Touched By Angels

Touched By Angels #1

by Peggy Webb

Jake Townsend, a publisher and reckless thrill seeker, falls in love with Sarah Love, even though her daughter Jenny reminds him of a painful secret in his past

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Ebooks

202 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

Peggy Webb. USA Today Bestseller, is the author of more than 100 novels. Her thrillers and literary novels have topped Amazon charts. A former adjunct instructor of writing at Mississippi State University, Millions of her novels have sold around the world in more than 25 languages. Peggy is the most prolific writer her home state of Mississippi has ever produced, and she is considered one of the most beloved and iconic authors in the business. Pat Conroy calls her literary work "astonishing," Kathie Fong Yoneda labels it "brilliant," and readers consider her books "Must Reads." Peggy's has won numerous awards, including many Reviewer's Choice, the Maggie, a Waldenbooks Award for #1 Bestseller of the Year, several Word Weaving Award of Excellence, and the prestigious Pioneer Award for creating the subgenre of romantic comedy. One of her novels was submitted for a Pulitzer. Peggy also writes under the pen names, Anna Michaels and Elaine Hussey.

Peggy is an accomplished pianist and singer, and has graced the stage of her local community theater in roles such as M'lynn in Steel Magnolias (played by Sally Field in the movie), and the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. She composed the blues lyrics she credited to her characters in two of her books, including her latest thriller series from Bookouture, the Logan Sisters. She passed her love of music to her family. Her son plays guitar and harmonica, her daughter and two granddaughters sing, her youngest grandson plays piano, and her grandson David Webb made the gorgeous photographs that appear through her new, state-of-the-art website. For her latest news, visit her website at peggywebb.com, stop by her blog to leave a note, and contact her with any questions. She appreciates her fans and loves hearing what you think.



Series:
* Westmoreland Diaries
* A Southern Cousins Mystery

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.25
This was a pretty short and sweet book. The heroine is a single mother new in town who meets the hero when he rescues her daughter Jenny. Jenny is a special needs child, with Down's and the heroine and Jenny are a team.

The hero Jake is reminded of all he lost when he sees Jenny(his daughter died) and even though he has punished himself for the past six years, pushing his limits, courting death, running from the guilt, he can't keep himself from these two even though he tries to, telling himself it is only for Jenny, he finds himself living for both these two.

Of course it takes time for him to screw his head on straight when he does he chases the heroine who has doubts of her own.

I think Jenny has a book of her own.

[Katie(babs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touched By Angels by Peggy Webb (Loveswept #538, published in 1992) is a very sweet and emotional story about two emotionally scarred individuals, who by meeting through some interesting circumstance learn to heal the pain in their hearts. The hero is your stereotypical brooding man with money to spend, who learns to forgive himself and toss away the guilt over his daughter's death he felt he caused by falling for the heroine, a mother of a mentally handicapped four-year-old daughter.

Jake is a man on running on empty who also has a death wish. Ever since his beloved daughter Bonnie died in a car crash, he's consumed with guilt. As he drives haphazardly on a winding road, he almost runs over a four-year-old girl in the middle of the road. Jake swerves, and misses her, saving her from death. The little girl doesn't seem upset or crying. She's very calm and serene. Suddenly the mother, Sarah Love runs out, finding her daughter to her relief, who wandered off from their new home. Sarah is a single mother, whose husband left because he couldn't handle Jenny, who is mentally handicapped. Sarah calls Jenny special. She and Jenny have moved into a fixer upper of a house where Sarah will open a store and sell her homemade dolls that have become a hot commodity. Jake is shaken by Sarah and Jenny because they make him feel whole again. He runs away from them, and tries not think of the beautiful woman with an adorable pixie daughter. But Jake can't stay away, and soon he becomes a big part of Sarah and Jenny's lives.

Sarah appears as pure as the driven snow, and so understanding to Jake, who she can see is hurting inside. She's fine with him being friends with Jenny, which may seems strange, because why would a mother be okay with an adult man befriending a little girl? But Jake is more like a father figure to Jenny, and for Sarah, he's like a knight in shining armor for her.

Touched by Angels isn't too deep or meaningful, even with the character of Jenny, who gets her own story in a Prince for Jenny, a sequel of sorts where Jenny is an adult woman who has become a famous painter. This is a fast read, which is the case for most of these vintage Loveswept category romances. The sexual tension is there, but minimal, and the foreplay and actual sex (there is one sex scene) is more glossed over and PG-13.

If you enjoy reading about a tortured hero finding redemption with a single mother and her strange, yet special daughter, Touched by Angels might be the novella for you.

[Melissa T · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, this was one of those free ones on my Kindle, and I'm certainly glad I didn't pay for it, because then I'd be annoyed that I'd wasted my money AND time. As it is, I'm annoyed I finished it. I don't know why I bothered! Dumb book. Melodramatic, boring characters, and strangely steamy in odd places. Don't bother!

[Hattie Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite book and I hate myself for that

[TheAgileReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and I really liked the interaction between Jenny and Jake. My one pet peeve is that Sarah and Jake say each others names too much. It's much better in the epilogue but in the beginning and the middle of the story they said each others names almost every other sentence and that gets tiring to read for me. Other than that it was just a cute, short, sweet romance.

[Sharon Goddard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Free for Kindle on Amazon so I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.... However, if I had looked this gift horse in the mouth the horse would have tooth decay from the sickly-sweet story lines.
Mercifully short, 'chic-lit' romance. My mum would love this and it would make a great movie for the True Movie channel. However, this experiment outside my usual genres is not for me.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed and cried....very emotional read. Lighthearted and fun read. It was quick--read it in a night :)

[Lori Henrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a romance person. Only because I hate it when there are sex scenes th.at border on being X-Rated. That is not my thing and for that reason I don't read romances books. I hate those types of scenes period, although some of the authors I do read for there suspense stories have a tendency to go that direction once in awhile I kind of skim past that. Anywho.... I kept expecting that to happen it this book but it didn't. It is a story of a man who needs to come to grips with his past so that he can find happiness again. A story about a woman with a young child with special needs who needs to find away to let go of the fear of being deserted. It was a good story. Tempted to read the sequel to it but think I am satisfied with just having read this.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3 and a half to a 4 for this. A nice easy read with likeable characters and a heartwarming narrative. I enjoyed this story for its simple joy and it was the speedy read I needed when I couldn’t get into anything more complex. I wouldn’t recommend if you are looking for something with a twist or surprise, but very good if your looking for something wholesome.

[Trudy J. Shattls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rollercoaster love vs everlasting love

An easy read that is a trying romance, which evolves into the love Jake and Sarah needed so much. Jenny becomes the daughter Jake never thought he would have after losing a previous family.

[Bellina Macleod · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read, standard romantic storyline but still a page Turner

It was a page turner and kept me interested. Storyline was a bit predictable and not my normal read but was enjoyable all the same.

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled to finish this one. Too wishy washy sentimental. Too much drama (talked) with no substance nor feelings to make it angst. Almost the entire book they meet about six times.! On fourth meeting they were in bed, on sixth he proposed. Boring.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

High emotion, Love at first sight, Unrealistic flowery language, Overall little to no plot or character depth, Special child not elaborated on enough, Just o.k.

[Teresa Hesson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgetable

This is one of those novels that you just simply don't want to end, the chefs gets really come to life.

[Rosemarie Moschinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Reading

I truly enjoyed reading this book 😍 Looking forward to reading more books written by this author. Hope others who read this book enjoy it as much as I did!

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What to say? I went into this book wanting to read something that was quick, easy to get through and basically fluff. I was definitely wrong about it being a fluff book. At least not the kind I normally read.

Knowing nothing about the author at the time I started reading this, as soon as I read that the setting was in Florence, Alabama I cringed. I almost stopped reading. All I could think was "Here is another author who knows nothing about the south who will try to throw in a few y'alls and reckons and try to make it look like it is a southern book." Hmm.......... wrong again. Other than "lands sake" (I live in Mobile and I definitely don't recall hearing that said by anyone under the age of 60) and Sarah constantly touching her hair, etc. it wasn't like that at all. No stereotypical redneck lines thrown in. I have read enough books by authors who have never been anywhere near the south who have written such silly stuff in regards to dialogue, etc. when the book is set in the south. It's the stereotype. Normally I simply stop reading when it gets to be too much. It is hard to take the characters seriously.

I absolutely fell in love with Jake, Sarah and Jenny. Who wouldn't love Gwendolyn, the secretary? The story started out perfectly and continued to flow without getting bogged down by a bunch of b.s. along the way. Any conflicts were resolved in a way where it didn't seem too ridiculous. I thought Sarah's reticence was a bit much, but other than that I have no complaints at all about the book. This is the first book I have read in a very long time that actually had my eyes watering.

Since completing the book, I now know more about the author. This is my first by her and I can't wait to read more.

[Maria Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I connected too personally with this book and I'm biased but I really liked this story. (My name also is Love and although I do not have a "special child" my sister has Down's Syndrome). The writing was beautiful. When I read "Jenny's soft hair brushed his cheek, and flowers bloomed in his soul." my heart melted. And when I read "A lizard ran over Dora Mae's foot out there in your yard, and you'd have thought it was a dragon." I literally laughed out loud because that is EXACTLY how I react when a lizard here runs over my foot. The only thing that keeps me from giving this book 5 stars is that toward the end it gets a little too predictable and corny. I love the ending but at one point I just skimmed over paragraphs thinking "yeah, yeah, get on with it".

Looking forward to reading A Prince for Jenny, but not quite ready to because I don't think I'm personally ready to think about "a prince for my Dianna". :-)

[Jen_C · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is from the 1990's and that shows. It was a cute read though. *3.5 Stars

"I've found out that love is not a game. All the scheming in the world is not going to make it work." She suppressed a grin. "What will, pray tell? An act of Congress?" "Two, Gwendolyn." "Two what?" She held up her hand. "No, don't tell me. Let me guess. Two fat wizards coming up with a secret formula. Two fat senators with nothing better to do but make it a law: Love must be reciprocated.


"But if it were you, what would you do?"
"Well ... for one thing I'd get so damned tired of being wise and brave and sensible all the time that every now and then I'd do whatever I pleased just because it felt good."

[Nicole Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short book; I read it in a few hours. Normally, I am not a romance girl; sorry no Harlequin books for me! LOL! But I purchased this book yesterday because:
1. It was Free on Amazon
2. It had a special needs child in the story; something I can relate to.

I have to say that even though there were a few unbelieveable parts in it and the fact that these two people fell in love after like two days of knowing each other, it was still a decent book. I may read the second book in this series just to see what happens to Jenny (the special needs child) as this book ended with her all grown up. All in all, a nice book for light reading! :)

[Mitsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a touching, surprising, beautiful and very well written story. Jake is a man who has carried guilt around him since the death of his daughter, 6 years ago, when he sees a little girl standing in the middle of the road. He stops to help her and his life changes forever. I have to say, I LOVE Jenny, the little girl who steals the spotlight and melts the heart. Jenny makes me want to be a better woman, love more freely, and give more easily. That's how extraordinary Ms. Webb is. Very introspective, thought provoking, funny, and wise are her words, at least to me. Love it.

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know there are a couple of people who did not like this book and of course everyone has their own types of books that they like to read, but I absolutely fell in love with the story & the characters. I had downloaded it to my kindle because it was free and I am really glad that I did. What a heart warming story about a man who learned to love again after going through a tragedy and a single mom who learned to trust some one again. I am looking forward to reading the sequel to this wonderful story.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love reading a book that just touches the heart. This book did that to me. I thought that I was part of the story and could feel the pain and hurt among the characters. I loved Jenny and felt that she pulled at my heart strings throughout the story. The characters were great and I loved watching the love blossom throughout the book. Sarah annoyed the crap out of me at times but I adored her through most of the book. Great character development in a cheesy lovey dovey romance story.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about a single mom of a little girl who has special challenges; she meets a high class businessman who is dark but caring for her and her child. She really doesn't understand why he doesn't share any information about his life with her but as they progress with their friendship she starts to learn more; which means that you start to learn more as well about his deep dark secrets. I won't spoil the ending lets just say it's a great story full of surprises.

[Terry Palardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a timeless story, not limited by a particular decade but possible in any of those I've lived in. The characters are developed so carefully, so artfully, and their inner conflicts remain inner but eventually lead to a climactic resolution between the two main characters. The child in the story plays a partial role in bringing these two adults together and then apart. In the sequel, well, ... I won't tell you yet!

[Patrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. It's the story of a young single mother, Sarah Love, and her special needs daughter, Jenny, and how their lives become entangled in that of Jake Townsend. Jake is in need of some "rescuing" before he kills himself by tempting fate one too many times, after the death of his daughter, Bonnie, a few years earlier. Jake blames himself for Bonnie's death and is trapped in feelings of guilt and remorse feeling he doesn't deserve any happiness. A wonderful story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet love story that is told in good fashion. It is not my favorite genre, but for readers who like a clean (no overt sexual scenes, no cursing) story, I think they would like this book. The mechanics of good writing were excellent. The author moved the story along without a lot of filler. Her descriptions of her characters were excellent. There is a neat twist at the end that I liked. I rate the book a four star love story.

Thank you, Ms. Webb, for a good read.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not really looking for this particular book......the illustrations on the cover of this book caught my eye so I read the synopsis and decided to sample the book after reading sample I decided to purchase it I have no regrets about spending 2.99 Sarah Love and Jake and her daughter Jenny touched my heart I laughed and cried and I definitely recommend this book as a GREAT read!! Now I'm off to read the sequel and I'm sure I won't be disappointed! Check this book out.....

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was, quite simply, a lovely and touching romance between an embittered man and a mom with a special-needs child. i picked it up as a freebie for kindle as a quick read and i know it will be a re-read keeper. originally written in 1992, and no erotic sex common in even HP's now, but a beautiful heartfelt romance.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit too much of a romantic chick lit for me, which I wasn't expecting based on the brief description. However, I did complete it and sort of enjoyed it, even though it is not my sort of thing. Very quick and easy to read. Definitely a girlie holiday read (if you like this sort of thing), but you would need others as it doesn't take long to finish it.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a freebie from Amazon.

I enjoyed this very sweet, lovely contemporary romance book. It is definitely a quick, but enjoyable read. The star of this piece is Jenny, the four-year old daughter of our heroine who has Down's Syndrome. I was intrigued enough by her delightful character that I intend to pick up the second book in this little series, "A Prince for Jenny".