Rating: 
Summary: Finally! A Christian romance with meaning!
Review: I first borrowed "Texas Angel" from the library because the cover was interesting and the back sounded good. Since overall most "Christian romances" have very little Christ and are simply "clean," I wasn't expecting anything very deep. Obviously I'd never before read Judith Pella. The book views the world through two pairs of eyes: that of a holier-than-thou pastor and a terrified woman sold into slavery and prostitution. My pride told me to put it down, that there couldn't be any good from a book that used a prostitute as its heroine... how dare the author even use such a wretched creature!... but I stuck it out and was glad that I did. I learned a lot about human nature from this book. There's a difference between using something for shock factor and showing truth by it. In the end, the woman was redeemed to Christ, and the pastor, after his desperate fall from his high horse, slowly came back to God through her... a woman he wouldn't even look at six months before. So for those of you, like me, who are repulsed by stories that involve "less-than-holy" heroines, this book may be your turning point. God really used it to open my eyes and show me my own flaws. I hated Benjamin at first, with his high and mighty preaching, but by the end I was genuinely in love with the character. The fall off his high horse was handled well and was utterly painful even for the reader... the book manages to convey so many emotions and lessons in a beautifully wrapped package. It was a very, very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Finally! A Christian romance with meaning!
Review: I first borrowed "Texas Angel" from the library because the cover was interesting and the back sounded good. Since overall most "Christian romances" have very little Christ and are simply "clean," I wasn't expecting anything very deep. Obviously I'd never before read Judith Pella. The book views the world through two pairs of eyes: that of a holier-than-thou pastor and a terrified woman sold into slavery and prostitution. My pride told me to put it down, that there couldn't be any good from a book that used a prostitute as its heroine... how dare the author even use such a wretched creature!... but I stuck it out and was glad that I did. I learned a lot about human nature from this book. There's a difference between using something for shock factor and showing truth by it. In the end, the woman was redeemed to Christ, and the pastor, after his desperate fall from his high horse, slowly came back to God through her... a woman he wouldn't even look at six months before. So for those of you, like me, who are repulsed by stories that involve "less-than-holy" heroines, this book may be your turning point. God really used it to open my eyes and show me my own flaws. I hated Benjamin at first, with his high and mighty preaching, but by the end I was genuinely in love with the character. The fall off his high horse was handled well and was utterly painful even for the reader... the book manages to convey so many emotions and lessons in a beautifully wrapped package. It was a very, very good read.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Romance nover for young Readers around
Review: I would like to ask the writer of the publisher's synopsis one question: Who the heck is Angela? There is no such person in the book, the main character's name is Elise. I assumed that maybe she changes her name somewhere in the story, but that's not the case. The story follows the pattern of the "Lone Star" trilogy, wherein the main character in the first book is a woman forced into a very abusive situation, and is eventually rescued by an unlikely source (only this time it's a self-righteous minister, and not a band of outlaws). I really wanted to smack that minister, as well as the members of Elise's former family that denied her when her mother's former owner came to claim her. There are a couple of characters in the book who appear to be undesireables on the surface, but are actually good men (i.e., the Sinclairs' guide on the trail, and the minister's "mountain man" brother). Not to spoil the surprise, but if you read the sequel, "Heaven's Road," you learn what happened to the oldest son after he ran away from home and get re-introduced to the Sinclairs' trail guide.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, like most Judith Pella stories.
Review: I would like to ask the writer of the publisher's synopsis one question: Who the heck is Angela? There is no such person in the book, the main character's name is Elise. I assumed that maybe she changes her name somewhere in the story, but that's not the case. The story follows the pattern of the "Lone Star" trilogy, wherein the main character in the first book is a woman forced into a very abusive situation, and is eventually rescued by an unlikely source (only this time it's a self-righteous minister, and not a band of outlaws). I really wanted to smack that minister, as well as the members of Elise's former family that denied her when her mother's former owner came to claim her. There are a couple of characters in the book who appear to be undesireables on the surface, but are actually good men (i.e., the Sinclairs' guide on the trail, and the minister's "mountain man" brother). Not to spoil the surprise, but if you read the sequel, "Heaven's Road," you learn what happened to the oldest son after he ran away from home and get re-introduced to the Sinclairs' trail guide.
Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: Judith Pella has crafted a master piece with this spectacular novel! Elise, thrown from a life of comfort and wealth to the lowly position of a slave when a condeming secret is revealed this young woman is forced to sell her self to save the life of her child. Benjamin Sinclair, a self-righteous and condeming preacher who feels called to ministry in Texas immediately deems her lower than the low. Watch as God works and preforms miracles in each of these peoples' hearts to bring them to a point of submission before Him so that His perfect plan can be manifested in their lives.
Rating:
Summary: Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Review: Judith Pella is quite a writer! This isn't the first time she's used characters that a reader would consider "lowest of the low" (in this one it's a slave forced into prostitution, and an oh-so-egotistical preacher I just wanted to slap), managing to change them almost entirely by the story's end. These "total turnarounds" her characters experience could come off as very contrived if done by a writer with less skill, but I've never found myself frustrated with Pella for trying to manipulate me--she does it so well that I'm into the story and forget it's "just some words on paper." Her latest is characteristically vivid, and I really enjoyed it--although I must put a "caution" and say that while Pella never stoops to the dirtiness of secular romance, she does go beyond the Janette Oke level. The worlds in her books are *not* all "peaches 'n' cream." Still, quite a good saga that had only a few drawn-out moments (I got a bit tired of the wavering emotions of both Benjamin and Elise in regard to each other). I will definitely read the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Review: Judith Pella is quite a writer! This isn't the first time she's used characters that a reader would consider "lowest of the low" (in this one it's a slave forced into prostitution, and an oh-so-egotistical preacher I just wanted to slap), managing to change them almost entirely by the story's end. These "total turnarounds" her characters experience could come off as very contrived if done by a writer with less skill, but I've never found myself frustrated with Pella for trying to manipulate me--she does it so well that I'm into the story and forget it's "just some words on paper." Her latest is characteristically vivid, and I really enjoyed it--although I must put a "caution" and say that while Pella never stoops to the dirtiness of secular romance, she does go beyond the Janette Oke level. The worlds in her books are *not* all "peaches 'n' cream." Still, quite a good saga that had only a few drawn-out moments (I got a bit tired of the wavering emotions of both Benjamin and Elise in regard to each other). I will definitely read the sequel!
Rating: 
Summary: Teaxas Angel?
Review: No offense, but are all the reviewers of this book blind? This was a BORING book. I could barely get through the first half of the book, it picked up a little bit after that, but not much. One of the main characters, Elise, seemed stupid to me. Trying to escape with a screaming child? Excuse me, but it seems like common sense to shut the child up and then run. I was surprised that the author, Judith Pella, was a bestselling athor. Because this is definitly not one of my favorites. Then I thought maybe this was one of her not so great books, I mean all authors have those. But after reading all of these reviews, I'm not quite sure. The author ended the book too quickly. It was as if she was just trying to tie all the loose ends up, instead of actully thinking it through. Overall, I would NOT recommend thiS book. Don't waste your time on it.
Rating:
Summary: Teaxas Angel?
Review: This book combines two worlds that you wouldn't ever expect to come together.
Benjamin Sinclair is a fiery preacher with high opinions of everything. He pulls his small quaint family from the safety of Boston to the wilderness of Texas. His kind wife Elizabeth never wanted to go to Texas but Benjamin dragged her.
Elise Toussaint Hearne thought her secret would never be revealed. Her mother was one quarter African. You couldn't tell that her daughter, Hannah, had any African in her because her complexion is the same as her father's. Elise and Hannah are now property of Maurice Thomson. Elise's husband and his family disown them. And she is shamed by what Maurice makes her do.
When Elise and Benjamin first meet they clash and don't get along. But later they both need each other badly.
It was kind've ironic how they ran into each other but it was a great book! Judith Pella is one of my favorite authors so I guess that's why I like it. If you're a fan of Judith Pella you'll like this book too.
Rating:
Summary: The preacher is the one you want to hate!
Review: This is the first time I ever read a Christian fiction book that made me want to give the preacher a swift kick in the pants! Although Benjamin considered himself called of God, he kept putting his religion and himself so high on a pedestal he alienated all the rest, even his wife and children. What a sad scenerio! I was spellbound as the story unfolded, showing God's marvelous grace to a a former prostitute slave, and the sad story of a preacher's wife. I am so happy I just found out there is to be a sequel!
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