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The Spoils of Time #3
Into Temptation
Into Temptation, the third book of the Lytton family trilogy, shifts the focus to New York City and Barty Miller. Rescued from the slums as a baby by Celia Lytton and now living in New York, Barty heads more than half of the Lytton publishing house. Falling on bad times, the family is worried that Barty will make a business decision that would be devastating to them. But will she? As events unfold, long-buried secrets concerning the whole family are revealed, shaking the very foundations of the Lytton’s world. Readers have come to depend on Vincenzi for her enchanting prose style and the epic scope of her dramas; like the Lytton family sagas that precede it, Into Temptation does not disappoint.
672 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
270 people are currently reading
2,066 people want to read
About the author
Penny Vincenzi
57 books904 followersPenny was nine years old when she embarked on her storytelling career. She wrote her own magazine called “Stories”, which she copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two pence at school. So began a career in writing which has seen 7 million copies sold, and 17 bestselling novels.
After secretarial college, Penny worked as a junior secretary at Vogue and Tatler magazines, before moving to the Daily Mirror as personal assistant to Marje Proops, Britain's legendary agony aunt.
Marje encouraged her to write, and she became fashion editor and beauty writer at the Mirror, working for the women's editor in what was irreverently known as the "fragrant department". Penny’s journalistic career as a celebrated writer and columnist spanned several decades working for many of the leading newspapers and magazines of the time.
She once asked bestselling British author Jilly Cooper for advice on writing a novel while interviewing her for a magazine profile. Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, who promptly auctioned off her (then unwritten) first novel. It was quickly snapped up and the rest, as they say, is history.
Penny died in 2018. She was the proud and much-loved mother of four equally proud daughters, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.
After secretarial college, Penny worked as a junior secretary at Vogue and Tatler magazines, before moving to the Daily Mirror as personal assistant to Marje Proops, Britain's legendary agony aunt.
Marje encouraged her to write, and she became fashion editor and beauty writer at the Mirror, working for the women's editor in what was irreverently known as the "fragrant department". Penny’s journalistic career as a celebrated writer and columnist spanned several decades working for many of the leading newspapers and magazines of the time.
She once asked bestselling British author Jilly Cooper for advice on writing a novel while interviewing her for a magazine profile. Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, who promptly auctioned off her (then unwritten) first novel. It was quickly snapped up and the rest, as they say, is history.
Penny died in 2018. She was the proud and much-loved mother of four equally proud daughters, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 265 reviews
May 17, 2022
2 Stars
The first two books in the series are far superior. The characters became progressively more stupid as time went on, particularly the women. It's a testament to the quality of books one and two that I felt the need to finish the series no matter what.
The first two books in the series are far superior. The characters became progressively more stupid as time went on, particularly the women. It's a testament to the quality of books one and two that I felt the need to finish the series no matter what.
March 16, 2008
By far the best of the trilogy, in my opinion (obviously). Once again your favorite characters return (the living ones at least) and the Lytton family drama is in full force. The books seem to focus specifically on three distinct generations while keeping the other ones fresh on the surface and not letting them get too far away. No Angel of course focused on the original Lyttons in their prime such as Oliver, Sebastian, LM and of course Celia. Then Something Dangerous added a little more focus on their children. Of course you can guess that Into Temptation held a stronger spotlight on that third generation of Lyttons. Though, throughout the novels, two characters break down that generation gap and continue to steal focus, two of the strongest and of course my favorites: Celia and Barty.
One thing I felt made this book a little stronger was that all the stories were so interconnected. Something happened to someone or they did something and it causes a ripple effect. The other books had a touch of that, but the stories seemed to only be tied together as they were happening to members of the same family. Of course I enjoyed the other books, but the fact this one had more of a linear storyline and things were caused by the decisions and actions of other made this story flow so much more and a lot more interesting to read. More interesting to read because even though you may be following a character you're not quite as fond of, you want to know what's happening to them because of what a character you love did. Does that make sense?
My only problem with this book in general was it still held a very old fashioned quality to it, it did not seem like it had entered into the latter half of the 20th century, those years following WWII, even though that was the time it was supposed to be in. Also, the Americans (the actual Americans) seemed very British to me. I thought Vincenzi would have taken more opportunities to show the differences of cultures and generations. She occasionally did it with the generations, but not so much with the cultures. Perhaps she was focusing on so much to begin with that adding that in may have been a little too much.
Overall though, I loved this book. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic trilogy. And it ends in such a way that you know the stories will continue... just maybe not in writing.
One thing I felt made this book a little stronger was that all the stories were so interconnected. Something happened to someone or they did something and it causes a ripple effect. The other books had a touch of that, but the stories seemed to only be tied together as they were happening to members of the same family. Of course I enjoyed the other books, but the fact this one had more of a linear storyline and things were caused by the decisions and actions of other made this story flow so much more and a lot more interesting to read. More interesting to read because even though you may be following a character you're not quite as fond of, you want to know what's happening to them because of what a character you love did. Does that make sense?
My only problem with this book in general was it still held a very old fashioned quality to it, it did not seem like it had entered into the latter half of the 20th century, those years following WWII, even though that was the time it was supposed to be in. Also, the Americans (the actual Americans) seemed very British to me. I thought Vincenzi would have taken more opportunities to show the differences of cultures and generations. She occasionally did it with the generations, but not so much with the cultures. Perhaps she was focusing on so much to begin with that adding that in may have been a little too much.
Overall though, I loved this book. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic trilogy. And it ends in such a way that you know the stories will continue... just maybe not in writing.
February 2, 2015
I still haven't been able to bring myself to read the rest of it. Nope. *spoilers* Still not over Barty. I mean. Wetf man! Maybe I'll finish this one day, but eff everything HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO BARTY, ALMOST TWO YEARS LATER I'M STILL BLOODY PISSED!
May 25, 2021
Grand Final!😀 jau maniau siais metais nedamusiu as paskutines kalades🙈siaip susiskaite visai gerai, bet kaip ir pirmose abejose dalyse viskas uztempta ir istesta iki neimanomo. Skaitant susidaro ispudis, jog noreta tiesiog kuo storesnes knygas prirasyti. O ir dar pabaiga kazkokia...be pabaigos, tai vienu zodziu reziumuojant, tikrai nelikau as apzaveta sitos trilogijos, tikrai antra karta neskaityciau, nes mane net erzino tas flegmatiskumas vietom😁bet savo issuki iveikiau, galiu bent tuo pasidziaugti!
May 11, 2010
The third and final book in the Lytton Family Trilogy. Penny VIncenzi finished with a bang and I enjoyed every page to the end of this book. I was a little surprised at how she finished up some loose ends and left some still hanging, but all in all, an excellent trilogy. I would highly recommend it for some light, but worthwhile, summer reading.
This book continues on with the Lyttons who have moved to New York, the Lyttons who have stayed behind in London, and the one's who are floating between the two places. The twins are now in their 40's and Cecilia is on the brink of retirement, but still running Lyttons.
The end of this book is by far the most exciting part, with the discovery of Cecilia's life journals. These end up in the wrong hands and all of the Lytton family secrets are on the brink of discovery.
I enjoyed the way this book finishes out Cecilia's life. I really feel that as a character, I know her inside and out. And I even find myself thinking about her, so I would say that's the sign of a well developed character. Some of the others are less than developed and pretty basic, but all in all, it all tied together nicely.
This book continues on with the Lyttons who have moved to New York, the Lyttons who have stayed behind in London, and the one's who are floating between the two places. The twins are now in their 40's and Cecilia is on the brink of retirement, but still running Lyttons.
The end of this book is by far the most exciting part, with the discovery of Cecilia's life journals. These end up in the wrong hands and all of the Lytton family secrets are on the brink of discovery.
I enjoyed the way this book finishes out Cecilia's life. I really feel that as a character, I know her inside and out. And I even find myself thinking about her, so I would say that's the sign of a well developed character. Some of the others are less than developed and pretty basic, but all in all, it all tied together nicely.
July 20, 2015
Waaaaaaaaah! I can't believe I've finished The Spoils of Time Trilogy. I have loved every minute I've spent getting to know the Lytton family. Knowing this was the last book in the trilogy, I tried my best to savor each page, but the story was far too compelling and I flew through it. Before I knew it, I was at the end. The end. No more Lyttons. Waaaaah! Well, it was phenomenal while it lasted. I will miss curling up with these bulky tomes. This saga is an instant favorite. I hope to revisit them down the road.
April 17, 2023
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
I was sad to start reading this book, knowing it was the last of the Lytton trilogy. Equally, I was curious to know how Vicenzi would make this as interesting and diverse as the previous, very lengthy novels. To be honest, I initially found it a struggle to immerse myself into the plot, thinking the stories were becoming a repeat of what has already been seen. However, I gradually became more absorbed into the narrative and found myself once again in the throes of the Lytton dynasty.
I was sad to start reading this book, knowing it was the last of the Lytton trilogy. Equally, I was curious to know how Vicenzi would make this as interesting and diverse as the previous, very lengthy novels. To be honest, I initially found it a struggle to immerse myself into the plot, thinking the stories were becoming a repeat of what has already been seen. However, I gradually became more absorbed into the narrative and found myself once again in the throes of the Lytton dynasty.
April 5, 2019
In this book women are spoiled or brainless, men are jerks or spineless... And this irritating style.. But it could have been worse :)
Read
April 27, 2012This is a very thick book to read and from ebook, it contained 720 pages and took me more than a week to read. First of all, i like Penny's writing. Her books are about family saga; filled with love, heartache, sadness, conflicts and betrayal and it is interesting to read. And this book contained all the emotion rolled into one.
This book is the 3rd book of The Spoilts of TIme and is a continuation of Lytton Family saga. The announcement of Celia to retire and to remarried marked the start of the book and the story then progress onto the life without Celia at Lytton and the way the other family members coped with her absence and the conflicts that arised from the annoucement such as Kit's refusal to acknowledged his mother's remarried and cutting himself from her; Celia's confusion over her decision, has ensued. The story also contained subplots between Barty and her new found love; Charlie and their life together, Elspeth (grandaughter of Celia) and her beau, Keir and her subsequent affairs with Mark Forrester, Adele and her marriage failure and conflicts with her own childrens, etc.
Overall, the book is very engaging but one may find is taunting with the number of pages that it have. I was at the beginning but as the story progressed, the thickness of the book does not matters as much anymore ;)
My Rating
This book is the 3rd book of The Spoilts of TIme and is a continuation of Lytton Family saga. The announcement of Celia to retire and to remarried marked the start of the book and the story then progress onto the life without Celia at Lytton and the way the other family members coped with her absence and the conflicts that arised from the annoucement such as Kit's refusal to acknowledged his mother's remarried and cutting himself from her; Celia's confusion over her decision, has ensued. The story also contained subplots between Barty and her new found love; Charlie and their life together, Elspeth (grandaughter of Celia) and her beau, Keir and her subsequent affairs with Mark Forrester, Adele and her marriage failure and conflicts with her own childrens, etc.
Overall, the book is very engaging but one may find is taunting with the number of pages that it have. I was at the beginning but as the story progressed, the thickness of the book does not matters as much anymore ;)
My Rating
June 29, 2013
I can't believe I read 3-600+ page novels over the past few weeks...that is quite a bit of lost sleep. This is the final installment and it was just as full of excitement, twists, and turns as the other 2 books. I would love to hear that the author decided to continue the story with a 4th installment with the "grandchildren's" lives.
""The Lytton family past is full of secrets. Only one person knows them all and that is Lady Celia Lytton, the family matriarch. Some are more dangerous than others, some entirely her own, others shared with her family, all absolutely safe in her keeping. Until something happens that threatens to reveal them all: the difficult, dark past of Adele, one of her twin daughters; the dreadful cruelty of a truth that had to be confronted by Celia's son Kit; the shadows of Celia's own past and that of Barty Miller, the child she rescued from the slums in babyhood and who now owns more than half of the Lytton publishing house - all these secrets and many more." How the family copes with the danger of revelation, the dark shadows of the past cast over their present and future lives and the effect on the next generation, makes a fascinating and compelling story."
""The Lytton family past is full of secrets. Only one person knows them all and that is Lady Celia Lytton, the family matriarch. Some are more dangerous than others, some entirely her own, others shared with her family, all absolutely safe in her keeping. Until something happens that threatens to reveal them all: the difficult, dark past of Adele, one of her twin daughters; the dreadful cruelty of a truth that had to be confronted by Celia's son Kit; the shadows of Celia's own past and that of Barty Miller, the child she rescued from the slums in babyhood and who now owns more than half of the Lytton publishing house - all these secrets and many more." How the family copes with the danger of revelation, the dark shadows of the past cast over their present and future lives and the effect on the next generation, makes a fascinating and compelling story."
September 17, 2013
I've not written a comment on the first two books in the trilogy - other reviewers eloquently said what I thought: The first one was the best, and sucked me in; second one less so, and I'd never wanted a character to die so much (James); and now this one. I was about 100 pages in when I realized why I was so annoyed -- it felt like the exact same stories as the other two: inappropriate relationships, men who are jerks, women who are spoiled, unexpected pregnancies, financial crises, etc etc...
I finished it, but it was a struggle. I wanted the strong Celia-type person from book one to manifest in the others. Barty was as close as it got, and even she drove me nuts by the end.
I can't say it was worth the read, but leaving a trilogy unfinished seems rude.
I finished it, but it was a struggle. I wanted the strong Celia-type person from book one to manifest in the others. Barty was as close as it got, and even she drove me nuts by the end.
I can't say it was worth the read, but leaving a trilogy unfinished seems rude.
September 6, 2011
Soooo sad that this series is over... the most compelling books I have read!!!
May 31, 2017
The best trilogy. Loved it. Sad to be done with the family members I loved.
First book is the best, second great. Third good :)
First book is the best, second great. Third good :)
July 7, 2017
This book is a great wrap up, apart from the Charlie/Jenna plot. He essentially gets away with it. Its not right.
January 30, 2023
Felt this was the weaker if the three books. Glad I read the series but wouldn't read again.
I would say they were OK books, some good stuff but some obvious endings to each thing that happened
I would say they were OK books, some good stuff but some obvious endings to each thing that happened
October 10, 2023
Wonderful trilogy…good character development following the family generations!
September 11, 2012
Sad to see this book and the trilogy end. The Lyttons were such a great family, especially Celia and Barty.
It was sad to see some characters fade into the background, or become rather lame (Giles!) as the fictional years progressed. Really there could be like 10 spinoffs from this book. I enjoyed Izzie, though it seems she might need some counseling, and thought her relationship with Nick was very sweet. Elspeth and Keir I wasn't quite so moved by. He was an ass and Elspeth seems to entirely squander her talent.
There are also some loose ends in this book that I'm puzzling over. I hope someone can clear these up for me. It's possible I missed something as I raced through.
It was sad to see some characters fade into the background, or become rather lame (Giles!) as the fictional years progressed. Really there could be like 10 spinoffs from this book. I enjoyed Izzie, though it seems she might need some counseling, and thought her relationship with Nick was very sweet. Elspeth and Keir I wasn't quite so moved by. He was an ass and Elspeth seems to entirely squander her talent.
There are also some loose ends in this book that I'm puzzling over. I hope someone can clear these up for me. It's possible I missed something as I raced through.
October 22, 2009
Ok, I am finally finished with the third book of the trilogy. Meaning I have now read 2100 pages about the Lytton family. While it was enjoyable, it was not up to the standard of the first two in the series. I have to admit that reading the two last books back to back might have been too much...and had I given myself a break before jumping into this book I might have enjoyed it more. However, I just don't feel like it really lived up to the quality of the first two. There was not as much research about the history of the times, not as much interesting detail. I am ready to move on.
November 10, 2013
Every so often, my love for a book or series becomes evangelical. I blither on about them to friends, analyze plot twists to anyone who will listen, and try with great zeal to recruit everyone I know to read them with me. This trilogy certainly inspired such behavior. Given the many characters and plot lines that spanned three volumes, these books definitely reward fast reading. That would be my only advice to incoming readers: let them consume you! I was concerned this third installment would be redundant or tedious, but it was just as salacious as the others. Penny, please write a 4th!
August 28, 2022
I finished this book two weeks ago but forgot about my Goodreads account. I’m actually devastated to end this book series I loved it so much and yes I did cry at the end of the book. I will be rereading this very soon. 1000000000/10 🥺
April 23, 2021
Into temptation
Very good trilogy. It was a continuous story of many generations of a family. Lots of history and drama. Worth reading
Very good trilogy. It was a continuous story of many generations of a family. Lots of history and drama. Worth reading
November 15, 2019
Leider nur knappe 4 Sterne. Ich hätte gern volle 5 Sterne gegeben. Aber das Ende... just No! Das. Geht. So. Nicht. Das ist einfach nur dämlicher Hirnschmalz. Aber abgesehen von den letzten Seiten war es eigentlich grandios.
January 18, 2016
I feel like it's taken me quite a long time to work through all 3 books in Penny Vincenzi's Spoils of Time trilogy, and I think on each occassion I've found my way back to the story of the Lytton family and their publishing business I've found myself able to engage very easily with the characters and their stories again.
This third and final book in the trilogy, Into Temptation, was a real mammoth book to work through at a hefty 700 plus pages it was always going to be one you needed to commit to. I found that this was all very well, however where books 1 and 2 had focused upon the first and second world wars as their backrops which gave them something to bounce stories off of this book failed to have a similar historical event upon which to pin it's characters fates. Instead we begin in the 1950's in the senior years of our heroine of the trilogy Celia Lytton. She is preparing to marry after the death of her first husband Oliver and her children are less than happy with her choice. In fact instead of marrying her lover of many years Sebastian she has chosen instead to marry a man whom she has little romantic interest in at all.
The family business is still being run largely by family members, including Celia's son Giles and one of her twin daughters Venetia along with her nephew Jay Lytton. Celia's ongoing involvement in the business and their perception that her ideas are now outdated mean that they would like nothing more than Celia to retire, but shes not prepared to do that just yet, or is she?
The American branch of Lytton's is firmly in the hands of Barty, the adopted daughter of Celia and her first husband Oliver. She and her daughter Jenna are living off the fortune left to them by her husband Lawrence but Celia is lonely and suddenly one of daughter's school chums introduces her father Charlie and she dares to think maybe she could love someone again.
I hate to say but this book, whilst having some flashes of good storyline also had a tendency to drag them out overly. I love Barty as a character but the ongoing contracted storyline of her romance and marriage to Charlie Patterson became one of the more tedious ones in the book for me. It was patently clear from the outset he was not to be trusted and his scheming and money grabbing became something that should have lasted one part of the book but instead dragged throughout the whole 700 pages. I didn't buy that Bary who had previously been a very strong charater would have allowed him to continue acting that way for so long without taking very direct and decisive action.
If I were to review the position of the characters at the start of the book and compared it against where they ended I unfortunately felt that may of them hadn't been moved forward at all. Giles Lytton became a sidelined charater who was referred to ocassionally but was a missed opportunity in my opinion. In fact, because we had moved forward so far with the family since book one that we now had to deal not just with Celia and the first generation family but also the children, grandchildren and great granchildren's stories all in the one book. This means very few were given main storylines, instead they flitted in and out ocassionally but I craved more time with some and that wasn't always allowed.
The trilogy overall was a good story but my favourite was firmly Book 1, No Angel. The time setting, the worries of the Great War and the development of the family in the early years made for a more engaging read that we had by the time we got to Book 3. Instead we lacked focus on a small cast, lost a historical even in which the family could engage their stories and lost our attention to the family business in deferrence to managing the huge number of people the book had to cover. This was a real shame, it wouldn't stop me from reading Vincenzi again as Book One demonstrated the quality of writing of which she is capable, it's just a shame the Lytton clan became so unweildy that it caused a huge management of them in Book 3 to lead to loss of drama.
This third and final book in the trilogy, Into Temptation, was a real mammoth book to work through at a hefty 700 plus pages it was always going to be one you needed to commit to. I found that this was all very well, however where books 1 and 2 had focused upon the first and second world wars as their backrops which gave them something to bounce stories off of this book failed to have a similar historical event upon which to pin it's characters fates. Instead we begin in the 1950's in the senior years of our heroine of the trilogy Celia Lytton. She is preparing to marry after the death of her first husband Oliver and her children are less than happy with her choice. In fact instead of marrying her lover of many years Sebastian she has chosen instead to marry a man whom she has little romantic interest in at all.
The family business is still being run largely by family members, including Celia's son Giles and one of her twin daughters Venetia along with her nephew Jay Lytton. Celia's ongoing involvement in the business and their perception that her ideas are now outdated mean that they would like nothing more than Celia to retire, but shes not prepared to do that just yet, or is she?
The American branch of Lytton's is firmly in the hands of Barty, the adopted daughter of Celia and her first husband Oliver. She and her daughter Jenna are living off the fortune left to them by her husband Lawrence but Celia is lonely and suddenly one of daughter's school chums introduces her father Charlie and she dares to think maybe she could love someone again.
I hate to say but this book, whilst having some flashes of good storyline also had a tendency to drag them out overly. I love Barty as a character but the ongoing contracted storyline of her romance and marriage to Charlie Patterson became one of the more tedious ones in the book for me. It was patently clear from the outset he was not to be trusted and his scheming and money grabbing became something that should have lasted one part of the book but instead dragged throughout the whole 700 pages. I didn't buy that Bary who had previously been a very strong charater would have allowed him to continue acting that way for so long without taking very direct and decisive action.
If I were to review the position of the characters at the start of the book and compared it against where they ended I unfortunately felt that may of them hadn't been moved forward at all. Giles Lytton became a sidelined charater who was referred to ocassionally but was a missed opportunity in my opinion. In fact, because we had moved forward so far with the family since book one that we now had to deal not just with Celia and the first generation family but also the children, grandchildren and great granchildren's stories all in the one book. This means very few were given main storylines, instead they flitted in and out ocassionally but I craved more time with some and that wasn't always allowed.
The trilogy overall was a good story but my favourite was firmly Book 1, No Angel. The time setting, the worries of the Great War and the development of the family in the early years made for a more engaging read that we had by the time we got to Book 3. Instead we lacked focus on a small cast, lost a historical even in which the family could engage their stories and lost our attention to the family business in deferrence to managing the huge number of people the book had to cover. This was a real shame, it wouldn't stop me from reading Vincenzi again as Book One demonstrated the quality of writing of which she is capable, it's just a shame the Lytton clan became so unweildy that it caused a huge management of them in Book 3 to lead to loss of drama.
June 24, 2014
This book really impressed me because the characters are so wonderfully written and beautifully characterised. Packed with romance, trust, passion and a bit of betrayal. I think Into Temptation is actually my favourite book because it's very romantic, quite funny, and very stylised. It's basically set in London and New York, it's really wonderful. Penny has a way of doing a lot of research and she really cares about the plot.
My favourite characters are Barty, Jenna, Charlie and Cathy because they're quite funny...but in the middle of the book, Barty and Charlie get married. That's when the problems occur, they have silly arguments about money, travelling and about what to do with their children. Jenna is an American beauty like her mother anyway. She's funny and i like her ways of speaking. She makes friends easily.
Charlie, on the other hand, he's funny as well. But sometimes, he can get on my nerves a little bit, he's a little bit arrogant and a little bit self-centered as well. Charlie runs his own business - a Real Estate agency and is a bit afraid of losing money as well as being bankrupt. He is nice and very polite when he is in conversations with other characters in the book.
He has a daughter called Cathy. Cathy's mum died of alcohol because she was fond of the drink a bit too much. Cathy is younger than Jenna, so she looks up to her as a role model, really. Cathy is a wonderful and beautiful character; she's a charmer, but she and Jenna like keeping secrets from their parents. I think Penny has created unbelievable characters and given them a past. Good idea.
My favourite characters are Barty, Jenna, Charlie and Cathy because they're quite funny...but in the middle of the book, Barty and Charlie get married. That's when the problems occur, they have silly arguments about money, travelling and about what to do with their children. Jenna is an American beauty like her mother anyway. She's funny and i like her ways of speaking. She makes friends easily.
Charlie, on the other hand, he's funny as well. But sometimes, he can get on my nerves a little bit, he's a little bit arrogant and a little bit self-centered as well. Charlie runs his own business - a Real Estate agency and is a bit afraid of losing money as well as being bankrupt. He is nice and very polite when he is in conversations with other characters in the book.
He has a daughter called Cathy. Cathy's mum died of alcohol because she was fond of the drink a bit too much. Cathy is younger than Jenna, so she looks up to her as a role model, really. Cathy is a wonderful and beautiful character; she's a charmer, but she and Jenna like keeping secrets from their parents. I think Penny has created unbelievable characters and given them a past. Good idea.
April 27, 2012
This is a very thick book to read and from ebook, it contained 720 pages and took me more than a week to read. First of all, i like Penny's writing. Her books are about family saga; filled with love, heartache, sadness, conflicts and betrayal and it is interesting to read. And this book contained all the emotion rolled into one.
This book is the 3rd book of The Spoilts of TIme and is a continuation of Lytton Family saga. The announcement of Celia to retire and to remarried marked the start of the book and the story then progress onto the life without Celia at Lytton and the way the other family members coped with her absence and the conflicts that arised from the annoucement such as Kit's refusal to acknowledged his mother's remarried and cutting himself from her; Celia's confusion over her decision, has ensued. The story also contained subplots between Barty and her new found love; Charlie and their life together, Elspeth (grandaughter of Celia) and her beau, Keir and her subsequent affairs with Mark Forrester, Adele and her marriage failure and conflicts with her own childrens, etc.
Overall, the book is very engaging but one may find is taunting with the number of pages that it have. I was at the beginning but as the story progressed, the thickness of the book does not matters as much anymore ;)
This book is the 3rd book of The Spoilts of TIme and is a continuation of Lytton Family saga. The announcement of Celia to retire and to remarried marked the start of the book and the story then progress onto the life without Celia at Lytton and the way the other family members coped with her absence and the conflicts that arised from the annoucement such as Kit's refusal to acknowledged his mother's remarried and cutting himself from her; Celia's confusion over her decision, has ensued. The story also contained subplots between Barty and her new found love; Charlie and their life together, Elspeth (grandaughter of Celia) and her beau, Keir and her subsequent affairs with Mark Forrester, Adele and her marriage failure and conflicts with her own childrens, etc.
Overall, the book is very engaging but one may find is taunting with the number of pages that it have. I was at the beginning but as the story progressed, the thickness of the book does not matters as much anymore ;)
June 3, 2008
Such a great read. Fun and frivolous, but not stupid. The story of the Lytton family of England moves into the middle part of the 20th century by the time you get to the last book of the trilogy. The story goes more into the lives of the next generations, but all the while keeping a tie to the earlier generations introduced way back in the first book. The characters you first met as children are all grown up, have children and grandchildren of their own, and each is given their own drama.
I sometimes felt like the plot lines for some of the characters were overly contrived. Some of the characters made decisions that didn't seem in line with how they evolved earlier on. The ending to the trilogy was a bit flat. The series could have ended with so much more of a bang. But, all that was OK. Still made for overall high drama and good reading.
I would highly recommend this set of three books to get you through the summer. Perfect for the beach or for a rainy day. Warning: You will get sucked in and want to stay up late reading to find out what happens.
I have all three books ... they're up for grabs to the first person who asks for them! :)
I sometimes felt like the plot lines for some of the characters were overly contrived. Some of the characters made decisions that didn't seem in line with how they evolved earlier on. The ending to the trilogy was a bit flat. The series could have ended with so much more of a bang. But, all that was OK. Still made for overall high drama and good reading.
I would highly recommend this set of three books to get you through the summer. Perfect for the beach or for a rainy day. Warning: You will get sucked in and want to stay up late reading to find out what happens.
I have all three books ... they're up for grabs to the first person who asks for them! :)
June 14, 2014
Into Temptation continues a few years after Something Dangerous leaves off. Celia is still with us, and she makes a surprising (though, by her standards, reasonable) decision. I thought that No Angel was going to be my favorite of the three, but I think that Into Temptation just edges it out.
This book seems to concentrate on the next and third generation of Lyttons and their various spouses and friends. Barty continues to be fascinating, and gets into some situations that are well written and intriguing. The twins continue to have intertwined lives and, especially in the case of Adele, their pasts continue to haunt them. Sebastian and Celia are so lovely to read about, and there's much, much more here to keep the pages turning.
Bear in mind that this is the third in a trilogy, and there's not a lot of repeating what was in the first two books in order to "bring one up to speed." It's assumed that you've read the other books and come to this one with the knowledge shared already. I found that refreshing - I so often read a book in a series only to find myself re-reading things that I already knew.
This book seems to concentrate on the next and third generation of Lyttons and their various spouses and friends. Barty continues to be fascinating, and gets into some situations that are well written and intriguing. The twins continue to have intertwined lives and, especially in the case of Adele, their pasts continue to haunt them. Sebastian and Celia are so lovely to read about, and there's much, much more here to keep the pages turning.
Bear in mind that this is the third in a trilogy, and there's not a lot of repeating what was in the first two books in order to "bring one up to speed." It's assumed that you've read the other books and come to this one with the knowledge shared already. I found that refreshing - I so often read a book in a series only to find myself re-reading things that I already knew.
January 26, 2013
I loved the first two books of Penny Vincenzi's trilogy about the Lytton family, so I was eager to read this third and last one.
As usual, the characters are vivid, flawed, troubled, and very human. If you've read this trilogy, you've come to know to the Lytton family and those close to them and all of their secrets. "Into Temptation" does not disappoint, except in the sense that the story is brought to a close, the original characters are elderly or dead, and the newer characters seem slightly less interesting than the originals.
There were good characters, characters who let us down, old characters we loved and new ones we loathed, but none seemed quite so vibrant as Claire, Oliver, Sebastian, Barty and others from the first book. Life moves on, though, and so must the Lytton saga, as with much soul-searching, sadness and joy, the story comes to its inevitable end.
Its readers hate to say good-bye.
As usual, the characters are vivid, flawed, troubled, and very human. If you've read this trilogy, you've come to know to the Lytton family and those close to them and all of their secrets. "Into Temptation" does not disappoint, except in the sense that the story is brought to a close, the original characters are elderly or dead, and the newer characters seem slightly less interesting than the originals.
There were good characters, characters who let us down, old characters we loved and new ones we loathed, but none seemed quite so vibrant as Claire, Oliver, Sebastian, Barty and others from the first book. Life moves on, though, and so must the Lytton saga, as with much soul-searching, sadness and joy, the story comes to its inevitable end.
Its readers hate to say good-bye.
July 6, 2009
I got sucked into this trilogy and while I was entertained, I was frustrated in the end. This third book is the third generation of the Lytton family and it was as though the author ran out of characters and had to start recycling. In this final book there was the set-up for shocking, astounding, "oh my gosh" moments but the follow-through fell flat. I kept expecting fireworks in the end of this last book and was disappointed in the trilogy as a whole because there weren't any.
July 20, 2012
I did like it, up to the last couple hundred pages. It felt like she was trying to put too much intrigue into too short a space and it lost some of it's focus. The language became more melodramatic and it seemed to lose it's base in reality. Charlie's character was never fully developed and I just found him confusing and out of place with the rest. This last one was a bit of a disappointment.
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