Is the book a Christmas story? Not in the literal sense. In the way that it inspires love, happiness, selflessness, and a sense of well-being, then yes, it's a good holiday read.
Laura Malone, former model and a woman whose face was known worldwide, is on the run--not from an abusive husband or a group of bad guys determined to due her harm, but from a domineering, powerful ex-mother-in-law who wants nothing more than to take away Laura's unborn child. Although Laura's former husband is no longer alive, the unborn grandbaby is, at least to Mother-In-Law-Dearest, the necessary means to keep her son alive. With more money than she knows what to do with, she sends out private detectives to find Laura, to force her to return home to hand over custody of her child.
While traveling through Colorado on her way to Dallas, Laura makes a wrong turn--and almost ends up dead during a snowstorm on an isolated mountain road. Fortunately, she narrowly avoids hitting Gabriel Bradley, an artist who has chosen solitude in a small mountain cabin to ease his pain and grief over his brother's untimely death. With no other viable ways to get Laura rescued, he takes her home with him--and is immediately struck not only by her beauty, but by her inner strength in the lengths she'll go to protect her child.
As the storm rages on, Laura and Gabe learn more about each other than they'd planned--and they devise a plan that includes a marriage of convenience to save Laura's unborn child from its grandmother. But their feelings, although not spoken aloud, are edging towards love. Will it be enough to save this family?
Rereading GABRIEL'S ANGEL, I was once again reminded of why I love Nora Roberts and her books. A contrived relationship and overly-used storyline (i.e. marriage of convenience, marry for the baby's sake, etc.) it may be, but Ms. Roberts has a way of writing that fully immerses you in the story. A true romance classic, this is one to reread over and over again.
The story written in this Nora Roberts book is adorabley beautiful.
