"True Love DOES Conquer All!!"
As a wedding planner May Taylor sees happily betrothed
couples daily. However, that kind of happiness has evaded
her. She once thought she had that kind of lasting love
only to find, after telling her boyfriend she was pregnant
with their child, that he was already married. May has
spent the ensuing six years dealing with her business and
caring for her daughter, Kylie. Kylie is being studied by psychologists after she has
experienced strange visions, one of which occurs while she
and her mother are flying home from one of her psychologist
visits. She tells Boston Bruins hockey star Martin
Cartier, sitting ahead of them in first class, to help her
and her mom. Martin has no idea what Kylie means but when
the airplane crash lands, he rushes to assist Kylie and
May. Martin Cartier is the star right wing for the Boston
Bruins. Known as the Gold Sledgehammer, he has his share
of female admirers and has even dated a few. But they were
nothing more than a classy accessory to him. When he
meets May it's different. Somehow he knows they were meant
to be together. As Martin begins to court May, it isn't long before she
begins the feel the same way and soon the wedding planner
is planning her own wedding. But Martin has some secrets in his past. Secrets he has
told no one. He also has some well-known family tragedies
he is reluctant to talk about including the death of his
young daughter Natalie, and his estrangement from his
father, a hockey hall of famer, now serving time in prison
for racketeering. Martin is a huge star. One who has led his team to the
Stanley Cup finals several years in a row. He wants
nothing more than to win the championship -- something that
has evaded him. During hockey season he is driven -- he has
only one thing on his mind -- win the championship and take
the Stanley Cup away from his arch rival Nils Jorgenson. Kylie's visions have seemed to increase since Martin has
come into her life. In fact, she is now seeing visions and
communicating with Martin's deceased daughter, Natalie. Of
course, no one believes her even when she tells them she is
meant to 'bring them together' - but bring who together?
And how? Despite some uncertainties, May, Martin, and Kylie are
forging a happy life together. Summers spent at Lac Vert
in Canada, Martin's childhood home, are nearly idyllic.
However hockey injuries Martin has suffered all of his life
come back to haunt him threatening everything he has
learned to care about. As the old Bible verse Martin's
mother cross-stitched years ago 'And a child shall lead
them' comes into play, will Martin and his family get the
miracle they need? This was an enjoyable story for those who like a little of
the supernatural in their stories (angels -- and who's to
say things like this can't happen?). Kylie is really the
star of this book, sort of a younger version of the
character Haley Joel Osment played in 'The Sixth Sense.' Rice has detailed the hockey world superbly, making even
this non-hockey fan wanting to watch a game, so this
shouldn't be a turn-off for those who don't like stories
about sports heroes. Those scenes are really a fairly
small part of the book. The story is more of the
relationships between husband and wife, husband and
daughter, husband and stepdaughter, father and son, and
even between friends. Luanne Rice is a wonderful storyteller and her books are
now on my auto-buy list. I would compare her with such
wonderful authors as Kristin Hannah or Barbara Delinsky.
I even spent 4th of July reading it as others around me
were celebrating the holiday. SUMMER LIGHT is truly a
special read and it's highly recommended.
Reviewed by Maudeen Wachsmith
Posted July 7, 2001
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