Nobody's Angel

Rating:
Summary: Stirring tale
Review: Adrian Quinn spent four years in prison for a crime he did not do although all the evidence pointed otherwise. The attorney needs to clear his name not only for his own sake, but also for that of his family, especially his mother. With his employer Tony Nicholls dead in a plane crash in South America, Adrian targets his boss' ex-wife Faith, a stuck-up SOB as his best source to prove he was only a naive fool.

Committing a probation violation by leaving North Carolina for Knoxville, Adrian is shocked by what he sees of Faith, a person he has branded in his mind as having all of Tony's wealth. Instead, he finds a hard working shop owner who volunteers her time to a local shelter. As he becomes better acquainted with her, he realizes she too was an ingenuous dupe of Tony. They begin to fall in love even as they investigate what happened to Tony's books and money. However, an unknown enemy wants the truth to remain buried in a bank vault and will kill to insure that occurs.

NOBODY'S ANGEL is an exciting romantic suspense novel that provides much entertainment to sub-genre fans. The story line is fast-paced and exhilarating, but insures full character development of the lead characters. Although Adrian does not come across as too bitter and adapts to Faith's innocence rather easily, the lead couple makes a fine pair who will hook the audience with the way their past impacts their future. Award winning Ms. Rice has cooked up another thriller that readers will devour.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: An abysmal mess
Review: I haven't read much in the genre of contemporary romance, but this book will not speed me toward becoming a fan of the genre. The plot is fairly complex and well-drawn, but the characters are purely schizophrenic, changing moods without reason or warning, swinging from cozily romantic to blazingly hostile and back, often in a single paragraph. And aren't the characters in these books allowed to have a single weakness? The male lead is a lawyer, a potter, a professional wrestler, looks after his 6 siblings and cancer-stricken mama and, oh yeah, we're constantly reminded, he's gorgeous and built. The female is a gallery owner, a country-western singer, a silent contributor to the local homeless shelter, and--yep--gorgeous and built. As to the narrative, if your idea of snappy repartee is lines like, "You're a gifted genius!" (this at the apex of a love scene, mind you) or "He had a hot poker in his pants," well then, put down the Shelley and Shakespeare; Patricia Rice is your gal.

Rating:
Summary: She's done better
Review: I love Patricia Rice and have all of her books. This convoluted tale of innocent ex-con Adrian Quinn and Faith Hope Nichols, the hard done by widow of his late partner Tony, is just not quite up to her usual standards. Faith is too saintly, for one. Everybody is somehow too neatly connected for another. The hero works his way through law school and then settles down to make pots of money also has made the time to make serious pots? ( even though potting is a family tradition ). Faith somehow ( how? ) has the knowlege, although she was a child bride, to open and make a success out of what sounds like a serious gallery. Still a good read, but just not up to her usual stellar standards.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent romance
Review: I would give it five stars except that I reserve such kudos for absolute masterpieces, those being (in my opinion) few and rare and not, at least so far, mainstream novels. There is very little not to like in this novel. The main characters may be unrealistically wonderful, but they are plausible and certainly people I enjoyed spending reading time with. I admire the author's skill in managing to keep the tension alive between the protagonists yet avoiding the common pitfalls of having one or the other stupidly blind, mean or arrogant. The plot, while a bit convoluted especially towards the end, was nicely suspenseful. Fresh from reading several highly-praised romances without being particularly impressed, I am much surprised that this book did not garner better customer reviews. All in all, a most satisfactory read - I will most certainly read other titles by this author.

Rating:
Summary: A PERFECT COMBINATION
Review: Mix together adventure, mystery and romance and to my way of thinking you have a perfect combination for a great story. Adrian and Faith have the wrong impression of each other at the beginning of the story, but the journey of discovery for them is full of twists and turns and fun for the reader. Plenty of anticipation and sizzle in their romance. The best compliment I can give authors is to want to read more of their books, and I have already ordered two. If you like Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Linda Howard (well, Linda's books are a bit more edgy), you won't be disappointed.