"It’s late afternoon on the wide Hampton beach; it’s gray and foggy when he kisses her. He’s never kissed Sicilian lips before, only Bostonian. There is a boiling ocean of contrast between the two. Boston girls were born and raised on soil that was frozen from October to April and breathed through perfectly colored mouths that took in chill winds and fog from the stormy harbor. But his Sicilian queen has roamed the Mediterranean meadows and her abundant lips breathed in fearsome fire from Typhonic volcanoes.
He kisses her as if they are alone at night—as if she is already his. His arms wrap around her back and press her to him. They become suspended, he floats like a phantom around her in the moist air. He won’t let her go, he can’t."

This is fine quality writing. Paullina Simons crafted a beautiful beginning to Harold & Gina's non-traditional happy ending.
My heart absolutely melted for this couple. They were fools, but fools in love. They have a love to desire, but not one you can easily respect. It's doomed from the start. We learn about their demise in The Bronze Horseman series, so you're reading into this with an ending in hand. We know what's coming. I think I relished in this love affair because of that, no matter how messy the circumstances, and because I see this as the calm before the storm. The dream before their reality, Bellagrand, that is.
Children of Liberty is the first part to Harold & Gina's journey and Bellagrand the second. I know I will visit this story again in the future. To me it is epic. What is the saying? All great love stories must end in tragedy.