In the winter of his life, Hadriel Alighieri barters with the Angel of Death to find Sophia Paula, and confess his undying love. Hadriel retraces the steps of his life, beginning at an old abandoned church in Santa Lucia, where he followed her sixty years ago.
Their friendship blossoms in their youth, but when Hadriel confesses his feelings for Sophia, she is unable to reciprocate his affection. Sophia gives him a letter and bids him farewell before her family immigrates to America.
After his military service, Hadriel goes to America, and meets Celeste Williams, but after a night of lingering on the shores of passion, Celeste flees.
Over the years, Hadriel and Sophia maintain a guarded distance from each other. Sophia’s mother tries to rekindle their friendship, but after Hadriel is introduced to Joshua Abrams, who Sophia first met when she came to America, it becomes difficult for him to see Sophia and Joshua together.
Changed. Detached. Alone. Hadriel loses himself to his insatiable appetite for passion. He embarks on a path of meaningless flings to avoid love. For love, he fears will destroy him. He later realizes that the absence of romantic love leads him to become the worst version of himself.
When unemployment looms Hadriel accepts Joshua’s offer to work together, but when Sophia answers the phone instead, they feel something stir inside them both. After the call Sophia wonders why she could not tell Hadriel about her relationship troubles with Joshua.
Each longs to reveal how much they miss their friendship, but neither dares to echo the whispers in their hearts. During their innocent encounters Sophia begins to feel differently for Hadriel. Finally, she decides to distance herself from him, lest she betray Joshua.
Joshua and Sophia resume their engagement despite the absence of romantic love. During Sophia’s absence, Hadriel crosses paths with Celeste. He allows himself to be lured along the path of desire, and she allows herself to be seduced by the hopeless romantic that teaches her about the complexities of love.
A lifetime of longing, and heartbreak, and desire leads Sophia Paula and Hadriel Alighieri on a journey that reveals what is lost in the shadows of silence. Will what they learn help them discover the innermost truths about love and friendship? Readers will find much to enjoy and much to enlighten in Felix Alexander’s The Romantic.
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