Kiss an Angel

Many years ago I picked up Kiss an Angel to read. I had never read a book by Susan Elizabeth Phillips but the premise this book was based on was intriguing. From the first page I was hooked! I loved the setting (a society girl forced to marry a circus manager) and the characters. Well, not Daisy\’s father and stepmother who were manipulative and scheming. This is a book that I re-read often. It makes me laugh and cry, and has a happily ever after ending. My husband and I lost our daughter (our only child) to cystic fibrosis many years ago so the Christmas season is a sad time. I read this book each year to remind me that the shadows of sadness do recede and happiness returns. I have since read most of SEP\’s books and have never been disappointed.

My favorite book for 2018 and I wish I could give it more stars! The forced marriage trope is, by far, my guiltiest pleasure, but it has to be done just right, in order for it to work. I loved Daisy; she was not only smart and sweet, but kind as well. I loved watching her grow; she developed such a deep strength and the quirky way she handled Alex was so true to her character. Which leads me to our leading man, Alex. As a boy, he suffered greatly from a violent and abusive uncle and as such, believed himself incapable of feeling love. I\’ll be honest, there were times he was so cold to Daisy that my heart hurt for her. However, slow!y but surely we got to see Daisy get under his skin and begin to defrost that frozen heart of his. This was a man with a lot of pride who didn\’t divulge any personal info about himself to Daisy, nor did he go quickly or quietly. I don\’t want to give too much away, I think it\’s best just to jump in and let the story unfold; but rest assured, there\’s a great grovel scene that will warm your heart. In the spirit of being honest, there is a certain situation where you\’ll have to momentarily suspend your belief and a!low the author some latitude but it\’s endearing and falls in line with the character\’s good hearted nature. I was completely and totally captivated from beginning to end.

“I, Theodosia . . .” She gulped for air. “. . . take thee Alexander . . .” She gulped again. “. . . to be my awful wedded husband . . .” I fell in love with the heroine. Before the end of chapter one. An arranged marriage. A romance that takes place in a traveling circus. This was sheer perfection. The writing, absolutely captivating. I was blown away by the beauty of this book. It was magical. I missed this feeling, boy, did I miss it! It feels like it\’s been a while since I\’ve read something this fantastic. By far, this is my favorite read this year. I think it\’s because it made me feel good, despite the heartbreaking and emotional parts in the book, it was a feel-good book to me. The words were uplifting, they resonated with me, moved me. There were many moments that made me giggle (yes, I giggle damn it), because of Daisy–now one of my favorite heroines. I was instantly endeared to her. Her sense of humor was natural, honest, sweet and guileless. But it was her braveness and her love for the circus animals that truly won me over. The animals…my God, did I fall in love with them too! They played a crucial part in the story. If you ask me, they were the real heroes! And as much as they made me laugh too, I also shed many tears for them, the kind of tears that make you grab for tissue paper to blow your nose as you continue to cry with heart-aching sentiment. I wanted to protect them, save them, love them. Gah! Sinjun, the Siberian tiger; Tater, the baby elephant; and Glenna, the gorilla, stole my heart. And Alex, the hero? He was just another wild creature Daisy had to learn to tame, teach how to trust and love. Alex\’s backstory was intriguing and mysterious. Details about his life are slowly revealed throughout the story, always adding another layer to the man he was. Yes, he had a sad past and was emotionally closed-off and I know that sounds very trope-y, however, the story didn\’t feel predictable at all, which is why I was glued to every scene, every single word. That\’s testament to the brilliant storytelling ability of this author. Daisy & Alex and the animals, I loved every piece of them. I wish I could write a better review that describes this book, describe how wonderful it is, but I don\’t think i have it in me. All I can say is, I wish I hadn\’t waited to read it. I wish I had found this book when it first came into existence. Don\’t wait to read it, my friends.

I bought this book based on the good reviews that kept on coming everywhere I looked. However I still don\’t understand what the fuss was all about. And the price!!! Really? The author did a good job with the summary of the book as it makes you want to read it but it is very misleading. If you like the circus and dirty trailers this is definitely the book for you. Prepare yourself for a lot description about every. Single. Thing.

I understand why some readers thought this was contrived. It is implausible in lots of ways. However. I absolutely loved it, read it all night through. It hit the spot for me for lots of reasons. I related to all the characters in one way or another. I just started my awful New Year diet so gave up all vices cold turkey. This is an awesome low fat treat :)))

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