Tanner's Angel

Tanner McQuade is on a quest for a wife and not just any woman will do. He wants an angel, but one with dirty wings. His search takes him far from the family ranch in Texas and into New York City. There he bumps into a woman who has just been shopping for a personal toy and it looks like he may have just found that for which he was looking.

Angelina (Angel) Roselli is innocently on her way home after making a satisfying purchase when a sexy cowboy knocks into her and she drops her bag. He seems to feel challenged when he discovers exactly what it was that she dropped. Determined to throw his hat in the ring Tanner claims that he can beat the competition. All Angel has to do is let him ride.

Things are not as straightforward as they seem. Tanner wants someone who will come home with him to the ranch while Angel has the weight of her heritage in the Roselli Bakery to uphold. Tossed in is a volatile father who backs another suitor, the possibility of sabotage of the family business; all is bound with a kink and a large dollop of vengeance. This is lightly whipped til darkly addictive and served very hot.

The thought of a man feeling the need to roll up his sleeves and go toe to toe against the battery operated boyfriend known as Jack Rabbit will have readers in stitches. Tanner’s ingenuity and willingness to take the bull by the horns is laudable.

Our hero is fun and strong with enough in character flaws and small weaknesses to make him endearing and delightfully real. His attentiveness and observations regarding Angel and her life cut through to the heart of the unhappiness and dissatisfaction that she has worked hard to hold at bay. The protective feelings that he displays warms the reader as thoroughly as his ability to love the heroine through situations that a lesser man might not have been able to stomach.

Angel is a curious mix of sass, innocence, guilt-ridden daughter, and defiant woman. The complexity of her upbringing and that of her current situation is slowly exposed throughout the story in all of its twists and turns. One gets a good idea of why her fantasies run to the realms that they do.

Even so, there is a scene that may make some readers uncomfortable where a very thin line is walked between indulgence of fantasy and cruel forced seduction. This is perpetuated upon the heroine by a character other than the hero.

The tone of the book is hot and hotter. It is a gripping tale from beginning to end. The wise reader may wish to ensure that there will be no interruptions before beginning TANNER’S ANGEL.

November 2006