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My Angel
written by Denise Skelton
Studio : First Chance Publishing
by First Chance Publishing
Release Date : 2007-02-28
Publisher : First Chance Publishing
Released : 2007-02-28
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780979087707
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 18 reviews)
List Price : $9.99
Our Price : $5.30
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Product Description |
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Simone Porter, an inner city youth center director, has lived her whole life being dominated by her over controlling mother, but yet she still retains her romantic nature and idealistic views about life and love. Matthew Turner, however, has been hurt by a materialistic wife who used his kindness and affection and threw it away for another man. Now his heart is hardened and he feels he will never love again the way he loved his wife. Brought together by an almost deadly accident, Simone and Matthew develop a bond that becomes the basis for a fantastic friendship. Despite the extreme disapproval of Simone s mother and Matt s father, they become best friends. But is friendship alone enough to heal Matt s broken heart? And is Simone capable of going against her mother s wishes and standing for up for what she wants? As they juggle work, family conflicts, and their own conflicting feelings soon the passion and attraction between them becomes too great to ignore. However, Simone is torn between Alan, the man her mom wants for her, and Matt, the man her heart wants for her. Matt must decide between the ex-wife that used to be his everything, and Simone, his Angel . However, in this battle between true love and family influence, Simone and Matt learn that it is sometimes harder than it should be for best friends to become lovers. And Matt s relationship with his ex-wife proves to be more dangerous to them than anyone could have imagined. |
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A diamond in the rough |
In spite of My Angel's racy (and misleading) cover, the love story of Simone Porter and Matt Turner is so refreshingly unpretentious that it overcomes any flaws in presentation style and emerges as a story that fits the phrase of being "a diamond in the rough."
Simone Porter meets Matt Turner when she saves him after a car accident. While he's in a coma, she stops by to check up on him and strikes up a friendship with Matt's mother.
Now if Simone seems like a bleeding heart from that short description alone, it is because Simone is a bleeding heart.
In fact, Simone isn't your standard modern heroine. She's a softie; perhaps even a doormat. Her domineering mother bullies her about everything and she raises nary a peep. That is, until she meets Matt who is nearly as much of a softie as she is.
What follows isn't the new standard romance formula wherein the super confident and sexy heroine meets the equally super confident and sexy hero and they hop into bed and proceed to have hot, blazing, adventurous, athletic sex for one hot night (or weekend) within the first 3 chapters.
Nope, that's not what happens in this story. If a potential reader is looking for that kind of formulaic romance, a reader might want to look elsewhere. Because in My Angel, Matt and Simone actually take time to get to know each other. Not only do they get to know each other, but also their families and friends. They even get to have some professional on-the-job interaction too.
And they grow into better people from knowing each other. It is subtle and undramatic but the character growth of Simone and Matt happens gradually as they become more involved with each other.
For some readers, the pacing might seem boring and slow moving and to be honest, I couldn't blame them for thinking that way.
But for me, the pacing was a nice change from the fast hookups that seem to be the new norm of romance novel. It was nice to see the heroine and hero go through the process of getting to know each other, become friends and then become lovers. And frankly, I rather liked that Simone's biggest problem (besides her blood curdling mother) was learning how to not be a doormat. And I like that Matt's biggest problem (besides his racist dad) is that he took an awful long time to tell Simone how he felt about her.
There are definite flaws in the novel and most of those flaws stem from the fact that it could have benefited from a better editor. The writing is a bit unpolished; the sequence of scenes was jerky at times; some subplots could have been dropped altogether (namely, the one with Simone's brother Charles); there are characterizations that could have used more subtlety (Simone's boyfriend, Alan, comes to mind); and the end is way too short.
The above flaws are things that an editor could have helped the writer with to smooth out the story, but still, a writer has to have a story to start with and in spite of those flaws listed above, I enjoyed this story a lot. Yes, the presentation could have been better, but the main characters and their interaction with each other and also with some other key characters such as Matt's family, his friend Josh, Simone's sister and her girlfriend Karen created an engaging and unassuming love story that kept me interested.
My Angel is definitely a diamond in the rough story. I recommend it with the reservation that the presentation is unpolished, but it is still worth a read for those of us who still like romances that aren't just about the sex. |
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Is there an editor out there? |
Okay, let me start off by saying that this was actually a really good book. The characters are likeable and the conflicts are real. That alone makes this an enjoyable read. However, what detracts from that are the glaring errors, typos and repetitive phrases throughout the book.
I wish someone had taken the time to edit this book because a few typos are acceptable but there were way too many. How is the hero's name spelled, Mathew or Matthew? How is it possible for Black Forest Cake to turn into a pie in the next paragraph?
What really irritated me was the fact that the characters in the book always "hunched" their shoulders. I think the author meant they shrugged; regardless, they spent alot of time doing that....or yelling. What's with all the yelling?
Also, why were there so many name brands used throughout the book? Did we really need to know that they shopped in a certain upscale department store? I would rather have read that they had an insightful discussion in the car on the way home, as opposed to reading that someone pulled into the parking lot of the local 7-11. I don't care what the name of the store was. Or the name of the song....irrelevant.
Finally, there was no real flow to the book. One minute they were outside, the next minute inside eating. Huh? Page break or something, when did the characters even go home. But we get a pretty good description about someone getting up from the table, removing the plates, carrying them to the sink and coming back with more plates? No, the reader does not need to know that. Did anyone else notice that the author constantly switched between present and past tense two or three times within the same sentence?
I know this may seem like harsh criticism, but when I purchase a book, I want it to appear that some care was given for the finished product. I would like to read more the author's work; however the thought of the numerous errors I might encounter is enough to keep me from making a purchase. |
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A book to read more then once |
I thought the ending was rushed a tad and ended to quickly, other then that the book was a wonderful read.
The love scenes wasn't over powering, like most IR reads. I love the fact that they became friends then lovers instead of just hopping in bed. One of my favorite books to read every once and a while. |
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My Angel- the review |
The lives of Simone Porter and Matthew Turner are brought together by a near fatal accident that almost claims Matthew's life. Simone and Matthew build a friendship that soon turns into a relationship that challenges the wishes of both Simone's mother and Matthew's father. Soon, Simone is torn between Alan, the man that her mother has deemed "perfect" for her, and Matthew, the man that has brought love into her life.
Denise Skelton has penned a story that kept me turning the pages. When I put the book down, I found myself wanting to read more so I could know what was going to happen next! My Angel was a great effort by Denis Skelton and definitely encourages me to read more of her work! Make sure this book is on your shelves!
Tamara Grant for Literary Lovers Book Club ATL |
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Better than Most |
I have read numerous I/R novels for the past couple of years. One thing that I have noticed is the tendency to make the African American heroine a cynical, difficult, emasculating and oversexed stereotype that constantly fights against her growing feelings for the hero. The heroes are too good to be true. Handsome, rich and sweet they are patience itself in the face of constant rejection. They keep coming back for more ill treatment because the heroine is "the one". Why they come to this conclusion is anyone's guess, because these women are constantly emasculating them.
This book was different. Ms. Skelton gives a bird's eye view of an unlikely friendship that slowly turns into something else. With realistic obstacles on both sides, it made for a compelling read. While sometimes the dialogue was a little stilted and the secondary storyline of Matt's ex-wife was not necessary, I thought that overall the good points out-weighted the bad ones. I liked these characters. I understood their motivations and why they fell in love with each other. If you are looking for lots of "hot" sex scenes, this is not the book for you. But if you are looking for something sweet, pick it up.
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