Lonestar Angel by Colleen Coble | Parent Guide & Review

Synopsis

Lonestar Angel is told from Eden’s perspective. Eden has had a rough life. five years ago her daughter was stolen and she blamed herself. Her husband Clay turned to work and their young marriage crumbled. Now Eden is starting to move on. The night her boyfriend is going to propose Clay shows up unexpectedly. Surprise they are still married and Clay has been searching this entire time for their daughter. He thinks that he has found her in Bluebird, Texas at a youth ranch.

They decide to sign on as youth counselors and work with the group of girls while they try to figure out which girl is theirs. Working together they start to fall in love again and try to make things work again. But with new hope comes danger. Eden, Clay, and the five girls have to fight to overcome the danger. Along the way, Eden realizes that God has been there the whole time fighting for her family.

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First Impressions

After Lonestar Homecoming (book 3 in the Lonestar series), I was done with this series because of the characters. I only started this book because I wanted to finish the Lonestar series. I thought it was an interesting start to the story and I was really glad that Colleen Coble went away from her marriage for convenience obsession. Instead, Lonestar Angel is about a couple coming back together and fixing their marriage. 

Lonestar Angel Parent Guide

Overall: PG for intense sequences
Violence: PG for intense sequences. not blood or gore; kidnapping, tense situations, dealings with a drug cartel, attempted murder, snake bite
Language: PG a few mentions of Hell referring to heat or religion.
Adult Content: PG a few kisses
Reading Level: Grades 6+

Touchy Topics in Lonestar Angel

• Blame: Eden blames herself for her daughter’s death and carries around that guilt all the time. 
• Abandonment: Eden was abandoned by her mother when she was young. This gave her trust and self-worth issues. She also doesn’t like being abandoned.
• Trust: Eden has a hard time opening up and relying on others. This makes it hard to make friends, trust God, and have a deep relationship with her husband.
• Work vs Family: Clay spent a lot of time traveling as a photo journalist with the military. It is something he is good at. When his daughter went missing he dove back into work which enlarged the division between him and Eden.
• Mental Illness: Schizophrenia and depression are talked about. 
• Self-Worth: Eden doesn’t feel like she is worth being loved and cared for because of her mother’s abandonment.
• Foster Care: All of the girls they work with at Bluebird Ranch have been in foster care. Eden grew up in foster care after her mom left her. The family she was with really shaped how she thought and her actions later in life.

Quotes

“Forcing her gaze up, she stared into his face. “It took me a long time to get over you.” “I never got over you,” he said, his voice soft.”

Colleen Coble, Lonestar Angel

“After all she’d been through, Brianna deserved having them both with her. A family. The thing she thought she’d never have. Not now. What if they stayed together? Oh, the thought was ludicrous. Even if she were willing, Clay wouldn’t be. The best they could hope for was an amicable relationship where they put Brianna first. Maybe that would be enough. It had to be, because she didn’t have it in her to hope for more.”

Colleen Coble, Lonestar Angel

“She still had that image of her mother twirling in the mirror when she returned three hours later to find her mother gone, with no trace other than the scent of her face powder still lingering in the bedroom.”

Colleen Coble, Lonestar Angel

My Thoughts

I liked Eden and Clay. Their story is much more believable than some of the other ones in this series. I am a fan of the curveball villain at the end. Originally I thought the individual was weird or awkward because of cultural differences but how it turned out makes more sense. This book also shows a good mixture of functioning and non-functioning families throughout and you can see the changes that Eden and Clay make to switch sides. Eden’s whole dream is just to be part of a family. She was so crushed when that was taken away and can’t wait to get it back.

I don’t like the title. It doesn’t fit with what is happening in the story. The angel part comes because of a nickname Clay gave Eden right after he met her. Lonestar Angel is most definitely a Christian novel. There are many times where Eden contemplates God and her relationship. For a large part of the book she feels like God has abandoned her because he took her daughter and essentially ruined her dream of a family.

Lonestar Angel is a good book for grades 6 and up. I didn’t think anyone younger would find it interesting, but there is nothing that they couldn’t see. It seems like some intense stuff but it is mellow for the most part and when the action does come it is similar to a PG movie.

What to Read Next?

Hopefully by finishing this book you’ve finished the Lonestar series by Collen Coble. If you are looking for another contemporary Christian romance series check out the Crowns and Courtship series by Carol Moncado. Another amazing book with a dash of romance and some action is The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White. For more amazing romance novels check out this post.

What did you think of Lonestar Angel? Did you figure out the villain before the end?

Happy Reading!
Emily