Kiss an Angel

Readers who have enjoyed Phillips's writing in the past (Heaven, Texas) will be disappointed by her latest contemporary. In dire straits as a result of her irresponsible lifestyle, Daisy Devreaux is given an ultimatum by her outraged father--jail or an arranged marriage to Alex Markov, a broodingly handsome Russian handpicked by her father to teach Daisy the error of her ways. It's a thin plot that's kept going by a superabundance of sex. In better outings, Phillips's razor sharp wit might keeps things afloat, but there is nothing funny in the mean-spirited and abusive hero. (Feb.)