Judith L. (jlautner) reviewed on + 105 more book reviews
Angel Falls is the name of a place (fictional). It is where Mikela Campbell falls from a horse and goes into a coma. Her nine-year-old son, Bret, watches in horror as it happens.
Mikaela (aka Mike) has been married to Liam Campbell, a doctor, for ten years, and has built a happy life in the small village of Last Bend, where she is much loved by her family and by others. She was married before, and her daughter Juliana, called "Jacey", came from that marriage. Mike has said little about the former marriage and husband.
While hunting for a dress for Jacey, Liam discovers a secret: that Mike had been married to Julian True, famous actor, well known as a heartthrob. In their marriage, Mike had been known as Kayla.
The revelation shakes Liam. He has long known that his love for Mike is greater than hers for him, and she had admitted carrying a torch for this lost lover.
Liam is urged by Mike's mother, Rosa, to talk to Mike about their life. Liam goes further, surrounding her with mementoes of their life together. He talks to her every day, and when he discovers the name of her former husband, he talks about Julian. But lo! Mike reacts to the name.
In hopes of bringing Mike back from the coma, Liam contacts Julian True and asks him to come see her. Full of himself and highly successful, Julian nevertheless still harbors an affection for this first wife and he agrees. From here on Liam manages to walk a tightrope: he recognizes a special love Mike has for Julian while at the same time he hopes that she can somehow see past it to her present family and be content.
So. We suffer along with Liam and the rest while Mike lies there. Gradually waking. We listen to her thoughts, disjointed and lacking in context, as she emerges from the coma with her memory of the past fifteen years gone.
For me it was a long, slow, annoying emergence, filled with platitudes and prayer. I didn't understand how a young woman, however poor and isolated, falls for an empty shell of a man just because he promises wealth and a better life. As a young woman, Mike was intelligent and thoughtful. It seems contrary to her character that she would fall for Julian. This is the act of a flighty dreamer, and Mike was never that. So I just didn't buy it, and further did not buy her undying love for him after they parted. What was the attraction, once she had been with him? Was she blind? I just found it so hard to believe.
Easier to believe was Saint Liam's devotion to her. Although it is rare for someone to be so giving that he would let his wife walk away in order for her to be happy, it does happen, and it is the signature of real love. Liam risks all because he does know how to love.
To me, it was just too slow and sappy and dredged with religion. But I can see how it might appeal to others who are, in fact, religious.
Mikaela (aka Mike) has been married to Liam Campbell, a doctor, for ten years, and has built a happy life in the small village of Last Bend, where she is much loved by her family and by others. She was married before, and her daughter Juliana, called "Jacey", came from that marriage. Mike has said little about the former marriage and husband.
While hunting for a dress for Jacey, Liam discovers a secret: that Mike had been married to Julian True, famous actor, well known as a heartthrob. In their marriage, Mike had been known as Kayla.
The revelation shakes Liam. He has long known that his love for Mike is greater than hers for him, and she had admitted carrying a torch for this lost lover.
Liam is urged by Mike's mother, Rosa, to talk to Mike about their life. Liam goes further, surrounding her with mementoes of their life together. He talks to her every day, and when he discovers the name of her former husband, he talks about Julian. But lo! Mike reacts to the name.
In hopes of bringing Mike back from the coma, Liam contacts Julian True and asks him to come see her. Full of himself and highly successful, Julian nevertheless still harbors an affection for this first wife and he agrees. From here on Liam manages to walk a tightrope: he recognizes a special love Mike has for Julian while at the same time he hopes that she can somehow see past it to her present family and be content.
So. We suffer along with Liam and the rest while Mike lies there. Gradually waking. We listen to her thoughts, disjointed and lacking in context, as she emerges from the coma with her memory of the past fifteen years gone.
For me it was a long, slow, annoying emergence, filled with platitudes and prayer. I didn't understand how a young woman, however poor and isolated, falls for an empty shell of a man just because he promises wealth and a better life. As a young woman, Mike was intelligent and thoughtful. It seems contrary to her character that she would fall for Julian. This is the act of a flighty dreamer, and Mike was never that. So I just didn't buy it, and further did not buy her undying love for him after they parted. What was the attraction, once she had been with him? Was she blind? I just found it so hard to believe.
Easier to believe was Saint Liam's devotion to her. Although it is rare for someone to be so giving that he would let his wife walk away in order for her to be happy, it does happen, and it is the signature of real love. Liam risks all because he does know how to love.
To me, it was just too slow and sappy and dredged with religion. But I can see how it might appeal to others who are, in fact, religious.
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