GABRIEL'S ANGEL

Author: Cynthia Thomason ISBN: 1932815562 5/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: MEDALLION PRESS
Time Period: Southern U.S - 1871

The year is 1871, and life at a remote Georgia lighthouse has become routine for Livvy Drummond. Then a wounded convict escapes from a passing prison ship and swims ashore. He threatens her ... and collapses at her feet. When Gabriel Hampton opens his eyes, he beholds an angel who not only nurses him back to health, but senses the nobility beneath his rugged, feral appearance. Having escaped a life sentence, the result of an unjust court martial, he finds a new life, and new love in the hands of the lightkeeper's beautiful granddaughter. Springtime on the remote island is nearly idyllic for Livvy and Gabe until circumstances tear them apart. Although Livvy is determined to help Gabe escape his hopeless future, secrets from her childhood threaten to destroy what she and Gave have built - secrets that tragically link her to Gabe in a way neither would ever have dreamed. Will they be able to find their way back to each other? Or will the Civil War claim another two victims?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I absolutely loved Cynthia Thomason's GABRIEL'S ANGEL! I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in just one day. It's an utterly romantic story with unforgettable characters and beautiful settings. It is a definite Top Pick Read!

GABRIEL'S ANGEL takes place in a unique setting, a lighthouse off the Georgia coast. I remember the first time I saw a lighthouse. It was six years ago and I was on vacation with my husband at Cape Hatteras, N.C. We visited the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and it was absolutely a beautiful sight to see. I wasn't able to climb all the stairs to the top (I was quite pregnant at the time), but my husband did, and the pictures he took of the view from the lighthouse took my breath away. When given the opportunity to review Miss Thomason's book, I took it. I'm so glad I did. She captured the beauty and romance of a lighthouse so perfectly.

GABRIEL'S ANGEL has an almost perfect hero, Gabriel Hampton. Gabriel enters the story as an escaped and injured prisoner who washed up on the shore by the lighthouse. Once his background is revealed, I couldn't help but fall in love with him. He is gentle, kind, loyal, and hopelessly romantic.

The heroine is Olivia (Livvy) Alcott. She's taken from her home as a child when her mother dies, and is sent to live with her grandfather, Holly, at the Georgia lighthouse. Holly teaches her everything there is to know about the lighthouse, and soon she is maintaining it. Let me just say that her grandfather, Holly, is a wonderful character—so lovable and likable—and is an integral part of the story, as well. Livvy is quite taken with Gabriel, and once she learns to trust him, she loses her heart to him.

Gabriel and Livvy's romance is touching. When Gabriel has to part from her, I started to get all teary-eyed! I love when a story can have that affect on me. I know then that I'm reading something that is very special.

Everything about Cynthia Thomason's GABRIEL'S ANGEL is special. As I said in the beginning, I loved this book. I highly recommend reading it! A love story like this doesn't come around too often!

Julie Kornhausl