40. Into Temptation

The third in the Penny Vincenzi trilogy, I really enjoyed this one as well. The characters are well written and complex, that even when they are making stupid choices and mistakes you still care about them and want to see what happens next. I definitely recommend the series - and own all three if you are interested.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

The third in the Lytton family trilogy (Something Dangerous; No Angel) takes the patrician English clan-and all its jockeying for power, money and approval-into the second half of the 20th century. Set in London and New York, the novel opens in 1953 with the Lyttons in an uproar, as matriarch Celia drops two bombshells: she's leaving Lytton's, the family publishing house she has run for decades, and marrying sportsman Lord "Bunny" Arden. (Her husband Oliver died only a year earlier.) Baffled, her children contemplate how these changes will affect their careers and inheritances. Meanwhile, the narrative turns to Barty Miller, Celia's adopted daughter, who runs Lytton's New York and controls the majority share of the house thanks to her first husband's wealth, and Barty's headstrong daughter, Jenna. Barty also marries again, to Charlie Patterson, a smooth operator of relatively modest means who turns out not to be all that he appears to be. As this page-turner nears its conclusion, the Lytton family fortunes come under threat from the resentful Charlie. Will Barty and Jenna manage to preserve the Lytton legacy? Period color, deliciously shocking revelations and showy characterizations heighten this romance, which should be one of the summer's guilty pleasures.

39. Something Dangerous

The second of three by Penny Vincenzi chronicling the lives of the fictional Lytton family in London in the 1930s and 40s, it's another really compelling, really good read. I've already moved on to book three and can't wait to find out how this story concludes!

Here's a review from B&N:

Expansively written and lushly detailed, this fast-paced sequel to No Angel follows the Lyttons, a prominent British publishing family, into the mid-20th century. It's 1928 as the book opens, and the Lytton heirs apparent-Giles, Kit and their twin sisters, Venetia and Adele-are more absorbed in their personal lives than in steering themselves toward future stewardship of the family empire. Giles, ensconced in a mid-level Lytton post, feels a professional and social failure; Kit is bright, but only eight; and the beautiful 18-year-old twins are more concerned with their court debuts than with learning anything useful about publishing. Lytton foster child Barty Miller, who graduated from Oxford with honors, might take the business seriously; she shows remarkable intelligence and drive, but not the gratitude that Celia Lytton, senior editor of the house and matron of the family, would like. The business and family survive the Depression as the Lyttons begin publishing cheaper books, the twins lose their virginity, Kit grows into a fine young man and Giles gets married. Then WWII comes along and snaps, if not sense, then at least some backbone into the Lytton children. But is it too late? As family secrets and the Nazis both threaten to crush the house of Lytton, Vincenzi tightens her grip on readers, churning out surprising twists that not only resolve current conflicts but promise delicious future crises.

38. No Angel

The first in a trilogy by Penny Vincenzi, No Angel is set in the early 1900s. I generally don't like period books but this one is such a great family drama I'm really glad I put aside that preconception and gave it a shot. I'll be moving on to book 2 tomorrow...

Here's a review from B&N:

Bestselling British author Vincenzi follows the tumultuous lives of London's Lytton family through the early 20th century in her first novel to be published in the U.S. At the story's center is Lady Celia Beckenham, a strong-willed, blue-blooded beauty who forces her parents to bless her marriage to the lower-ranking Oliver Lytton, employed in the "rough world of publishing," by getting pregnant. Taking her maternal duties in stride (her ugly baby, Giles, is initially "something of a disappointment"), Celia talks her way into an editorial position at Lyttons Publishing House, and quickly proves herself a fast learner with a head full of successful ideas. As years pass and more children arrive, Celia becomes known for her editorial skills and her familial devotion. But when Oliver returns after four years of fighting in WWI, her perfect world begins to crumble he is dismayed by the books Lyttons has published under Celia's and his sister LM's guidance, and he has lost all desire for his wife. Celia seeks comfort in the arms of a handsome new author, and as she falls into an all-consuming affair, she begins to contemplate leaving Oliver: "She would have to go; go with Sebastian. Anything else was madness. She explored the decision for a few minutes, waiting for uncertainty to return. It didn't." But as Celia struggles to make her life-altering decision, events around her cause her to see herself and her family in a new light and to ponder what her life would be like if she weren't a Lytton. Through life and death, exuberance and sorrow, honor and disgrace, Vincenzi perfectly captures the intricacies of her characters and creates plots captivating enough to keep readers eyes' glued to this long and hearty saga.

37. Sheer Abandon

This was a good read... a complex story that intertwines the lives of many in an interesting way. Parts were very predictible, but then a twist would come out of no where. It's a long one, but worth reading.

Here's the description from B&N:

A number-one bestseller from one of Britain’s most popular novelists, Sheer Abandon is an all-consuming story revolving around the consequences of a desperate act . . .

Martha, Clio, and Jocasta meet by chance at Heathrow airport in 1985 as they are starting off on separate backpacking adventures, and they decide to spend the first few days of their trips together in Thailand. When they go their separate ways, they vow to get together in London the following year. But many years pass before the three cross paths again, and the once-capricious, carefree girls now all have thriving careers. One of them, however, harbors a terrible secret: On her return from her pre-college excursion, she abandoned her just-born daughter at Heathrow.

Clio has fulfilled her ambition of becoming a doctor, only to find herself trapped in a marriage to an arrogant surgeon who belittles her and her professional achievements. Martha is a highly paid corporate lawyer, just embarking on a political career. Dedicated to her job, she has had little time for personal relationships and lives a busy, but lonely life. Jocasta, a tabloid newspaper reporter with an infallible instinct for the big story, is in love with a charming colleague who can’t make the permanent commitment she longs for. The infant abandoned at Heathrow has grown up under the loving care of her adoptive family. Now a beautiful teenager named Kate, she sets out to find her birth mother—a quest that unexpectedly brings the women together and exposes the secret buried so many years before.