Karen Kingsbury is adept at holding onto your heart and not letting go.

Her characters stick around far after the cover has been closed, something that has drawn me to her books again and again.

Angels Walking is no different.

With one exception.

Her angels.

The book opens with the angels discussing their mission–Tyler, Sami, and Virginia–all in need of a miracle.  The consequences of their failure?  Devastating.  Their success?  Far-reaching and lasting.

And I almost stopped reading right there.

The angels were flat, robotic, void of life.

Now, I know that isn’t how Karen Kingsbury writes.  Her books are powerful, skillfully written, and suck a reader right in like a vortex.  You don’t want to put the book down for anything–eating, sleeping.  At least I never do!

I set this book down.  Disheartened.  Determined to read it, because I love this author so.

The next day, I settled in my favorite reading nook.

Chapter one.

I was hooked.

Riveted by Tyler Ames’ baseball career.  His triumphs.  His failings.  His accident.

Instantly sympathetic with Sami Dawson’s broken heart–her determination to move past it.

Heartbroken for Virginia.  Lost, alone, surrounded by family but unaware.

I was entranced.  Not wanting to put it down, even when life tugged me away.

Then an angel would pop up.

And I would cringe.

Maybe my expectations are too high, but I see angels as mighty, powerful beings that are many-faceted, full of emotions and thoughts and feelings, yearning to bring the Creator’s human creation back to Him, praising Him with all of their might.  I think–and this is ONLY my personal opinion, mind you–that Ms. Kingsbury was too reverent of the holy beings to delve deeper, make them more touchable, more understandable to us.

Like she does so expertly for her human characters.

Karen Kingsbury draws her readers into the lives of her characters because she lays their hearts bare for all to see.

I left this book wishing I could feel the same for her angels.  I wanted to know them.  Know how they work, think, feel–why they act as they do.  I wanted to know more.

The story as a whole was not disappointing.  I had to know how Tyler, Sami, and Virginia’s lives intertwine, and whether the angels’ mission would be a success or not.

Karen Kingsbury made me fall in love with every person who lived through her pages.

I wanted to help Tyler; I was yelling at Sami to “Make the right choice!!!”  I cried with Virginia’s daughter.

I was right there with them, feeling what they felt, cheering them on.

And I was satisfied when I closed the book for the final time.

Book two is now a must-read.  Honestly, I can’t wait for all three of the next books in this series, whether I review them or not.

I love Ms. Kingsbury as an author, her writing is superb, and the subject of angels fascinates me.

But I wrote this review with trepidation and much prayer.

I take the trust these authors and publishers have placed in me by allowing me to review advanced copies of their books for my honest review very seriously.

I want to speak words of life.  Encouragement.  Truth.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, only because the angels could have been so much better.

Maybe you had a different reaction to the book?  (Or will, whenever you get a chance to read this lovely book.)

I would love to know what you thought of it.  Read it.  Get back to me.

I can’t wait to hear from you!  :)

In Him,

Michele