~Cradle the Light~
Warring Hearts - Cradle the Light is the first of a 3-book series set during WWII. Claire O’Neill is an American artist determined to live life on her terms. Richard Hart, ace saboteur, is weary of fighting the war against Hitler. When they meet, sparks fly, and love comes unexpectedly at the worst possible time.
Claire struggles with her mother’s mysterious death, and with the conventions that govern women's lives in the forties. She must learn to trust in her talent and in Richard's love. Richard struggles to overcome the inner scars caused by war and betrayal. He yearns to find a flicker of hope. Claire gives Richard a reason to trust in love, but must she sacrifice her own dreams?
~Fragments of Light~
Fragments of Light is the second book in the Warring Hearts series. Resting in London after his tour of duty in France, Richard Hart is called upon to investigate a stolen Picasso that has surfaced in New York.
With Leslie Havens by his side, Richard boards an ocean liner to New York and becomes embroiled in identifying art smugglers who are selling confiscated artworks on the black market. To his annoyance, his mother is involved, and Claire's old flame is one of the prime suspects. Against the backdrop of New York City, Richard tries to sort through old betrayals and too many suspects to find out the truth. But will the truth help him reclaim Claire’s love, or will he lose her forever?
~Light In a Hollow Place~
Light in a Hollow Place is the final book in Vicki Gaia's World War II Trilogy, Warring Hearts. In a Parisian hospital, Richard Hart fears that his blindness may be permanent, as well as the nightmarish episodes. Faced with his disability and fearing he's losing his grip on his sanity, the last person he wishes to see is his fiancée, Claire O'Neill. Claire comes to Paris, convinced her love will lead Richard through this, and resolute about starting their life together after the war.
But as Richard's episodes grow worse, he pushes Claire further away. When a dashing stranger shows an interest in Claire, she fears the gulf between her and Richard may be too great to overcome. German Ratlines, puzzle boxes, love triangles, and intrigue lead up to the final conclusion of Warring Hearts.
After the liberation of Paris, high-ranking Nazis begin to flee the continent rather than face trial for their war crimes. Richard's friend and handler, Leslie Havens, is in Paris to stop them, and force them to answer to justice. Although Richard's eyesight returns, his episodes become debilitating. To get his mind off his problems, he convinces Leslie to let him help in the case. Together they set out to discover who is behind the German ratline in France.
Suspicious that his father's in Paris, Richard doesn't believe for one second that he's here for humanitarian purposes, and to assist in cataloguing stolen artworks to get them to their rightful owners. Eduard Roth's propensity towards illegal activities makes him a leading suspect. Leslie Havens has his own problems when his ex-lover, Frank Simon, arrives. Unbeknownst to Frank, Leslie brought along his present lover, Aaron Stein, to keep his bed warm. Torn between the lover with him now, and the one he never forgot, Leslie must come to terms with his true desire.
Puzzle boxes, relationship triangles, ratlines and intrigue lead up to the final conclusion of Warring Hearts.
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Vicki Gaia's Warring Hearts Series; Cradle the Light, Fragments of Light, & Light in a Hollow Place, create an epic around the lives and loves of a small group of people, some intimately involved in clandestine wartime operations, during World War Two.
Cradle the Light introduces the injured and depressed Richard Hart. Hart's doubtful class of friends, dismay at the way the war is going, and the impact of his injuries all create a wealth of sympathy in the reader. We hope at once that things will turn around for him.
Separately, we meet aspiring artist Claire O'Neill, an American waiting out the war in London. The distant bombings, reality of the blackouts, and the determination of society to carry on determinely all create a realistic if harsh backdrop for the story. Claire's efforts to make her own name in the art world during such a time will immediately engage reader admiration. However, her beauty attracts 'unsavory' certain people, especially as she becomes more involved with certain artists, and those with less than high moral standards. Her lack of caution seems realistic however, and emphasizes the rather desperate feeling of the times.
London high society seems less than admirable at the time. As Claire herself points out, it hardly seems reasonable to be attending parties and balls, when the threat of bombings hangs overhead the city is crumbling and rationing is impacting many lives. Yet, she find herself attending, and meets Hart's longtime friend, Leslie Havers.
Leslie, although a secondary character, is pivotal throughout the works. He seems loosely based on an Oscar Wilde persona, with a penchant for men and a bohemian lifestyle. Gaia deals with this character quite wonderfully - she may show every flaw, but she also shows his greatest strengths. Leslie is a true friend to those he befriends, and we appreciate him more and more as the stories go forward. As Leslie admits at once his attraction to Richard, and Richard, in turn, his attraction to Claire, it seems all relationships may show the strain. This is one thread that does not take the expected turn. While monogamy may not be within his sphere, a certain code or personal morality certainly is; at times, the irrepresable person of Leslie is a relief, contrasting as he does, with the darker outlooks of other characters.
The portrait of these people continues in Fragments of Light. Richard Hart's behavior is a sharp reminder that sex does not replace love- and the lack of any emotional attachment or quality in his impoverished sex life is presented very forcefully at the outset. There are more subtle reminders of this as the story carries forward, but in general, he continues on an unadmirable path, even while seeming very dedicated to a cause that is unquestionably good. Claire simulteanously seems far more admirable, even at times seeming juvenile (still, she is quite young.) She is high-spirited at times, and almost another person. It is a little sad that we see how much she has been affected by her association with more bohemian lifestyles. Still, art is the world to her, and her dedication is to create beauty. Her emotions are real, but her self-doubt creates lack of any self-understanding. Gaia manages to create this young woman as a complex person, with occasional failings and desperate yearnings; but even more realistic is that measure of self-doubt. The Nazi-confiscated art and other matters ongoing because of the war (even though this story opens in New York) continue that very interesting war-related backdrop.
Paris, France is the backdrop in Light in a Hollow Place, the third in the series. The war seems to be winding down, but it has nearly taken Richard Hart with it. And he, depressed from the start, now doubts his future, his life, and his feelings. The first person by his side is - perhaps not-so-predictably, Leslie. Claire's feelings are perhaps more predictable, but plausible. Details of the war that make up some of their information are frequently not the well-publicised, remembered events, but often, some of the minor events. Light in A Hollow Place, is not merely a follow up to the first two books, but contains yet another original storyline, although the main characters are well-established by this point. The main characters, with their frequently harsh outlooks (however plausible) become less admirable to readers, although we cannot help wishing and hoping they will find their way to one another... to permanence and a happiness that seems just beyond their reach.
Gaia's Warring Hearts series is a daring epic that allows us to see heroes and patriots as more complex and dynamic beings than we might actually wish. The reality of the war is a backdrop that fills every nook and cranny, but never, never overshadows her characters. I appreciate her frank handling of homosexuality, the fact that she did not fall into simple stereotypes, and especially, the complexity of the character of Leslie. His quote of Victor Hugo is not only telling about the main characters, but extremely telling about himself. "To be loved" indeed. I could say so much more about Leslie Havens, but cannot risk ruining reader discoveries.
Romance readers who enjoy the typical, heartfelt and heartwarming romance may not appreciate the lack of morality exhibited by many of the characters here - regardless of sexual proclivity. The on-again, off-again relationship of Claire and Richard can be irritating; it almost loses plausibility at certain points. Their relationship is moving, however; we never stop hoping for them.
Some sections of this series were less than enjoyable for this reader, and in a few specific places, the story is truly unappealing. A wartime epic is bound to have its dark side. I suppose - really there is just sort of a desert of emotion that is sad to read, and that is a permanent backdrop. Love does not conquer all here, but it does offer some healing.
I am giving this 4 books, as writing is lovely, and the quality and originality of the story is unquestionable.
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