"Love is a work of art!"
Heaven's Rogue is a Contemporary Romance about Dominico
Paolo Constantine Castiglione who is a rogue that was an
assistant to Michelangelo in 1499. Dominico was a man
that was very disillusioned with life. The woman he loved
had died from lack of medical care in the summer of 1499.
His parents were dead. His friendship with Michelangelo
was gone. He became a soldier. He did things in life that
he couldn't live with and was now a wanted man who couldn't
find his last remaining relative, his brother Raphael. So,
he gathered up his possessions, purchased Brandy and went
and hid in his and Michelangelo's favorite hiding place.
There he tried to drink his troubles away; as finally, so
disillusioned, he cursed God. To his shock, an angel
appeared and informed him that he was to be imprisoned (put
into the form of a statue) for 500 years for his sin. On
the dawning of the new Millennium, God would give him one
chance to right the wrongs that he had done. A virgin's
tears and prayers would bring him to life again. He had
until the year 2000 to find the last living descendant of
his brother and help him get his life straightened out for
he would be on the same road to destruction that Dominico
was on. And that that descendant would be vital to the
fate of mankind. If he didn't succeed he would be turned
back into a statue for all eternity. Honor is an Assistant Curator for a Museum in Portland who
has always loved the statue of the David. She thinks it
embodies the perfect man. So on a trip to Italy when she
falls through a cavern and finds a life size statue of the
David she is sure that Michelangelo was the artist behind
the statue. She gets the statue brought to Portland and is
working to prove that it is an artwork of Michelangelo's.
When some of the lab tests come back saying that the stone
is not man made, she is fired from her job. What hurts her
the most is leaving the statue. So she kneels at his feet,
wraps her arms around his calves, and cries and says like a
prayer "why can't you be real?" Her virgin tears and her
prayer brings Dominico back to life. I think this is one
of the best scenes in the book. She is kneeling there
holding his legs as he comes back to life. He reaches down
and caresses her hair and says "you saved me with your
tears sweet little virgin, why do you cry?" Dominico now has to find his relative; so he and Honor go
to New York to trace records through Ellis Island. Honor
is wanted by the law for stealing the statue. Dominico's
last remaining descendant is Rafe Castigi, an ex-Navy Seal
who's very embittered with life and most definitely a
wounded warrior (who thankfully will have a book of his own
because he is great). Rafe and Dominico's first meeting
ends up in an all out fight that gets both of them landed
in jail. I think that kind of tells you what their
relationship becomes. Rafe has given up on life... Dominico has already been
there. He is a hero you can easily love. He wants to help
Rafe; he loves Honor, and he is a man trying to do the
right thing for all the right reasons. Even though he was
a rogue in the past, he has old fashioned ideas for our
time. Dominico puts a very high value on Honor and
doesn't want to do anything to dishonor her. He is
determined to make up for his past. Honor loves Dominico
and wants to help him save Rafe. She can't bear the idea
of Dominico being turned back into a statue, even if it
means that she will lose him when he returns to his own
time. I do not normally read contemporary. But I did truly enjoy
this book. I definitely like the statue theme and there
were a lot of great secondary characters like Rafe and
Nick. Ms. Shannon says both will have their own books!
The fact that I want to read the books that will come after
this, even though they are contemporary, says that I
definitely liked it. Sheila Bragg/ September, 1999
Copyright © 1999 for PNR Reviews
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 12, 2001
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