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Mackinnon #1
Angel In Marble
Tibbie Buchanan was a heavenly beauty, yet some still whispered about her sins. Her glorious honey-colored hair wouldn't stay hidden under her bonnet. Her drab dresses couldn't hide her alluring curves. Once she'd loved a man who'd ruined her. Now a gifted healer and herbalist, an angel to the sick, she swore she'd neve surrender to passion again.
Life on the frontier had taught Nick Mackinnon some hard lessons. Orphaned young, he'd left Texas to learn a shipbuilder's trade. Richer, lonelier, he came back to realize his dream—a seagoing dynasty. And now Tibbie was part of that dream. But Tibbie had loved before, had known the sting of betrayal, the burden of shame. She would flee from love and the man who ached to free her, the man who saw her imprisoned in the past, an exquisite...Angel In Marble.
Life on the frontier had taught Nick Mackinnon some hard lessons. Orphaned young, he'd left Texas to learn a shipbuilder's trade. Richer, lonelier, he came back to realize his dream—a seagoing dynasty. And now Tibbie was part of that dream. But Tibbie had loved before, had known the sting of betrayal, the burden of shame. She would flee from love and the man who ached to free her, the man who saw her imprisoned in the past, an exquisite...Angel In Marble.
389 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 5, 1991
13 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Coffman
63 books116 followersBarbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master’s Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 13, 2018
For guy who really wanted some sex, the poor hero sure didn't get any. The heroine had a child out of wedlock with someone else who deserted her. The H hung in there for a long time and still no sex scene. He had blue balls for the entire book. It's kind of funny but still very unsatisfying for a romance. Although this book had lots of potential and sexual tension, the fact there was no sex scene just makes the book a no go. I don't recommend. The author tortures us. For those who read this author, does she even write sex scenes? I've read one of her other books and there was no sex in that one either. I don't require sex scenes but in this book the lack of one leaves a very unsatisfying read. The author just skips all their baby making to the future hea. UGH. I'd throw it to the wall but it's on Kindle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 25, 2022The Smut Report team is participating in Wendy the Super Librarian's #TBRChallenge 2022. Our goal: to dust off our TBRs once a month and talk about the book we read.
Holly's book:
Going with the animal theme, I am pleased to report that the very first time we see our heroine, she is being chased down the street by an irate goose. So that’s solid.
In addition to the goose, in the early chapters, there’s a run-in with a very mean bull. There’s also a cow who gets her head stuck in a fence, which gives our hero the opportunity to manipulate our heroine into spending time with him. So many animal shenanigans!
Unfortunately, I didn’t finish this book, so I cannot tell you what the deal with the pig is.
Why did I not finish this book? Well, this is one of those books where the hero is like “I see this boundary that this woman is drawing and I can tell she doesn’t like spending time with me and definitely doesn’t want me to touch her but she’s so extra hot that I am going to ignore all of this because having her is what I deserve.” It was exceedingly gross. (There’s also a whole weird backstory about his parents getting killed by Comanches and I don’t really want to know where *that* is going, nor do I have the mental energy to parse the language that Coffman uses to describe these events in a thoughtful way.)
I think I need to reorganize my pile o romance novels into books I actually want to read and books that I want to have on my shelves for aesthetic purposes. Because this one is, I think, the latter.
Read our full TBR Challenge update at The Smut Report
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Holly's book:
Going with the animal theme, I am pleased to report that the very first time we see our heroine, she is being chased down the street by an irate goose. So that’s solid.
In addition to the goose, in the early chapters, there’s a run-in with a very mean bull. There’s also a cow who gets her head stuck in a fence, which gives our hero the opportunity to manipulate our heroine into spending time with him. So many animal shenanigans!
Unfortunately, I didn’t finish this book, so I cannot tell you what the deal with the pig is.
Why did I not finish this book? Well, this is one of those books where the hero is like “I see this boundary that this woman is drawing and I can tell she doesn’t like spending time with me and definitely doesn’t want me to touch her but she’s so extra hot that I am going to ignore all of this because having her is what I deserve.” It was exceedingly gross. (There’s also a whole weird backstory about his parents getting killed by Comanches and I don’t really want to know where *that* is going, nor do I have the mental energy to parse the language that Coffman uses to describe these events in a thoughtful way.)
I think I need to reorganize my pile o romance novels into books I actually want to read and books that I want to have on my shelves for aesthetic purposes. Because this one is, I think, the latter.
Read our full TBR Challenge update at The Smut Report
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
March 9, 2010
This didn't hold my attention at all, not even the conversations between the hero/heroine. There was just soooooooo much filler narration, even between active conversation. I think if there had been less of that, I might have liked it better.
August 27, 2019
This book was wonderful... It really touched my heart. As history is told, things are so different now in our times. Holding things against others and thinking bad things about others that has not changed of course. The young woman in this book, oh man did she go through so much and persevered. She dealt with things the only way she knew to guard her heart and her life. My heart was lead along with the characters in the book. Excitement, worry, fear, sorrow, grieve and so much more. But for the two this book is most about turned out to be happiness. Give it a go, I believe you will like this book. If you love history and seeing a happy ending then you should.
October 16, 2016
Kind of a let down, especially after reading/ starting with the second book in this series - For All the Right Reasons, which i loved!!!!
Nick it too good to be true, which is great as the main romantic lead in a romance novel, but doesn't mesh with reality and when you have Tibbie as the female lead you a left annoyed instead of enamored & engrossed in this love story.
Donno what but something major was missing (for me) in this story, not that it was boring but i just didnt like Tibbie, i didnt like her use of physical violence (how ever mild it may have been) towards Nick or the procrastinating bone she had imbedded in her, whenever it came to Nick. She didnt want to do any of the 'lifting' in this relationship, always with the excuse of her previous heartbreak. Not buying it. It was over done!!
Main character i loved in this book = Granny Grace, but thinking of it i think i enjoyed all of Tibbies family including the pig. Oh well hope the other book aren't as disappointing cause i'm looking forward to reading about Adrian, another one of my favorite characters.
Nick it too good to be true, which is great as the main romantic lead in a romance novel, but doesn't mesh with reality and when you have Tibbie as the female lead you a left annoyed instead of enamored & engrossed in this love story.
Donno what but something major was missing (for me) in this story, not that it was boring but i just didnt like Tibbie, i didnt like her use of physical violence (how ever mild it may have been) towards Nick or the procrastinating bone she had imbedded in her, whenever it came to Nick. She didnt want to do any of the 'lifting' in this relationship, always with the excuse of her previous heartbreak. Not buying it. It was over done!!
Main character i loved in this book = Granny Grace, but thinking of it i think i enjoyed all of Tibbies family including the pig. Oh well hope the other book aren't as disappointing cause i'm looking forward to reading about Adrian, another one of my favorite characters.
August 21, 2025
I hate to write a bad review on this author as I really love her book “Heavens Know.” This book I really hate the “hero” and his actions would be what I consider sexual harassment. It didn’t catch my attention and I’m already 15% deep into the book. After reading the other reviews, I think imma skip this book of hers and try another one. I heard “So this is love” is a good one so imma skip to that one in hopes that it’s better
February 22, 2020
So I started picking up Elaine’s books here and there because Coffman is my maiden name. Boy am I glad I did. I absolutely love her writing. I hope all her books are as heart felt as this one. I’ll admit there were some points along the story that seemed to drag and some times I did not like Tibbie, but overall the story was great. Just enjoy it. 🥰
March 8, 2019
Moving and emotional
Amazing reading. A book you can escape in. A book that lets you cry and laugh with. A book you tend to relay back to your own life and it's fondest memories. A book you just cannot put down. Fantastic reading. Debbie Race
Amazing reading. A book you can escape in. A book that lets you cry and laugh with. A book you tend to relay back to your own life and it's fondest memories. A book you just cannot put down. Fantastic reading. Debbie Race
August 11, 2017
One of the best
June 6, 2019
The humor and characters carried along this very flawed book to a four-star rating, barely. First, the story took too long. There simply wasn't enough depth to carry Nick and Tibbie's story almost 400 pages.
I had no problem believing that a 21-year-old woman would decide that the only way she could remain in her hometown, after having a baby out of wedlock, was to dress drably and do good works as a doctor's assistant. Eric, the man who had the illicit relationship with Tibbie, has been gone for 6 years. He left when he found out Tibbie was going to have his baby.
Now, a young shipbuilder has arrived and is intensely interested in Tibbie, even when he learns about Bethany, Tibbie's daughter. Nick and Tibbie spar with each other regularly. However, the best character is Granny Grace, a Russian aristocrat with a slipping memory. She's a hoot. Between Tibbie, Nick and Granny, there are many laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy. However, the story drags on so Eric can come back and set up things for the grand finale.
Yes, Tibbie was young and had lost her heart (and virginity at 16), so she was inexperienced with the ways of men and women. However, her ambivalence became tiresome after awhile.
Someone must have told the author that all romances had to have an epilogue. For a Texas gal, the author pulled a real boner. Baylor started out in Independence, Texas in 1846 and moved to Waco (joining with Waco University) in 1886. Since the story started in 1849 and the epilogue took place when one of the older children was 17, Baylor still wasn't in Waco at that time. Yeah, I know, it's a small mistake, but it wasn't necessary to bring Baylor's name into it if the author was unsure. My other beef with this story was the ending of the main tale (before the epilogue). I thought it was straight from the squirrels.
Didn't I like any of the book? Yes. I've already read two of the other books of this series and I have loved everything about the Mackinnon family. Nick would have saved himself a great deal of trouble and heartache if he'd just proposed to Tibbie and talked with her father. However, that would have been too easy. The Mackinnons are a fascinating, aggravating, adorable group of young men. The stories are great; just read them in order.
I had no problem believing that a 21-year-old woman would decide that the only way she could remain in her hometown, after having a baby out of wedlock, was to dress drably and do good works as a doctor's assistant. Eric, the man who had the illicit relationship with Tibbie, has been gone for 6 years. He left when he found out Tibbie was going to have his baby.
Now, a young shipbuilder has arrived and is intensely interested in Tibbie, even when he learns about Bethany, Tibbie's daughter. Nick and Tibbie spar with each other regularly. However, the best character is Granny Grace, a Russian aristocrat with a slipping memory. She's a hoot. Between Tibbie, Nick and Granny, there are many laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy. However, the story drags on so Eric can come back and set up things for the grand finale.
Yes, Tibbie was young and had lost her heart (and virginity at 16), so she was inexperienced with the ways of men and women. However, her ambivalence became tiresome after awhile.
Someone must have told the author that all romances had to have an epilogue. For a Texas gal, the author pulled a real boner. Baylor started out in Independence, Texas in 1846 and moved to Waco (joining with Waco University) in 1886. Since the story started in 1849 and the epilogue took place when one of the older children was 17, Baylor still wasn't in Waco at that time. Yeah, I know, it's a small mistake, but it wasn't necessary to bring Baylor's name into it if the author was unsure. My other beef with this story was the ending of the main tale (before the epilogue). I thought it was straight from the squirrels.
Didn't I like any of the book? Yes. I've already read two of the other books of this series and I have loved everything about the Mackinnon family. Nick would have saved himself a great deal of trouble and heartache if he'd just proposed to Tibbie and talked with her father. However, that would have been too easy. The Mackinnons are a fascinating, aggravating, adorable group of young men. The stories are great; just read them in order.
June 18, 2012
Got a little too drug out with the cat and mouse game and then got drug further when the female character started out strong and turned into a weak, gutless moron. I would have liked to see her strength stay and compliment her, not become a temper tantrum throwing idiot child. Sad that the ending was bad, but the beginning was good.
June 14, 2014
I'm very disappointed with this book. This was supposed to be a trashy novel, and what did I find? NO SEX SCENES. The story plot is very simple and not attention-grabbing.
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October 12, 2014I normally enjoy her books this one was totally a no go soooo boring
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June 4, 2016Used - Good (Moderate spine wear; Light amount of wear to pages)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews