What a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story!
Love, in its purest form, is what binds us to this world.
The Romantic opens with the Angel of Death coming for Hadriel and his one thought is finding the love of his life, Sophia. He yearns to be with her and the mood instantly changes to one of heartbreak and pain, pain that only comes when you are apart from your soul mate.
So the journey begins and as Hadriel moves through his life memories, we get an intimate view of Hadriel’s romantic soul and his search for love. He meets his soul mate (or love of his life) at the tender age of twelve. But when he makes his feelings known, she runs away (with her family) to America. Heartbroken, Hadriel spends the rest of his love pining for Sophia and the love he craves to share with her.
I absolutely loved this book. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a literary romance that touched me so deeply. The author understands what it means to give your heart and soul to someone, only to have them desert you. You’re left to pick up the shards of glass that used to be your heart, forever scarred.
The POV is mainly Hadriel but about halfway through, it switches to multiple POVs. It didn’t bother me because it was seamless and I didn’t get lost. It was just a surprise because I wasn’t expecting it. The POV shift does flow with the story and I understand why the author did it.
When I finished the story, I hugged my e-reader to my chest and sighed happily. Poetry danced in my head and the lyrical prose I just read absorbed into my soul.
If you’re a fan of Love in the Time of Cholera and Like Water for Chocolate, you’re going to love this book!
Favorite Character:
Hadriel. He reminded me of myself. Although I didn’t meet my soul mate until I was in my early thirties, I was a heart-broken romantic, always searching for love and only seeming to find anything but love. Hadriel’s poetic soul melded with my own and I could relate to him in so many ways. I cried when he did and I yearned when he did. Even the sex was pure poetry.
Favorite Quote:
“Akin to when he had embarked on his quest to find her, because even though heartache and torment threatened to dissuade him, nothing allowed Hadriel to forget Sophia.”
The Romantic is a love story that is purely poetic and beautiful. Right from the very beginning, the author, Felix Alexander’s voice comes through in a beautiful rich poetical way.
The Romantic, is a genuine love story that follows two best friends throughout their lifetime.
For Hadriel, his love for Sophia, carries him all the way to his deathbed as he still has such vivid memories for her.
I unconditionally loved this novel filled with mystique. It is an amazing and beautiful work of literary romance fiction. It touched my soul deeply. Felix Alexander, perceives what many feel, but don’t express. Broken hearts can be devastating, but a lifetime of loving one person goes deep into the heart and won’t let go. Especially if that love is unrequited.
I felt as though I was looking at the heart of the author Felix Alexander. It is obvious from his writings that he is such a romantic himself. This is not your typical romance story. Rather it is more of a classic beautiful tale of the human heart and the longing for love, rather than, just a sexual encounter or a more shallow love affair.
The characters are endearing and believable. They are fully developed and multi dimensional. This is a deep read filled with awe and wonder. The plot is long and well thought out. It’s very detailed and absorbing. It captivated me and held my interest throughout. I, literally, couldn’t put it down. I felt as though I knew the characters and I was hoping that they would really fulfill their love for one another.
The writing is beyond superb. It is poetic and beautiful. The depth of the love and pain defined in this story will wrench at the reader’s heart. The Romantic reminded me of some of the great romance writers of old time, the prose and lyrical language is just beautiful.
I came away feeling as if I just read a classic love story filled with real definitive captivating romance. This book is reminiscent of Love in the Time of Cholera or even the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For true romantics at heart, this is a must read. It’s smart, beautiful and filled with wonderful scenery and thought provoking words.
Highly recommended!
This is a book that goes beyond the realm of the living and truly captures the essence of a true love story. It is a story about Hadriel Alighieri’s life and the love he has for one woman – Sophia. It captures all the emotions and directions that Hadriel’s life takes in trying to obtain this woman’s love and yet she is always out of reach. The author does a fantastic job of taking you into the character’s head and he makes you feel the emotions and sadness, yet the adrenaline rush of a true love.
Hadriel’s life starts with the meeting of the girl he befriends and how he falls in love with her. Most people think they will get married and end up together and yet there are many twists and turns as there would be in any person’s life. This makes the story more powerful. Hadriel finally gets the courage to read Sophia a poem that he specifically wrote for her. In this poem he discloses how much he truly loves her and this becomes the catalyst that will spin this love story in a direction the reader wouldn’t have thought possible.
The author takes you into the head of the characters and allows you to feel and think like them. Throughout the story, the author does an amazing job of capturing the essence of what life can sometimes bring and he shows how the characters choose to handle the situations that come their way.
The characters each embark on journeys that create havoc, distance, emotions, solutions, and yet the book is centered on the one true unifier – LOVE.
The book is written in third person and this allows the reader to see the overall story of each of the characters, but yet he does an excellent job of driving the reader back to the characters with great dialogue. The story flows magically and is an easy read. The plot is not complicated, but is powerful and effective.
The author also does a great job of keeping you in suspense regarding what happens to Hadriel and Sophia. Just when you think that is all is great in ‘Kansas’ the author pulls you in another direction. The ending is quite spectacular and totally unexpected. If you are a romantic at heart, then this book is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!
