The Fragrance of Roses

The Fragrance of Roses Nikki Arana © 2006 Revell ISBN 10:0-8007-3050-X ISBN 978-0-8007-3050-5 First, a romance disapproved by her parents, but leading to the greatest love Angelica Amante has known. Then the reader wept with Angelica and Antonio as they struggled through their early marriage and the certainty that their first born child will have birth defects. In all this their faith has grown. Now, in this third book of the Regalo Grande series Nikki Arana takes us once again into the lives of this couple, the beautiful attorney and daughter of wealthy California doctor and a Mexican immigrant who has worked to establish a successful landscaping business, understand a complicated language like English, and maintain the care and nurture of his family whom God has given him. When Angela and Antonio learn the twelve-year old son's leukemia has returned, Antonio goes to Mexico in search of a compatible donor. Angelica remains behind to hold the family together. When her father announces he must sell the ranch to stave off bankruptcy, Angelica feels another part of her heart being ripped away. Can this family survive yet another threat against the love and faith that binds them? Nikki Arana has done a superlative job in presenting the heartache facing parents of a dying child, their desperation, and of the God who loves all affected. A must read.

Third in the Regalo Grande series, The Fragrance of Roses continues Angelica Amante's story. She and Antonio raise their 10-year-old Down's syndrome son, Manuel, and younger daughter, Anica. Little do they know that Manuel's leukemia, once in remission, will return with a vengeance. Trusting God has been a regular part of Angelica's life. Having entrusted her marriage and family to God, now she must entrust Manuel's life to Him as she and Antonio seek a bone marrow donor. An impatient Antonio travels to Mexico, hoping to find a blood match within his extended family. The search is more difficult than expected, and Manuel is fading fast. Will Manuel be saved in time? Can Angelica and those she loves trust God for a miracle in their lives and accept His will for them? Arana's stories are rife with heart-wrenching emotion. We meet, understand and love each point-of-view character she develops. Angelica experiences the bitter agony only a mother with a sick child can feel. Antonio takes matters into his own hands to prove he has tried everything humanly possible to save his child. A young man in Mexico longs for a real life, a home and escape from poverty. A doctor attempts his best, but grieves when he can't deliver the health his patients need. And we feel with them all, page after page. The end of a series is always sad, but we can look forward to Arana's new release later this year.

The Fragrance of Roses is a hard-hitting novel that reaches out and slaps us right in our complacency. When the unimaginable happens in our lives, and our very worst fears explode in our faces, how do we respond? We can choose to let fear cripple us, or we can trust that God has a plan for our lives - whether or not we can always see the good in it ourselves. The challenges of life can frighten us as individuals, but when one becomes a parent, a whole new level of potential threats surface. Yet if God is truly in our corner, it is not the outcome of the thing that matters, but rather our outlook on the situation itself. With faith, parents can rise to the challenge of parenting in these troubling times without fear. Faith isn't dependant on circumstance; though faith may be strengthened because of it. In Fragrance, Angelica and Antonio take a worst-case scenario, but find the good in it. This novel is worth the emotional effort it takes to read - an investment that pays off in the end. With this novel, Nikki Arana has truly established herself as a serious writer.

I found myself totally immersed and yet completely heartbroken part of the time.....hilariously happy some of the time...but emotionally drained the whole book through. Having experienced a very, very similar situation, I could FEEL with Angel and Antonio, I can still remember the sights, sounds, smells and anguish that goes along with having a child with leukemia. I could also relate to having a mentally retarded child. Antonio's search for a bone marrow match in Mexico gave the reader a completely thorough and unbiased picture of trying to beat death and time in a country completely unaware of modern medicine, while living a life in the ghettos of Mexico, and yet, family is number one. If their love can survive, then divorce courts should be out of business....awesome emotional finish, although you will need a box of Kleenex nearby and it WILL NOT END anything like you expected or hoped...believe me.....

Over the objections of her parents, former New York attorney Angelica Amante returned home to Sonoma where she met, fell in love, and married migrant worker Antonio Perez (see WINDS OF SONOMA). They remain happy though financially concerned while her parents continue to doubt the lasting power of the relationship especially with a Downs Syndrome grandchild (see IN THE SHADE OF THE JACARANDA). The couple is still together though a decade has passed since they first met. Angelica is content to stay home raising their Downs Syndrome son Manuel and his eight years old precious younger sister Anica. Antonio and Angelica consider Manuel their miracle child as he has also overcome cancer; that is until now for the disease is back and he is dying. The only hope to save his life is with a bone marrow transplant, which means major medical bills, finding a match perhaps in Mexico, and praying for a miracle. Though some readers will find this tear jerker too manipulative, others will appreciate the strong underlying message of parental love. Either opinion, fans will weep and pray for Manuel in his battle against cancer while Angelica, Antonio, and even Anica will do everything they can to save his life or at least make him more comfortable. Nikki Arana will increase the demand for tissues as no one will remain dry eyed while reading this heart-wrenching family drama. Harriet Klausner