Review ~ "Illuminations of the Heart" by Joyce DiPastena

Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Purchased by Me
Genre: Historical Romance

Book Description: "Clothilde." He spoke the name on a breath like a prayer. Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

Her heart is lost in that first embrace, her world is shaken to its foundations. There is just one problem; her name is not Clothilde. It is Siriol de Calendri. Trained in the art of illumination in the far-off city of Venice, Siri is directed by her late brother's will to the county of Poitou in France, where she enters the guardianship of her brother's friend Sir Triston de Brielle. Once in Poitou, Siri hopes to find employment in an illuminator's shop - until Triston unexpectedly snatches her heart away with a kiss.

Triston is a man of quiet honor and courage, but the guild he carries for the death of his late wife, Clothilde, has left him numb and hesitant to love again. Worse yet, Siri bears an uncanny resemblance to his lost love. Or does she? Her merry laughter and twinkling eyes are very different from his late wife's shy smiles and quiet ways. Yet when he gazes into Siri's face, all he sees is Clothilde.

Then Triston's past returns to threaten them both. Will his tragic life with Clothilde be repeated with Siri? Trapped between the rivalry of the king's sons on the one hand and a neighbor out for vengeance on the other, Triston realizes it would be safer to send Siri away. But how can he bear to lose her again?

Siri is determined not to be cast off and not to live in another woman's shadow. She has illuminated many a priceless book with pen and paint. But can her own vibrant spirit illuminate the darkness in Triston's soul and make his heart beat for her alone?


My thoughts: I had quite a bit of fun reading this novel. It was easy to get caught up in the story and like the characters.  It is set in France during the Middle Ages.  It was an area of France that I don't remember reading about.  I enjoyed that she picked an area that is not the typical romance setting.

This book begins with a mistaken identity scenario.   The only problem is the person that Siri is mistaken for is deceased.    She tries help Tristan understand that she is not his deceased wife, she yearns to be noticed for herself.

There is revenge, angst, treachery, and of course kissing.  I was very happy that I picked this book up.  I follow Joyce's blog and realized the amount of  research that she puts into her books.  I will definitely  be reading more of her work in the future.

It's a clean romance book.  It helped me to remember how much I adore the Historical romance genre.

I read this as my July selection fot the 2012 TBR Pile reading Challenge.