Sunday, August 8, 2010

Guest Review - - Bedeviled Angel

Bedeviled Angel
By Annette Blair
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: August 3, 2010








Guardian Angel Fourth Class Chance Godricson is in trouble in Everlasting for paying too much attention to one of his charges, Queisha Saint-Denis, a young woman whose life he saved eight years ago at the cost of his own. Meanwhile, on Earth, Queisha has isolated herself in a magnificent Victorian mansion left to her by her aunt. Struggling to overcome her agoraphobia, she is unaware of the radical changes that are about to occur in her life.

“With a Little Help from My Friends” definitely belongs on the sound track for this book. Chance’s friend Angus gives him a shove out of Everlasting, and Chance lands on Earth ready to make his attention to his favorite charge a little more personal. Queisha’s friend Vivica, owner of the Works Like Magick Employment Agency, uses her skills to prepare Chance for his earth-bound mission and to present him as the cook Quiesha is looking to hire.

Queisha fails to recognize Chance as the man who saved her life, but she is powerfully attracted to him nonetheless. And she finds him a handy man on the scene when two other unexpected arrivals appear: the twin girls to whom she gave birth as a surrogate for a wealthy couple. Queisha has been named their legal guardian by their parents, who have been killed in a mountain-climbing accident. She is a bit suspicious when she learns that Chance has been named co-guardian, but her concerns are lulled by his ease with the six-year-old twins Lace and Skye, plus she is distracted by her barely controlled desire for Chance.

Poor Chance is having his own struggles. His return to Earth has reawakened all his human needs. Every inappropriate thought results in the loss of a multi-colored wing feather, and he wants Queisha so badly that feathers are dropping all over the place. His beloved doesn’t believe in angels, and Chance doesn’t think the time is right to confront her with her error. He knows Queisha’s life is about to become even more complicated by the greedy relatives of the Fitzgeralds, the twins’ parents.

This is the second of Blair’s Works Like Magick books, and while some characters from the first book appear in Bedeviled Angel, the second book can easily be read as a stand-alone. It is the kind of light read with sexy love scenes that readers expect from Blair, and I predict it will leave her many fans with a smile on their faces and a satisfied sigh.

I have read and been entertained by some of Blair’s books, but I am not a dedicated reader of paranormals. I confess that I had problems suspending disbelief with this one. It seemed too convenient that Chance’s first angelic assignment was as Queisha’s guardian, replacing, one presumes, the angel who had that duty until Chance’s arrival. Chance also seemed too fully human for one who has spent eight years in eternity. I also found myself longing for a character named Jane or Bob or something equally ordinary. Finally, the editor in me wanted to strike through at least every third adjective. These concerns were strong enough to pull me out of the story repeatedly. But Chance and Queisha are likeable characters, Angus is a delight, and the twins are sweethearts. Readers who are more skilled than I at navigating paranormal worlds may find this a fun, frothy read with some heartwarming moments.

~Janga

2 comments:

  1. ooooo I'm so excited to read this!! I love all of her books!!

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  2. Annette Blair is an author who has been on my list to try. I read paranormal every once in a while. I am still sampling the field. Summer is a good time to read something on the lighter side.

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