REVIEW - A Veil of Glass and Rain by Petra F. Bagnardi

Brina and Eagan meet for the first time when she's nine and he's fourteen. They like each other from the very beginning, although their bond isn't immediate, but it grows over the years. What links them is the fact that their parents are photographers and are extremely devoted to their work and to each other; so much so that both Brina and Eagan have to learn how to take care of themselves from a very young age. Despite their differences, age, gender, nationality, Brina is Italian and Eagan is American, they find comfort in their growing friendship.

Then Brina becomes a teenager, and her feelings for her friend start changing and deepening. New desires stir within her. On a warm, summer day, the two friends rest in a park, surrounded by the shades of the trees; then Brina kisses Eagan, while he's sleeping. Scared by her impulses and actions, Brina realizes how her feelings complicate her friendship with Eagan, therefore she runs away from him.

A few years later, Brina is twenty and Eagan is twenty-five, they find one another once again. Brina is studying cinema in Rome and she's also trying to become a musician. Eagan begins to work as an architect in the same city. Eagan wants to be a part of Brina's life anew; he wants to know her new friends and, most of all, he wants to listen to her singing and playing her guitar. Brina, however, is still in love with him, and she finds it difficult to act merely as a friend, therefore she keeps pulling away.

Reading A Veil Of Glass And Rain was like watching one of those cute, low-budget, romance indie films. It was slow-paced, short, sweet, and to the point. I picked this book up because I’m a sucker for a best friends become lovers story. The first half of the story alternates between Brina’s present and her flashbacks to certain memories of Eagan. Eagan is five years older than Brina, yet they have been best friends since Brina was nine years old. Both their sets of parents are photographers that are almost never with them. Due to their undying love, neither Eagan nor Brina’s parents can stay away from their spouse; so they travel most the time and leave their kids in their homes, meaning Eagan is in the U.S. and Brina is in Italy. This is the stem of their friendship. They always spend summer together and they become each other’s family.

Sounds simple enough right? No, of course not. Brina falls in love with Eagan but she does not think that Eagan reciprocates her feelings. The first part of the novel is pretty much young adult. It’s mostly flashbacks of how Brina and Eagan become as close as two people can be emotionally and psychologically. It was insanely sweet to see their relationship develop, and to see how Brina falls in love with Eagan. I was extremely curious to see when Eagan would start to show his interest in her too, which resulted in me reading until three in the morning and I just ended up finishing the book. The lack of parental presence in their lives kind of concerned me. It also seemed a bit unrealistic, but after the childhood flashbacks stop it is easy to get over it.

As Brina’s flashbacks come closer to the present, the mood of the story starts to change dramatically. Time has definitely changed Brina and her relationship with Eagan. Brina is not as happy-go-lucky as she once was. She is alone and a bit depressing. The most noticeable change is the lack of Eagan in her life. However, that is soon to change as is revealed in the very beginning of the novel. Eagan is moving to Europe to be closer to her. Brina is deeply conflicted about how she should take the news. It seems that they did not part on a good note, which will later be revealed. Brina doesn’t know if she can let him in again and just stay friends.

Thank goodness that around halfway through the novel it starts to alternate between Brina’s point of view and Eagan’s. We finally get to see whether or not Eagan has more than little sister feelings towards Brina. The novel starts to drift away from the whole innocent sweetness of childhood love to intense, sexual tension of two people trying to figure out the other’s feelings. This book has very sensual parts that really emerge in the second half. The emotions are more intense. It is easy to empathize with Brina’s vulnerability. She seems to just want someone to take care of her. And that person is Eagan, of course. Eagan turns out to be more domineering than we thought, but in a good way. It means that no matter how difficult Brina is being in insisting that she is bad for him, he will fight for her and reassure her in her weak moments, which there are quite a few of since Brina seems to be a bit self-destructive. The way Eagan takes care of Brina all the time makes him all the more swoon-worthy.

A Veil Of Glass And Rain was certainly not what I expected, yet it was still a pleasant read. The plot is predictable, but certainly not in a bad way. The characters are well-developed and not hard to like. There is just enough uncertainty and tension to keep you reading until you get all the answers, which is important to me. I loved the Rome setting. There was also a random musical aspect to the story, because Brina is a musician. All in all, it was a quick read that will satisfy one’s craving for a boy-next-door book. Adorable Eagan and sweet Brina will capture your attention in no time.

Have you enjoyed this review? Visit Falling In Fall Book Blog for more reviews by Tricia.

Petra F. Bagnardi is a television screenwriter and story-editor, and an indie-theater writer, director and actress. She's an avid reader and an enthusiastic cinéphile.

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