knowing why, Kylie knows that this man will somehow play a role in their lives. Cartier, a tough, kind, and greatly sought after bachelor, is a hockey player with the Boston Bruins. He pursues May until she agrees to marry him.Rice once again weaves magic with her characters and one cannot help but fall right into their lives and into their emotions. Balancing issues of death, single parenthood, dual careers, scandal, parental issues, as well as hailing from two different countries, Rice brings home to her readers that any relationship requires commitment, work, dedication, honesty, and most of all love. I was endeared to this quote from the book, "That's what a married couple does . . .love each other through sickness and health, for richer, for poorer, in good times and bad. They love each other's children and try to honor each other's parents - even when the whole thing seems impossible."Their marriage is tested, challenged and tested again and Rice's portrayal of a family ripped apart by the trials of life and past events is uncannily real. I could not put this latest bestseller down and was completely swept away and into the saga. I absolutely loved this book and Rice confirms once again, that only love is real. This is one book that will touch your heart and warm your soul - a definite keeper.

I'd only read one other Luanne Rice title before picking up "Summer Light", and although I enjoyed it (Firefly Beach), Summer Light has it beaten, hands down . It's truly been a while since I got up early to continue reading a book, but I did it for this one. This book was fantastic.It had everything. May Taylor is a quiet, reserved woman, making the best out of a life that has left her dissappointed too many times. To top it all off, her daughter Kylie is 'gifted' with the ability to talk to, and see, angels. It is through Kylie's frequent trips to various doctors and specialists that May meet hockey legend Martin Cartier.One of Kylie's 'angels' tells her that Martin needs their help, and they need him. After a chance meeting and a freak accident, May and Martin find themselves so deeply in love it seems that nothing can tear them apart. As always happens in the books we love the most, reality is a nasty presense in the lives of our fictional heros, and May, Martin and Kylie must all face their own demons. Struggling to build their family and protect their future, the Cartier's must make their peace with the past. By the last three chapter of 'Summer Light' I was constantly dabbing at the tears. I was totally touched by Ms. Rice's story, and found little Natalie to be as real as any other character in the book. This is a book I will HAVE to lend to friends, because I know how much they will enjoy it. And I know that I'll be keeping "Summer Light" handy enough to read again soon. Great characters, great story, great romance, great, great ending. Need I say more =:)

May Taylor is a single mother and successful wedding planner, having inherited the business from her mother and grandmother. Kylie, her sensitive six -year-old daughter, has her worried, though, because Kylie seems to see and sense things that other people don't. On a recent plane trip, Kylie sees an angel near a big giant of a man. When a fire on the plane forces the plane to make an emergency landing, Martin Cartier, the giant and star hockey player for the Boston Bruins, helps Kylie and May off the plane. Attracted to May in a way that he can't explain, Martin begins driving down to Connecticut from Boston to see her. May is different from any of the women that Martin has known. She falls in love with him as a person, not merely the handsome rich hockey star. Life is good for the Cartiers when Martin marries May, and Kylie, Martin, and May become a family. But events from Martin's past threaten to tear them apart even as the future shows signs of tribulations to come. Will their love be strong enough to keep them together amidst the trials of life? Luanne Rice has written an extraordinary novel. Brimming with emotion, SUMMER LIGHT is a tender triumph showing how love can survive even under the most difficult of circumstances. And the touch of the paranormal adds an ethereal dimension to this read. SUMMER LIGHT will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you very glad that you read this novel.

May Taylor, boarding the plane with her beloved six-year-old daughter Kylie, notices all the couples. May feels lonely in spite of her cherished daughter and she feels hurt because the child's father deserted them. Kylie begins talking with an angel that no one else can see. This frightens May who worries that her child is schizophrenic. However, that concern goes on the back burner when the plane makes an emergency landing. Hockey superstar Martin Cartier helps mother and daughter jump down the slide. He wonders how Kylie knew trouble was coming because she had stopped to ask him to help her on her way back from the restroom. Kylie says that his daughter told her, but Martin knows his child is dead. Still Martin feels a bond with Kylie and an attraction to May, but his personal life is filled with tragedy and sadness while May has little faith in men and in her daughter's clairvoyant abilities. Only a loving child with the help of angels could turn this duo into a couple, but that may prove too big a mission. SUMMER LIGHT is a fabulous relationship drama that uses the paranormal to focus on lonely people. The story line is beautiful as Martin and May struggle with attraction and love while worrying about Kylie's mental health. The paranormal not only feels real and right, it helps propel the plot and provide understanding to the lead trio. Fans of contemporary romance with a dash of the paranormal will find Luanne Rice's latest novel a poignant, interesting, and entertaining tale.Harriet Klausner