Kristin Hannah's graceful, dramatic portrayal of love and marriage made her debut hardcover, On Mystic Lake, an acclaimed national best-seller.

In Angel Falls, her bold, richly emotional new novel, she tells the story of an ordinary man facing an incredible dilemma: to save his wife's life, he must risk losing her forever.

Mikaela Campbell, beloved wife and mother of two, lies in a coma. It is now up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together, to care for their grieving, frightened children. Doctors have told Liam not to expect a recovery, but he maintains hope that love can accomplish what medical science cannot. Day after day, he sits by her bedside, holding her hand, telling her the stories of their life together.    

Then he discovers evidence of his wife's secret past -- a long-hidden first marriage to international movie star Julian True. Liam's search leads him to a painful, inescapable truth: Julian was more than simply Mikaela's first husband. He was the love of her life.
  
Mikaela responds to Julian's name; it is only a blink, nothing more, but it convinces Liam that Julian may be the only person who can bring Mikaela back to life. But at what cost? Does Liam love his wife enough to risk losing her to a man no woman can resist?

His decision strikes deep into the heart of his family, transforming each of them. For when Mikaela wakens, she is a different woman, changed in a way that no one could have foreseen, and the only thing Liam knows for sure is that nothing in their lives will ever be the same.

Angel Falls is storytelling at its very best -- beautifully written, deeply moving, and impossible to put down.

Nestled into the hills of the Northern Cascade Mountains in Washington state, Liam and Mike (Michaela) Campbell have a picture-perfect marriage and family. While Liam enjoys the comforts of being a small-town doctor with an old family name, Mike cares for their two children and her beloved horses. But when a horrible accident leaves Mike in a coma, Liam frantically searches for a way to ignite her memories and awaken her. What he discovers makes him question the foundations of their love, as Mike has a secret past as "Kayla" and a previous marriage to her first love, Julian True. Though still in a coma, Mike responds to these stories. Liam knows he must contact Julian, and gamble his future on the past memories of a woman whose true identity and feelings are unknown to him.

Kristin Hannah's talent for writing poignant tales of duty, passion, identity and family bonds made last year's On Mystic Lake a bestseller, and will certainly rake in the fans this time. (Imagine Danielle Steel without the Gucci bags or aging corporate CEOs.) While the majority of the novel has our heroine knocked out on a hospital gurney, Hannah makes valiant efforts to bring Mike's character to life, and Liam's enduring love should keep you rooting for him and reaching for the hanky. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

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