cover image WHEN THE HALO FALLS

WHEN THE HALO FALLS

Kathleen Kane, . . St Martin's, $6.50 (311pp) ISBN 978-0-312-97842-6

Part farce and part inspirational romance, this fanciful fable chronicles the misadventures of Patience Goodfellow, a willful guardian angel who possesses all-too-human urges. For the first time in her 200 years of angel guardianship, Patience has fallen in love. Unfortunately, the object of her affections is her mortal charge, saloon owner and notorious ex-gunslinger Brad Shaw. When she breaks a heavenly rule and removes her halo for a short stint, making herself visible to the human eye, she's accidentally knocked unconscious and stranded on Earth. Upon waking, all of her memories of being an angel have vanished, and the one thing she's certain of is that she's engaged to Brad. Naturally, Brad comes to the conclusion that the stormy-eyed stranger claiming to be his betrothed must be mentally disturbed, but he finds it baffling that she seems to know everything about him and the other residents in Fortune, N.Mex. Although Brad tries to distance himself from his persistent "fiancée," passion takes over when he and the wayward angel are stranded alone together in a remote cottage. Readers who enjoy rosy, paranormal romances will delight in this bit of fluff, but others may be put off by the novel's headstrong hero and irreverent tenor. (Feb.)