Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Sunday Spotlight: Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted May 3, 2020 by Casee in Features, Giveaways | 11 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Originally posted March 31, 2019.

Kiss an Angel is one of those books. You know the ones. The ones that stay with you for days after you finish reading them. The ones that stay with you for years after you finish reading them. KAA is one of those books for me. I laughed while reading this book. I cried while reading this book. I laughed so hard that I cried while reading this book. There were all the feels here. Daisy seems like such a ditz at the beginning of the book, but she is such a joy to read about. A true delight. Alex is a man that was hard to get to know at first, but you can’t help but fall in love with him two. If any two characters were made for each other, it was these two.

That being said…if you find yourself at odds when it comes to picking your next book and you haven’t read this one? Read this one.

Sunday Spotlight: Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsKiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: February 1, 1996
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
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Wedding Day

Pretty, flighty Daisy Devreaux can either go to jail or marry the mystery man her father has chosen for her. Arranged marriages don't happen in the modern world, so how did the irrepressible Daisy find herself in this fix?

Alex Markov, as humorless as he is deadly handsome, has no intention of playing the loving bridegroom to a spoiled little feather-head with champagne tastes. He drags Daisy from her uptown life to a broken down traveling circus and sets out to tame her to his ways.

But this man without a soul has met his match in a woman who's nothing but heart. Before long, passion will send them flying sky high without a safety net... risking it all in search of a love that will last forever.


 

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE || KOBO

Excerpts

“You’ve torn a hole in my tights.” she murmured foolishly, slipping her arms around his shoulders and reveling in the feel of his weight pressing her into the mattress.

He brushed his lips over her temples. “I’ll buy you a new pair. I swear.” He gave a gentle push.

And went nowhere.

She stiffened. Her worst fears had been realized She’d atrophied from so many years of being unused.

And another favorite scene:

“First I need to–”

“Check on Tater. I’ll come with you.”

“Don’t glower at him this time.”

“I never glower.”

“Last time you glowered. It hurt his feelings.”

“He doesn’t have–”

“He does, too, have feelings.”

“You spoil him.”

“He’s spirited, not spoiled. There’s a big difference.”

He gave her a pointed look. “Believe me, I know all about the difference between spirited and spoiled.”

“Are you implying–”

“It’s a compliment.”

“It doesn’t sound like one.”

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: May 2020

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About Susan Elizabeth Phillips

I STARTED TO WRITE completely by accident. I taught high school until our oldest son was born, then quit to stay home. In 1976, my husband’s job took us from Ohio to central New Jersey. My best friend Claire lived two doors down the street. Both of us were big readers, reading everything from literary fiction to the newly popular historical romance novels. We loved talking about the books—what we liked, what we didn’t. One day, just for fun, we decided to try to write a book together. For three weeks as we rode our bikes in the evening, with my toddler in the baby seat behind me, we plotted our story. Then we sat down with a yellow pad and began to write


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Retro Review: Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted March 7, 2017 by Holly in Reviews | 13 Comments

Retro Review: Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsReviewer: Holly
Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: October 13th 2009
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 400
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five-stars

A Desperate Young Mother
Rachel Stone's bad luck has taken a turn for the worse. With an empty wallet, a car's that's spilling smoke, and a five-year-old son to support, she's come home to a town that hates her. But this determined young widow with a scandalous past has learned how to be a fighter. And she'll do anything to keep her child safe—even take on. . .
A man With No Heart
Gabe Bonner wants to be left alone, especially by the beautiful outcast who's invaded his property. She has a ton of attitude, a talent for trouble, and a child who brings back bad memories. Yet Rachel's feisty spirit might just be heaven-sent to save a tough, stubborn man.
Dare To Dream
Welcome to Salvation, North Carolina—where a man who's forgotten what tenderness means meets a woman with nothing to lose. here two endearing lovers will set off on a funny, touching journey of the heart. . .to a place where dreams just might come true.

*****As part of our 10 year anniversary celebration, we’ll be re-posting old reviews that make us cringe, laugh or sigh all over again.

This review was originally posted on October 8, 2009.

I meant to have this written as part of our Susan Elizabeth Phillips Author Spotlight last month, but I didn’t get around to writing it. Dream a Little Dream is one of my favorite SEP novels. It’s hands down my favorite of the Chicago Stars/Bonner Brothers series.

Gabe Bonner lost his wife and son in a tragic car accident and for the past two years he’s been in a state of deep mourning. He’s been coasting through life, numb and emotionless, waiting for the day when it all will end. But Rachel Stone changes all that the day she shows up at his drive-in; dirty, hungry and desperate to save herself and her son Edward. He should be repulsed by her, but he isn’t. He’s drawn to her in a way he hates. She cracks the icy ball that’s surrounding his heart.

Rachel Stone has returned to the last place on Earth she ever wanted to see again, Salvation, North Carolina. 5 years ago she and her husband G. Dwayne Snopes were the hope and pride of Salvation, a televangelist couple to rival even the most sincere and promising of them. But all that ended the night G. Dwayne disappeared with the life savings of the people of Salvation, bringing shame and scandal to the once prosperous town. Now she’s back, determined to find the stash Dwayne left behind, desperate to save the future of her much beloved son.

At times this novel is hard to read, especially in the beginning when Rachel and Gabe meet. They’re both desperate and broken, though for different reasons and with different ways of dealing with their pain. One of the most emotional things I’ve ever read is when Rachel begs Gabe for a job. The first few chapters of this book are hard to get through, but they showcase perfectly just how far both characters have fallen.

Eventually Rachel and Gabe form a tight bond, though both are reluctant to acknowledge it. The town shuns Rachel, and her house and car are vandalized. Gabe takes on the role of protector, though even he can’t understand why. Despite their change in feelings for one another, they both know they have no future together. Especially since Gabe can’t stand Edward, Rachel’s son.

I loved the strength Rachel showed. It wasn’t easy for her to continue on each day, especially in the beginning, but she did what needed to be done. I would have to say she’s probably one of my favorite SEP heroines. She’s practical and tough, with a smart mouth and a strong will to survive. What’s not to love?

My heart ached for Gabe. I wanted to wrap him in cotton and protect him from the world. I loved that Rachel was the only one who saw him for what he was, and was willing to push him in the direction he needed to go.

Even though this is a darker novel, there are moments of unexpected tenderness and humor. I loved that even though the town hated Rachel, none of them took it out on her son. Everyone, from the townsfolk to the Bonner brothers, was kind to Edward. Well, except for Gabe.

The secondary romance between Ethan Bonner and Kristy Brown, his church secretary, was sweet. It provided relief from the darker tone of the rest of the novel.

Dream a Little Dream is heartwrenching and emotionally compelling. I couldn’t put it down, even when I could barely see the pages through my tears.

5 out of 5

five-stars


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Review: This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted September 26, 2016 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsReviewer: Holly
This Heart of Mine (Chicago Stars, #5) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Series: Chicago Stars #5
Also in this series: Natural Born Charmer, It Had to Be You, Dream a Little Dream
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: February 5th 2002
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 432
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

This Heart of Mine..
Molly Somerville knows she has a reputation for trouble. She did give away her fifteen-million-dollar inheritance, but, hey, nobody's perfect. Still, if anyone has an almost perfect life, it's Molly. While her Daphne the Bunny children's books could be selling better, she loves her cramped loft, her French poodle, and her career creating the fictional animals who live in Nightingale Woods. She even loves her sister, Phoebe.
True, it was a little tough growing up in her shadow. Phoebe is beautiful, blissfully married, and the owner of the most successful professional football team in America. But who other than your sister knows you're about to do something drastic every time you change your hair? Yes, Molly's happy about almost everything ... except her long-term crush on the daredevil quarterback for the Chicago Stars, that awful, gorgeous Kevin Tucker, a man who can't even remember her name!
One night Molly's penchant for running into trouble runs right into Kevin himself, turning her world upside down. Heartbreak follows, and just when she's certain things can't get worse, Kevin forces his way back into her life. If only the overpaid, Ferrari-driving, poodle-hating jock was as shallow as she wants him to be, she could get on with her almost perfect life. But Kevin's hidden depths and iron will propel Molly out of her comfortable existence into an unforgettable summer at a place called Wind Lake. Surrounded by paintbox cottages and a charming old bed-and-breakfast, she and Kevin battle their attraction while trying to cope with an aging sexpot actress, a cranky world-famous artist, and a pair of teenage newlyweds.
Their careers and lives are in crisis ... yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Before the summer is over, will they be able to learn one of life's most important lessons? Sometimes falling in love hurts, sometimes it makes you mad as hell, and sometimes if you're very lucky it can heal in the most special and unexpected way.

I really wish SEP didn’t humiliate her heroines quite so much. No matter how many times I re-read This Heart of Mine it never gets easier watching Molly hurt herself.

Molly’s actions in the beginning of the book were really hard to take. If the roles were reversed and a man acted as she did, we know what it would be called. Unlike other books where the heroine purposely takes advantage of the hero (generally to steal his sperm so she can have the baby she always wanted), I softened to Molly as the story went on. Probably because she suffered quite a bit for her actions. I’m not excusing what she did, nor condoning it, but I felt like she was truly remorseful and her suffering as the novel went on served to soften her actions just enough to allow me to forgive her.

Where SEP excels, in my opinion, is writing nuanced characters. There are no two-dimensional flops for SEP. Kevin, Molly and all the rest are fully three-dimensional, with struggles and emotions not readily apparent at first glance.

SEP has always pulled me into her stories and this is no exception. I lived at camp with Molly and Kevin, suffered along with them during their trials and tribulations and got to know their friends and family through them. I can’t say I love every aspect of this novel, but I can say I was fully engaged while reading it. Even though I’ve read it many times before.

4.25 out of 5

This book is available from  . You can buy it here or here in e-format.

four-half-stars


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Review: The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted August 14, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsReviewer: Rowena
The Great Escape (Wynette, Texas, #7) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Series: Wynette Texas #7
Also in this series: Call Me Irresistible (Wynette, Texas #6)
Publisher: Harper Collins, William Morrow
Publication Date: July 10th 2012
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 437
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three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

Where do you run to when your life has fallen apart?

Lucy Jorik is a champ at never embarrassing the family she adores—not surprising since her mother is one of the most famous women in the world. But now Lucy has done just that. And on her wedding day, no less, to the most perfect man she's ever known.

Instead of saying "I do" to Mr. Irresistible, Lucy flees the church in an ill-fitting blue choir robe and hitches a ride on the back of a beat-up motorcycle plastered with offensive bumper stickers. She's flying into the unknown with a rough-looking, bad-tempered stranger who couldn't be more foreign to her privileged existence.

While the world searches for her, Lucy must search for herself, and she quickly realizes that her customary good manners are no defense against a man who's raised rudeness to an art form. Lucy needs to toughen up—and fast.

Her great escape takes her to his rambling beach house on a Great Lakes island. Here, she hopes to find a new direction . . . and unlock the secrets of this man who knows so much about her but reveals nothing about himself. As the hot summer days unfold amid scented breezes and sudden storms, she'll also encounter a beautiful, troubled beekeeper; a frightened young boy; a modern-day evil queen; and a passion that could change her life forever.

In this dazzling follow-up to her New York Times bestseller Call Me Irresistible, Susan Elizabeth Phillips tells the funny, touching, enchanting story of a young woman searching for her destiny . . . and of a damaged man who doesn't believe in second chances.

I’ve been pretty antsy for this book for a while now. Probably since Ted and Meg’s story that came out last year. I used to be all about Ted and Lucy but then SEP broke them up and hooked Ted up with Meg and I got over Ted and Lucy then when this book came out, my first thought was, “Finally!”. This is Lucy’s book, y’all!

This book has all of the staples of being an SEP read. The hero being a total dick to the heroine, the heroine hates the hero and the feeling is mutual and over the course of the story, that changes. This book takes place the minute that Lucy runs from the Church on her wedding day to Teddy. In Meg’s book, we get what happened on Ted’s side of things and in this book, we get to see what the heck happened to Lucy.

Lucy jumps on the back of Mysterious Man’s motorcycle and off they ride into the sunset. Lucy can’t stick around, she needs to leave more than she needs her next breath so off she goes with the stranger that’s been poking around Wynette for the past little while. She’s holding on for dear life and once they make their first stop, the stranger who’s name is Panda. Yes, you read that right. He tells her to call him Panda. Anyway, Panda gives her a hard time about jilting Teddy at the altar and that becomes the norm for them as they put miles between them and Wynette.

Seeing Lucy and Panda grow closer and closer as the story wove on was at times funny but at other times annoying. The fought a lot and then when the other characters came into play, it only added to the madness that was already Lucy’s life. There’s the fat camp lady, Toby and his guardian and then Mike. There’s plenty of things going on that will keep you from getting bored but I wasn’t a fan of a lot of things in this book. I wasn’t a fan of the way that Panda treated Lucy in the beginning and I wasn’t a fan of Lucy’s get up when she shows up at Panda’s lake house. Now, you’d think that I hated the book as a whole but I didn’t. SEP works her magic in a way that the characters got on your hot damn nerves throughout the entire book but if you stuck with it, she repaid you for your loyalty but making everything better in the end.

This book is filled with colorful characters and many a laughs. SEP writes a story that will make you glad that you finished even though you wanted to strangle each and every single one of her characters just moments before. It’s a good book and yeah, you should still read it.

Grade: 3 out of 5

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-stars


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Review: Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Posted January 9, 2012 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth PhillipsReviewer: Holly
Call Me Irresistible (Wynette, Texas #6) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Series: America's Lady #3, Wynette Texas #6
Also in this series: The Great Escape (Wynette, Texas, #7)
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: January 18th 2011
Pages: 385
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three-half-stars

R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Meg Koranda is the spoiled daughter of Hollywood’s most darling couple. In a family of overachievers, she’s definitely the black sheep. She’s spent her life wandering the planet, living off her daddy’s money and generally doing nothing. But then her parents cut her off, and she has no idea how to take care of herself. In the midst of this, she travels to small Texas town, Wynette, to see her best friend get married. As soon as she hits town it’s glaringly obvious that Lucy and Ted are all wrong for each other.

And she isn’t the only one having doubts. Lucy isn’t sure she should be marrying Ted, either. So a few words from Meg are all it takes to convince her not to go through with it. Lucy disappears for parts unknown, and Meg is left taking the blame for everything that happened. No one believes it was truly Lucy’s fault, they put the blame squarely on Meg. And wouldn’t you know it, just when she really needs to get out of town, she can’t. She’s dead broke. So much so, she can’t even afford to pay her hotel bill for her time in Wynette.

Now she’s stranded in a town where everyone hates her, without a penny to her name and no one to call for help. But maybe she can make it on her own..if she only she can  manage to stay away from Ted Beaudine. Because despite the fact that he was just engaged to her best friend, she’s crazy attracted to him.

There was a lot about this book that I enjoyed. SEP never fails to engage my emotions or pull me into her stories. I was entertained and exhilarated. But I was also disappointed. A lot about the actions of both main characters didn’t make sense, in context of the story and out of it. Plus, SEP really loves to humiliate her heroines, and that can be frustrating. I didn’t understand why the entire town blamed Meg, and I especially didn’t like how the women in town treated her. Each of them was scorned by the town when they first arrived, so you’d think they’d learn and try to do better. Instead, the same thing repeats each book.

As always, SEP has written an engaging tale. Sadly I didn’t love it as much as some of her others.

3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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