Title: Satan's Angel Author: Kristin James
Published: May 25, 1988
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 304
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Sam Brody was a man on the run. Captain Slater was the Texas Ranger sworn to capture him. Neither of them was prepared for the Stafford women.
When Victoria Stafford and her cousin Amy stumble upon a jail-break, they’re swept up in the chaos. After Amy is taken hostage by the outlaw Sam Brody, Victoria is determined to rescue her... even if it means teaming up with an abrasive man like Slater.
Slater had finally captured the outlaw who had eluded him for years and, then, in an instant, Brody is gone. The last thing Slater needs is a hard-headed woman like Victoria Stafford joining him on the hunt. But he quickly realizes that Victoria, with her unfeminine split-skirt and her rifle in hand, never learned the meaning of the word quit. A bond between enemies, forged of necessity, becomes something much more under the starry Texas skies, and they soon find there’s no place to hide from their growing desire.
Sam Brody has always believed he was beyond redemption. Only an angel could save him, and angels are in short supply in his world. But from the moment Brody rides away with Amy on his horse, he knows there is something special about her. She’s the one woman who can show him how to be good.
Emotionally scarred by a childhood tragedy, quiet Amy Stafford is so gentle that even at twenty-seven years old, no man has ever viewed her as anything except a girl. But when she sees the heat in Brody’s eyes, she knows that he senses the strong woman she is inside. Can love heal this wounded pair, or will Brody give in to his darkness and condemn Amy to a life without passion?
The thing I really like about Western-set novels is that they’re just a lot of good fun. Satan’s Angel is a fun road trip romp across Texas, featuring bank robbers, brothels, serial killers, secret hideouts, and anything else you’d want to see in book set in the Wild West. Kristin James (aka Candace Camp) isn’t the best writer I’ve encountered—she sure does struggle mightily with the difference between third person omniscient and third person limited—but it’s okay. And, bonus: this book is actually two romances for the price of one!
Based on the back cover copy, you’d likely think this book is about Victoria Stafford and Texas Ranger Slater, on the trial of a band of bank robbers. That’s…only a little bit true. Much of this book (and I’d argue the best parts of this book) is actually a sweet romance between Amy, Victoria’s cousin, and Sam, the troubled bank robber who accidentally kidnapped her.
To give some background: Victoria and Amy are on the stagecoach to San Antonio when they get between Slater’s attempt to finally apprehend Sam. Sam shoots Slater and makes a getaway by using Amy as a cover, and Victoria is left behind trying to nurse back to health her best shot at recovering her delicate, childlike cousin. There, the story splits into two. Sam and Amy run to an idyllic hideout where they get to know each other; Victoria and Slater attempt to chase them and “rescue” Amy, but they have several false starts and don’t make much headway.
The parts of Satan’s Angel featuring Victoria and Slater are about how you’d expect. Victoria is a headstrong, capable rancher’s daughter, and she knows how to shoot and ride and keep a cool head. Slater is a lone wolf with a drive for justice. He’s not interested in Victoria’s assistance, but he can’t deny she’s capable of keeping up with him. They fall into a few scrapes and various disasters as they track Sam and Amy’s trail, and along the way they realize they’re deeply attracted to one another. My favorite incident was when Slater falls ill and leaves the two of them stranded, and then a helpful local farmer brings them back to his cabin—except he and his family are all serial killers. (Think the Fratellis from The Goonies). By the end of the book, they’ve fallen in love and are ready to give Texas ranching their best shot. It’s a solid, easy story that I liked and thought was well-written. I especially enjoyed all of the discussions of Slater’s moustache, which must have been very luxurious indeed.
The other half of the book, however, was really what did it for me. There’s a lot less drama in Sam and Amy’s love story, and that gave room for a slower-paced development of the relationship. Amy is portrayed as a cross between an angelic Pollyanna and a very tender-hearted and sweet neurodiverse woman. She’s naive and socially awkward, endlessly compassionate, and probably far too good to be true. Okay fine, she’s basically a Mary Sue. Anyway. She’s been sheltered all her life and is tired of being treated like a child. Sam comes along and has a pretty definite case of instalove for this delicate and pretty angel who seems to trust him wholeheartedly. But Sam also treats her like an intelligent adult, which in turn awakens Amy’s own feelings. Every scene between the two of them was sexy and adorable, and whenever the book shifted to Victoria and Slater, I’d look forward to getting back to them. Sam and Amy’s love story is a bit of a cliché, of course, but I really enjoyed it. They’re the real MVPs here.
Of course, eventually the four protagonists’ stories converge, and there’s a very dramatic drama, featuring a Big Baddie who is soundly defeated. One interesting thing about Satan’s Angel is that there’s minimal internal conflict. All the tension in the book is created by outside forces. Sam/Amy don’t want to get caught and killed by law enforcement; Victoria/Slater are trying to find them before it’s too late. I wouldn’t say this book is lacking in character development or emotional arcs, but that’s certainly not where the author’s focus is at. Beyond the typical “I’m a dark, dirty man and I’ll corrupt your sweet virginly innocence” nonsense (which applies to both couples), there’s nothing going on mentally that would stop the two couples from being together. That was a nice change, I thought.
Satan’s Angel is, of course, the first title in Harlequin’s long-running Historical line. So it’s a category romance, but to me it doesn’t read like one. While the book is only 300 pages, it still felt meaty and fully-developed. The pacing here was steady, and I didn’t feel like James/Camp was rushing things too much. Honestly, I almost think that 300-page historical romances should be the norm, as opposed to the 400 page monsters that are common today. Everything I needed in a love story was here, and anything extra would have ruined the flow.
Reading this book, it’s easy to see why Candace Camp has enjoyed such a long career as a romance novelist. Satan’s Angel isn’t a perfect book, but it was exciting and full of action, and was (mostly) well-written. I think this book exemplifies exactly why outlaws and Texas Rangers were such a staple in historical romance for so many years—when done well, they’re very entertaining.
