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Title: Angel Rogue: Revised Edition (Fallen Angels)
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Author: Mary Jo Putney
Rating: Not available
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Review of Angel Rogue: Revised Edition (Fallen Angels)

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Comments for Angel Rogue: Revised Edition (Fallen Angels)

• Posted on 2009-04-20
  Angel Rogue - Mary Jo Putney
  
  While not technically one of Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels, Lord Robert Andreville played a pivotal role in Petals in the Storm; he was that heroine's former lover and fellow spy. Now that the war is finally over, Robin has come home to England a man on the brink, exhausted physically, emotionally, and psychically from his twelve years as a British spy in war-torn Europe. His brother Giles has inherited the marquisate and while Robin is given a warm welcome, he is at loose ends - what is a weary ex-spy to do with his life?
  
  While napping under a tree in the woods after a good tramp, Robin is awakened when a woman dressed as a boy literally trips over him. Maxie Collins is the daughter of an Englishman and a Mohawk woman. She and her father are visiting family and she is staying with her uncle in the north of England when her father suddenly dies while on business in London. A few months later she overhears her uncle imply that her father's death was not an accident, and there is talk of a legacy. Was her father murdered? Was her uncle involved? Looking for answers and not certain of her own safety anymore, she leaves to walk to London to her bluestocking widowed aunt, with whom she has corresponded. Once she finds some answers to the many questions about her father and uncle, she plans to return to Boston. She is three days into her journey when she trips over Robin.
  
  Robin is fascinated. Maxie is obviously self-reliant, intelligent, and independent - not to mention beautiful - and her notion to walk to London surprises and delights him. Robin has finally found something of interest to do - he will walk with Maxie to London, whether she wants him to or not. She thinks that Robin is a charming, feckless, unemployed rogue with the face of an angel, but she cannot shake him. When she realizes that he is serious about walking the 250 miles with her, she decides that perhaps it's nice to have some company after all. And even as Robin jokes with her, she senses his underlying shadows.
  
  Mary Jo Putney has stated that Robin is her favorite hero, and I agree with her - I fell for him the moment I met him in Petals in the Storm. Robin is the best kind of tortured hero - one who doesn't wear his grief on his sleeve or impose it upon others, either with sulkiness or anger. He has always been a charming, vivacious and spirited man, but those close to him - his brother, his ex-lover, and now Maxie - can see that there is an underlying melancholy beneath his hail-fellow-well-met façade. He has suffered torture and relives his physical and emotional pains in nightmares. But being with Maxie pulls him out of himself. Her corresponding spirit, coupled with her calm serenity soothes him and captivates him.
  
  While Robin is definitely the main draw of the book for me, Maxie is a strong presence as well. She has that American spunk and lack of reverence for the English nobility coupled with a centeredness and grounding from her mother's people, though she has never been fully accepted by or comfortable in either world. Robin's easy acceptance, companionship, and humor ensure that they become good friends very quickly. However, when an affectionate embrace after a close escape becomes a searing kiss, things change. But they are grownups and talk things through, acknowledging their passion, and indulging it from time to time, without letting it get out of control. Maxie is on a quest, she needs answers, and she needs a friend, not a lover, though it is only a matter of time before she has both.
  
  There is a lovely and fun secondary romance between Robin's country gentleman brother Giles and Maxie's young fire-breathing reformer aunt Desdemona. Both are looking for the runaways and often cross paths, rubbing each other the wrong way - and then the right way. I enjoyed this romance every bit as much as Robin and Maxie's.
  
  Angel Rogue is the perfect road romance with an incredibly appealing hero, a confident heroine, an expanded secondary romance, lots of sexual tension and a moving, emotion-packed denouement. What's not to love? (Psssst...it's just been reissued by Signet.)
  
  The Fallen Angel Series (in order):
  
  Thunder and Roses
  Petals in the Storm
  Dancing on the Wind
  Angel Rogue
  Shattered Rainbows
  River of Fire
  One Perfect Rose
  
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• Posted on 2006-06-02
  I expected better from an MJP novel
  
  I know I'm in the minority here, but I didn't get what I expected from ANGEL ROGUE, and not in a good way. Up until recently MJP was an auto-buy author, but no more. Though I may read more of her books in the future, I'm going to borrow, not buy. There were no big glaring problems with this book, just a bunch of little complaints that added up to a big negative by the end of the book.
  
  While MJP does create well-rounded characters, I didn't really feel like I connected with them by the end of the book. I knew what drove them, what their inner fears and desires were...and yet for some reason, I didn't really care. I felt like I was far removed from the story, as if I was only catching glimpses of their lives, rather than an inside look. This might have something to do with the fact that ANGEL ROGUE used to be a shorter Regency romance, entitled THE ROGUE AND THE RUNAWAY. Regardless of the author, revamped books usually do not work as well as books that were never in a short from to begin with. (An exception to this is of course MJP's very excellent THE RAKE, which used to be THE RAKE AND THE REFORMER.)
  
  I just didn't feel the romance between the two characters, especially on Robin's part. I just couldn't really see why he should fall in love with Maxie. I kind of wondered if he only thought he was in love with her because they spent so much time together, not for compelling reasons. It felt like more of a rebound thing, since when the book started he was still pinning for his lost love Maggie from PETALS IN THE STORM. And since I'd felt in that book that Maggie should have chosen Robin instead of Rafe, it was hard to cheer for Robin to be with Maxie.
  
  There was a secondary romance, involving Maxie's aunt, Desdemona, and Robin's older brother, Giles. It was not very well developed, either. It felt very tacked-on. While I never read the book in its original form, it left me to wonder if this secondary romance was one of the things that had been added to expand the book.
  
  After the first half, the story really dragged, and I started skimming and skipping as much as I could. I finally gave up 50 pages from the end. Both romances were boring, and the mystery just wasn't compelling enough to keep me reading.
  
  If you must complete the Fallen Angels series, borrow this book rather than buy it. It's not MJP's best effort. For something truly excellent by Putney, I recommend THE WILD CHILD, SILK AND SHADOWS, or THE RAKE. Those were all five-star books. Sadly, ANGEL ROGUE is not.
  
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• Posted on 2004-08-15
  Really, all the "Fallen Angels" books are excellent.
  
  I don't know how I had not discovered this author sooner. I have been reading romance novels for about 3 years now and never before had I read a book by Mary Jo Putney. The first one I read "Dearly Beloved", was so beautiful that I went back for more, and after reading "One Perfect Rose" which is part of the Fallen Angels series, I was hooked. I knew I had to read the whole series, and so far none of the books I have read have dissapointed me.
  
  In the case of this book, I have not yet read "Petals in the Storm", so I did not have any background knowledge about Lord Robert Andreville, but he is a fascinating character. His dazzling personality was so well portrayed that it leaps from the pages and you feel like you know him. I loved his sense of humor, his charm, his varied and amusing talents, the fact that under all that fancy facade there was a core of steel. Maxima was an exceptional heroine too, even though I can't really say that I feel a strong conection with her (I would never even dream of embarking on a trip of over 200 miles on foot, on a strange land and with almost no money) But that is what makes her extraordinary besides, she is also very kind, courageous and intelligent and those are qualities I admire.
  
  The only thing that I found that was a little unbelievable and incomprehensible is the fact that Robin would embark on this trip with her with no money, and no provisions whatsoever. That he felt the need to accompany her, I can understand, but why didn't he make a small detour to the house first to fetch money, and two horses or a carriage to make the trip more confortable? I know he is an adventurer and an excentric, but my practical and comfort-liking mind just rebelled at the thought that someone would deliberately choose the hard path when there was an easier and more efficient way to accomplish things. I guess I'm not very adventuresome.
  
  I connected more with Robert's brother Giles (which doesn't mean that I liked him better than Robin, just that I find his personality easier to relate to) He and Maxima's aunt Desdemona are great secondary characters. I wish they had gotten their own novel instead of just being a sub plot of this one. But their story definitely enriched this book.
  
  All in all, I think this book is excellent. I would recommend this and all the books in this series to anyone who likes a well written story, with strong lovable characters and a mix of passion and adventure to make it all more interesting.
  
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• Posted on 2003-03-26
  The Indian and the Spy
  
  This is a great story, Maxie and Robert are two of the best characters Ms. Putney has ever created! A story of east meets west and the differences that make each other fall in love with the other. This is also a very humorous story, a chase a crossed the length of England and two lovers who don't want to be found. This story has all the makings of a good merry romp! Curl up in you favorite blanket, and let Ms. Putney sweep you away!! Definately worth the reading time!
  
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• Posted on 2002-08-06
  Must add to your collection
  
  The third in the Fallen Angel Series, we finally see Robin enjoy happiness. Robin was such a sweetheart to Margot in Petals on the Wind, you really did feel bad that Rafe ended up with her. However, while Maxima is strong like Margot, she has the determination needed to help Robin deal with his demons over what he has done in the name of loyalty for his country. Together as the two of them travel by foot to London while avoiding hitmen and their own families, they become more passionate and the healing of both their wounded hearts enhanced by their growing love for one another. This book again is not as good as the first in the series, but has an emotional quality that the others don't have in that we see many character reuniting and healing over past hurts than we saw in others. This books is the turning point in which Lucien (one of the actual Fallen Angels) begin to understand the torture his soul has endured by his part in the spy ring. Robin while not part of the Fallen Angels (Nick, Rafe, Lucien and Michael), is a worthy character and one that I liked immensely. It's really his character that pulls this book into the level of romance reading that I enjoy.
  
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