Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Aug 19, 2010

Zosia rated it:

I unfortunately read this one after Because You're Mine, the second in the series, but I enjoyed it all the same. I LOVE these books involving London’s theatre scene in the nineteenth century. It seems the general consensus is Lisa Kleypas’ later books are better – I won’t argue either way – but for me, anything involving the theatre is going to capture my interest.

This book has an original idea in that the heroine struggles with the fact she’ll have to give up her career for marriag More...

8 comments like (14 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Lelyana rated it:

Sigh.

Another sexy story from my favorite author,Lisa Kleypas.
After a big disappointed by a very low historical romance, I have an extra ordinary expectation from this book.

Tanpa mereka ketahui, Damon savage dan Julia Hargate di nikahkan pada usia masing2 7 dan 4 tahun demi ambisi kedua orang tua mereka.

Julia yang melarikan diri dari keluarga nya 3 tahun yang lalu, merintis karir sebagai artis teater di Capital Theatre milik Logan Scott.
Damon yang sudah 3 More...

18 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2010

Grace rated it:

This book swept me away from the first page - I started reading it whilst waiting at the dentist and I totally forgot to be worried about my filling! The female character was more strongly drawn than the male. I felt Damon resorted to brute force to get his way and although thrilling, I'm not convinced that Julia wouldnt have giving him his marching orders on account of braun over brain.
It failed to get a full 5 stars because I felt the pace slackened toward the end, but minor criticism o More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2011

Manuela rated it:

Non all’altezza della aspettative. Naturalmente la Kleypas è sempre ad alti livelli, e il suo stile inconfondibile non manca neanche in questo romanzo, ma sinceramente non l’ho trovato niente di più rispetto ad altri suoi lavori, nulla di trascendentale, tanto da giustificare i prezzi astronomici che girano nei siti online dell’usato.
La storia c’è, i personaggi pure, ma è come se mancasse qualcosa di indefinibile, rendendo l’intreccio meno interessante rispetto agli standard, sempre stell More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 22, 2009

Cynthia rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 19, 2010

Ruth rated it:

I loved the premise for this one and I loved the non-ton setting. It is refreshing to read about a different facet of Regency/early Victorian life. The hero was pretty good, although for such a smart guy, I was surprised he couldn't see a way out of the predicament facing the heroine, and, to be honest, I never really got why the heroine found him so super-irresistible. Yeah, sure, he's gorgeous and brooding an' all, but he behaved like such a possessive jerk. The heroine was also pretty good, More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2011

Alexis rated it:

This story is one that can be enjoyed on audio as well as in book form. Both and Julia and Damon are tied down by a marriage that they did not wish for, leaving them with strained familial relationships and deep fears about the ability to control their own future. Julia has her dream job and stars in plays at the best theater company in town, but as long as she is on stage she seems unfit to be a Duke's wife. Damon has rescued his family's estate from ruins and has lived his life carefully t More...

0 comments like

Aug 17, 2010

Laura rated it:

I wasn't enthralled, but I was at least fine with the book for most of the way...but then the one thing that ruins a romance novel for me happens

From page 215-216 on my e-reader:

Julia has just been abducted by some ruffians and brought to a drunk man stinking of whiskey.
"I'm going to ruin you for any other man." ...
"Are you resorting to rape now?" she asked coldly...
"It won't be rape."
Julia was frustrated with his se More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 17, 2009

Kaila rated it:

Although Lisa Kleypas is fast becoming one of my new favorite authors, this book did not inspire me to dig out the rest of her novels in my possession and devour them. I did enjoy the story but it was not in the least awe inspiring. The story is great, the two main characters are married as children and although Damon has been searching for her, Julia has been doing everything within her power to avoid her husband. And while I don't think that the story was underdeveloped or the characters were More...

0 comments like

Sep 30, 2011

Letitia rated it:

This book... I adore, to the n'th degree, most of Kleypas' books. Out of the 15 I've read to date, I've only thought two were okay. And this book is one of those two.

It isn't the theatre aspect that I didn't care for. That was a spin on HR that I haven't read before and it was interesting. Overall, the problem with this book was believability. We're supposed to believe in a marriage between 4 and 7 year olds? When they themselves repeatedly say it wouldn't hold up to any legal scrutiny More...

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2010

Katia rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Sep 01, 2011

Kathie (katmom) rated it:

Lady Julie has a secret...a husband that she's had since she was four and he was seven. Yes, my eyebrows raised too!

Damon has kissed a young woman that really touched his heart...but she was an actress and he never saw her again...

Until he did.

SHE knows that HE is her husband, but she's acting under a stage name, so he has no clue.

As always, I enjoyed Ms. Kleypas' banter and the situations.

<spoiler>At one point HE has two roughne More...

0 comments like

Dec 09, 2011

Kathy rated it:

First in the Capital Theatre historical romance series revolving around Scott Logan's theatre. The couple focus is on Damon, Lord Savage, and his never-met wife, Julia Hargate.

<h2>My Take</h2>
What a load of crap! Kleypas uses the flimsiest pretext for her conflict between the never-met husband and wife. Please. There is no legal precedent outside of royalty for marrying a four-year-old off to a seven-year-old and having it be valid. Then there's the overly dramatic wr More...

0 comments like

Sep 06, 2011

Mindy rated it:

Julia was married to Damon, Lord Savage when she was a girl of 4 and he a boy of 7. His parents needed the dowry; her parents wanted a great match for her. When Julia is in her teens she rebels and runs away to be an actress. Lord Savage searches for her and is willing to let her out of the marriage. Julia becomes a premiere actress at the famed Capital theatre. Lord Savage unwittingly falls in love with his wife(who he hasn't seen since she was 4), a married actress. Julia's secret comes o More...

0 comments like

Dec 14, 2011

Randyy rated it:

This book was alright but nothing I would recommend to others. The hero was wonderful, not like most romance heroes who have difficulty placing their emotions. He was very direct and knew what he wanted and I liked that about him. However, the heroine was hardly a heroin. She was wishy washy and always stepping back on her words. While in the beginning, her profession as an actress was cool and likable, it only went downhill from there. For me, this was a disappointing novel, though it had so mu More...

0 comments like

Dec 05, 2011

Heather in FL rated it:

I enjoyed this, but not as much as other Lisa Kleypas stories. The premise is intriguing: two children (ages 4 and 7) are married as children (not simply promised) because one family owes a lot of money and has a title, and the other has money for a dowry and wants to make sure the daughter marries well. The children are not raised together, and they don't even really know about the marriage until later in their youth. Both are pissed as hell that their parents did this. Now older, Damon has bee More...

0 comments like

Apr 22, 2011

Nonieღserenity2bliss rated it:

Another fantastic one by Lisa Kleypas! The story was so, so sweet and romantic and endearing, and all many good things!

I love it from start to finish and couldn't get enough of it. Oh, how I wish the story would be longer.

Damon is the perfect hero - dashing, romantic, considerate, and sometimes a bit of an alpha male (yum!). And Julia is the perfect other half for him. She's strong and independent without being hard-headed and stubborn. The chemistry between them is rid More...

0 comments like

Mar 18, 2011

Christa rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Dec 15, 2010

Sherri *SheLuvs2Read* rated it:

This is the first book in LK's Capital Theatre series, revolving around the lives of actors/actresses who work in/for the renowned Capital Theater in London during the mid 1800s. Specifically this story is about Jessica Wentworth, aka Julia Hargate.

Julia was married off to a neighboring Marquis as a child, literally. Her husband was also a child. Neither were told until their adolescence and both, naturally, rebelled. Their fathers did so for financial reasons that made no sense More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Desiree rated it:

As always, loved LK's book. Although the rating is actually 4 1/2 stars I bumped it up to 5 because I could not stop reading it today.

Love Julia/Jessica. Love Damon Savage, <spoiler>I liked that he was suspicious about Pauline's sudden pregnancy reveal when he was going to break it off with her and was realizing how manipulative she could be. I also loved that he didn't keep her on the side after having dinner with Julia, Pauline was there but he had made his intentions clear, More...

0 comments like

Nov 10, 2009

Joy rated it:

The title was very apt for the story since there were certain twists of fate but the hero and heroine found themselves together. Given the hero's efforts and determination, he was able to win the heroine's heart by giving a compromise, and both of them came to an agreement which was fair. This is a common ending for most love stories but what matters is how it was written.

Once again, this is another Lisa Kleypas novel that gave me pleasure, as with her other works. Her creative writi More...

0 comments like

May 04, 2011

Bekah rated it:

Oh, I just didn't love this one.... there was too much...something, and not enough yummy sweet interaction with Damon and Julia. Maybe this was the book that made me take a break from Kleypas. Thankfully today, I have better representations of her work in my memory, ie: Sugar Daddy, and Then Came You. Hopefully the next in this series is better.

2nd Read Review 5/04/2011

Julia & Damon were married as children by their fathers and since then have been in search of each ot More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 30, 2009

Rane rated it:

Being wed as a child and having the right of any type of marriage taken away from her Juila Hargate forged her own way through life, giving up everything she known and loved to become the well known actress Jessica Wentworth, but the shadow of the man she married still looms over her. Damon Savage for three years has searched for his wife knowing she was a victim as much as he, he tries to put things right as he saves his family from the brink of debt from his father’s mismanagement and gamb More...

10 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2008

Colleen (RomRdr) rated it:

I enjoyed this book! Okay, okay. Let me backpedal. I don't like regencies. I prefer contemporary stories. But I like Lisa Kleypas' regency stories while her recent contemporary offering, Sugar Daddy, made me want to throw a book across the room.

This story has an unusual premise: the h/h were 'married' when they were ages 4 and 7 so that her father could a) snag a future duke for a son-in-law and b) so that his father could replenish the coffers with her dowry money. They don't see ea More...

0 comments like

May 29, 2011

Kasey rated it:

This was not one of my favorite Kleypas books, but I do think it has received some harsh reviews. It was still good I enjoyed it. I wasn't thrilled once Julia came up with her plan for getting away from Damon. It irritated me and really wasn't a shining example of her intelligence. Damon's reaction wasn't the best one either, but I honestly could get over both. I'm looking forward to Logan's story. I enjoy the setting and the theater life that doesn't seem to be a common choice for this pe More...

0 comments like

Oct 08, 2011

Nicole rated it:

Julia Hargate/Jessica Wentworth & Damon Savage . . .

Julia & Damon were married when they were kids . . . Their parents have made this arrangement. Julia's father wanted the title . . . Damon's father needed the dowry (to support his gambling habits).

Both Julia & Damon resented the fact that they were not given the choice to choose who they wanted to marry . . . so they both tried to escape this fact . . . but little did they know . . . fate will bring them together . . . More...

0 comments like

Jun 01, 2010

Bree rated it:

I've read a lot of Kleypas' backlist in the last few months. And this is a perfect example of why she is not on my must-buy list - her books are inconsistent. Some are fabulous, some are flat.

I wanted to like this book - I was attracted to the unusual historical setting of a theatre. But Julia was inconsistently drawn - smart enough to have a successful career, but too stupid to deal with Damon and reality. And then the last-minute Logan storyline was weird.

0 comments like

Feb 27, 2010

Samantha rated it:

Another great one by Lisa Kleypas! It was definitely a way different story than any other romance novel I've ever read. Totally different and unique plot than any other I've read so far. Every time I thought I knew something, I turned out to be wrong. Very good story. Loved the independence and rebellious nature of the heroine and the dark brooding masculine nature of the hero. Not to mention the raw passion they had for one another! PHEW!!! SUPER HOT!!! ;)

0 comments like

Jul 09, 2011

Amanda rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Nov 30, 2010

Joan rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like