Angels Landing

Author: Rochelle Alers

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-455-50138-0

Source: The Season

Rating: Recommended

Heat: 2

As Kara Newell packs up to leave New York City for a fabulous, much needed, vacation, she receives a call requesting her appearance at the reading of a will. As a result, Kara puts off her plans to return home and heads to Cavanaugh Island, both confused and interested in the stranger who left her something in the wake of his death. Upon arrival, Kara learns the unexpected truth regarding her family, a truth that changes her life forever.

Angels Landing was a fun, light-hearted and romantic book, but didn’t have the block buster qualities that make novels a top pick, in my opinion. The characters are attractive, loveable and well developed, but they have some annoying qualities that kept sneaking up and making me wince. For example, Jeff, the hot sheriff that’s into Kara, calls Kara “baby” constantly throughout the novel. Jeff begins using this term of endearment almost immediately, which turned me off almost instantly. The term is used far too often and made me feel like Jeff was a player or that he didn’t respect Kara fully. He uses the term so loosely, right off the bat.

The pace of the novel is steady but it didn’t capture my attention and keep it. I would much rather be glued to the pages than find myself taking breaks from reading and putting the book down. I did however enjoy the setting immensely. Cavanaugh Island is a gem hidden in the form of land, surrounded by the sea. The close knit, family community stands up for each other, protects each other and puts their peers in their place when actions need to be corrected or adjusted. The town really had each other’s back, so to speak, and didn’t put up with discrimination or bullying from the developers attempting to take what’s not theirs.

Overall this romance was a good read, but not a favorite. The love story is all about surprise and the unexpected, as are many of the other story lines in this piece of fiction. If anything can be said about this book, it should be that you’ll find yourself wanting to be in Angels Landing, enjoying the locals, the culture, the food and the charm of an endearing island oasis.