Very highly recommended
With no time to run, hurricane Gwen with her 130 mile-an-hour winds brings Alli Matthews' house crashing down around her. She lies trapped in the debris praying for help. When the search and rescue unit arrives, a neighbor describes Alli as angel—one of those genuinely good people. Rescuer Ricky Wilder's can't help wondering if today's rescue will bring him "face to face with an angel." When he sees her, Ricky can't resist her strength and resilience in the face of danger and pain.
Alli can't help wondering, once she's glimpsed Ricky, if "angels ever come with dancing eyes.and looking like sin." The bond between rescuer and victim is intense, and while it's usually broken by loved ones and friends, Alli's essentially alone. The hospital won't release her without a place to go and folks to look after her. Ricky's invitation to stay with him comes a total surprise, But Alli had been cautious, practical and self-protective for fifteen years. The hurricane had taught her that it's time to live again. Falling for Ricky may have a few drawbacks, however, given what he does for a living.
Ricky usually protects himself from commitment by simply not dating the marriageable type woman. But seeing Alli in the hospital with her faded hospital gown looking battered and bruised, Ricky couldn't walk away. And suddenly the thought of panties and hose drying on the shower rod holds an odd sort of appeal. Bringing Allie home breaks a fundamental rule in Ricky's life: never let a woman move in unless he plans to marry him.
Sherryl Woods has another keeper with A Love Beyond Words. The fact that the heroine is deaf lends a strength and a challenge to the tale beyond what I expect from genre romance. Further, Woods has a talent for lending her narratives a sizzle and tension that keeps the pages turning. Very highly recommended.
