Sonnets

The sonnet is the most useful and, arguably, the most-popular poetic form in English. Long-lived, brief, fashioned by rhyme, sharing private contemplation at its best. Here are thirty-three such momentary monuments.

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Charles Gerard Timm shares an unrequited love story through sonnets in his book titled simply, Sonnets. In this collection of thirty-three poems, Timm takes a unique look at love -- one that is confined to the rules of the sonnet, a popular yet difficult poem construct. 

A sonnet has one main rule: there can only be fourteen lines and each line must have exactly ten syllables. This makes word usage and description a challenge, especially when you're trying to tell a story on top of it. Timm's focus and daring endeavor impressed me, to say the least. The story was even easy to understand. 

Sonnets focus is that of a man who falls in love with a woman during a dark time in his life. "The stage boards chilled me like a winter beach/ Of pricking winds and cutting shells and foam/ till tender... And then, one day, you strolled that gritty space/ In spots of light that gave the dark a chase..." (III). Happiness duly follows until he discovers that a romantic relationship with this woman is unattainable. "She's wedded, but labels love is blind,/ And love it is extinguishing my mind..." (IV). Happiness morphs to heartbreak but there is still a light in the darkness. "I saw her flanked by husband and by child... I pray now for their happiness, all three" (XIII).

Readers will enjoy this creative story as they witness the poet falling in love and struggling to accept the unrequited nature that sometimes accompanies that fickle emotion. I thoroughly enjoyed this inventive and unexpected storytelling endeavor. With each sonnet portraying a piece of the puzzle, when all combined a moment in this poet's world is exposed. In a word, it's touching. And I feel, now that I know the main story, I can reread and reexamine the sonnets individually and gain even more of a connection with this narrator. Bravo, Timm. 

Rating: 3/5

Enchanting

Forced to marry only to fall in love with one's husband. Irony at its romantic best.

It was Celestia's destiny in Traci Hall's novel, Love's Magic, to be the one woman to heal her husband from the inside out. As she struggled to chisel away the stone Nicholas had built around his heart, she began to find a man who was noble and full of strength. A man worthy of her love.

As readers we can connect with Celestia through her journey of unrequited love. By moving closer to her husband's heart, she found her soul mate, but Nicholas couldn't accept the love she offered. He believed that he was undeserving of anything so pure and that Hell was the only thing willing to accept him. We all know how it feels to love someone with all of our heart only to learn that it will never be returned. Readers will find themselves falling in love with Nicholas as they struggle along side Celestia to win their true love.

Nicholas, through his feelings of despair and the belief that he is not worthy of something so great, also forms a bond with the reader. A co-alignment of painful memories. The past haunts us all. The demons waging an internal war, only dispelled by forgiving ourselves for the mistakes we made.

Love's Magic is a novel for anyone who has every felt the desire to give their heart away and ask for nothing in return. Open the cover and be enchanted with the warmth of the words.



Love's Magic on Amazon