More Than Angels:
Once Upon a Broken Heart
Ruby Moon-Houldson
E-Book Time
ISBN: 1-59824-151-6
358 Pages

No doubt about it!  I loved this book!   

At first I thought it was a self-help book.  There are many individuals who have shared their story about abuse during their childhood. The words are not easy to write and not easy to share; however, there is always something there that lifts my spirit and provides a measure of strength to move forward.  Ruby Moon-Houldson has indeed shared a very personal story in More Than Angels: Once Upon a Broken Heart!

Ah, but that is where this book moves from the traditional and into a unique odyssey of discovery that gives us action, romance and a heroine like no other!  Let me tell you about a woman who I have come to admire.  Thia may be fictional, but there is enough shining through her story that makes me want to have her as a friend, a confidant.  She is a strong woman, one you would want to have as a role model for the teenagers of today.  Thia could relate to most problems that they might face and could provide insight by which they might achieve the self-confidence and determination that is so important for today’s youth to find and emulate.  This book definitely is one that you can comfortably share with your daughters and her friends!

More Than Angels begins with a flashback to a scene in Thia’s childhood.  Her father is holding a heavy wooden cane above her mother’s head.  Thia stretches out a hand, in a vain attempt to ward off the second blow.  Grabbing on and hanging to one of her father’s legs, she attempts to keep him occupied.  Even if she is bruised or hurt, she feels it is a small price to pay to protect her mother…and her sister and brother.  Throughout the book, Thia dreams of the abuse from her father, as well as from those with whom she went to school.  Thia was alone in her struggles; there was no help from her mother, her siblings, her teachers or neighbors.  While her mother went to church, there was nobody from that source that made any effort to help the family.  She might have heard the words—God, Jesus, angels, guardian angels, but none of them seemed to be there to help little Thia in her fight against the evil surrounding her.

And then one day she was able to watch television. And she discovered the show Beyond Earth and especially one of the lead characters, Basalt.  This being from another planet faced every situation with logic, courage, and intelligence.  There was never a time, never a situation that he was unable to anticipate and for which he could not provide a solution.  And so, Basalt, a fictional character in a television show, became the hero, the guardian, the source of intelligence, expertise, and experience by which a little girl named Thia learned to face the cruel world in which she lived.  She did what it took to hide her watching the program from her father and, in secret, absorbed and grew stronger as she learned more and more from Basalt.  Quite aside from the story itself, I have always been a Trekkie and I was thrilled to correlate Thia’s words to ones I always enjoyed from Spock, Data and other characters in “Star Trek” who used logic as their primary emotion. So, if you too are a Trekkie, you’ll want to read this book!

Needless to say, Thia became a formidable woman.  As a practicing psychologist as well as an FBI agent, she gained a reputation as a top investigator.  Readers are quickly pulled into exciting cases, one of which places her in a covert operation to stop a group of drug runners and suppliers.  While undercover, she pulls her investigative skills together with a “dumb blond” act and is in exactly the right position to handle a kidnapping case—a case involving another lead character from her favorite TV show, Beyond Earth.

In order to prepare for handling the kidnapping, she contacts the father of the young man, and as they discuss the situation and how Thia may be able to rescue his son, Vance Gordon begins to fall in love with Thia.  But there is a problem; Thia had long ago committed her heart to Colin Manning, the man who had played Basalt so many years before. And Colin Manning and Vance Gordon are best friends. 

In the midst of exciting actions of Thia, other FBI members, and the two stars who are trying to rescue Gordon’s son, Thia finds herself once more reliving and dreaming about her terrible childhood and how these two fictional characters had come to mean so much to her.  But now the formidable, intelligent, and logical woman she had become, due to their onscreen influence, is being tormented with new emotions of love, need, and attraction for the men who played her favorite characters.

The surprise developments and end to this story cannot have been anticipated. It is real; it is a situation in which every woman could see herself. It is a love story of conflict, trust and bonding that every male can understand.

Be looking for More Than Angels' sequel! This romantic thriller will catch you off-guard and offer more than you expected. You'll find a real-life heroine who will haunt you for her childhood pain and suffering, at the same time you're longing to hear more about her present work to serve and save lives. Thia had more than guardian angels helping...she had her own personal unseen hero who was always beside her. I declare this and the sequel truly "must-reads!" for all those looking for a hero or two to enter their lives! And who among us can deny that we are?
 

G. A. Bixler
For IP Book Reviewers