Angel Falls

Angel Falls is the name of a place (fictional). It is where Mikela Campbell falls from a horse and goes into a coma. Her nine-year-old son, Bret, watches in horror as it happens.

Mikaela (aka Mike) has been married to Liam Campbell, a doctor, for ten years, and has built a happy life in the small village of Last Bend, where she is much loved by her family and by others. She was married before, and her daughter Juliana, called "Jacey", came from that marriage. Mike has said little about the former marriage and husband.

While hunting for a dress for Jacey, Liam discovers a secret: that Mike had been married to Julian True, famous actor, well known as a heartthrob. In their marriage, Mike had been known as Kayla.

The revelation shakes Liam. show more He has long known that his love for Mike is greater than hers for him, and she had admitted carrying a torch for this lost lover.

Liam is urged by Mike's mother, Rosa, to talk to Mike about their life. Liam goes further, surrounding her with mementoes of their life together. He talks to her every day, and when he discovers the name of her former husband, he talks about Julian. But lo! Mike reacts to the name.

In hopes of bringing Mike back from the coma, Liam contacts Julian True and asks him to come see her. Full of himself and highly successful, Julian nevertheless still harbors an affection for this first wife and he agrees. From here on Liam manages to walk a tightrope: he recognizes a special love Mike has for Julian while at the same time he hopes that she can somehow see past it to her present family and be content.

So. We suffer along with Liam and the rest while Mike lies there. Gradually waking. We listen to her thoughts, disjointed and lacking in context, as she emerges from the coma with her memory of the past fifteen years gone.

For me it was a long, slow, annoying emergence, filled with platitudes and prayer. I didn't understand how a young woman, however poor and isolated, falls for an empty shell of a man just because he promises wealth and a better life. As a young woman, Mike was intelligent and thoughtful. It seems contrary to her character that she would fall for Julian. This is the act of a flighty dreamer, and Mike was never that. So I just didn't buy it, and further did not buy her undying love for him after they parted. What was the attraction, once she had been with him? Was she blind? I just found it so hard to believe.

Easier to believe was Saint Liam's devotion to her. Although it is rare for someone to be so giving that he would let his wife walk away in order for her to be happy, it does happen, and it is the signature of real love. Liam risks all because he does know how to love.

To me, it was just too slow and sappy and dredged with religion. But I can see how it might appeal to others who are, in fact, religious. show less

So far, this is the only one of Kristin Hannah’s books that did not make me cry, although not for lack of trying. The first 100 pages seemed to only exist to try to get some tears out of the reader because they were very redundant. (We get it—Liam loves his wife a lot, and sad kids are sad.) But, to be fair, this is one of her earlier works, and she has improved a lot since this one.

While I love a character-driven novel, I felt like the premise here was a bit shoddy, what with the movie star angle. I feel like the story could have worked just as well if Mikaela’s first love was just some rich city guy and not an A-list celebrity. That part made it go from dramatic to soapy. I mean, we already had a coma and amnesia; did we really show more need a secret famous ex?

The main theme of obsession versus true love and being able to move on was very poignant. I think we could have used more time on Rosa’s story of “bad love” and less on Liam’s depression to really drive it home. I think Rosa got the short straw overall here, what with the “Dr. Liam” and only using obvious Spanish words like “fotografia.”

A dumb tiny thing that kept bothering me was the nickname “Mike.” I kept pronouncing it “MEE-keh” in my head because Mike makes zero sense as a nickname to Mikaela. I get that it’s supposed to be the opposite of Kayla, her Before Name, but why not Miki? Mickey? Mika? It’s silly, but I couldn’t let it go. show less

It did hold my interest so I read it to the end but I think is one of Kristen Hannah's earlier books and her storytelling was not as developed as later on.

The characters were mostly either bad or good and that was a problem. The second husband, Liam seemed too perfect while the villain, Julian True was pure evil. I enjoyed reading about Jaycee, the daughter but her nine-year-old brother seemed to be younger than nine, more like a five-year-old. I did like the grandmother but she could have used more development. The author needed more shades of gray than mostly black and white in the character portrayal.

I was curious about the wife, Kayla being in a coma. My father and brother both died while in a coma, so I did not have any experience show more of knowing someone successfully coming out of it. I do wish that I had read this book earlier so that I would know how important it is to talk to the person in the coma. show less

Mikaela goes into a coma after an accident, and her husband and family hope that she will come back as she was before. Her husband learns that she has been carrying around a secret for years. He uses the knowledge gained from that secret to help his wife. This novel is just ok. I knew how it was going to end, which is evident from the beginning. Parts of it I found to be improbable, like the secret she kept for so long (think National Enquirer). After she wakes from the coma, she remains in the hospital for days and days. That ain't happenin'! It would have been rehab for her. Sometimes I just can't get past things like that.

I've read multiple books by this author and liked every one of them. This one was just too much like an over-the-top Hallmark movie. The characters and setting were too contrived, Liam was too perfect, Julian was too stereotypical superficial Hollywood, and Mikayla was just unlikable. One of the first things that got me out of this book was her portrayal of Bret. I have a 4th grader myself, and I could not get over how off she was in how Bret acts, she's giving him the characteristics of a 4 year old, not 4th grader. If this were the first book I'd read by this author, I would have never picked up one of her books again.

Well, that was like reading a Hallmark movie. I have never read anything by Kristin Hannah before. I read this one for my book group. At first, I found this book very depressing. When Julian enters the picture, I started perking up. And then, by the last third of the book, I had to keep reading till I was done just to find out the answers to so many questions! Yes, it was a little sappy and sentimental and tear-jerking - not my thing - but I was distanced enough from it all to find it a bit intriguing. And also a bit unbelievable. I kept thinking - yeh, but what about this? And - really? don't you think that. . . . Of course, if I put in all of that in this review, it would just be a bunch of spoilers. I really can see the appeal of show more this book. Not sure I'd read another Kristin Hannah book, but I could see how it could be like Doritos - can't have just one. show less

Spoilers**** Sorry***

I read one book by Kristin Hannah a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, so this was a pretty disappointing read for me. I thought the writing in this novel wasn't nearly as tight as in the other book I read by her (Night Road).

The plot in this book (by her own description in the interview in the back of the book - a "coma book" ) is so forced and contrived I had a really hard time getting through to the end.

There is so much that just is ridiculous in this book - it is one thing to accept things and suspend disbelief - but so little of this book rang true that it was a chore to read. From the undiscovered Hollywood marriage - to the coma - to her migrant worker background and how she met and married Julien True show more - it was all just absurd.

I noticed that this book was a pretty early one for Hannah. I think I won't completely strike her off my list but I think I will try a more recent book for sure if I try her again. show less