For the giveaway, skip down and use the entry form. One US resident will win a paperback ARC of I Looked for the One My Heart Loves, and an international reader will win an ebook copy. Good luck!

Anne and Alexis are separated by war as children and reunited later by destiny. A powerful and dramatic love story that spans decades in spite of its seeming impossibility.

Anne, 9, and Alexis, 11, grow up together in the Montmartre area of Paris. While she has a major crush on him, he merely sees her as his friend’s little sister. After WWII begins, the two are separated as their families flee Paris to avoid the German occupation. When they say goodbye, Alexis promises to always protect Anne.

Anne holds on to this promise for years as she constantly thinks of Alexis, wondering where he may be. Anne grows up, finds works in an art gallery, and marries a kind, devoted man with whom she has two children. But her heart still belongs to Alexis and she never stops looking for him. Their paths cross fatefully one day in Brussels many years after they were separated.

Alexis, living in Canada and soon to be moving to San Francisco, has a family of his own; a wife in constant depression and a son. Despite their responsibilities to family and the geographical distance that keeps them apart, Anne and Alexis find a way to love one another, secretly yet passionately.

But after all this time, will they ever manage to be truly together, completely?

My review:

I was intrigued at the premise, particularly the historical Paris, from just before WWII to the early 1980s, though once I did start reading and the book got beyond the war, the era felt like it could have been fairly contemporary, even though it was still the 1950s. But that is a very small thing; the book itself was enjoyable.

My favourite section was when Anne and Alexis first met after so many years apart, and when they first began their affair. There was a certain zing to the scenes, the tension of newfound attraction that came across very well. I cheered for the pair, though both were married to other people. The author built a lot of sympathy for the characters, and what they had in their everyday lives, and how much they wanted to be together.

I would have loved to read more about one of the artists Anne exhibits in her gallery, the Italian Simonetta. I actually am hoping that Marny will write her story, so that I can find out everything about her life. (Please? :-))

By the way, if you’re a reader who prefers books heavy on dialogue, you may have a bit of a hard time getting into this one; it’s very narrative heavy, and while I didn’t find it detracted from the story, it made for a slower, more contemplative read.

Release date: August 12, 2014
at Open Road Integrated Media / Publishers Square

384 pages

ISBN: 978-1-4804-6116-1

Goodreads

About the Author
Dominique Marny was raised in a family that loves art, literature, adventure and travels.
In addition to being a novelist, she is a playwright, screenwriter, and writes for various magazines.

Follow Open Road Integrated Media on Facebook |   Twitter
Subscribe to Open Road’s Newsletter

The Giveaway!!