Garden Spells and other delights

The perfect snow is heavy, easy to pack into snowballs, slippery for sledding and causes the cancellation of school.  For the perfect snow day, the wind dies down to the extent that the children and hounds can be released from the house to expend their energy outside.  This perfect day ends with homemade comfort food and a last rousing ping-pong tournament before bedtime.  For all of us who have recently experienced this "perfect day", let us cherish it as spring begins it's teasing dance.
Thoughts of spring brings to mind Tennyson's famous line,"In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."  During the upcoming month of March, we will expend hours attempting to decipher what the weather has in store for us.  The dance of romance is similar in nature with each participant tentatively advancing and retreating while attempting to discern the object of their affections' intentions.  Fortunately, there are a variety of resources to help the romantically-challenged.

Looking to catch the eye of that certain someone?  Take some tips from a classic love story.  (A classic is a story of enduring value to readers and lasting quality.  They're often unfairly maligned due to the fact that they routinely become assigned reading.)  A universal favorite classic romance author is Jane Austen.  While many readers are familiar with Pride and Prejudice and Emma, Persuasion is an over-looked gem of a love story.  The title reflects the major theme of the novel, that various pressures and influence of family, friends, and the world around us can cause one to choose unwisely.  As in her other titles, Austen's book is populated with a few characters who are caricatures that provide comic relief while speaking against the restrictions of the society of the day.  In contrast, the main characters' story has poignant moments of grief, heartache, and hope.  This lovely little book is about a subject near and dear to the romantic at heart, a second chance at love.

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is another title that has been used as a standard for romance.  The young orphaned heroine is abused and rejected by her aunt and cousins.  Eventually, she is sent off as a charity student to a boarding school to learn her place in life and prepare her for a life of servitude.  While at school, Jane's resilience is further tested and developed.  When she finally strikes out on her own as a governess, the only position available is in a lonely, isolated location.  Due to her background and upbringing, she is able to endure the solitude but everything changes when her employer, Mr. Rochester, finally makes an appearance.  The May-December romance was not uncommon during that time period and the reader remains undisturbed by it.  The Flight Of Gemma Hardy by Margo Livesey is a modern retelling of the tale.  There the reader may have a more visceral reaction to the idea of the relationship between the two lovers.  In modern times, many relationships with a large age disparity tend to make one recall Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends which is not anybody's idea of romance.
In a romance, the characters develop a relationship while learning to trust one another or regain trust in one another.  There is always a problem that must be overcome for the relationship to blossom.  For a magical twist on romance, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen will get you in the mood to start that spring planting.  The reader may find it to be a gentler version of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic.  Lisa Kleypas is another author who provides magic and romance in her Friday Harbor series.  For those looking for a second chance at love, there's Mary Kay Andrews' Spring Fever.  Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Wynette Texas series of interconnected novels also uses the themes of forgiveness, redemption, and second chance relationships as well.
You can't ignore it.  Spring is in the air. While we may not be able to go outside in the sun without our winter coats and boots, our thoughts have definitely taken a warmer turn.  Time to spice up your reading.  Maybe it will make the snow melt that much sooner.