Summer Light: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Luanne Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009

New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice has inspired the devotion of readers everywhere with her moving novels of love and family. She has been hailed by critics for her unique gifts—a "rare combination of realism and romance," according to The New York Times Book Review. Summer Light is Luanne Rice at her most magical, an entrancing story of love at first sight, the true meaning of family, and angels right here on earth.

May Taylor works as a wedding planner with her best friend and great-aunt, passing on the timeless traditions established by her grandmother and mother. The Taylor women have always believed in the presence of magic in everyday life—especially the simple magic of true love and family.

Yet May's own faith in true love was destroyed years ago when she was abandoned by the father of her child. Still, she has found joy in raising her daughter Kylie—a special five-year-old who sees and hears things that others cannot. Her unique visions will lead May to a love she never expected and a life she never imagined.

Martin Cartier is a professional hockey player and sports legend. But celebrity has never been enough for Martin. His father, Serge, a hockey champion, taught him to play the game ... and to win at all costs. Now his handsome, polished exterior barely hides a core of rage, heartache and isolation.

It is Kylie who first glimpses the role Martin will play in May's life and her own. May and Martin feel an immediate attraction, but each fears being hurt again. Yet the intensity of their connection leads them to begin to believe in a shared future.

But just as happiness as a family seems within reach, Martin's past threatens to tear them all apart. Only Kylie sees the way home—and only May can lead them there, if she can somehow finally believe that miracles can come true....

Deftly illuminating the everlasting bonds among mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons, Luanne Rice celebrates life's simple pleasures and the joy of meeting the one person you are destined to love forever. Summer Light is a moving tribute to the enduring power of love and an exhilarating testament to the magic always at work in the world for those with the courage to see it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few romance authors are able to portray the complex and contradictory emotions that bind family members as effortlessly as Rice (Firefly Beach, etc.), and in this enchanting, heartfelt tale, she showcases her considerable talent. Wedding planner May Taylor has suffered her share of life's blows. Both her parents died when she was young; her first love turned out to be married; and her six-year-old daughter, Kylie, claims to see angels. Nevertheless, May has managed to build a rewarding life for herself in Black Hall, Conn. When fate lands her on a plane with famed Boston Bruins hockey player Martin Cartier, she realizes how desperately she needs a soul mate and Kylie needs a father. The romance between May and Martin is swift but satisfying, and their lives seem almost perfect until Martin is forced to confront the ghosts of his past and the realization that he is going blind. Martin's blindness is symbolic of his lack of insight into his relationship with his father, Serge, a former hockey star who is serving hard time for gambling. Martin blames the older man for the accidental death of Martin's daughter, Natalie, and refuses to answer Serge's appeals. But the tragedy weighs heavily on Martin's conscience and, with May's guidance, he slowly learns to forgive and to have faith in those who love him. A warm and illuminating summer read, this poignant tale of love, loss and reconciliation will have readers hitting the bookstores on the way to the beaches. (July 3)Forecast: A national television and radio advertising campaign as well as print advertising in People, First for Women and USA Today will ensure that sales of Rice's newest will exceed its 75,000 initial print run. The book will also receive a boost from the television adaptation of Rice's Follow the Stars Home (which will air in May) and the May release of Firefly Beach (Forecasts, Apr. 16).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Another fraught tale from Rice. Deserted by her father as a child, May works as a wedding planner and raises daughter Kylie, who can see and hear things others can't. This gift leads May to the love of her life, a seemingly smooth but ultimately enraged hockey player who really needs her help.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553593196
• ISBN-13: 978-0553593198
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,342,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LUANNE RICE is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, most recently The Silver Boat. Her books, including Cloud Nine and Dream Country, often center on love, family, nature and the sea, and have been translated into twenty-four languages. A number of Rice's novels have been adapted for television, including Crazy in Love for TNT, Blue Moon for CBS, the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of Follow the Stars Home and Silver Bells, and Beach Girls as a summer drama series for Lifetime Television. She has contributed a theatrical piece to the new off Broadway play Motherhood Out Loud. Rice loves nature and frequently writes about it. Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Rice divides her time between New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the house where she spent all her childhood summers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Novel, July 23, 2001

By 

Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer Light (Hardcover)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Book!, February 17, 2003

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer Light (Hardcover)

Since 1988 I have been a loyal and avid reader of Luanne Rices books. While browsing at the library years ago I first came across Crazy in Love and today I always look forward to a new Luanne Rice book. That said I must now admit that Summer Light was one of Rices more disappointing books. Yes it did contain many of Rices themes Ive come to enjoy which include the love of a couple for each other, the love of a parent for a child and relatives who disappoint us. But ultimately this book was not a satisfying read. And this may very well be the authors concentration on angels communing with the dead and the author also delving into the world of extra sensory perception.

May is a wedding planner in Hubbard Point, Conn. and the single mother of a very unusual young girl Kaylie. After the death of her great grandmother and a traumatic event, Kaylie begins to see things before they happen and also talks to people who have died. Fearing for her daughters sanity, May seeks the help of paranormal experts who have few clues as to what is happening to Kaylie. On a flight home from an appointment in Canada with these experts, Kaylie asks a man to help save her mother and herself when the plane crashes. The man is a great hockey player, Martin Cartier, who has secrets of his own. These include the death of his young daughter a few years before, and his hatred for his father Serge, also a former hockey player, who is now in prison. This chance encounter between May, Martin and Kaylie and the subsequent plane crash which Kaylie predicted will have far reaching consequences which will lead to their association and the book progresses to another tragedy and a predictable conclusion.

Unfortunately for me this was a poor example of Luanne Rices plot and characters development. I never found myself either interested in these people or their situation. I do suggest reading some of Luanne Rices really good books like Blue Moon or Safe Harbor to see how good this author can present a book which leaves you yearning to read more by her. Im sorry to say Summer Light just wasnt one of them..

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Write What You Know!, August 1, 2008

By 

J. Lambert (Port St. Lucie, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer Light (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read a few of Ms. Rice's other novels, I was looking forward to this one, not the least because it was partly set in a part of Canada that I know very well.

The story itself was not up to Ms. Rice's usual standards: the plot seemed contrived and the characters lacked credibility. More irritating, however, was the author's shoddy research. Ms. Rice's descriptions of hockey games were laughable, and her descriptions of the setting were downright ludicrous. Ms. Rice should stick to writing about topics she knows and understands, or make sure she is writing about fictitious places.