My occasional revists to Johanna Lindsey haven't gone well, this masochistic little odyssey into high school nostalgia that I swear has a homing device in the crapper.But you know what keeps me picking up the Lindseys with an ever-hopeful burst of optimism? The cover art. Surely some of the Bob McGinniss awesomeness will leak through and enrich the whole!(Yup, I will eventually read the "The Pearl Necklace" book, too! Never say die, says I. And the acronym for that title makes it a must-read anyway.)I loves me the Naked Lindsey Dudes, and so I began this one with the same naïve dismissal of that old saying about repetition and sanity. I'll learn one of these days. Too early to tell. I'm a really really slow learner.From the neggy (and even the positive) reviews here, the big gripe about this book is the jerky, jealous, hair trigger tempered hero. He is all of that and more but, you know what, I couldn't even get annoyed with him. His character was so shallow and cartoonish that I couldn't get interested enough to care. He blew so hot and cold in the blink of an eye that he was like some lame stalker villain on a bad TV show:"You will not dance with that young man again!" Bradford nearly shouted."And why not, might I ask?""The boy's in love with you, that's obvious. But you're mine, Angela. I will share you with no one!""You're jealous again," Angela said, trying to hold back her laughter. "You're impossible, Bradford. I only danced with Joel so I could get away from Crystal."The fire left Bradford's eyes as if by magic. "I'm sorry, Angel."Then a page and a half later, Angela starts giggling uncontrollably against her will with Bradford's childhood friend and falls into his arms for a dance and...She spun around to see Bradford running toward them. Before she could say a word, Bradford's fist flew into Grant's face, sending the larger man crashing to the ground. Angela found her voice."Stop it! Stop it! He didn't know (I'm yours), Bradford!"Bradford turned to face her and she stepped away from him. For just a moment, she felt he might kill her."How could he know? We haven't told anyone. Do you understand? He had no way of knowing!"Bradford searched her stricken face and gradually the flame died. He turned to Grant and extended a hand to help him from the ground."I apologize for my fool temper. Will you forgive me?"Who cares if he's a jealous jerk? He's a BADLY-WRITTEN jealous jerk! No charisma, no nothing. And his foil is a dimwitted twit who can't grasp the concept of cause and effect and who has a pool of other lusting suitors, any one of whom would be at least a half-step up. Well, maybe not the rapey redneck one, but at least he isn't Mr. Moody McWhiplash.Seriously, why do Lindsey's books read like they're written for a 6th grade reading level? Everything is so basic - the writing, the characters, the plot. (Not just in these early 80s titles, but the 90s ones too.) And in this book, the plot reads like it was scribbled on the living room floor with Cray-Pas while the author scissored her legs back and forth and paused only long enough to jam another Twinkie in her mouth. It felt like a spastic tot on a sugar high wrote this thing.Or a teenager who read a couple of her mom's naughty books and only remembered some highlights and tried to recreate it. Hero catching heroine in bed with another man! Jealous rages! Deflowering in a whorehouse! Fears of incest! Old fart dies! Bitchy in-law! But then didn't bother to, you know, make it flow coherently.The first 70 pages hooked me. Angela was likable, she had hard stuff to deal with, and it wasn't too bad. But then the Stoopid started and it never let up. The glaring logic gaps and plot conveniences got to be too much and I kept reading simply because it went fast (that 6th grade thing again).* Bradford tries to track down Angela after an afternoon at a whorehouse, and he has a piece of stationary from her school that he found in her pocket. She gave him the name of Angela Smith, but there's no Angela Smith at the school! Wow, total dead end! He and his investigator don't even entertain the thought of just asking about Angelas. But I'm sure there were dozens of Angelas in that Springfield, MA girls' school. Maybe even hundreds.* Angela has been under Bradford's dad's roof for years while Bradford was off in Massachusetts and whatnot, gambling and whoring around and feeling sorry for himself that his fiancée jilted him for his brother. And he has told his dad he doesn't want to hear ANYTHING about what's going on back home. NOTHING! And so the stupidity of Bradford not knowing anything about Angela's movements (her going to school in the SAME TOWN in New England he's in, etc.) plods along unchecked.* Bradford has never forgotten when he gave Angela a gold coin to buy a new dress ten years ago (when she was 10). He sees her again 4 years after that to save her from being raped (and recalls who she is), but then 6 years after that he bangs her in a whorehouse and then has a long idyll with her for months doing the boompy-boom in some cottage and has no idea that she is the same person. I mean, aren't all chicks called Angela? Easy to get them all confused. The reason given is that he recalls her as scrawny when she was younger, but during that attempted rape scene, her boobs are described as being biggish and straining against her blouse and she's all curvy and enticing and stuff. And her excuse for letting this misunderstanding continue all this time? She doesn't want to tell him that she's always loved him and have him laugh at her.Honest, I'm not making this up.Still, it gets 2 stars because in this holiday season giving it less would make me feel like I walked into Walmart and tackled the first crash helmet shopper I saw. It would be plain mean.Why oh why the hell do I keep reading these?Damn, that cover shore is purty.
Bintang 4Buku ke1 seri Southern.Ini merupakan salah satu buku romantis dan yg menyesakkan dada yg pernah kubaca. Kisah sekelumit perjalanan hidup seorang angel yaitu Angela Sherrington yg memiliki guardian angel sedari masih bayi.Kisah cinta Angel romantis, tapi yg lebih romantis itu hubungannya dengan Jacob Maitland ayah dari pria yg dicintainya, yg telah menganggap dirinya sebagai seorang putri yg tak dimiliki Jacob. Perlindungan, perhatian, dan penjagaan Jacob terhadap Angela sedari Angela masih kecik. Jacob mengirim salah satu pelayan setianya Hannah tanpa setahu siapapun untuk menjaga, melindungi, dan mencukupi kebutuhan serta mengetahui perkembangan Angela. Kalau bukan karena ayah Angela yg berkeras membesarkan sendiri putrinya, angela sudah dari bayi diambil Jacob untuk dipelihara dan dibesarkan layaknya anak Jacob sendiri. Sebenarnya Jacob memiliki impian agar Angela dapat menikahi putra sulungnya, Bradford karena Jacob memiliki penyesalan karena terlambat menyadari perasaan cintanya kepada ibu Angela disaat masing masing sudah memiliki pasangan hidup. Keinginan Jacob untuk membawa Angela dalam kehidupan sebagai putrinya terwujud saat ayah Angela meninggal disaat Angela berusia remaja.Angela sedari berumur 11 tahun sudah jatuh cinta pada Bradford saat pria itu memberinya sebuah coin emas yg menjadi coin kenangan. Angela berkali kali jatuh cinta pada Bradford disetiap kali mereka berjumpa. Pertemuan kedua mereka saat Bradford menolong Angela dari aksi perkosaan. Pertemuan pertemuan berikutnya Bradford tak lagi mengenali Angela sebagai gadis yg pernah dijumpai dan ditolongnya, tapi Bradford sudah terobsesi dengan perasaan memiliki terhadap Angela. Dan Angela sendiri tak berterus terang kalau dirinya dalam pengasuhan ayah Bradford. Sehinhgga ketika Angela menghilang, Bradford bertekad mencari Angela sampai ketemu. Dan berita sakitnya Jacob mempertemukan keduanya. Bahagianya Bradford mengetahui wanita yg dicintainya tenyata sangat dekat selama ini. Menemukan Angela dirumah ayahnya, Bradford bertekad untuk tak melepas Angela. Bradford akan menikahi Angela.Ketika impian tiga orang hampir terwujud, ular licik menghalangi kebahagiaan. Crystal saudari ipar Bradford (wanita yg seharusnya menikahi Bradford namun lebih memilih Zachary adik Bradford untuk dinikahi) membuka sebuah rahasia kalau Bradford dan Angela bersaudara. Benarkah??? Atau itu hanyalah hasutan seorang wanita yg cemburu? Akankah impian Jacob terwujud dengan banyaknya kesalahpahaman yg ada semenjak Crystal menggigit dan menyebarkan bisa beracunnya???Bagi C Sherrington, Angela adalah putri yg harus dibesarkan dan dijaganya dengan segala keterbatasan dan kekurangannya sebagai seorang ayah.Bagi Hannah, Angela akan selalu menjadi litle missy nya.Bagi Zachary dan Crystal, Angela adalah simpanan ayah/mertua mereka untuk disingkirkan.Bagi Grant, Angela seperti bunga padang rumput, terlalu rapuh disentuh namun terlalu indah untuk ditinggalkan. Dan Grant memiliki niat terpuji mau menikahi Angela untuk memilikinya.Bagi Hank, Angela harus dimiliki dengan cara yg patut. Angela harus membalas cinta Hank untuk dapat dimiliki.Bagi Bradford, Angela bagai matahari setelah badai.Bagi Jacob, Angela merupakan anugerah disaat saat terakhir hidupnya; seorang putri yg selalu diinginkannya.Bagiku, Angela adalah seorang Glorious Angel dengan berbagai karakter baik dan jahat disekitarnya, seperti halnya pengarang memberikan judul pada buku ini.Sayang kisah yg indah ini tak didukung oleh terjemahan yg sempurna. Dan pengarangnya juga terlalu banyak memasukkan konflik namun penyelesaiannya banyak yg hanya sekilas. Dan gabungan dari keduanya itu membuat terasa ada yg kurang, seperti ada bagian yg terlewat.
What do You think about Glorious Angel (2002)?
Barely a 2 starOK, before I start ripping this book apart let me say that JL is one of my favourite authors and at the moment I am trying to whizz my way through all her books and so far this one is the worst. Lets start with the Hero Bradford maitland, he was a jealous wimp that had no sex appeal whatsoever, I have read other books by JL where the Hero's forced the heroine's and yet they were more appealing and likeable than Bradford, and I know that sounds sick but it's just those hero's were
—Maureen Feeney
Entah kenapa, aku tidak menemukan feel saat kedua tokoh utama berinteraksi. Bahkan tidak kutemukan deskripsi penjabaran tentang keberadaan "sesuatu" di antara mereka berdua, kesannya grasak-grusuk doang?!Angela terlalu naif dan semudah itu "menyerah" pada Bradford setelah sekian lama tidak bertemu*hammer* Bradfordnya sendiri juga terkesan kurang menunjukkan perasaannya, hanya mengandalkan perasaan membutuhkan dari pihak si wanita saja. Sebenarnya aku suka saat Brad memanggil Angel karena kesannya lebih sayang, tapi kok tetap ada yang kurang ya? Cerita tentang koin juga terasa kurang gimana gitu :(No chemistry at all >.
—Perdani Budiarti
great read ! but the start was slow, i mean the book took some 50 pages 2 become really gud n was a 5 star from der. however, der r some facts which disturbed me like bradford's unbelievable jealousy. it was too over the top n logically i think it cud become an illness over time. but then it was also very very n very irritating how men fell over angela. not 4me but 4 bradford. so maybe he was right in being insanely jealous. neway the book lost 2 stars only bcz of the start. i really enjoy it;-) it's entertaining
—Roub
