The Frost of Springtime by Rachel L. Demeter

To rescue her was to rescue his own soul.

On a cold Parisian night, Vicomte Aleksender de Lefèvre forges an everlasting bond with a broken girl during her darkest hour, rescuing her from a life of abuse and misery. Tormented by his own demons, he finds his first bit of solace in sheltering little Sofia Rose.

But when Aleksender is drawn away by the Franco-Prussian war, the seasons pass. And in that long year, Sofia matures into a stunning young woman—a dancer with an understanding of devotion and redemption far surpassing her age.

Alongside his closest friend, Aleksender returns home to find that “home” is gone, replaced by revolution, bloodshed, betrayal—and a love always out of reach. Scarred inside and out, he’s thrust into a world of sensuality and violence—a world in which all his hours have now grown dark, and where only Sofia might bring an end to the winter in his heart.

Inspired by the 1871 Paris Commune, The Frost of Springtime is a poignant tale of revolution, redemption, and the healing power of love.

I love tales of forbidden or taboo love!  Oh, be still my beating heart.  And this book is all about the taboo love affair.

Sofia is saved by Aleksender from certain doom.  Being sold to a brothel as a child, he saves her from that fate and helps nurture her into a beautiful young woman.  Alek goes off to war and is thought to be dead.  When he returns, he first goes to Sofia.  She’s ecstatic he alive and he can’t deny the feelings he harbors inside for this young woman.  There is but one issue, besides the taboo nature of their relationship, Alek’s wife. 

I’m not a big historical romance buff, but I was really intrigued by the description of this book.  I’m really glad I went outside of my book comfort zone for this, because it was an awesome read.  The author not only manages to create an interesting and taboo dynamic between the two main characters, but the back drop in 19^th century France is front and center as well.  The political unrest there at the time is so well combined and intertwined with the love story that I just couldn’t read it fast enough.  I thought it was so cool that a real historical event was detailed along with Alek and Sofia’s story. 

Also, the arc of the romance between Alek and Sofia is both devastating and beautiful.  Even though their relationship was not traditional, I could not help but want them to be together.  Their love story is quite the ride.  The story is written beautifully, I was truly blown away.

If you have not read this book yet, you must.  Even if you, like me, aren’t that into historical you should branch out for this.  Incredible story with incredible writing that I absolutely was taken by. 5 stars.

       

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