I actually got this anthology because of Mary Balogh’s story and now that I’ve finished it only Balogh’s and Rice’s stories were worth it imho. The stories are very different in style and set in different periods, what is common is that there are guardian angels in all of them.
Carole Nelson Douglas – Catch a Falling Star
This story had an interesting premise, a young man dies but before being qualified to go to hell (yes to hell) he must do a bad deed before being considered worth. He jumps in time from regency England, where he was a young lord, to nowadays US, where he is a rock star, with the mission of seducing a young girl who is one of his fans. Predictably he can’t do it and his saved by the love he founds and by the presence of his guardian angel. Although the story was original the characters lacked some uniqueness to truly stand out. Grade: 3/5
Marilyn Campbell - The Trouble with Angelina
A modern day tale with a young widow, mother of 3 children, and regular do gooder being approached by the city mayor due to the interference of his dead grandfather and guardian angel. I found Angelina, the widow, a bit annoying and not even the author’s attempts at humour with her character made her more interesting to me. The story was also too rushed with the mayor spending the entire story unsuccessfully trying to woo her and ending up proposing marriage while they still have to get to know each other. Grade: 2/5
Emma Merritt – Brush of Angel Wings
Also a forgettable tale of old lovers reuniting after a few years. He feels guilty of her husband death in an accident, she feels guilty that she never loved her husband as she loved him. Her daughter wants a new father and is quite happy when they get together but they seem to be as stubborn as in the past and I’m not sure that in the future they will want the same things. Grade: 2/5
Patricia Rice – Tin Angel
This one was actually a pleasant surprise with a young lord mourning the death of his brother and feeling unworthy and his guardian angel trying to show him that he does make a difference to the people around him. She recognises that he is lonely and vows to find him a good match. The only bad thing for me was how that resolution come about, I want my angels to stay angels, but despite that it was a very nice and heart warming story, Grade: 4/5
Mary Balogh – Guarded by Angels
Another reunion story as Viscount Garrett and his wife who have been separated for almost as long as they have been married are forced to spend Christmas in an old cottage with an old woman and her grandson. While it was a satisfactory tale and in fact the best of the book as Balogh has a knack has a talent to write well rounded characters even in short stories, I missed the angst she usually brings to her reunion tales. Grade: 4.5/5
Carole Nelson Douglas – Catch a Falling Star
This story had an interesting premise, a young man dies but before being qualified to go to hell (yes to hell) he must do a bad deed before being considered worth. He jumps in time from regency England, where he was a young lord, to nowadays US, where he is a rock star, with the mission of seducing a young girl who is one of his fans. Predictably he can’t do it and his saved by the love he founds and by the presence of his guardian angel. Although the story was original the characters lacked some uniqueness to truly stand out. Grade: 3/5
Marilyn Campbell - The Trouble with Angelina
A modern day tale with a young widow, mother of 3 children, and regular do gooder being approached by the city mayor due to the interference of his dead grandfather and guardian angel. I found Angelina, the widow, a bit annoying and not even the author’s attempts at humour with her character made her more interesting to me. The story was also too rushed with the mayor spending the entire story unsuccessfully trying to woo her and ending up proposing marriage while they still have to get to know each other. Grade: 2/5
Emma Merritt – Brush of Angel Wings
Also a forgettable tale of old lovers reuniting after a few years. He feels guilty of her husband death in an accident, she feels guilty that she never loved her husband as she loved him. Her daughter wants a new father and is quite happy when they get together but they seem to be as stubborn as in the past and I’m not sure that in the future they will want the same things. Grade: 2/5
Patricia Rice – Tin Angel
This one was actually a pleasant surprise with a young lord mourning the death of his brother and feeling unworthy and his guardian angel trying to show him that he does make a difference to the people around him. She recognises that he is lonely and vows to find him a good match. The only bad thing for me was how that resolution come about, I want my angels to stay angels, but despite that it was a very nice and heart warming story, Grade: 4/5
Mary Balogh – Guarded by Angels
Another reunion story as Viscount Garrett and his wife who have been separated for almost as long as they have been married are forced to spend Christmas in an old cottage with an old woman and her grandson. While it was a satisfactory tale and in fact the best of the book as Balogh has a knack has a talent to write well rounded characters even in short stories, I missed the angst she usually brings to her reunion tales. Grade: 4.5/5
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