I’m a horse lover. It’s a passion that flows into just about everything I do. So when I was handed Luanne Rice’s Light of the Moon, a glimpse at the cover was all the motivation I needed to start reading.

The majority of this story is set in France in a place called Camargue. Rich with history, gypsy folklore and ancient herds of wild white horses, it held a magical feel to it. This wasn’t a fantasy story, but it felt like a fairytale.

The main character is an anthropologist named Susannah Connolly. She arrives in this beautiful marshland under the guise of doing research. However, her true intention for visiting the Camargue is to fulfill a promise made to her recently deceased mother. Her mother, once barren, gave the Romany’s saint, Sarah-la-Kali, credit for the Susannah’s birth and bid her to go visit the saint’s statue in Camargue. What Susannah found was that her blessing didn’t end with her birth. She gets thrown into a two-week wild adventure filled with horses, romance, tragedy and redemption.

The highlight of Rice’s novel lies in the vivacity of Camargue’s setting and culture. However, her story takes a cheesy turn as romance begins to unfold. The repetitious illustration of emotions likened to a juvenile crush runs rampant once Susannah meets Grey. It dims the story’s allure, but not enough to make you want to give up entirely.

Ironically, it’s the running theme of redemption that saves this novel from its iffy romantic plot. A quick and pleasant one-time read, I would recommend giving it a chance.

At the very least, it will make you want to visit France.