Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a classic tale of romance to warm your heart this holiday season
Gabriel's Angel
Pregnant, alone and on the run to protect her unborn child, Laura Malone found herself stranded on a snowy Colorado road, at the mercy of a stranger. Fortunately, Gabriel Bradley's only intention that fateful night was to provide her shelter.
She was an angel with midnight blue eyes and a shock of blond hair, and Gabe might have thought she had come out of the snowy night to save him -- if he were the kind of man to believe in such things. But ever since he had lost his beloved brother, he had lost hope. Now the only solace Gabe took was in his solitude.
Together they weathered the storm, sharing their intimate secrets and soon powerful passion. By the time the roads had cleared, a promise had been made. For Gabe understood Laura needed protection if she hoped to keep custody of her child through the coming court battle.
For her sake, he was prepared to offer marriage. But his motives weren't nearly so pure. Truthfully, this beautiful, vulnerable stranger had given him an invaluable gift. Life with Laura had given Gabe a reason for being -- courage to hope, and the power to dream that he could have the future and the family he had once dreamed of . . .
Customer Reviews:
A Romantic Tale for Any Time of the Year.......2007-05-14
First off, GABRIEL'S ANGEL is, indeed, a reprint of the original Silhouette edition that was published in 1989. I had read this story years ago, but wanted to reread it and was intrigued with the new cover. Is the book a Christmas story? Not in the literal sense. In the way that it inspires love, happiness, selflessness, and a sense of well-being, then yes, it's a good holiday read.
Laura Malone, former model and a woman whose face was known worldwide, is on the run--not from an abusive husband or a group of bad guys determined to due her harm, but from a domineering, powerful ex-mother-in-law who wants nothing more than to take away Laura's unborn child. Although Laura's former husband is no longer alive, the unborn grandbaby is, at least to Mother-In-Law-Dearest, the necessary means to keep her son alive. With more money than she knows what to do with, she sends out private detectives to find Laura, to force her to return home to hand over custody of her child.
While traveling through Colorado on her way to Dallas, Laura makes a wrong turn--and almost ends up dead during a snowstorm on an isolated mountain road. Fortunately, she narrowly avoids hitting Gabriel Bradley, an artist who has chosen solitude in a small mountain cabin to ease his pain and grief over his brother's untimely death. With no other viable ways to get Laura rescued, he takes her home with him--and is immediately struck not only by her beauty, but by her inner strength in the lengths she'll go to protect her child.
As the storm rages on, Laura and Gabe learn more about each other than they'd planned--and they devise a plan that includes a marriage of convenience to save Laura's unborn child from its grandmother. But their feelings, although not spoken aloud, are edging towards love. Will it be enough to save this family?
Rereading GABRIEL'S ANGEL, I was once again reminded of why I love Nora Roberts and her books. A contrived relationship and overly-used storyline (i.e. marriage of convenience, marry for the baby's sake, etc.) it may be, but Ms. Roberts has a way of writing that fully immerses you in the story. A true romance classic, this is one to reread over and over again.
Not my favorite.......2006-11-02
I've read numerous Nora Roberts books and usually enjoy them for the characters and how she develops them. This book lacked that. As another reviewer mentioned, I also found that I couldn't connect to the characters and found them unlikeable and a bit flat. I finished the book because I felt I should, but I didn't like it. I did like Roberts' Blue Smoke and Blue Dahlia, both of which take more time with the story. I'd recommend spending the money on them over this.
Wonderful!.......2006-03-15
As other reviewers have said the cover is misleading because the story is not set around christmas. This is my first Nora Roberts book. I did not realize until later that it was a reprint of one of her older novels. Gabe is a painter who is in a cabin locked away in the woods for many months. Since losing his brother Micheal he has not been able to paint. Along comes Laura, pregnant and stranded in the blizzard and needing protection. So starts this novel about finding love a second time around, learning to heal and putting old demons behind. I think the author could have wrapped the story up in lesser pages. I also felt she allowed the main characters to be in too much torture that dragged on for too long. Overall I did enjoyed it looking forward to reading another Nora Roberts novel.
gabriel's angel.......2006-02-19
Always enjoy anything by Nora Roberts. Characters are so real to me.
Good story, not worth the $$ they want for reprint.......2006-01-03
I was dissapointed to bring this book home only to discover that it wasn't a Christmas book as it had been marketed... Also that I had read this in paperback years ago (and for much cheaper than the $17 I paid!)
I am a die hard Nora Roberts fan. I enjoyed it although it was not her best work. I'll always look for the NR symbol on her books so that I know it's a new story /vs/ old reprinted.
Customer Reviews:
The Message for Today!.......2007-05-19
I first read this book in the early '80s, and remeber how I was reassured of God's great Love for me. I passed it on to someone else, and lost track of it. Recently I rediscovered it, and I have been giving it to family and friends as gifts. Seems that everyone who reads it is amazed at the message of God's Love for us. Pastor Buck writes as if he were speaking directly to the reader. I am still amazed at the simplicity and yet great depth of this message.
Angels On Assignment.......2007-05-15
One of the most thrilling books I have ever read on Angels. Pastor Buck had to be a great pastor.
Inspirational.......2007-03-27
I was fortunate enough to hear Pastor Roland Buck in preson just weeks before he went to glory. He was just an ordinary man living his life for the Glory of God. He was used by God to reveal an extraordinary message.
Angels Look Out For the Worthy........2006-12-03
Angels are on the earth today. Roland Buck met the Angel Gabriel one early morning at 2 a.m. while out with his devoted Great Dane Queenie. My guardian angel seems to be on vacation. I sent her to Hawaii on the 9th to watch over Chuck, but she was missing in the early hour of 4:30 when a devil tried to strangle me in the laundry room. He's been here almost a year now and is allowed to carry a weapon (a walking stick with a saber hid) and has threatened others with it. Thank God, he did not bring it to the laundry when he assaulted me. My angel may have fallen in love with Chuck and adopted him to care for since I can't, but Lady Mercy was with me. I have three serious contusions and the police told me to buy a gun. But now we have mental people among us who would get off scott free if they killed an innocent person.
Angels come in many forms. I too met Gabriel named Glenn after the near-death who said he had been in the military (but looks to be a con man par excellence). The convict Caldwell put J. R. up to this attack and was asking people here if they had seen him as he needed to take care of some business. I'm just wondering how much he paid him to nearly kill me and was wanting his money back when he saw me standing there. He was worse than a bear or a wild Indian; he kept saying I will kill you. God was watching over me, that's for sure, but why didn't he send one of his male angels to deal with Boldwin. I fell on the bus and was injured badly, and now this. I need an angel to hover over me until I can get moved from this horrid place. "Heavenly Father, as a tired bird is lifted by an unexpected gust of wind and is raised to a higher altitude (Jonathan Livingstone Seagull) and soars on with new strength and energy to come and lift me in the same way. But not death! May your blessed strength surge through feelings that will energize and excite me this day. Thank You!"
There have been other accounts of angels coming to earth to save a person from his own destruction and from evil people, Ephesians 1:4-5 and Leviticus 16:6, 11-12. God has given us his word and his holy spirit because he wants the world to see us in the same way he sees us, which is looking like Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.
Best Pro-Bible Angel "Expose" 2Date...........2005-12-27
I found nothing in Sr. Pastor Buck's accounts of angelic encounters to be in conflict with Scripture; and give his exciting look into God's military OP forces the highest recommendation; this revealing account of Michael and God's fighting forces; Gabriel and other "chief of staff" communicators, is indeed awesome and delightful; packed full of insights and life-enriching points and pointers. Pastor Buck also delves into God's throne room system including preplanning all details of all persons' lives; God's record-keeping system, etc., etc. No other book has as much inside info on angel activities; nor as wide a scope. God obviously set it all up so we eventually would pick up and use what Rev. Buck experienced to enrich our understanding of how much God loves people and recognize some of the depth of His love by peeking in on how much activity goes on behind the scenes to demonstrate his love and support for His highest level of creation: people. I believe an even far-larger audience is yet to be exposed to Rev. Buck's account; somehow this storyline is going to be multiplied exponentially in the near future to reach huge masses of people and encourage them to study and read God's ultimate message in the Holy Bible.
Like others I read the book years ago, and loaned and lost it; then when online www.shopping became possible, located another used copy here at Amazon and got back what I had lost; hanging on much tighter this time to a real keepsake item.
Get a copy if you haven't and check it out for yourself; a rare book indeed: a fascinating, exciting inside look at such things as the size, features, personality, and dress style of Michael, God's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman of Military Operations; even including his own comments on how General Michael looks forward to arresting and "jailing" rebel Prince Lucifer at the takeover of the world system by CEO Jesus; Gabriel's communication operations to carry God's messages and instructions to people such as Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Paul, etc. There is so much good stuff between the covers that you never heard of before on the mechanics and details of angelic activity, that you won't want to put down the book until you learn everything Rev. Buck has to share on this most-interesting topic.
Book Description
A popular figure in religious works of art, the archangel Gabriel is most famous for the Annunciation: telling the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah. God's messenger is also known as the Islamic angel of truth, the archangel of emotions and dreams, and the angel of hope and childbirth.
Richard Webster's second book of the archangels series chronicles the appearances of Gabriel among Old Testament figures, Islam prophets, and modern philosophers and artists. Webster then offers an array of techniques for contacting the angel of Annunciation, who can help with inspiration, purification, fertility, childbirth, achieving a fresh start, seeing the future, interpreting dreams/visions, developing clairvoyance, and overcoming limitations, such as doubt and fear.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Series on the 4 Archangels.......2007-02-23
I generally am not a big fan of Llewellyn publishing and all there books on Wicca, and Wiccanizing everything from Brujeria, Hoodoo, Santeria, and Curanderismo, which sadly they have done many times before, and have sold millions of copies to readers who don't know any better and believe any junk they read. But out of all the authors who publish under Llewellyn I give my respects to one of them, Mr. Richard Webster, although I do not like all his books, he has published some good ones.
In his new four book series on Communicating with the Archangels, as a person born and raised in the tradition of Brujeria and Espiritismo most of this knowledge was passed down and taught to me from early childhood, and was part as still is a part of daily life, as breathing and eating. Although most of the subjects on the book deal with Stories as re-told by the author, both personal and stories of others, and rituals, meditations and bringing these powerful forces into your life, I would have to highly recommend all four books, for anyone who is interested in learning and adapting these ancient powerful Supreme Beings into your life.. No matter if you practice Voodoo, Brujeria, Curanderismo, or don't practice any form of religion at all but are a spiritual person looking to bring these positive forces into your life, then read these books, you will not be disappointed. I have to actually say bravo to Llewellyn for publishing these books, and hopefully they keep publishing more books on other traditions without trying to Wiccanize everything.
To begin the series I would start with the book Spirit Guides & Angel Guardians: Contact Your Invisible Helpers, also published by Llewelyn and the author Richard Webster.
From then I would recommend going on to Michael: Communicating with the Archangel for Guidance & Protection.
The second book should be, Raphael: Communicating with the Archangel for Healing & Creativity. Traditionally the Angel of healing as in the Old Testiment there is the story of Raphael healing Sarah and Tobit as they travel to Tobias.
The third book in the series is Gabriel: Communicating with the Archangel for Inspiration & Reconciliation. Although many people will disagree with the order stating that the book on Rafael and Gabriel are mixed, this would depend on tradition. Traditionally Saint Gabriel was the Angel that visited Mary and foretold of her pregnancy with Jesus, as well as to the Shepard Joseph. The reason people will disagree with the order is because they say that Gabriel is the Angel that rules the element of Air, and Communication, which makes sense. But to many traditions he is seen as the Angel that rules Water, as he fortold of the pregnancy of Mary, The Holy Infant child Jesus being in the womb, which is associated with the element of Water. The books work fine in the order they are, but as one studies further, this tradition works well, or can be rearranged, with further study.
The final book in the series, which I have not read yet, is Uriel: Communicating with the Archangel for Transformation & Tranquility. But should also be included in the series. All the books go hand in hand.
The Book Should Be Titled Raphael.......2005-11-23
In reading through parts of the book on Gabriel, I had a very hard time connecting in any way to Gabriel through what Mr. Webster wrote for the following reasons;
1. He has Gabriel as being associated with the Element of Water when he is the Archangel of Air.
His feast day is on March 24th which is just after the Sabbat of Spring Equinox or for others Ostara [Spanish for Egg] and we all know this is the season that is connected to the element of Air. Then we have Gabriel who is depicted with a scroll which we know too is associated to Air as it is use to write and communicate our messages.
2. The stones listed in the book are all connected to Water, when in truth Gabriels favourite stone is known by many to be that of Citrine, which is a stone that is connected to Gemini and that too is the most mutable sign of the Air and the first of the Air Signs.
I would think that in his book Raphael the review would be the same only in reverse to this one and that the books should be retitled according to the proper elemental connections as well as the Feast days and seasons in which they lye.
In another note I would find this book more helpful in working with the Archangel of Raphael and just changing the names of the angels around to fit properly in the reading.
Blessed Be!
Lady Dark Oak
Average customer rating:
- Philosophical messages from Archangels
- Uplifting and Inspiring
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Inspired by Angels: Letters from the Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, & Uriel
Sinda Jordan
Manufacturer: Blue Dolphin Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books | Astrology | Chakras | Channeling | Divination | Dreams | General | Goddesses | Meditation | Mental & Spiritual Healing | Mysticism | New Thought | Reference | Reincarnation | Self-Help | Theosophy | Urantia | Visionary Fiction
General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Comparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Inspirational | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0931892252 |
Book Description
Sinda Jordan began receiving messages from the Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel in 1993. Over the course of a year, the angels dictated many different inspiring lessons, which Sinda compiled into letters for everyone to read.
Each angel can provide loving guidance for specific problems in everyday life and can be called upon according:
Michael, with his benevolence and compassion for all of humanity, can be called upon when we are in need of loving assistance.
Raphael, the physician of the angelic realm, can be asked for assistance when we are faced with any type of healing challenge.
Gabriel, with his talent to aid us in dissolving fear, prepares us for change and gently guides us through it.
Uriel, with his watchful eye, helps us see our path more clearly; he can be called upon when we need his clarity to help guide us.
Customer Reviews:
Philosophical messages from Archangels.......2004-07-05
"Inspired by Angels: Letters from the Archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, & Uriel," by Sindra Jordan is a 153 page book filled with one to three page messages that the author claims came from angels. Although the book is about messages from angels, it is from a "New Age" perspective -- not a Christian perspective. As Uriel is supposed to advise: "There are no mistakes, only different paths of learning" (p. 19). Much of the terminology in the messages sounds like a mix of mystical, occult, and pop psychology.
The book encourages meditation as the key to harmony in one's life. The angels also state the truth is within and thoughts have causative power. The phrase "light and love" was used very often. Furthermore, the phrase "the planet" was used often, making me wonder if the beings the author was in communication with were un-earthly.
The underlining theme of "Inspired by Angels" is encouraging learning and spiritual enlightenment. It was packed with philosophical issues and offered much to think about. Most likely, the passages in the book one believes already will have meaning and the rest will not. "Inspired by Angels" is worth reading if one is interested in what Sindra Jordan claims the angels have told her and is interested in learning from their philosophical messages.
Uplifting and Inspiring.......1998-12-19
This book stands out among other angel books, because you feel in direct contact with the angels through their words. The messages in this book are indeed inspiring. The letters from the Archangels; Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel contain uplifting insight and loving guidance. A small book with a huge heart. This is a greatl book to own and a wonderful gift to share.
Average customer rating:
- Not worth reading
- the most amazing manipulation of words you'll ever read
- Revelations
- A self spiritual reconcilation
- Excellent book on tape
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Meetings with the Archangel
Stephen Mitchell
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060182458 |
Amazon.com
It's as if Stephen Mitchell had been working on three books and decided that instead of finishing them separately, he would just combine them into one. There is the fictional story of a Jewish man who has the jarring experience, while high on broccoli (prepared in the secret Hasidic fashion), of identifying himself with Hitler. He exterminates Jews and feels proud to have done it. Subsequently, in the back of his mind, he is preoccupied with unraveling the problem of evil, a process that leads him to Zen practice and a brilliant account of its tribulations and rewards. Then there is the nonfictional essay "Against Angels," an erudite lambasting of the popular fascination with angels. We get not only a summary of it but a philosophical history, an outline, and extensive passages. The third story is of a man's encounter with the angel Gabriel, who doesn't know why he's there, but who initiates the man into the orgiastic bliss of archangeldom and troops him through the heavens--and the resemblance to the Divine Comedy doesn't stop there. What (barely) links these stories is that the Zen practitioner is the author of "Against Angels" and, ironically, the one to whom Gabriel appears. If there is an abiding theme, it is that the suffering of humanity is redemptive. In this first fictional outing for Mitchell, it is his laid back, whimsical tone that really holds it all together and makes each story worth reading for its own sake. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
When the archangel Gabriel appears to a narrator who has written a bestselling book called Against Angels, our whole view of the world is turned on its head. What is the nature of bliss? What games do angels play? What is angelic sex like? Gabriel gives an intensely erotic and moving demonstration of this, leaving us, as he leaves the narrator, breathless. Later, he takes us on a guided tour of the heavens and introduces us to, among other spirits, William Blake. The three chapters of dialogues between Gabriel and the narrator--surprising, poetic, instructive, funny, and improbably real--may be as fascinating to those who can't stand angels as to those who are enchanted with them.
But Meetings with the Archangel is primarily about humans, not angels. Its central section is the story of the narrator's spiritual training, which culminates in his experience of enlightenment. It is an ambitious, searching, and sometimes hilarious story of his effort to get at the heart of our lives and the questions of how we should live, what truth is, what love is, how we can respond to evil. There are many meetings along the way: with Thomas Aquinas and Spinoza and Rilke and the imagined theologian Benjamin ibn Ezra, with a community of broccoli-smoking Hasidim, with the narrator's fiercely demanding Jewish Zen Master, with the Book of Job and the Virgin Mary and the mind of Hitler and the heaven of the fundamentalists and the too-exuberant angel Shiriel and Martin Buber and Buber's cat.
"Angels can fly," Chesterton said, "because they take themselves lightly." Meetings with the Archangel traces its lineage back to the wild, reverent irreverence of Chuang-tzu and the Zen Masters, to the Biblical improvisations of the Midrash, the dialogues of Plato, and the bogus scholarship of Borges. It meets the reader beyond the realms of fiction and nonfiction, at the crossroads of profundity and humor.
Customer Reviews:
Not worth reading.......2007-01-17
I'm surprised at the amount of good reviews here. I will read just about anything and I was barely able to finish this book. I thought it was ridiculously pretentious. The author tries to make a book out of disconnected, half-baked ideas that he doesn't feel like explaining. Some of the reviewers seem to love his 'poetic' style, but I personally got annoyed at that 'style' which generally consisted of someone trying to explain overly-lofty ideas with a metaphoric style such as hearing colours and tasting sounds. It doesn't tell you anything about what the character was experiencing and just leaves you feeling completely disconnected from what is happening in the story.
I also wasn't aware of the amount of Zen I was getting into when starting this book. I don't mind, I'm Buddhist myself, but it definitely didn't make for a good story. And the amazon review at the top of the page mentioned something about having 3 books into one...I would have to agree, but not in a good way. It jumped around and most things had nothing to do with each other, no matter what 'higher meaning' spin you wanted to put on it. I would skip over this book. It was a chore to get through and I felt empty and annoyed at the end that I just read that whole book.
the most amazing manipulation of words you'll ever read.......2001-07-07
Even before I finsihed with this book, i found myself going back and re-reading sections. The author has the most amazing talant with words that I believe I've read to date. While the book can be a little slow, it is definately a must read for anyone with an appreciaiton for fine writing. It is funny, moving, and more than worth the time I've spent re-reading and highlighting my favorite passages. I tend to loan out books after I've read them and sometimes don't get them back. This book hasn't left my room for fear that I'll never see it again. I plan to tell any would-be borrowers that it's worth their money to buy their own copy.
Revelations.......2000-03-14
What an astonishing experience this was -- I had just decided Zen was too cold and empty (like Jack Kerouac, another Catholic-turned-rabid-Zen-Buddhist, who later repudiated Zen, saying: "Zen leaves me cold now. I have felt the presence of angels.") So when I saw this title, "Meetings with the Archangel," I thought, "Yes! Let's forget Zen and read about gorgeous, colorful, swooping angels!" Imagine my surprise when the most riveting part of the book turned to be about, you guessed it, Zen. My mind is still reeling.
A self spiritual reconcilation.......2000-02-27
This is the first spiritual book with a deep literary, poetic, full of wisdom that I'd have ever read. It was very helpful for me to reconciliate with my soul and to accept my human nature. I recommend this book to all the people who had read spirituallity books and are worried to solve their karmas and lift their good vibrations stat. This book is helpful to relax your soul and understand your human nature.
Excellent book on tape.......2000-02-16
I highly recommend the tape version that i listened to. Mitchell has an excellent understanding of the world and presents it in a very approachable way.
Average customer rating:
- The first book to be written in the series-like all her novels it's pretty good
- Childish, juvenile heroine to the MAX
- It is the Will of Landru---oops, Jovah!
- Try it you might like it....
- Good. If you like Chick Lit.
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Archangel
Sharon Shinn
Manufacturer: Ace Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Shinn, Sharon | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0441003303 |
Amazon.com
Set in a society founded as an egalitarian utopia but now tainted with vices and inequity, Sharon Shinn's love story is plotty and calamitous. Rachel and Gabriel have nothing in common beyond wishing that the god Jovah had ordained they wed other people, yet they must cooperate in singing a mass to the god on the occasion of Gabriel's elevation to Archangel. Upright Gabriel has enemies among both mortal and angelic peoples who prefer to risk world destruction over his restoration of the old order.
Customer Reviews:
The first book to be written in the series-like all her novels it's pretty good.......2007-08-07
"Archangel" was the first to be written in Sharon Shinn's now famous Samaria series, in which a group of angels keep the peace on a planet that was populated by a God by using music to pray, ask for medicine and prove to the God that all are in harmony. This book shows the change of power from one Archangel to the next and a growing conflict over two ethnic groups, one of which believes it can enslave the other with impunity.
Having read several of Sharon Shinn's novels now, I can say with a degree of certainty that "Archangel" is pretty typical of her writing style. We have a scientific novel in which the background is never really explained, a hero and heroine who refuse to fall in love with each other until the last moment (and that's after very little exposure) and of course, our hero is undeniably noble.
That said this book is also typical of the author's writing style in that it is comforting somehow, has a relatively small cast of characters and is immensely likeable.
Like every book of hers I've read so far, four stars.
Childish, juvenile heroine to the MAX.......2007-07-21
My first and inevitably my last novel by Sharon Shinn, ARCHANGEL explores a girl's faith in a story with strong Christian overtones. A fantasy novel preaching about having faith, there's a lot of bickering (between hero & heroine) in ARCHANGEL. ARCHANGEL's world is a sort of a religious utopia, and its grand city of Luminaux represents the height of the Utopian principles in all aspects: economy, social position, politics, etc. Every man in Luminaux goes to the job he loves, there's no such thing as a menial job in Luminaux. Through the nomadic, yet persecuted, gypsy-like Edori, the Edori customs and ways represent the height of a free, giving race; the Edori are perfect, all of their people good and wholesome beyond belief.
ARCHANGEL views all rich merchants in a very evil light, summarily condemning all of them and religiously denouncing all of their capitalistic practices to gain wealth. Simplistically, beautiful people are either power-hunger mongrels (Raphael) or ditzy dolts (Judith), except for our handsome hero Gabriel of course. "Metaphorical and ethical speculation was wasted on the literal-minded (and beautiful) Judith," Gabriel notes at one point.
There's 3 provinces in ARCHANGEL's world, with 3 angels to lead each province and an archangel which oversees everyone (included as 1 of the 3 "leading" angels). The archangel term lasts 20 years and oracles deduce from God the next chosen Archangel and his Angelica (or Angelico). Like most fantasy novels written by authors interested in romance, you have some sort of a soul-mate storyline and also similar to other other novels, you have the hero accepting it and quickly embracing his soul-mate (angelica) while the heroine very reluctant for the majority of the novel. In ARCHANGEL in fact, the heroine Rachel is resistant until the very last page of this 390-page superior paperback. There really isn't any warring factions or violence in ARCHANGEL's world as everyone lives in awe and fear of the Almighty God. The angels' power? Basically they pray in hymns and song to entreat god to help effect weather changes. Rain for farmers during a drought, for instance. The hero Gabriel is the most competent of the singing angels. There's plenty of concerts in the novel if you haven't guessed already by the way.
I couldn't stand the story's religious preaching, I couldn't stand Rachel's character, and I couldn't stand anything about the other plots.
I had high hopes though. I liked how the heroine Rachel wasn't a virgin, I liked how she didn't swoon and melt at the hero's touch (only at his singing in this case), and I liked how Gabriel was very virtuous, and not the notorious libertine we find from historical romances. In case you're interested, there's no passionate scenes here, only goes as far as kissing.
Rachel acts pretty superior and childish throughout, it's as though she alone understands the trials and tribulations of the poor and underprivileged. Anyone with a modicum of wealth or ambitions for fortune in Sharon Shinn's world are shunned as evil and power hungry. Certainly, this generalization holds true everywhere. Rachel flaunts her Edori heritage as superior to everyone and everything else. She's very juvenile and frosty with her husband too. By my count, Gabriel apologized to her at least 4 times for things he didn't know or understand about her, and he always shows her kindness and affection. Rachel reacts in her obligatory I-art-holier-than-thou attitude. When Rachel walks in on Gabriel and Judith, she secures Gabriel's promise later on that he has never slept with and never will sleep with Judith. They had begun fighting for a while, but this promise seems to have placated her. Inexplicably, they transition into a more amiable conversation. The amiable transition didn't follow after a heated discussion where both accused the other of infidelities. The author felt the need for Gabriel to comfort Rachel and dispel her misgivings, but not the other way around.
And it's Rachel who flirts with Obadiah, and the Edori Isaac and Adam. It's Rachel who kisses Isaac and Adam. I actually wanted to see Rachel get busy with Isaac & Adam and reject Gabriel. At least then Gabriel would be free of her. Lord.
The immature adolescence Rachel so exuberantly sponsors ranges to levels far beyond my comprehension. Get this. At this end, she's beyond petty and vindictive. Gabriel is aware Rachel's most fervent "justice" is to see the entire city of Semerroh destroyed. When it's clear that just such a feat will come to fruition if she will not sing, she uses that knowledge to test Gabriel's love and devotion to her instead, spiting him for not believing in her. When she threatens the city and its people if Gabriel doesn't promise to leave her alone, Gabriel quickly acquiesces to her ludicrous demands. After, she cries thinking how she wanted Gabriel to risk destroying hundreds of people so he would say he would rather have her instead. Despite telling her before that the only angelica he would ever accept by his side would be Rachel, and that he wouldn't choose another angelica had she died. Despite telling her that he would always come back to her if he ever leaves. Despite comforting her and protecting her, despite sheltering her under his sensitive wings no one is supposed to touch.
Man, I've never seen a character so selfish, so childish, so juvenile, so immaturely spiteful as ARCHANGEL's Rachel. And she hates Gabriel for choosing to save hundreds of lives instead of be with her, an ultimatum she herself lays down. Are you serious? Is that even a choice? That's no choice at all, any likable hero would sacrifice himself and his beloved in a heartbeat if not doing so meant the death to thousands of other innocents. There is nothing romantic about this retarded "choice" Rachel tests Gabriel with.
After all this, Rachel stays away for months traveling with the Edori and then when she finally decides she wants Gabriel back, she tests him yet again. She makes Gabriel with his broad wings walk through iron stakes on the top of a mountain he can't land on. Yep. Childish. Juvenile. Petty. Vindictive. Adolescent.
It is the Will of Landru---oops, Jovah!.......2007-07-19
If you've watched the original Star Trek series episodes "The Return of the Archons" or "The Apple" then I think you'll pretty much get the plot of "Archangel" (I'm not giving the plot away since the first page of the book, underneath the blurbs, has a crisp summary of the planet Samaria's prehistory--which, by the way, is nowhere to be found in the actual novel.) I don't think that's what caused my deep sense of déjà vu while reading this novel, though. All the way through "Archangel" I kept thinking, "I've already read this." But I hadn't. The déjà vu was caused by a combination of all the romance novels I'd read over the years, plus the Star Trek episodes where Landru and Vaal reigned supreme over planets of stranded humans gone decadent and taken to running around in pilgrim outfits or too much white eye make-up and shouting, "It is the Will of Landru!" (or Vaal).
What kept me reading Sharon Shinn's novel was not the hackneyed plot, but the characters of Gabriel and Rachel, especially Rachel, who is strong but not at all lovable. In fact she is a virago. When she doesn't get her way, she screams and kicks and sometimes resorts to sarcasm. I really didn't understand why everybody loved Rachel, but they did. I did understand why she was the way she was. She had a hard life. Her parents were murdered. The tribe that rescued her was slaughtered a few years later. She was sold into slavery. Just when it seemed as though she might make a new life for herself, Rachel was forced into marriage with the new archangel-to-be, as decreed by the god, Jovah.
The archangel-to-be, Gabriel is a hunk with wings, who lacks only a sense of humor to be perfect. It is obvious to everyone that he is going to be a good ruler. His only enemies are the current archangel, Raphael and his evil minions, plus the merchants who grew rich on the slave trade and other unsavoury capitalistic practices that Raphael encouraged.
Why doesn't Jovah strike Raphael and the other evil-doers dead? Well, that's part of the plot plus Rachel's adventures in avoiding her new husband.
Sharon Shinn writes about a passionate, flawed woman who rises above the fate the demi-gods of her world planned for her. Although sometimes deploring Rachel's treatment of Gabriel, I read "Archangel" straight through to the end. This author conjures up a fascinating world. I can only hope that Gabriel is long dead and at peace by the time the inevitable sequel rolls around where the Samarians discover that 'Jovah' is really a spaceship and not a god.
Try it you might like it...........2007-06-02
Okay...the first book that I read was "The Angel Seeker". So I was definitely "out of order" when I started reading this series. All of the books in the Samaria series are pretty much the same. In my opinion the best one is "Angel Seeker". If you are going to try to read them since the same characters are not in every book but they are all set in the same location you should read "Angelica" first then "Archangel", "Angel Seeker", "Jovah's Angel", then "Alleluia" files. The stories stretch over 600 years of Samarian Angel history. You really don't realize that it is so much of a sci-fi series until "Jovah's Angel", where (not trying to spoil the thing for you) you find out that these people were actually space travelers who landed on the planet and populated it after leaving their dying planet. I did like that even though it is actually more of a romance book that it did not have any "gratuitous sex scenes" which made for a very nice change. But mostly the plots are the same...Angel loves mortal has trouble getting mortal to love them....Mortal loves Angel has trouble getting Angel to love them...really no tricky plot twists here. I think I will read some of Sharon Shinn's other books, also.
Good. If you like Chick Lit........2007-05-07
I generally steer clear of the NYT page-turners, but this one was a snoozer. In all, fairness, it is fairly well written, but it was not what I was looking for.
There were no plot twists. The plot was simple, sweet, straightforward, and fairly predictable.
While the book revolved around politics and religion, I didn't feel that the author really asked any thought provoking questions. Do you believe in God? yes or no.
The characters were beautifully developed if that what you seek in a book.
Basically, this is a love story of two people who didn't choose each other.
Nothing new.
Average customer rating:
- Delightful!
- AN EXCELLENT BOOK
- Enjoyed it a lot!!
- OK, but could have been better
- The perfect Christmas anthology
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A Gift of Love : Double Exposure / Just Curious / Gabriel's Angel / Yuletide Treasure / Five Golden Rings
Judith McNaught ,
Jude Deveraux ,
Andrea Kane ,
Judith O'Brien , and
Kimberly Cates
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Deveraux, Jude | ( D ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
Kane, Andrea | ( K ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
McNaught, Judith | ( M ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
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A Holiday of Love
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Simple Gifts : Four Heartwarming Christmas Stories : Just Curious / Miracles / Change of Heart / Double Exposure
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Upon a Midnight Clear : A Delightful Collection of Heartwarming Holiday Stories : The Teacher / Christmas Magic / Jolly Holly / If Only in My Dreams / White Out
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Double Standards
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Remember When
ASIN: 0671536613 |
Book Description
A Gift Of Love captures holiday magic as it transports us...to New York City, where a schoolteacher slips an antique gold ring on her finger and travels back in time to a man who desperately needs her love...to a village in Victorian England, where an embittered earl seeks a governess for a lovely, defiant little girl named Noelle...to a starry London night, on which a Christmas pony heralds a gift greater than any king's ransom...to the snow-covered hills of Virginia, where a young widow learns during a holiday trip that miracles really do come in the least expected packages...and to a reclusive tycoon's Newport estate, where a determined young woman sets out to unlock the secrets of a man's heart.
Let A Gift Of Love open the door to worlds of passion and adventure, where love -- and miracles -- are always in the air!
Customer Reviews:
Delightful!.......2007-09-03
A GIFT OF LOVE is absolutely delightful!! The stories by Jude Deveraux, Judith McNaught, Kimberly Cates, Andrea Kane and Judith O'Brien are wonderful holiday delights!
Very enjoyable!
AN EXCELLENT BOOK.......2007-02-10
Perfect for a long winter's night...My favorite was Judith McNaught naturally:):):). It was a continuation of her series Whitney My Love and Until You. They are all on my KEEPER shelf. Have already read them a few times. Books to die for.
Enjoyed it a lot!!.......2005-08-21
I really enjoyed Judith McNaught's story the most. But they were all entertaining. There's a nice mix of historical and contemporary romance.
OK, but could have been better.......2001-04-14
I am a big Judith McNaught fan and I was looking forward to reading Nicky's story. I had hoped that the author would have written a full-length novel for this fascinating character, originally introduced in Whitney My Love and recurring in Until You. I would have loved to see more details on the characters' developing relationship; it would have made it more believable.
The perfect Christmas anthology.......2001-01-03
I normally don't care for anthologies, for two principal reasons. First, many stories in these anthologies suffer from being over-short; the usual 70 - 100 pages is simply not sufficient to develop the storyline in a sufficiently satisfying manner. Second, there is always at least one story in each collection which is disappointing and lets the others down.
However, I saw this book in, of all places, a bookshop in Manchester (yes, in the UK). An import, at a very reasonable price, so I decided to give it a try. And I'm delighted I did, having had several days of very satisfying reading from five authors, none of whose work I had read before.
These stories all have a strong Christmas theme, which is done properly, in sharp contract to many Christmas-themed books these days in which the festive season gets perhaps a couple of lines at the end with no other mentions anywhere in the book. Each story in this anthology *feels* Christmassy, in different ways. And yet each story is very different. There are two contemporary romances in US settings, two British historical romances (in the Victorian period, though again each very different), and one time-travel, again set in the US.
We have a modern career woman reunited with the childhood hero who devastated her years ago by a careless act; a still-grieving widow who discovers that the boss of whom she thoroughly disapproves has an incredibly romantic heart; a poverty-stricken young woman finds out how it feels to play the role of angel to a lonely widower and his son; a young Victorian choolmistress enters into an arranged marriage with a reclusive Earl so that his orphaned niece will have a governess, and quickly finds a way to melt his frozen heart; and a 1990s woman is transported back to Pioneer country, finding herself married to the man of her dreams.
I loved each and every one of these short stories. None - well, except perhaps the last, which ended a little abruptly - seemed over-short or insufficiently well developed. And each had its share of humour, angst, romance and heartwarming seasonal cheer.
Highly recommended!
Book Description
Debido al milagro de la Anunciación (el mensaje a María de que dará a luz al Mesías), el Arcángel Gabriél es una de las figuras más conocidas en la religión. En su segundo libro sobre los Arcángeles, Richard Webster relata las apariciones de Gabriel en el Viejo Testamento, a los profetas del Islam y a modernos filósofos y artistas. También ofrece guías para contactar al mensajero divino que podrá ayudarlo con la inspiración, la purificación, la fertilidad, nuevos comienzos, predecir el futuro, interpretar sueños y visiones, desarrollar la clarividencia y a superar limitaciones como la duda y el miedo.
Average customer rating:
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What the World Needs Now- Healing Messages from Angels
Paul D. Williams
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Inspirational | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1412004152
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Book Description
This book contains messages from the ascended masters, angels and archangels Michael and Gabriel to help re-awaken the world to it\'s spiritual nature. It offers you the tools to take control of your own life through self-healing on all levels- physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The book is interspersed with poetry.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring and Up Lifting.......2003-10-13
I really enjoyed this book.It is helpful and very informative.It shows the author to be honest,truthful and a real geniune person.It is a book that every one should own and the way it is written you will keep refering back to it.There is a powerful energy that radiates from this book.It is both healing and inspirational and many people will connect with it.Keep up the good work Paul.looking forward to the next.love & light ann
Books:
- Gentle Warrior (Tapestry Romance)
- Girls Night In
- Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning, Book 4)
- Guess How Much I Love You
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
- Healing Crystals and Gemstones: From Amethyst to Zircon
- Heart of Darkness (Green Integer Books)
- Heart of the Dragon (Atlantis, Book 1)
- Heather's Gift (Book 3)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
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Spellbound
The Gift: Home for Christmas / All I Want for Christmas
Blue Smoke - Large Print Edition
Rules Of Play: Opposites Attract\The Heart's Victory (Silhouette Romance)
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