Lonestar Angel by Colleen Coble

To clear things up, this is the second novel I ever read by Colleen Coble. For reading the first I was mocked and looked down upon. Wow, I was reading a women's romance novel, so I should obviously be made fun at, right? Seriously, guys? Haven't you ever heard the saying, never judge a book by its cover? I'm talking literally, here, as I'm talking about a book. Due to the shame that was brought upon me for reading The Lightkeeper's Ball, the only person who even knew I was reading this book was my brother, who when he saw it chucked and said, "Let me guess: the only reason you're reading that is because you got it for free?" Maybe I should start up my own website in Colleen Coble's defense. She's an amazing author.

Eden’s hope is rekindled when Clay delivers astounding news: their baby girl has been found.
Five years ago Eden and Clay Larson’s baby was stolen. When they went to pay the ransom, what happened changed their lives forever—the kidnapper’s car with Baby Brianna inside sunk deep into the river. Eden blamed herself, Clay lost himself in work. Their young and rocky marriage ended. Or so Eden thought. 

Now Eden’s moved to a new town. She’s found faith and is trying to rebuild her life. She’s even dating again—a sweet guy named Kent who plans to marry her. But then Clay arrives out of the blue and delivers shocking news: he never signed their divorce papers, so they’re still married. What’s more, Clay has been searching for Brianna all this time. And he believes he’s found her: their daughter is in Bluebird, Texas, at a youth ranch. All five little girls there are the right age—he’s just not sure which one is Brianna. Or how she survived. 

To uncover the truth, Eden and Clay sign on as counselors at Bluebird Ranch. They move into small quarters in the bunkhouse and oversee the kids as they try to find out more. Working together, they rediscover their love for each other. But danger is closing in—Eden, Clay, and all their young charges are in jeopardy. As they fight to save their family, Eden realizes that God has been fighting for them all along. And His plans are for a more abundant life than they’d ever hoped.

First things first, I loved this novel. Colleen is an inspiring storyteller, and the novel was full of mystery, suspense, drama and romance. The romance was a little carried away, however, unlike the other novel I read by her. I also noticed a couple inconsistencies in the story, but overall it was great.

The characters were unforgettable, and the whole mystery feeling of "which one of the girls is the right one?" added flavor and intrigue. By the end the story had changed from a drama to an adventure, and try as I could, thinking as hard as I could, I could not figure out who the bad guy was until they revealed their identity at the end. And wow, I just used 'could' three times in the same sentence.

All in all, Lonestar Angel is a great book. I do agree it's geared more for women, and I do agree that it could be considered a romance novel, but I actually enjoyed it. So stop all your hating on Colleen! To further my point in the matter, there was no more romance in The Lightkeeper's Ball than in the average Ted Dekker novel. In all seriousness, I would recommend this novel to anyone.

Lonestar Angel will be publicly released on November 8, 2011.
This book was sent to me for free from Thomas Nelson Publishing. http://www.BookSneeze.com/