“He wished that just one person would cry for him, that just one person might miss him.”

Hello Everyone,

I confess to being a self-professed crybaby; I cried while reading this book. I was so emotional that I couldn’t write for Frappe Friday without bawling. I have my emotions under control today, so here I go.

Walking on Air by Catherine Anderson is an excellent historical romance. It reaffirmed my faith in God and my fellow man with the religious overtones to the book. If you don’t believe in angels and second chances, you will after reading Walking On Air. That is a prevalent theme in Catherine’s books: second chances.  I love, no, adore this book.

Gabriel Valance is drinking, gambling, womanizing gunslinger, who prefers his solitude. When a young gunslinger looking to make a name for himself guns Gabe down, he regrets the emptiness and loneliness of his life with his last breath. Finding himself on the cusp of heaven and hell, Gabe is given a second chance by angels to make better decisions and give his life meaning. He has a month to make a difference in the life of one of 3 lost souls.

Nancy Hoffman is, according to the angels Michael and Gabriel, one of the lost souls. Nan is a young woman who has run from an abusive past. Nan raises her younger sister Laney, of whom she makes a good and happy life for, while keeping herself closed off. Nan has no friends. The only happiness she allows in her life is Laney and the hat shop she owns, where she works all day, every day. She distrusts men and has sworn never to let herself love one, since she abhors the thought of marriage. Gabe chooses Nan to save from a life of loneliness as a spinster. He chose Nan simply because she’s hot. So starts Gabe’s campaign to change Nan’s life by following the rules and dictates set up by Michael and Gabriel. The biggest challenge is that Gabe has one month to get Nan to love him. In the  process of gaining Nan’s love, Gabe finds a love and family that he never thought he deserved or dreamed he could have. He realizes that his past and upbringing doesn’t have to define who he becomes or the type of life he lives. In the time that he has left, Gabe teaches Nan the most important thing she was missing; he teaches Nan to laugh. Nan also learns that her past shouldn’t define her present.  They give to each other what was missing in their lives, while raising Laney to be a happy, well-adjusted child. Add the faith each must have knowing Gabe’s time is limited and you have a love story guaranteed to make you laugh and cry. The interaction between Laney and Gabe as they spend theirs days laughing and teasing each other is heartwarming. Seeing the realizations and changes Nan and Gabe make together; the struggle they endure with them falling in love in the midst of the clock slowly ticking away to Gabe’s date with destiny, little wonder I cried while reading this book. The closer Gabe came to the end of his time, the more I cried. Gabe showed such courage in preparing for his last day, although he now had something to live for; such self sacrifice in his willingness to keep the date of his second death even knowing how his new-found family will grieve. Those are the traits of a good man to love.

“Perhaps you are still only on loan to me, but same holds true for everyone we love. We should take for granted not a single moment.”-Gabe

Catherine Anderson is a master at getting her readers invested in the story and tugging at heartstrings, (don’t believe me? Go read Annie’s Song) because although I love Gabe and Nan together, I found myself jealous of Nan. Seeing how much Gabe grew in such a short period of time makes him the love of my life. As Gabe realized he has always been a good guy, with a good heart; that he is not a worthless being, despite his lack of upbringing, made my love him more. I am fast becoming obsessed with Gabe. So much so, I will stalk Catherine to write the next book in the Valance Family series. I need more Gabe. In the meantime, I will re-read this book…often. OK, that’s the end of the madness!

Happy Saturday,

The Book Diva