Angel (Wyoming-Western Series, 3)

When Cassie Stuart meddles in her neighbors' affairs by trying to end a 25-year-old feud, all she gets for her efforts is the ire of both families turned in her direction. After one neighbor threatens to burn down her father's ranch--with Cassie on it--she decides to call in a peacemaker to help settle the wounded feelings on both sides of her land. What she gets instead is Angel, a gunfighter known as the Angel of Death who owes someone a favor, and who always pays his debts. Angel arrives at the Stuart ranch unsure of why he's needed, and not at all expecting a prim and proper lady to greet him with her pet panther at her side. When he learns of Cassie's predicament, Angel's first instinct is that she shouldn't have meddled in the first place. But as her neighbors begin using more threats and intimidation against gentle and sweet Cassie, Angel finds that his reputation as the Angel of Death just might come in handy to protect her from harm. Angel is the third book in Johanna Lindsey's Wyoming Territory series, following Brave the Wild Wind and Savage Thunder. I have to say that this was my favorite book of the series. It could have been the evolution of the story telling, considering that these books were written over a period of 8 years, which gave Lindsey plenty of time to think about characterization, the motivation behind these characters, and the evolution of the couples already introduced. Whatever it is, this book is a great example of what a great storyteller Lindsey can be (I know the newer books aren't always that great, but every now and again reading an old favorite reminds me how good she can really be). The Angel we meet at the beginning of this book is a sullen, complacent gunfighter who has made a name for himself with his fast gun hand and reputation for precision kills. This isn't the sort of man who would marry a classy lady like Cassie Stuart, and he's not the sort of man who Cassie would ever look at twice. But in helping her out of the disaster she's created, we realize that this isn't just an Angel of Death, but instead a hero--one willing to use his name and reputation to protect a woman who's just trying to do the right thing. It's admirable. It's charming. And so is Angel. Cassie is a good enough heroine, but really it's Angel who steals this story. I think it would be nearly impossible not to fall for this hard-shelled hero once he begins to reveal the softness inside. Angel is a great story to read when you really need to read about a hero who saves the day, and the heroine who saves him right back. A word to the wise, however, is that I'd read Brave the Wild Wind and Savage Thunder first because, having read them in pretty quick succession, I think it helps to have a good background before jumping into this story and knowing what I did about Angel in Savage Thunder, I would have thought him beyond redemption. Lindsey proved me wrong.

This is the sequel to Lindsey's "Savage Thunder." The hero from "Angel" appears in "Savage Thunder", but very briefly. However, the characters of "Savage Thunder" appear quite a bit in "Angel." So it is worth while to read them in order. However, "Angel" is far better than "Savage."Well known as "The Angel of Death" in the West, Angel is a fast gun for hire. To repay a debt to a friend, he travels to Texas to provide protection for a young woman caught in a feud among families. When he first arrives, he is not captivated by the woman. (She's not your classic beauty.) However, the more he sees of her, the prettier she appears to him.Cassie has a bad habit of meddling in other people's affairs. In effort to end a 20 year feud between two neighboring families, she plays match maker by setting up a daughter from one family, with a son from the other. The two lovers then run off to be married, but come back to rejoin the feud. Now both families are mad at Cassie. They threaten to burn her ranch to the ground if she doesn't vacate Texas. Cassie seeks to hire a peacemaker. However, the peacemaker sends Angel in his place to handle the young woman's problem.After facing a few weeks of Angel's intimidation, the father of one feuding family forces Angel and Cassie to marry at gun point. Cassie can't figure out why Angel didn't fight to stop it from happening. Nor does she understand why he took his marriage rights with her. She doesn't believe herself attractive, so she wonders why Angel would not insist that they have an immediate annulment.When Cassie's parents show up, Angel's obligation is fulfilled. Feeling he can't offer her a good life, he decides to leave and let Cassie's mom push for a divorce. Before he goes, he wants to do something for her. He sets out to put an end to the feud that has been causing Cassie such anguish. Cassie wants to do something for Angel too, so she hires a detective to find his family from whom he was stolen as a child. Both Cassie and Angel decide that they don't want to be divorced. Before they can tell one another, Cassie is kidnapped. Angel sets out to save his beloved wife from her captures.Angel is a great hero. Even though he is a gun fighter, he keeps his killing on the side of the law. He protects the under dog and won't compromise his principles. He's dangerous, exciting, and still honest. Cassie is a very realistic character. She's not the usual raving beauty. Men don't flock to her. But she is vibrant, brave, and loyal. I do wish she wasn't quite so mousy in the face of her mother, but that is consist with the era of the story.Some of the major problems that the characters face are too prettily solved. In stead of a realistic truce, many unlikely people end up in love at the end. It's the usual "Happy Ending Overkill." Still you leave the story feeling satisfied. The book held my interest from start to finish.

Except for Gentle Rogue, this is JL's best book. What I loved about it was that the characters were less than perfect in terms of beauty. As a rule, most romance heroes and heroines tend to be outstanding in terms of looks: they are most often pictured as being perfect: the men tall and handsome, the women beautiful to die for. This is one of those books in which the characters are not like that and this makes it easier for the reader (for me at least) to identify with them.The heroine is very lovable with her tendency to make things right which always gets her into trouble. The hero is not the usual big guy who makes his way through life using his sword/gun or whatever is appropriate to his time and place; instead, he has a hidden humour which I loved (although you have to read the previous book about Colt in order to see it fully displayed :). They do not fight all the time as do all the characters in JL's "early Middle Ages" book, but they do not have a soapy relationship either. It is just the right kind of "we get along" and "we don't get along". You can understand why they fell in love with each other.One of my favourites. JL is seen at her best in the Malory novels (don't we all agree about that :) ) and in the Wild West novels. My advice is to skip the Middle Ages and vikings books altogether, unless you prefer more violence, seemingly mindless struggle, and punishments in your romance book. I vote for the humor and adventure part myself. Happy reading!

Angel is a man with no past. After paying his debt to Colt Thunder in _Savage Thunder_ he heads to Texas to pay his third debt. Cassie Stuart is watching over her father's ranch while he is away selling one of his bulls. Cassie has become friends with each of her father's feuding neighbors. Realizing that there is love brewing across the enemy lines, Cassie helps the couple elope. The results are disastrous. She has made things worse and is being threatened to leave town. Unable to go until her father returns, Cassie enlists the help of Lewis Pickens, the Peacemaker. But Lewis is ill so he gives the job to the man who owes him: Angel.Angel is everything a woman could ever fantasize about. Cassie is no great beauty, but has the kind of looks that grow on a man. She is meddlesome, but only because of her kind heart. A wonderful couple with sizzling chemistry. A keeper!

I collect Mrs. Lindsey's books I'm only missing three titles. I read Angel for the first time a little over two years ago, I have read it numerous times since. It has become one of my favorites. It is always nice to see a connection with the books you read. Johanna Lindsey has the talent to re-introduce characters without making it seem like they are still stuck in the first book you read with the same characters. Cassie and Angel are a unique pair and they trully deserve a book of their own. It is also nice to enter again the lives of Colt & Joselyn and Jesse & Chase it almost feels as if you are visiting old friends. There's something that can be said about a book that not only, introduces new charaters to interact with old familiar ones, but also can make you feel as if you are living the story