Angel Wings

The search for identity, in heaven and on earth, drives two of the three protagonists in this New Age romance from Conn (Claire of the Moon). Carlita, an angel whose wings are still only in mid-bloom, has been assigned the difficult case of arranging the fated meeting of two people whom we meet as adolescents and whose adult personalities we watch develop. New Yorker Clancy Reardon learns to be tough and self-protective as she deals with her cruel and alcoholic mother; her destined mate, gentle English-born Mathew Prendergast, comes to live in L.A. with his eccentric, possibly psychic, great aunt Nora after he's orphaned at age 14. But at the time of their ordained meeting when they are 18, heavenly plans go awry, and the two fail to connect. Utterly disappointed, Carlita spends increasing amounts of time in front of the ""destifate screen,"" on which she can see what would have happened had Clancy and Mathew fulfilled their destiny. Fascinated by the alternate reality, Carlita can't resist fast forwarding into the future, while neglecting the present existence of the thwarted lovers-to-be. Told in four alternating narratives, the story of Clancy's and Mathew's meant-to-be relationship often stretches the reader's patience, as does the ""angelosophy"" concerning time zones, parallel realities and shifting planes that pervades the sentimental and faddish plot. (Sept.)