A review by nickartrip102
No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

3.0

"If Beckenham doesn't get some kind of job, I don't know what I'll do...he's in an absolute raging ferment, it's had the usual effect on him, of course. I hope your nursemaid isn't a virgin, knows how to look after herself."
"I'll warn her," Celia said hastily. Poor Jessie; she was very pretty. She felt that the danger from her father was infinitely greater than anything the Hun might rain on her from the skies.

I decided to make a departure from my regular reading and turn toward something that I hoped would be a little more melodramatic and fun. After falling in love with Penny Vincenzi’s deliciously bonkbuster Wicked Pleasures, I perused a list of her works and stumbled upon No Angel, the start of a multigenerational family saga. Celia Lytton is the beautiful and strong-willed daughter of aristocrats. With such a charmed life, Celia has always been used to getting he own way. When she decides that Oliver Lytton is the man she will marry, she is faced with her father’s disapproval and Oliver’s own reservations, but she knows that a pregnancy will silence any fussing over the match. Celia moves through life making rash decisions, but those decisions often have consequences for her husband, children, and those who cannot resist her orbit.

Full spoilers

It’s like if Jackie Collins wrote Downton Abbey, and I have to confess, I absolutely fell in love. Part one had all of the right elements and even if I found Celia to be a bit absurd, I was immediately taken with her boldness. The same goes for LM! I didn’t really give a fig about Robert Lytton or his drama in America, but I was very much sold on most of the primary cast of the novel. Part of me was hoping LM might be a lesbian, but that didn’t quite come to fruition. I felt terribly for poor little Bart! Well, at least at first.

The second section of the book was what really got my invested in the story. LM’s relationship with Jago was a highlight for me and I was really hoping this was something that would play out long term, so imagine my surprise when the poor fella couldn’t even make it past the war! Celia’s growing attraction to Sebastian really excited me, because quite frankly Oliver was giving some pretty gross vibes the entire time. I get it, he had a terrible experience during the war, but the constant criticism of every single thing that Celia said or did was quite annoying and I couldn’t help but applaud her for getting hers in on the side.

Barty is an annoying character, with such a fascinating character history. Seriously, she’s way too saintly. Also, why does it seem like Jack might eventually make a move on her when she’s older? There were a few times where the story alluded to the fact he thought she would grow into a very beautiful woman. I really enjoyed Jack throughout much of the story! He’s a sort of early 20th century English himbo and that absolutely does it for me. Not going to lie - when he popped up on return during the war and he and Celia shared a moment, I was totally hoping she would end up fucking him. Sebastian, her eventual lover, did grow on me but he sort of came out of left field (and didn’t seem to possess a very distinct personality.)

Celia definitely felt like a Carrie Bradshaw. A great character to follow and build the story around, but sort of unlikable. I was sympathetic to her predicament, but she wanted to have her cake and eat it, much like her parents had done for decades. It wasn’t until the last thirty pages of the book that my opinion of her really changed! For a moment I had come around on Oliver, finding him to be terribly honorable in not allowing anyone to besmirch Celia’s name in front of him. I was almost glad when Celia decided to stay, until it was revealed that Oliver had also been conducting an affair with Felicity, all while Celia has been feeling like a depressed slut! And this fella LM ends up with? Oy vey. I thought for a moment something was up with him, that he was possibly actually the man who tried to kidnap Jay instead of the man who accidentally him with his car. It would be terrible, but also a very interest twist!

Also, the added plot with Guy and the professor and the affair with the student felt totally unnecessary and like filler. Other than that, and my early dislike of Robert (which changed over time), I had so much reading this and I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series.