Until You (The Westmoreland Dynasty Saga Book 3)

Ok ladies here's another major hit from McNaught!!! As you all know she's one of my faves and I wasn't in the least bit disapointed in this one. I just hate to love books like this one... You know the kind where your on the edge of your seat just knowing that at any minute the book will take a turn for the worse (or the best depending on how you look at it) and the lives of the characters will never be the same? Thats how "Until You" was. Sherry lost her memory and with that came the loss of her idenity. Stephen mistook her for someone else and led her to believe she was the person he thought she was...

...from the moment they meet you feel the heat and that oh so wonderful sizzle that only the best authors can deliver...So settle down with the drink of your choice and enjoy this oh so yummy story, but start early...you'll not be able to put this one down!

I purchased this book mainly because I wanted to read Stephen's story. In his brief appearance in Whitney, My Love, I really came to like his character. He was charming, witty, humorous, caring and devoted. So, imagine my surprise when I began reading Until You, only to discover that McNaught had decided to change his character and make him cynical and distrustful -- all of which she explains, of course. Even so, it wasn't the Stephen I was looking for, though he still maintained his sense of honor and remained a caring individual.

It's almost as if the author wanted he and his brother Clayton to share similar personality traits and behavior. There was one "romantic" scene between Stephen and Sherry whose aftermath closely resembled the often talked about scene between Clayton and Whitney. Disappointing!

However, I gave the book three stars because it lacked depth. I have read other McNaught books (e.g., Kingdom of Dreams, Something Wonderful) and know the extent of her storytelling ability. This book fell short. I liked the hero and heroine well enough, but wished the relationship had been better developed, particularly after the misunderstanding. The ending seemed a bit rushed, leaving me to wonder how they reconciled and so quickly!

I did, however, like the fact that McNaught had some characters from previous books reappear. It was great having them together and reminisce over their stories. I also liked the romance and chemistry between Stephen and Sherry; they clearly had potential. I just didn't see it developed fully.

So, although McNaught remains one of my favorite authors, this book is not among her best in my humble opinion.

This book was about mistaken identities and the crushing realization that two people aren't who they thought they were. Can the relationship they formed under false pretenses survive?

The story started off strong with likeable characters and a hopeful future for them both. Stephens character started off being a kind, compassionate, respectful man, but he hardened as the novel continued and ultimately turned to stone. He did a complete 180 and was not recognizable to the reader. Unfortunately, McNaught has a knack for creating characters like this. They also jump to conclusions, never give anybody the benefit of the doubt, and remain pessimistic. It gets tiresome if you read all of her novels.

The conclusion of the story left a lot of loose ends that were hastily tied together in the epilogue. McNaught should have added an additional 100 pages and rounded out the story.

There were some good parts. I enjoyed seeing Whitney and Clayton (WHITNEY, MY LOVE) and it was refreshing to see they stayed true to character. We even get a glimpse of other characters from McNaught's books, but I imagine someone who wasn't familiar with them might find it all a bit confusing.

The story concept is a little convoluted but here's a quick summary: Charise is betrothed to Barleton. Stephen accidentally runs over and kills Barleton. Sherry is Charise's chaperone on the boat trip to meet up with and marry Barleton, but Charise runs away. Stephen meets Sherry (whom he assumes is Charise) at the dock to inform her of Barleton's passing, but Sherry gets knocked in the head and wakes up with amnesia so Stephen contines to assume Sherry is Charise because he's got no one to tell him otherwise.

When Sherry wakes up, instead of simply telling her that Stephen is not her fiancee, he and the Dr. let her believe he is for no apparent reason. Why would it be damaging to her condition to know that a man she doesn't know is not her fiancee? It just didn't make sense - BUT I went along with it in hopes that there would be some pay off for it, opportunities for romantic apologies and all that.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT:

I was very wrong. Instead, when Sherry gets her memory back and the real Charise makes a return, we get a hateful vengeful Stephen who doesn't even want to consider listening to anything the woman he supposedly loves has to say - which would be fine at first, after all it is a common romance formula, but McNaught took it to another level:

Stephen never even considers the possibility that Sherry would be scared and confused when her memory returns, he never seems to think that him lying about being her fiancee was wrong of him, instead he lets her go and assumes that she's a scheming evil bitch. Then his sister and mother track Sherry down to tell HER how much she hurt HIM by leaving! So Sherry THANKS them for telling her that and all but whores herself out to Stephen to get him to listen, she literally does a song and dance trick for him (which we are supposed to think is sweet and endearing, but I just found it embarrassing) and GIFTS him with her virginity (why does he deserve a present when he's been nothing but an uncaring ass?), and he takes it viciously then offers her a business position as his mistress and tells her that he never wants to hear the words 'I love you' from her ever again.

And for what?! Shouldn't Sherry be the one angry at Stephen?! We're still supposed to want them to be together?! I don't even have words for how ridiculous even the thought of that is!

The more I read these regency romances, the more I notice how unkind all these authors are to their heroines. It's never the man who has done something wrong and needs to apologize, it's always left up to the woman to completely forgive his mistakes and crawl and cry to get him to take her back. How is that romance?

The other problem I had with this book is the waste of a great backstory for Sherry that I truly enjoyed - all these adventures she has with her father and two unlikely companions, she was a charming, high spirited little girl and you can't see any of that in the present day Sherry. Her father disappears and she wants to find him but nothing ever comes of it except a half-assed reunion at the very end.

Don't waste your time or money.

I must say, unlike some of the negative reviews about this book, I quite liked it. (Compared to 'Whitney, my Love' which I found a totally frustrating read!)

The beginning was fine, the middle, just so-so, then BANG, JM captures your attention and you're right back in the book. I really loved the last several chapters when Stephan thinks she's dumped him at the alter.
Truth is, Sheridan has found out that she is not who she thought she was. She was given someone else's identity all because she had lost her memory in a nasty accident, the moment she steps onto English soil. The person whose identity she had, now threatens her and she runs off terrified, thinking she's betrayed Stephen... and into another man's arm, or so Stephen thinks.
Stephan, as gorgeous as he is, has far too much pride, and is so damned pig-headed. He doesn't give Sheridan a chance to talk to him, when she tries to tell him the truth.
When he does stumbles upon the truth he goes to her, only to find out she's leaving England, and the grovelling that follows to win her back. Ah, I really loved it.
Stephan totally redeems himself in my book!!!

The 5 stars is for the last few chapters.

Judith McNaught's 'Until You' is indeed a Royal Romance pick that takes on high emotional Roller coaster ride! A spellbinding story-teller and that's Judith McNaught, irresistible reading and I find all her Books so amazinginly interesting Reads. She picks her fictional characters who possess courage and loyalty, of humor and integrity and who really care for others. As we read, the book leads to a Historical Royal Romance.If you've read the series of Judith's Books, you sure to like the characters twined in another. I've read a couple of books like A Kingdom of Dreams, Night Whispers, Almost Heaven, Remember When, etc and almost luv the characters. In this pick, Sheridan is hired to accompany one of her students to England to meet her Fiance. When she elopes, Sheridan is in scoop and later sweeps off her memory when she steps into the path of a cargo net loaded with crates. She falls in love and the romance read drifts one away into Royal Romantic experience. It's gr8 to meet Stephen,the younger brother of Clayton Westmoreland in Whitney My Love. A good read and good collection of Judith McNaught's Books on the shelf for Romance Reads.

I was a little surprised by the glowing reviews for Until You. Although I am a huge Judith McNaught fan (I've read and reread them all), Until You is definetly my least favorite. I wanted and expected to like it, but was dismayed to find halfway through that I was not all that into it. I'm not sure what it was that didn't appeal to me, but somehow the story lacked the sweetness of Judith's other books, and at times I actually found it boring. I followed it through to the end expecting at least to have one of Judith's trademark finales, but even that was a let down. I gave this book three stars, because compared to Judith's other books I thought it was mediocre. However, in fairness I would say that it definetly rates higher when compared to all other historical romances. Because so many other people liked it, I suppose I'd say it's worth a read, but if you're a huge Judith McNaught fan, be prepared for a departure from her other stories.

After reading "Kingdom of Dreams", and "Whitney, my Love" I ordered this because I really wanted to read Stephen's story, and see what became of Whitney and Clayton, but I wasn't expecting to like it nearly as well as the first two. I fell in love with Sheridan in the first chapter. I think she is my favorite heroine of any romance I've ever read. I wasn't sure how someone of her background would fit into Regency England, but she did, and so refreshingly! I also loved how their relationship developed. She didn't have them falling in love at first site, it developed and blossomed throughout the book. For most of the book, I couldn't believe how much I was enjoying it, I thought I was going to love it best of all of the Westmoreland stories. Until the end. I was soooooo disappointed with how Stephen treated her. How he could go from loving her so completely to offering for her to be his mistress was infuriating, I wanted to slap him. Then, if you'll notice, he never actually tells her "I love you". He wants her to mother his children, be his wife, take his name, etc, etc, but not once does he say "I love you". Also it left you wondering for quite a while if he would get rid of his mistress, and I must say I still have my doubts! I gave it 4 stars because I completely LOVED 90% of the book, and I think Sheridan is such a well-rounded character, plus getting to see Whitney and Clayton again was great fun, but I'd really rather give it 31/2 because I was so frustrated by the ending.

I love the Westmorelands and Until You is the story of Clayton's(Whitney, my love) brother Stephen Westmoreland. I was a little sad after reading this book just because I've now finished reading all of Mcnaught's breathtaking historicals. Stephen and Sheridan are made for each other just like all the past Mcnaught couples. She writes characters whom you love for life and want to be like in every way. Her love stories are the ones you dream about everyday. What more can I say other than that you go read this book and all her past ones and be prepared to go on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and drama till the very end. Judith Mcnaught is truly a spellbinding storyteller and I hope she writes another historical soon.

I expected to be disappointed in this story after reading some of the reviews. I actually liked it very well. It does seem, upon reflection, that there was less 1:1 interaction between Stephen & Sherry in this story (not sure if that is my imagination or not), but I still came away with my normal sore heart after reading one of this JM series. I think it's the intensity of her characters' anger, at the crisis points, that shadows my heart for days after they have patched things up.
When I say this story gets you on 2 levels it is because, if you have read all the predecessor stories to this, there is the melancholy awareness that you are watching your favorite characters take a final curtain call in this story. It is quite touching to see everyone come together to help Stephen find HIS happiness and allow us to also remember their stories. I am only surprised that somehow Ian & Elizabeth were left out cause it seems everyone else takes a bow. Kinda chokes me up.

Remember Stephen from "Whitney My Love"? Well is you have not read that story Stephen is the brother of Clayton and this is his story.
Sheridan is on her way to England as a companion for a young girl trouble is her young charge leaves the ship with a young man and leaves Sheridan in an akward position since Charise is on her way to England to marry another. Once Sheridan arrives in England she is injured in an accident on the docks and does not remember who she is or why she is there.
Stephen accidently runs over Charises fiance and kills him. He is on his way to the docks to inform her of this and does not realize that Sheridan is not Charise and takes her home to recover from her accident since he feels he owns it to her.
While recovering they get to know each other and a romance blooms. You get to meet other friends from previous Mcnaught books and of course you see Whitney and Clayton again.
Don't miss this wonderful book!

Judith McNaught's regency romances all have one thing in common: alpha males that for some reason or other are love cynics and misogynists whose lives change the minute they meet that one special woman who defy them with their wild spirits. McNaught novels have another thing in common: misunderstandings, misunderstandings, misunderstandings. It has so far been the McNaught signature in her novels, or at least in her regencies. Until You, the sequel to Whitney, My Love, isn't an exception to that formula. In Whitney, Stephen was a charming, flirtatious fellow who helped his brother and Whitney through their obstacles. He seemed so refreshing and so unlike McNaught's signature heroes that I couldn't wait to read Until You. However, I was disappointed to see that Stephen is pretty much like the other male protagonists in this effort. In this novel, Stephen becomes a callous, cynical type after he obtains various titles and inherits several estates from an uncle. He feels women only want him for his titles and wealth, but his life changes when he accidentally kills a man with his carriage and has the unfortunate responsibility of telling the man's fiancée what happened. But the man's fiancée suffers an accident at the pier where the ship docks and she loses her memory as a result. Stephen is instantly lustful for her. However, neither he nor the American beauty knows that she is actually the fiancée's chaperone. There are various twists throughout the novel.

It would have been great if Stephen had been a nice, uncomplicated man and Sheridan was the one who gave him a hard time for a change, kind of like A Kingdom of Dreams (except that Royce was the typical McNaught alpha male), but the author had other ideas. It seems to me that she only knows how to write one type of hero. Stephen here is completely different from the way he was in Whitney, My Love. He was good in the beginning though, when he was concerned for Sherry and wanted to be as accommodating as possible, but things take an unpleasant detour when the misunderstandings reach a head and he is as nasty as the other heroes in the other novels. The author tried to convince the reader that Sheridan was a spirited, no-nonsense heroine, but aside from a few scenes in which she puts Stephen in his place, she is nothing but a ninny to me who lets Stephen treat her like a common prostitute. The whole thing about her wanting him to forget about his mistress (though he'd obviously forgotten about her) during their second love scene left a bad taste in my mouth. Why couldn't she just tell him up front that she was unhappy about the mistress? That is where the "ninny" part comes in. Sherry made me roll my eyes almost as much as Stephen did. I came to the conclusion that these two characters were simply dumb. Anyway, despite those poor points, the novel did keep me riveted from cover to cover, just like all of the other McNaught novels. They made me feel emotions and kept me wanting to know whether they'd work things out in the end. Like other readers, I was upset that Stephen never uttered "I love you" in the novel. The author made it clear that he did in fact love Sherry, but the readers want to read those three little words anyway. His uttering "until you" instead of "I love you" wasn't good enough for me. As for the secondary characters, I was glad to see that all of the couples from the previous McNaught regencies were in this one and that they were Stephen's friends. Whitney and Clayton have secondary roles here and I was happy to read about them again. But since they are only secondary characters here, they don't show that spirit and passion that characterized them in Whitney, My Love. All in all, compared to the other novels, Until You is a middling read. It wasn't as emotionally driven as Once and Always and Something Wonderful and the protagonists weren't as memorable as the ones in Whitney, My Love and A Kingdom of Dreams. This is probably the last I'll read of the Westmorelands and I shall miss them. I do look forward to reading the novelette about Nicholas DuVille, one of my favorite characters of this series. I hope McNaught hadn't turned him into another "wounded soul" as well. I love the aforementioned heroes, but a little variety wouldn't hurt. I'll miss McNaught regencies and I'll give her contemporary efforts a whirl. She is one of my favorite romance authors and I must read all of her stuff.

I expected to be disappointed in this story after reading some of the reviews. I actually liked it very well. It does seem, upon reflection, that there was less 1:1 interaction between Stephen & Sherry in this story (not sure if that is my imagination or not), but I still came away with my normal sore heart after reading one of this JM series. I think it's the intensity of her characters' anger, at the crisis points, that shadows my heart for days after they have patched things up.
When I say this story gets you on 2 levels it is because, if you have read all the predecessor stories to this, there is the melancholy awareness that you are watching your favorite characters take a final curtain call in this story. It is quite touching to see everyone come together to help Stephen find HIS happiness and allow us to also remember their stories. I am only surprised that somehow Ian & Elizabeth were left out cause it seems everyone else takes a bow. Kinda chokes me up.

Remember Stephen from "Whitney My Love"? Well is you have not read that story Stephen is the brother of Clayton and this is his story.
Sheridan is on her way to England as a companion for a young girl trouble is her young charge leaves the ship with a young man and leaves Sheridan in an akward position since Charise is on her way to England to marry another. Once Sheridan arrives in England she is injured in an accident on the docks and does not remember who she is or why she is there.
Stephen accidently runs over Charises fiance and kills him. He is on his way to the docks to inform her of this and does not realize that Sheridan is not Charise and takes her home to recover from her accident since he feels he owns it to her.
While recovering they get to know each other and a romance blooms. You get to meet other friends from previous Mcnaught books and of course you see Whitney and Clayton again.
Don't miss this wonderful book!

Judith McNaught's regency romances all have one thing in common: alpha males that for some reason or other are love cynics and misogynists whose lives change the minute they meet that one special woman who defy them with their wild spirits. McNaught novels have another thing in common: misunderstandings, misunderstandings, misunderstandings. It has so far been the McNaught signature in her novels, or at least in her regencies. Until You, the sequel to Whitney, My Love, isn't an exception to that formula. In Whitney, Stephen was a charming, flirtatious fellow who helped his brother and Whitney through their obstacles. He seemed so refreshing and so unlike McNaught's signature heroes that I couldn't wait to read Until You. However, I was disappointed to see that Stephen is pretty much like the other male protagonists in this effort. In this novel, Stephen becomes a callous, cynical type after he obtains various titles and inherits several estates from an uncle. He feels women only want him for his titles and wealth, but his life changes when he accidentally kills a man with his carriage and has the unfortunate responsibility of telling the man's fiancée what happened. But the man's fiancée suffers an accident at the pier where the ship docks and she loses her memory as a result. Stephen is instantly lustful for her. However, neither he nor the American beauty knows that she is actually the fiancée's chaperone. There are various twists throughout the novel.

It would have been great if Stephen had been a nice, uncomplicated man and Sheridan was the one who gave him a hard time for a change, kind of like A Kingdom of Dreams (except that Royce was the typical McNaught alpha male), but the author had other ideas. It seems to me that she only knows how to write one type of hero. Stephen here is completely different from the way he was in Whitney, My Love. He was good in the beginning though, when he was concerned for Sherry and wanted to be as accommodating as possible, but things take an unpleasant detour when the misunderstandings reach a head and he is as nasty as the other heroes in the other novels. The author tried to convince the reader that Sheridan was a spirited, no-nonsense heroine, but aside from a few scenes in which she puts Stephen in his place, she is nothing but a ninny to me who lets Stephen treat her like a common prostitute. The whole thing about her wanting him to forget about his mistress (though he'd obviously forgotten about her) during their second love scene left a bad taste in my mouth. Why couldn't she just tell him up front that she was unhappy about the mistress? That is where the "ninny" part comes in. Sherry made me roll my eyes almost as much as Stephen did. I came to the conclusion that these two characters were simply dumb. Anyway, despite those poor points, the novel did keep me riveted from cover to cover, just like all of the other McNaught novels. They made me feel emotions and kept me wanting to know whether they'd work things out in the end. Like other readers, I was upset that Stephen never uttered "I love you" in the novel. The author made it clear that he did in fact love Sherry, but the readers want to read those three little words anyway. His uttering "until you" instead of "I love you" wasn't good enough for me. As for the secondary characters, I was glad to see that all of the couples from the previous McNaught regencies were in this one and that they were Stephen's friends. Whitney and Clayton have secondary roles here and I was happy to read about them again. But since they are only secondary characters here, they don't show that spirit and passion that characterized them in Whitney, My Love. All in all, compared to the other novels, Until You is a middling read. It wasn't as emotionally driven as Once and Always and Something Wonderful and the protagonists weren't as memorable as the ones in Whitney, My Love and A Kingdom of Dreams. This is probably the last I'll read of the Westmorelands and I shall miss them. I do look forward to reading the novelette about Nicholas DuVille, one of my favorite characters of this series. I hope McNaught hadn't turned him into another "wounded soul" as well. I love the aforementioned heroes, but a little variety wouldn't hurt. I'll miss McNaught regencies and I'll give her contemporary efforts a whirl. She is one of my favorite romance authors and I must read all of her stuff.

As someone who has read everyone of Ms McNaught's books, I was frankly disppointed by "Until You." Not only was the book less involved then all of her previous works, the narrative was overly simple, the plot unoriginal, and the characters grossly underdeveloped. The trick of bringing together everyone in her previous novels is also lame beyond words. If this is what her works have degenerated into- and after reading "Until You," "Remember When," and "Night Whispers," it's no wonder I am beginning to have serious doubts about her works- maybe it's time I stopped buying her books without first checking them out from the library.

Okay, So I just finished Until You and before that I just finished Whitney my Love. I loved the Westmorelands and wanted more, so I picked up Until You. I loved all the characters who make apperances in this book, if you have read her other historical romaces, you'll appreciate so many characters and already know them! For the reason this gets 4 stars, although Judith McNaught is my favorite author, I feel that the first 100 pages were really hard to get into, the second hundred was a little better, then I really got into about the middle of the book. I am reading Kingdom of Dreams next, the last of the Westmorelands and heard that's just as good as WML or better! Then of course I need to find out what happened to Nicki Duville in his own story!

When I started reading Until You, i didn't realize that Judith McNaught was going to incorporate most of the characters from the other books I've read. She put Jason and Victoria Fielding from Once and Always in it, and the characters from Almost Heaven. I thought that was WONDERFUL!!!! Not only did she put those characters in but others too. It was great to see how the characters from the other books were doing. The interaction of the characters that Judith McNaught put together is just timeless..I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read any of her other novels. It's GREAT!!!!

Judith Mcnaughts, historical regency romances are wonderful, this book was no exception,to that. It starts with Whitney My Love, then Until You, and ends with a short story on Nicolas DuVille in A Holiday of Love. I always enjoy when former characters we have enjoyed appear again in upcoming story's. The only thing is and I am sure all JM's fans feel the same way, is that Nicolas Duville should have been written as a full book & not such a short story. Hope she reconsiders a re-write and lenthens this sometime in the near future. I would be first in line to purchase it.

I guess I just hate it when some ridiculous "misunderstanding" crops up near the end of a romance novel that forces the lovers apart, and miraculously all is forgiven and rectified somehow by magic in the end. It's uncharacteristic of human beings, and really flaws the tale. I just couldn't get past it. Plus I was terribly disappointed that all of Sherry's riding & outdoor talents were barely expressed in the experience with Langford. What a waste. It was also disappointing that Sherry's Papa & Rake show up for one little page in the wrap-up. I kind of agree with the other reviewer who said the real Charise Lancaster should have gotten her comeuppance! What a brat.

I love historical romance novels and this is the best since Swan Song. I loved the characters especially Sheridan and Stephen who is the epitome of every woman's dream, tall, rich and handsome. I will read Whitney, My Love and the others but this book was very hard to put down I read it during every spare moment. I didn't like Steven when he treated Sheridan badly, he never let her explain. I wasn't particularly taken with Nicki but I guess I'll have to read the other books first. All in all this is one of the better historical romance novels.

I've read other McNaught novels, and frankly speaking, this is my favorite, along with Paradise.

When I read Whitney, My Love, I couldn't wait to read Stephen's story because he was completely charming and likeable. I wasn't too fond of Whitney's story though, because the main characters had a lot of pointless fights. I notice that this seems to be the trend in a lot of Judith McNaught's novels, as well as other historical romance novels, so it was refreshing to read a story that had a climactic build-up without a gazillion fights in between to ruin the flow. Thank God Almighty for "UNTIL YOU."

Stephen's character in UNTIL YOU becomes cynical and hard, but McNaught gives an acceptable explanation for that. It works well with the story, even though he seems so...cliche'.

The difference with UNTIL YOU and the rest of McNaught's novels is it has a lighter tone. The way it's written is more romantic, more focused on building up the characters to nicely lead you to a devastating twist, and more...Cinderella-ish.

When Stephen and Sheridan did have a big fight, it wasn't pointless at all, in fact, it was the high point of the story. USA TODAY was right when it said this book will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, because that's exactly what UNTIL YOU will do. You laugh, you cry, then you sigh over the romantic reconciliation.

Yes, Stephen never says "I love you", but it was completely in character for him. Though the book narrates that he DOES love her, he was unable to say it because the feeling was all too new for him. It was a nice way to veer away from how most romance novels end. It didn't bother me the least; just added more to the after-effects the book will give you.

I read A Kingdom of Dreams right after I read Until You, and to be honest, I didn't like it as much. The heroine was too proud and too stubborn, all she did was get the guy in trouble. At least Sheridan, and even Whitney, are more likeable heroines. Just my opinion though.

This is the third Judith McNaught book I have read and she triumphs again. I bought "Until You" on a recent snowy day. I started reading it at 8 A.M. and finished at it at 6 P.M. I cried, I laughed and was sorry when I came to the last page. Judith McNaught surprises you at the turn of every page. It is just that unpredictability that keeps you hooked. I can't wait until "Remember When" is published. If you are a novice McNaught devotee, you have to read "Perfect" and "Paradise"!

Judith McNaught's historical novels are pretty much almost all the same story with the same type of characters that it becomes difficult to distinguish them. Sheridan, the heroine, is a replica of all her other heroines, unique because the author tells us, as well as witty, intelligent and nice to the servants! I didn't see what made her character so special. The hero Stephen is your typical Judith McNaught main male character, a misogynist who is titled, very rich with his own fortune and of course, has tons of mistresses & affairs while at the same time every respectable young lady wishes to marry him. But alas, he doesn't think much of any of them until he meets the heroine, they fall in love with really corny dialogue that causes the hero to think the heroine is so intelligent, funny, and witty, much more than any other female!

This all happens during a time when the heroine is introduced to the "ton" and of course becomes a sensation, thus making the hero jealous and realize he wants her for himself. He decides to make her his wife, and then some weird, misunderstanding happens while they both dislike one another until that is solved. Then they tell each other how much they love one other! This book was definitely one of her worst historicals especially since she had all the other characters from her other novels show up, thus reminding us how alike all of the characters are and how perfect their lives are, which in turn makes you realize that this is fiction. Not a good thing to realize when you want to get lost in the story.

Overall, bad. Same old, same old.

I wasn't into historical romance novels at all--until "Until You". And judging by some of the reviews, you'd either love or hate this book, and I'm proud to say I completely LOVED this.

As some of the readers have pointed out, this book is more "fairytale" than JM's other novels. The way it was written was very romantic, very witty, and very endearing.

Also, it focuses more on character development than plot development, which isn't a bad thing at all because it will allow you to laugh and cry with the characters. Even secondary characters get a chance to share some of their happy and tragic moments with us. It was a bold step for JM because from what I notice, in other historical romance novels, it's ALWAYS about the hero and heroine. The underdevelopment of their enemies, friends and loved ones, leave gaps in the story.

I think "Until You" is the kind of book that doesn't focus itself entirely on the hero and the heroine, but on the story as a whole. The story goes beyond Stephen and Sheridan; It is also about friendship, about the misunderstandings that result from lack of trust; about bitterness and great disappointment, and then the greatest of of all--hope.

I think this book will be loved by teenagers, as well as twenty-somethings who still have youthful notions about love and happily ever afters. The story is not so complicated and dark as some of the other novels, and the lighthearted tone of the story is something I find quite refreshing.

I'd have to admit I find this novel better than "A Kingdom Of Dreams" (I found it disappointing, to be honest), and I'd have to agree with those who say "Until You" is better than "Whitney, My Love". (Not to say that book isn't good, because it is).

This Book is the Second Book after Whitney, My Love, and I must say it was an amazing read. Whitney, My Love is one of my all time favourite books and Until you became another. Stephen and Sheriden story was one that I will never forget. I suggest you read Whitney, my Love then Until You.

Also if able read in this order: Something Wonderful, Almost Heaven, Whitney, My Love, Until You.

They are all by Judith McNaught. Something Wonderful and ALmost Heaven have two great friends and there is a mention of characters from Whitney, My Love which then leads to Until You.

I purchased this book along with about 10 others in a bundle at a flea market, and after reading all the other 9, this one was my last "pick" to read and now wish I had read it first! Great story, good details, believable characters, twisty plot (even though the ultimate end is what romance readers want, a happy ending!) This story does give you the 'can't put it down until it's finished' result.
I will look for JMcN books, and after reading everyone's reviews of Whitney, my Love, I'm sure this will be one I acquire soon.

SPOILERS on the entire Westmoreland Trilogy
I bought all three books (Kingdom of Dreams, Whitney My Love, Until You) based on the reviews here.
I found all three books to be super tedious, with male leads who were abusive, women who started out as strong but ended up weaklings, and all in all ho-hum.
KOD features a strong-willed woman who kills a man's horse, a man who kills the woman's step brother, and a couple who pretty much hates each other until the end.
WML features a strong-willed woman who tries to win the affection of her girlhood crush, who is purchased via betrothal by a strong-willed man, who actually rapes her, and who forgets all about the crush fellow after winning his affection (albeit only because he assumes she has a fortune) and who hates the man until the end.
UY features a long drawn out childhood of a strong willed woman, who suffers a head injury and has amnesia, and thinks herself betrothed to a strong-willed man, who does his damndest to dump her all the while feeling her up. She miraculously regains her memory in a second and runs off, then tried to regain the love of the man, who uses her like a tool, then suddenly whisks her away for marriage.
All are corny, and pretty much a waste of reading. Maybe it's because they are from an earlier time period (the 90s)
However, other books from even earlier times are still vibrant and satisfying for me.

McNaught has a gift for bringing about all the emotions, and I find that that is what makes a book grand. I couldn't wait to read this book because it follows Whitney, My Love. I was not disappointed. I read some of lower rated reviews and saw the complaints about the story line, but I didn't have a problem with it. I enjoyed the book a great deal, and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Almost Heaven was my first of McNaughts. Since then, I've HAD to read her others, because I enjoy her writing so much, and the characters are inter-twined. I highly recommend Judith Mcnaughts work, If you're new to her, start with "Whitney My Love".Then read "Something Wonderful", Then Once and Always. This will assure your aquaintance with the characters in the rest of them (that contain the Westmorelands, Thorton, Duville,etc.) And will be to your fullest enjoyment

Judith McNaught's Until You completely changed my opinion of romance novels. Before a friend recommened this book, I had never considered reading romance novels, because I thought they were all trashy. Unfortunately, I started reading Until You one day before a test. Although, I didn't get any studying done, I had a smile on my face for the next few days, because I kept on thinking about the way things ended. Ever since I read Until You, all I read now are books by Judith McNaught

I started reading the Westmoreland family's trilogy starting with Nick DuVille. I had no idea that he was the last character even after I read Until You (I'm not that forgetful). It was months apart that I read these two books. Until You is a great, unforgetable book. You'll not be able to put it down once you start. The characters are great, and the story line, though not original, is very sweet and endearing. I fell in love with the storyline and I could not put it down until I was done, as with many books I read. You will find that although the young heiress Sheridan accompanies is not played out much in this book, her character deserves quite a tongue lashing if I ever saw her. I can not abide spoiled, rich kids. AGH!!! Nickki, as always, is truly helpful in the relationship between Sheridan and Stephan from helping Sheridan obtain a job as governess after she her memory returns and runs away from Stephen. Naturally, Stephen got mad and drank himself away to oblivion. (all men do that) ALthough Stephen thinks that Sheridan came to DuVille to be his mistress, he is wrong and it is with the help of DuVille that they were able to marry. You will find it an enjoyable read. Whitney, My Love is great also.

Unbelieable the kinds of no account, sleazy, jerks that some authors dare to foist upon unsuspecting readers as attractive marriage partners and soul mates. Their equally superficial, hypocritical, amoral counter parts are not complex or courageous, but are some of the most desperate-for-a-man-to-worship females to clog litterary pages. Sherry is one of these. Any woman, who prior to saying "I do," who has never heard her man say "I love you," is not marrying for love: Unless his non-existent love doesn't count, leaving us with not romance but idolatry.
As part of her fiesty show of courage she is too reluctant to know if he's gotten rid of his coutesan she asked him to. She's obviously typical of many of the females of that period with a don't ask don't tell if you want to keep your jewels and frocks martyr complex. He does get rid of his courtsan, but in the end she doesn't know that and hopes to please him enough so if he hasn't, he will. This character deserves only to be told "until you."
These brooding pervs with titles, money, handsomeness and bad attitudes are allowed to debase and demoralize the women they "love," as long as they marry them in the end. Sherry the living doormat, who conveniently "forgets" her complete humiliation (public and private) at the kids party by Stephen the body slurping, one track minded damsel in distress rescuer, grovels her way through the 2nd half of the book to bring about some sort of reconciliation we are to think of as a romantic story book ending.
This author must have something against her own gender why her female lead drags herself week after week to an opera she can't afford, to stare lovingly at the face of a man (and the woman he's with this week) who didn't trust her enough to go looking for her, speak to, or determine her state of mind after she regained her memory. And since when does a doctor rely on hearsay to determine his patient's state of mind. The impromptu brain backlog that must precede and follow each "misunderstanding," robs the reader not only of their time and cash, but also their sense of romance if they are to get any satisfaction from this novel.
1/3 of the book is spent rehashing Whitney, 1/3 setting up another book's hero (DuVille), leaving 1/3 for the author to completely sacrifice the plot she created, and characters she ought to be developing for specious melodrama. The first 1/2 of the book is contrived and convoluted warmed over left overs. The age gap tried my sense of decorum, even decency. The 2nd 1/2 is too ill conceived to even bother letting the characters account for their behaviours - They can't! Not even they know why they're doing what they're doing, let alone the reader. When DuVille accounts for his behaviour by saying he may have "inadvertantly" cause the separation of Sherry and Stephen, I almost inadvertantly gagged on my bacon sandwich.
Most of the dramatic moments are a satisfaction let down. You're waiting for Sherry to show the courage we keep reading of. Her power of reasoning and comprehension of how she's been insulted seems lost on her, but not this reader. All that red hair must have blinded her. This story ought to have been about trust and honesty, instead (up until the very end), lies and tricks to get her to get her chapel.
Add to all this the author's tendency to time travel to 20th century morality whenever Regeny behavioral standards get too cumbersome for her frail storyline or whenever her characters can't extricate themselves from an overburdened plot, and you'll realize why this book doesn't work. The fight scene (or never seen) at Whites is suppose to be funny. My guess is since we never find out who really wins, most will find it more contrived let down rather than comedic. I'm still trying to figure out where the maid got to since she had no money for a return passage to America. Don't walk away from this book, Run! and keep running.

After reading this book. i went out and practically have ordered all of her books. But, there are quite a number of them so I haven't gotten them all yet. This book was that good. I loved the characters. and the story ran so smoothly. Although, as i am sure in most books there could be some changes made. I really liked Stephen's character up until near the end where he does something very shameful. But, he of course fixes that. I wish they could of made Stephen's mistress into a story where she falls in love. She is a great character. I could just imagine what a great tale she would have!!!

I've never been into what most people would call "trashy romantic books" but this book proved me wrong. Not only is it superbly well-written with just the right amount of humour and wit, the storyline is not your usual romance fare. This is one of the rare books which just puts a sharp stab in your heart when you feel the heroine's pain and a smile on your face when you share her happiness

Judith McNaught Is Wonderful!! I Have Read All Her Books On The Westmoreland's And The Characters Are Wonderful! I Have Read A Lot Of Different Novels But Her's Are The Best! Once I Start One Of Her Books I Just Can't Put It Down I'll Stay Up All Night Just To See What Happens Next!! Steven Westmoreland Is The Best! I'll Take Sheridans Spot Anyday!

I literally read almost all of McNaught's book: Whitney My love, Kingdom of Dreams, One and Always, Something Wonderful, etc.. And I have to say this is her most disappointing book EVER. Stephen is such a beloved character from Whitney My Love and this story does not do him any justice!! The story line is so simple and predictable, and not realistic. I did not think that McNaught did a fair job with this book compared to her other historical romance novels. I try really hard to finish reading this book because I really like Stephen but I could not see the connection between and Sheridan. He is so sophisticated and Sheridan was so dull and unsophisticated. She literally did not appeal to me at all. I'm not putting down any red heads but McNaught did not do a good job describing her beauty whatsoever.

I read this book immediately following its prequel Whitney, My Love and I found this book much more entertaining than WML. Stephen's character was much less annoying to me than that of his brother Clayton in WML, and I thought Sheridan Bromleigh was a terrific character. Whitney in WML is supposed to be this irreverent, rash girl who does as she pleases, but at times she was much too submissive. Sheridan never loses her spark, and she followed through with a couple nice slaps that I didn't see from Whitney.

The premise of this book is very intriguing-- mistaken identities and amnesia leading to a very strong romance-- and I really enjoyed the way everything played out. I did get mildly annoyed with the failure of Stephen to communicate with Sheridan and his rash jumping to stupid conclusions, but overall it's a solid book. I really couldn't wait to pick up where I left off each time I had to stop reading, and after I read it I dreamed I married an earl, so obviously it stayed with me!

This book makes me much more likely to look into more of McNaught's romances, but I can't say I'm entirely convinced that I like her work.

I usually love books by Judith McNaught, but this one was not one of them. I bought it with the expectation of it being as wonderful as Whitney, my love. I thought it was nowhere near as good. Usually her books make me laugh and cry for the characters and I can hardly put them down. This one took me forever to get through. I even thought the references to Clayton and Whitney were lacking.

Until you is just sheer perfection. I fell head over heels for Stephen Westmoreland! He is the ideal man, and I could only pray that a man like him really existed! Sherdian is his perfect match; her beauty and intelligence caught Stephen off guard and not only did he lose his cool composure, but also his heart. This book has such a captivating love story that I just could not put it down. I stayed up all night anticipating the ending, and when I finally got there I just had to reread it over agian because it was just that amazing. The characters are wonderful and their flirtation melted my heart! I highly recommend it!

This is my favorite Judith McNaught book; I couldn't put it down for more than five minutes. I have reread it at least six times, and each time I catch something new. If you have never read this book I suggest that you go and buy it. Although I love her other books, this one stays with me always.

Stephen and Sherry are very appealing characters. I loved how Sherry thaws Stephen from his icy existence! Loved their last scene together. It would have been great to have had some more interactions togteher at the end but all in all another can't put it down book!

Amnesia? I expected better from Ms McNaught. The main characters were grossly underdeveloped. I found that I never liked either Stephen or Sheridan. I actually "hated" Stephen, for treating Sheridan as if she was garbage. Ms McNaught should have spent her time writing Nicki DuVille's story instead. ~ R.T, Thailand

If you enjoyed "Whitney My Love" and "Kingdom of Heaven" you will be most disappointed by this very bad Judith McNaught. All of the smiles and joy that the other two envoked were shattered by this novel that was rushed and cheesey! Yes, Whitney and Clayton are in this book as is Steven, but they are not the same characters from "Whitney My Love." Steven is now bitter... complete 180 from his original character... and part of a far fetched, unromantic plot that is neither believable nor up to typical McNaught standards. I was most disappointed in this "sequal" that was a complete let down from the happy feelings of its predecessor!

I love Judith McNaught's writing - Whitney my Love, Kingdom of Dreams they all were great and I think thats because you really felt the love they had for each other. Unfortunetly I felt that the heroine loved the hero more. And at the end of the book he was just cruel and then two pages later relizes he made a mistake and says sorry and she forgives him, no begging no goveling - personally I like alittle groveling but overall it was a ok read, just not one of here bests.