As a kid, one of my favorite series was the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. Each story started with one common beginning; then, at a crucial point in the plot, readers were given a choice of which direction they would like the story to go. If you wanted to jump on the spaceship, you'd go to page 4. Want to run into the woods? Page 12. Take the aliens home for dinner? Go to page 17. In reading Christy Poff's Chase For an Angel, I was frequently reminded of the uncertain nature of these favorite books--minus the satisfaction.

Poff's prologue begins with a nameless character (who we soon discover is the hero, Andrew Hastings) in a rainstorm heading to post-Civil War New Orleans. Unfortunately, chapter one begins with a flashback that does not return us to the current storyline until chapter seven, which begins on page 69. Between the prologue and chapter seven is a conglomeration of back-story (Andrew's growing up, childhood trauma and military history prior to the advent of the Civil War), romantic storyline and back-story (meeting his wife Jessie, her irrelevant family history, proposing to her less than twelve hours after meeting her and their resultant intimate love life), Civil War storyline and an intermittent plotline which finally brings us back to the current storyline--all in no particular order.

The main storyline we're brought back to involves Andrew leaving Jessie soon after their marriage to return to military service for his country during the Civil War. This leaves Jessie, who delivers their baby without telling Andrew, alone. Jessie's plans to protect her family home from further destruction is destroyed when a trio of Yankee marauders beat and rape Jessie before kidnapping her as they continue their assault on other southern families. Eventually their murderous spree leads them to the farmhouse of an older couple and a resultant showdown that brings an end to this storyline.

In reality, the book could end on page 140, but continues another seventy-nine unnecessary pages that center around Andrew's unnatural fear of being a father. These extraneous pages contain examples of all the elements that make the beginning portion of the book a difficult and tedious read: constant head-hopping and point of view changes, lack of meaningful transitions, unbelievable character behavior (for example, Jessie is physically abused and raped so frequently by the kidnappers that she is on her deathbed when Andrew returns but is more than happy and willing to have sex with him in the barn soon after their reunion), and superfluous writing that would benefit greatly from another editor's eye or a second draft.

Chase For an Angel has the elements necessary for being a good historical romance. Unlike a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, however, these elements are tossed into the form of a novel with little regard for structure, plot, editing, clear storytelling and writing cohesiveness. If you're interested in curling up with a historical romance to sweep you away for an afternoon, your best bet is to skip Chase For an Angel--unless you prefer being so confused by the end of a book that the happy ending is a second thought.

Reviewed by: Sashi Ketsel
© January 2005