Rhapsody: Child of Blood

Recently I told you about a song/book combo for The Notebook... in it I gave a list of other great unrequited love stories.

One of those stories is Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon.

I first picked this book up on a whim at a bookstore and, despite a higher level of sexuality than I am used to reading, I found myself enjoying the storyline.

In this first book of the Symphony of Ages Series, you are introduced to two people, Gwydion and Emily. Their entire relationship begins and ends in the prologue yet it is the essence of the entire novel. Without their love-story there would be nothing further to tell. This is what I loved about the series. How their relationship overlaps thousands of years and hundreds of generations and yet lasts only a few hours.

Gwydion and Emily are unequivocal and irrevocable soul-mates... which nine times out of ten leads to sorrow.

"Now he was looking at his wife. He had always wondered what the other half of his soul looked like, and was delighted, and humbled, to see it was so incredible; he was actually amazed to know he even had one. The prospect of living by her side for the rest of his life filled him with a heady, if terrifying, feeling. In years to come, as he mourned her death over the endlessly passing days of his lifetime, he would think back to this moment and remember the way she had looked when he first saw her with his new eyes, eyes that still believed that life held a great measure of love for him."

So there's this song that I love and have loved for absolutely ever and the other day I was listening to it (and remembering how much I loved it) when I realized it was perfect for Gwydion and Emily. I gotta tell you, I read this book probably five or six years ago so to have it pop in my head like that... well, it's a good match.

The song is 'I'm Kissing You' by Des'ree:

Pride can stand a thousand trials
The strong will never fall
But watching stars without you
My soul cries

Where are you now
Where are you now
'Cause I'm kissing you
I'm kissing you, oooh

 Go and read it, and see if you agree.

Books: Rhapsody: Child of Blood by Elizabeth Haydon
Songs: I'm Kissing You by Des'ree

The Notebook and Breathe

The Notebook was the first Nicholas Sparks book I ever read. It was a great place to start. The story, if you haven't seen the movie or read the book, is about two teens who fall in love but are kept apart by her parents. Years go past, their lives move forward, but they never forget about each other. Finally as their twenties begin to wind down they find themselves facing each other once again. This time as adults with a far different look at life and greater responsibilities.

If they thought their love had been complicated as kids, it had nothing on what they were facing now.

I love stories of unrequited love. The thought that someone could hold on for years without giving up on even the slightest chance makes my heart flutter.

I also have a soft spot for love songs like Breathe's 'Hands to Heaven.'

As we move to embrace, tears run down your face
I whisper words of love, so softly
I can't believe this pain, it's driving me insane
Without your touch, life will be lonely

This totally reminds me of The Notebook.

An excerpt:

Without another word they came together, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and he put his arms around her, drawing her close. They held each other tightly, making it real, both of them letting the fourteen years of separation dissolve in the deepening twilight.

...
[She] realized how much she'd missed him since she'd seen him last.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as they finally released each other. She laughed nervously under her breath while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

::sigh:: I'm such a sucker.

Other great unrequited love stories you might be interested in: Persuasion by Jane Austen, These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner, The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce or The Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon

Books: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
            Persuasion by Jane Austen
            These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
            The Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce
            Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon
Songs: Hands to Heaven by Breathe