My review of Angel with a Ray Gun by Deborah Kinnard

About the book:

Matt Greenlee has managed to mix an active ministry with his secret life as a science fiction writer. When he's assigned a new -- female -- editor, Matt senses disaster. What sort of damage will she do his next bestseller? And once he sees her, he wonders what kind of damage she could do to his heart.

AJ Mercer edits books for a living, and she's good at it. But, Pastor Matt is a challenge as an author, and as a man, even more so. Her wingy, crystal-power, anything-goes mother advises her to go with the flow. AJ's offbeat upbringing has left her wary of both Christianity and men, but she's attracted to her client. The gloves are off -- his biases versus her need for success.

When these two mix it up over a book, can they find happiness, either loving or literary?

My review:

Angel with a Ray Gun is an emotionally moving novel and packed with spiritual truths. And it's all wrapped up in a delicious romance. What more could a romance-loving reader like me want? This author is one of the best "kissing scene" writers I've ever come across. Her writing makes me breathless without making me feel overly stimulated. Seriously. The tension in her multi-layered plotting is so realistic, too, that the conflict works perfectly to build the tension in the story.

I could see the congregation finding fault with the pastor for writing science fiction and worse, for being single. I could really sense his physical temptation (and hers) and understood their desire for true love. Everything about this story made it a truly compelling read. There were no meandering sections or boring chapters. Everything worked together beautifully.

It's hard to share much detail about this book because I don't want to post a spoiler. But I can honestly say that aspiring authors who want to develop believable and quirky characters, amazingly delicious romantic tension, complex internal and external plotting, and spiritual ARCs that ring true would be wise to study this novel. The only bummer is that when the story ended I could no longer hang out with Matt and AJ. They seemed so much like real people to me, and that is what makes this story superior to most romances. I really cared about both the hero and heroine's plight. Ms. Kinnard is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Angel with a Ray Gun was published by Desert Breeze and released in April 2009.