Until You're Mine

Rating:
Summary: Did I Read The Same Book?
Review: I purchased this book because of the 4 and 5 star reviews I read. Not sure if I got a different book from everyone else but I was not at all impressed. I didn't feel any connection between the hero and heroine. They were bland and boring with no passion. I would have given 1 star but I actually did finish the book so that warrants 2 stars. Usually, when a book is this dull I don't finish it but, I valiantly slogged through to the end. I was trying to find what all the glowing reviews were suggesting. Wasn't there. NO PASSION, NO ROMANCE, NO GOOD, DULL, DULL, DULL.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, romantic story that took my breath away!
Review: I've read Ms Higdon's other books, and this one certainly didn't disappoint me either! I'm a fan of the Regency period anyway, but get frustrated when I read glaring errors or characters behaving like they'd never do in real life. It quickly became obvious to me that this book is well-researched, the characters come alive, and I got fully involved in not only the compelling love story, but the secondary characters' lives. Once I started reading, I didn't want to stop!

Kudos to Ms Higdon for a fantastic, romantic story that took my breath away!

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing hero & realistic heroine
Review: Julian is a lead that is very reminiscent of some of Georgette Heyer's leading men: cool, elegant, wry, ethical...a good man trying to make a difference in the world but beset by a scandalous wife and rumors started by enemies of all sorts.

Laura is an ordinary young woman just trying to make it to the next day. She's an actress trying to maintain a pitiful roof over her head and not completely starve. Her friend Celia eventually convinces her that becoming someone's mistress is better than starving, but she just can't do it. Enter Julian, who offers her a position as his mistress in name only (an effort to squelch rumors about himself).

As they spend time together, however, they become attracted to each other and fall in love (and into bed). The married man & faux-turned-real mistress is an interesting and unusual set-up. These two carry it off perfectly. One wonders how the requisite happy ending will occur, but it does (and without the unbelieveable idea that everyone will suddenly welcome Laura into society). What will this do to Julian's political career, though? That's not explored.

There's mystery, intrigue, betrayal, and more alongside the poignant love story. The true villain is slowly revealed (as it should be), but the characters are a little too slow to catch on, are too trusting. Well-developed secondary characters add flavor and appeal and help move the story along.

Not a perfect book (one irritation for me was Higdon's frequent misuse of pronouns), but an enjoyable one. Rather low on the sensuality scale, but most of the book was geared to their no-sex arrangement. Very nicely done when it occurs though.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing and Very Quick Read
Review: London, 1813 - Laura Lancaster, was a displaced American scrimping and saving to afford passage home now that the wars between the two countries seemed to be settled. She found work as an actress, as well as camaraderie with friends all eking out a life on the 'boards'. In her twenties, beautiful, and saving her virginity for her storybook prince - or at least a good honorable man, she was unlike her best friend and fellow actress, Celia who supplemented her living with gentlemen protectors.

Julian Norcliff, Earl of Lockwood, was a handsome man whose good opinion of the fairer sex had been squashed when forced into an arranged marriage to a female with the morals of an alley cat. Burying himself in political causes, he only had need of woman for the most basic of uses and was so discreet at it that the rumors began that he was more attracted to his own gender. In an attempt to squash these rumors his valet proposed an arrangement that would show him to a better advantage by squiring around a beautiful woman and identifying her as his mistress.

Laura thought she would be able to play the part -- she certainly was hungry enough to agree to it as long as it remained - in name only. For Julian, it seemed the perfect solution even if not quite believing the claims of her supposed virginal innocence. What Julian did not expect though was that Laura would have him so intrigued that he just might have to renegotiate the no sex clause in their agreement.

This was a sweet enough romance with just enough plotting and intrigue to make it interesting. The lead characters were very likeable and finely drawn as well as the secondary characters who blended in beautifully and helped the intrigue and mystery work out to a fully satisfying conclusion. This was a first time read of this author's work and the style and pace were exactly what I look for in a historical romance. Very good, nice plot and quick page-turner in a book I can definitely recommend. Submitted by Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicromancewriters.com

Rating:
Summary: Amusing and Very Quick Read
Review: London, 1813 - Laura Lancaster, was a displaced American scrimping and saving to afford passage home now that the wars between the two countries seemed to be settled. She found work as an actress, as well as camaraderie with friends all eking out a life on the 'boards'. In her twenties, beautiful, and saving her virginity for her storybook prince - or at least a good honorable man, she was unlike her best friend and fellow actress, Celia who supplemented her living with gentlemen protectors.

Julian Norcliff, Earl of Lockwood, was a handsome man whose good opinion of the fairer sex had been squashed when forced into an arranged marriage to a female with the morals of an alley cat. Burying himself in political causes, he only had need of woman for the most basic of uses and was so discreet at it that the rumors began that he was more attracted to his own gender. In an attempt to squash these rumors his valet proposed an arrangement that would show him to a better advantage by squiring around a beautiful woman and identifying her as his mistress.

Laura thought she would be able to play the part -- she certainly was hungry enough to agree to it as long as it remained - in name only. For Julian, it seemed the perfect solution even if not quite believing the claims of her supposed virginal innocence. What Julian did not expect though was that Laura would have him so intrigued that he just might have to renegotiate the no sex clause in their agreement.

This was a sweet enough romance with just enough plotting and intrigue to make it interesting. The lead characters were very likeable and finely drawn as well as the secondary characters who blended in beautifully and helped the intrigue and mystery work out to a fully satisfying conclusion. This was a first time read of this author's work and the style and pace were exactly what I look for in a historical romance. Very good, nice plot and quick page-turner in a book I can definitely recommend. Submitted by Marilyn, Official Reviewer for www.historicromancewriters.com

Rating:
Summary: Original idea; entertaining.
Review: Lord Lockwood has been exposed to gossip since he first married his wife, but the latest rumor circling in Regency London could ruin his political career--his sexual preference is being called into question. Faced with disgrace at the least and prosecution or even death at the worst, Lockwood knows he must quickly find a way to counter the rumors. His secretary, eager to avoid the scandal that names him as Lockwood's lover, presents a plan that Lockwood take a mistress and be very public about it. Lockwood agrees to find a "mistress in name only".

Laura Lancaster is an actress not by choice but necessity. An American stranded in London without anyone to rely on, she's taken up a profession which pays more than that of a common laborer and which she seems to have some talent for. Though actresses are known as loose women Laura has guarded her virtue carefully, but after losing her steady job decides to take her best friend's advice and begin to search for a gentleman protector.

"Until You're Mine" starts with a great idea. I don't think I've ever really read a story about one of the truly infamous actresses of Regency London--I loved Pamela Britton's "Tempted", but don't quite think Mary falls into that category. In most romance novels the actress ends up being the slutty ex-mistress or something, so I was intrigued to read a story that made an actress the heroine.

I wasn't disappointed in Laura. She seemed self-possessed and bright enough to take care of herself, even if it meant doing something unpleasant. Her mother was a French courtesan who had tried to push her into the business, and Laura fled to London to escape an attempted rape by the man her mother intended to be her "protector". But despite her disgust with the world's oldest profession, Laura is more than willing to consider it when she has to, which I admire in a way--I hate it when a heroine would rather die in a gutter than do what it takes to survive. Later in the book, her intelligence falters a bit to accommodate the increasingly outlandish plot, but on the whole I still find her likeable.

Lockwood is an interesting hero. The fact that he's married adds a deeper tone to the first half of the book; it almost made me wonder if there would be a traditional romance ending--well done on the author's part. Overall, Lockwood comes across as a decent guy who's had to deal with a flauntingly unfaithful wife for several years and is frankly sick of the scandals she causes. He's just a politician trying to do good, etc., who wants to avoid gossip by finding a woman to play his mistress. I'm never quite sure why it is that he only wants to have a mistress "in name only" instead of the real thing. It's never really clear if that's an emotional dilemma, or an ethical one, I wish it had been explored more.

The first half of "Until You're Mine" had me hooked, I loved the characters, loved the original feel of the story, but then things started to slide downhill. The man Laura once fled from is reintroduced to the story to add some action I guess. Lockwood's wife returns and is one dimensional right up until her next-to-last scene--too late to make her truly interesting. A lot of "historical romance" type plot elements are introduced and I'm never really sure why. It doesn't seem to be the way the book was going originally. The author may have had pressure to add things or beef up the action, I'm not sure. In the end I just wish it had finished the way it began.

I'm giving "Until You're Mine" three stars. It's very readable, and I know there are readers who won't mind some of the changes in the second half that bothered me. This was my first Lisa Higdon, but I intend to read her again because I really do like her style.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Stranded in Regency London, American actress Laura Lancaster agrees to pose as the mistress of a British aristocrat embroilded in scandal. Things get complicated when Lord Lockwood becomes a temptation she cannot resist. Their affair creates another scandal when his faithless wife is murdered and Laura is accused of the crime.

True love, as always, conquers all!

Rating:
Summary: Best Book Ever
Review: This was one of the best books Lisa has written. If you want a book that keeps you glued to your seat then this is the one. It kept me wondering who was going to end up with who. IT ended the way I wanted it to end. Very happy and exciting. If you want one you just can't put down this is the one.

Rating:
Summary: Everything a book should be!
Review: Whispering campaigns can be devastating to anyone, much less a politician. Sound familiar? Well, the technique is hardly new-Shakespeare utilized the tactic in Othello nearly four hundred years ago.

When Julian Norcliff, Earl of Lockwood, became the target of nasty innuendoes regarding his sexual preferences, his secretary Malcolm (himself rumored to be one of those preferences!) devises a scheme to shut up the whisperers. The Earl could hardly take a wife-he already had one, although she was in Italy and he was in England. Their marriage of convenience barely lasted through the ceremony before circumstances separated them. Since then, Julian had kept himself busy with his estates and Parliament. Now though, he'd have to try another tactic.

Laura Lancaster was a struggling young actress who found herself stranded in England, the war of 1812 keeping her away from her home country of America. She'd been visiting her mother in Paris, but fled to avoid a rather forceful would-be suitor. She was determined to support herself, rather than doing as the rest of the actresses did, becoming the mistress of a wealthy, usually titled gentleman. Her friend Celia Carteret was blissfully happy with her Lord Belgrave, but Laura just couldn't think that solution right for her.

Until a slightly different solution was created by Malcolm, one that would benefit both parties. Lockwood's money would furnish a small house and provide suitable clothing for Laura, who would appear with him in public, pretending to be his mistress. Privately, however, they would be merely acquaintances, not lovers. It was to be hoped gossip about them would kill the rumors.

This short plot summary barely begins to cover the entire story, but whatever a reader wants from a book will most likely be found here in this truly delightful concoction. There is romance, to be sure, along with history, and a mystery involving charges of treason, murder and other unpleasantness. The author travels skillfully from Seven Dials to Mayfair to Shadowhurst (the Earl's country estate) with descriptions that will make you feel you're there, as well. Although categorized as 'historical romance' which it certainly is, the book has a decided Regency flavor to it as well, unusual in such longer works.

I'd not read anything by this author before, but I do hope she continues writing about the Regency period. Actually, I liked this book so much I read it a second time! Might there be a story about Julian's younger brother, Randal? One can but hope. One can also hope that when the year's best books are listed in various places for various reasons, UNTIL YOU'RE MINE will be at the top of those lists. It certainly deserves to be there!