Book Review: Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
I knew I was going to like Kiss an Angel because I have loved both Susan Elizabeth Phillips books I’ve read so far plus this book has a Cricus setting and tropes I tend to eat up: marriage of convenience, an emotionally unavailable hero, forced proximity, opposites attract...
What I wasn't expecting was to love it this much.
Somewhere along the way, this went from “this is really good” to “oh my God, I LOVE this book.”
And THAT is my favorite kind of reading experience.
A nostalgic marriage-of-convenience romance with an emotionally unavailable hero, a sweet character arc, and a traveling circus full of heart.
Quick Info
📖 Book: Kiss an Angel
✍️ Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips
⭐️ Rating: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 2.5/5
🎧 Format: Audiobook + physical book
📅 Published: 1996
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💍 Marriage of Convenience
🥀 Emotionally Unavailable MMC
🚐 Forced Proximity
✨ Opposites Attract
👑 Rich Girl x Poor Boy
🌹 Virgin Heroine -
Daisy Devreaux has spent her entire life surrounded by celebrity and prestige. After her mother’s death and a massive spending spree that leaves Daisy with a mountain of debt, she’s looking at jail time…or a forced marriage to Alex Markov, a cold, intimidating, and emotionally unavailable man she barely knows.
Things get even more interesting when Daisy discovers that Alex works and travels with a circus—and now, so does she.
What starts as a marriage of convenience between two people who couldn’t be more different slowly turns into something much deeper. As Daisy adjusts to her new life, she learns the value of hard work and starts figuring out who she is outside of her family’s money and expectations, while Alex slowly realizes that the woman he never wanted to marry has completely changed his life.
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🌱 Daisy's character growth
This might actually be one of my favorite things about the book.
Daisy is likeable from the start, but she's also a little empty and vapid. Her transformation starts early and continues throughout the book. She learns the value of hard work, figures out what she's capable of and what she actually wants, and opens herself up to love and a whole world of possibilities.
By the end, she's still completely Daisy, but she has really become her own person. I LOVED watching that happen.
🥀 Alex Was Down Bad
Watching someone who is so emotionally shut down slowly realize that he is completely, hopelessly in love with his wife?
One of my very favorite types of MMC trajectories…
And the fact that Alex doesn't even fully understand what's happening to him until the third act makes it even better.
🐯 Sinjun & Tater 🐘
It was impossible not to become completely endeared to Sinjun the tiger and Tater, the sweetest little baby elephant.I loved Daisy’s bond with Sinjun, and I LOVED the parallels SEP drew between Sinjun and Alex.
Tater was pure sweetness and comic relief. I loved how he couldn’t get enough of Daisy’s perfume, and then just daisy. And his antics kept me kicking my feet.
🎪 The Circus Setting
The circus was such a fun setting for this story. It added so much charm and personality, and I loved watching Daisy go from completely overwhelmed by this new life to actually finding her place in it.
💔 The Emotional Payoff
The third act absolutely wrecked me.There were several things I did not see coming, and by that point I was so invested in Daisy and Alex that I felt every bit of the emotional fallout between them.
One of my favorite moments was Alex telling Daisy:
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I love you enough for both of us.”
That line absolutely got me. There is just something about a man who spends the entire book fighting his feelings finally admitting how deeply he loves her.
👀 The Twists
I genuinely didn't see some of the last-quarter twists coming…There were several moments where I was completely surprised by where the story was going, which made it even more fun to read.
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Honestly, for me, it does. There’s not much I can find or reflect on that feels like it wouldn’t be written today.
The intimate scenes
I do think it’s possible some readers could feel that the first intimate scene might not be written exactly the same way today. While I personally didn't have an issue with the consent in the scene, Daisy is a virgin and doesn't tell Alex. In fact, she actively leads him to believe she isn't. And when he finds out, he's horrified and tells her he wouldn't have been so rough if he'd known.
He also doesn't explicitly ask, but given that Daisy is 26 and has presented herself as very sexual, it doesn't cross his mind that she might be a virgin. Personally, I had no problem with the way the scene was written. In a lot of books written today, consent is explicitly given for nearly every intimate interaction—and sometimes even kissing. You're simply not going to get that in a romance written in 1996.
Alex does also tell Daisy what he's going to do before it happens. She is touching and exploring him, and he tells her, “You've got sixty seconds…and then I'm moving my arms.” She fires back, “Not until I give you permission.”
For a romance written in 1996, I actually thought this was handled pretty sensitively. I think if you know you're going into a 30-year-old romance, there are going to be some differences in how intimacy is written, but I don't think there's anything here that would surprise me or make me question the romance.
The dialogue
The other thing that stood out to me was some of Alex's harsher dialogue. For example:
“Now you tell me the truth right this minute, or I’m going to strangle you to death with those tights, throw your body in a roadside ditch, and dance on top of it!”
That probably wouldn't be written exactly that way today. It doesn't bother me personally, but if that type of dialogue bothers you, it does happen a couple of times throughout the book—although not often.
Overall, though, I think Kiss an Angel holds up really well. For me, the things that feel dated are minor compared to everything that still works: the romance, the character growth, the chemistry, the emotional payoff, and Alex being completely down bad for Daisy.
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Alli's Scorecard
💘 Romance ██████████ 5/5
🔥 Chemistry ██████████ 5/5
👀 Tension ██████████ 5/5
🫶 Characters ██████████ 5/5
📖 Story ██████████ 5/5
💔 Emotional Damage ██████████ 5/5
🎪 Setting ██████████ 5/5
🌶️ Spice █████░░░░░ 2.5/5
Final Thoughts
I went into this expecting a fun, nostalgic marriage-of-convenience romance, and I definitely got that—but I also got a beautiful story about personal growth, finding a sense of belonging, and learning how to love. And somehow, all of that made the romance feel even more meaningful.
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