Picking up a Jude Deveraux book is a no-brainer for me when I want something that is going to be an easy read, yet is guaranteed to keep my attention to the end. In fact, my husband still laughs about the pit stop on our East Coast trip this summer, I walked out of the tourist information center with 11 Jude Deveraux books in my hand. Hey if they want to sell them cheap, they deserved a new home with us!
The novel An Angel for Emily is the first book by Deveraux that I have read which includes the topic of angels. It made for an interesting combination and was not in fact very religious. The story begins with Emily, a small town librarian, driving too fast in frustration after being stood up by her fiancé. Soon after, she literally hits her Guardian Angel with her car. Michael has come to Earth to protect her in human form because there is an evil out to kill her. Yes the plot sounds trite, but the writing is laugh out loud fun. Deveraux has so much fun making Michael mess up common phrases and having Emily teach him what life on Earth is really about.
This is not a deeply intellectual story, but it is fun to see Emily grow and develop as an individual and have her dreams develop, become threatened and then fulfilled. There is mystery, as Michael and Emily try to discover who it is that is trying to kill Emily, and challenge for her affection as Emilys fiancé gives her an ultimatum that makes her decide between what she really wants with what she has settled for in the past.
Overall, this novel is a fun way to spend an afternoon when the kids are settled playing downstairs and you get a moment to yourself. You can pick it up and put it down, but you will want to follow it through to the end. It has a predictable ending, but sometimes that is just what we are looking for in what we pick to read, a literary chick flick if you will. The angel aspect is an interesting take on Christian beliefs of Heaven and Angels, the mystery is a surprising one, because really it does come out of the blue. Overall this is a love story, not about just any regular love, but an all encompassing, eternity lasting, divine love. Oh sigh, what fun for a rainy Saturday afternoon!
