They all shared one common denominator: the intense need for more in their lives. All modern women, they were each at a different point in their lives. And yet they were all in the same place. Some had marriages that had been leaving them unfulfilled for quite some time. Others hadn't been in a relationship for a while. They ran the gamut from unhappy housewives to overworked executives. But each one needed the same thing. Something different. Something more.

The men they chose could never be accused of being cut from the same cloth. Each one was different. Each one unique. Some were ghosts, real only to the women whose lives they touched. Others were very much alive, and definitely able to do more than just touch. Still others were simply ghosts from their pasts. Alive, but yet untouchable. A very eclectic combination of men, but each in his own way able to be what these women needed. Something different. Something more.

As they traveled the paths from one-night stands to commitments of forever, the love found along the way was unexpected to them all. What these women found was a love that became as necessary to them as air to breathe. So necessary in fact that each of them gave up something for it. Some even gave up everything. Their careers. Their families. Their independence. But in the end, they all found that in giving up these things, they found even more. They found themselves. They found something different. They found something more.

SUMMER SOLSTICE is an intriguing collection of short stories, designed to make the reader feel a magnitude of emotions, in a short period of time. It worked. Ms. Charpentier is gifted! She is able to draw a reader in within the first few lines of the story. And what's more, she can keep them reading.

SUMMER SOLTICE was a good way to spend a couple of hours. I can't help wondering though if Ms. Charpentier was merely trying her ideas out on readers, while looking for one to build a solid story out of. I have to say; I think any one of these short stories would make an excellent full-length novel. I can only hope she takes one to the next level!

Reviewed by Tracy Atencio
© July 2004