From Publishers Weekly
The lack of music as well as emotional depth mars Shinn's otherwise engaging, romance-filled tale of strong, capable women, the fifth entry in her popular Samaria series. The action immediately follows that of the first book, Archangel (1996), as new leadership rebuilds Samaria. The angel Obadiah, central to the reconstruction plan, is struck from the sky by an unseen enemy. Wounded, he drags himself to a desert oasis, where rebellious Rebekah, sequestered from men like all Jansai women, defies her tribe and secretly cares for him. Rebekah later encounters Obadiah when she attends a fair dressed as a boy and they begin an intrigue. Meanwhile, Elizabeth, born to a life of privilege, has fallen on hard times. Longing for a return to luxury, she flees to an angel hold to become an angel-seeker, one of many women who desire to attract an angel and bear an angel child, since such a liaison guarantees a comfortable existence in the angel hold. The two women's stories bring them inexorably to a meeting. The music so important to Samaria doesn't ring out—neither of the women sings—and with three protagonists and two love stories, the novel covers perhaps too much ground. Still, Shinn smoothly blends the romantic sensibility of yesteryear with the feminism of today, all in a richly textured landscape. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Shinn's new novel of Samaria, where angels and humans cohabit, is set in the time of rebuilding after the chaos of former archangel Raphael's fall and is told through the intertwining stories of the mortals Elizabeth and Rebekah and the angel Obadiah. Elizabeth, forced by circumstances to be a servant in her cousin's house, leaves abruptly for the new community of Cedar Hills, where she hopes to take an angel lover. Rebekah, a young Jansai woman, is dissatisfied with her life but sees no alternatives to it. Obadiah is sent by Gabriel to live in Cedar Hills and negotiate with the Jansai over issues surrounding the now-forbidden enslavement of the Elori tribes. Injured over the desert, Obadiah is found by Rebekah, who tends him and has her life turned upside-down. From Elizabeth's discovery that an angel is perhaps not the kind of lover she seeks to the fracturing of Jansai custom when Rebekah nearly dies for the crime of being loved by an angel, a solid read. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Elizabeth was born to wealth, but circumstances forced her to live as a servant in her cousin's household. Determined to change her life for the better, she makes the journey to the town of Cedar Hills, hoping that an angel will take notice of her, and take her as his own." "Rebekah is a daughter of the Jansai tribe, raised to hate the angels - and to marry whichever man her father chooses for her. But in her heart, she longs for a different life. And when she finds an injured angel near her village, she defies her upbringing to care for him." In time, these two women, whose paths will cross, will both find what they desire, in surprising - and dangerous - ways.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The lack of music as well as emotional depth mars Shinn's otherwise engaging, romance-filled tale of strong, capable women, the fifth entry in her popular Samaria series. The action immediately follows that of the first book, Archangel (1996), as new leadership rebuilds Samaria. The angel Obadiah, central to the reconstruction plan, is struck from the sky by an unseen enemy. Wounded, he drags himself to a desert oasis, where rebellious Rebekah, sequestered from men like all Jansai women, defies her tribe and secretly cares for him. Rebekah later encounters Obadiah when she attends a fair dressed as a boy and they begin an intrigue. Meanwhile, Elizabeth, born to a life of privilege, has fallen on hard times. Longing for a return to luxury, she flees to an angel hold to become an angel-seeker, one of many women who desire to attract an angel and bear an angel child, since such a liaison guarantees a comfortable existence in the angel hold. The two women's stories bring them inexorably to a meeting. The music so important to Samaria doesn't ring out-neither of the women sings-and with three protagonists and two love stories, the novel covers perhaps too much ground. Still, Shinn smoothly blends the romantic sensibility of yesteryear with the feminism of today, all in a richly textured landscape. (Feb. 24) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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