New York Times  bestselling author Judith McNaught  sweeps readers from the wilds of America to elegant 1820s London in this unforgettable romantic adventure.

A teacher in a school for wealthy young ladies, Sheridan Bromleig  is hired to accompany one of hers students, heiress Charise Lancaster, to England to meet her fiancé. When her charge elopes with a stranger, Sheridan wonders how she will ever explain it to Charise’s intended, Lord Burleton.

Standing on the pier, Stephen Westmoreland, the Earl of Langford, assumes the young woman coming toward him is Charise Lancaster–and informs her of his inadvertent role in a fatal accident involving Lord Burtleton the night before. And just as Sheridan is about to speak, she steps into the path of a cargo net loaded with crates.

Sheridan awakens in Westmoreland’s mansion with no memory of who she is; the only hint of her past is the puzzling fact that everyone calls her Miss Lancaster. All she truly knows is that she is falling in love with a handsome English earl, and that the life unfolding before her seems full of wondrous possibilities…

This book is the third of the Westmoreland series and focuses on  Stephen Westmoreland, the Earl of Langford, whom we previously met in Whitney, My Love ( of which you can read my review here)  and who’s Clayton’s brother.  I quickly grew fond of his character when we were first introduced to him and so it was a great pleasure to see that Judith McNaught decided to give him a story of his own in  Until You.

I have yet to be disappointed by a Judith McNaught book and thankfully “Until You” didn’t break the spell. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Stephen and Sheridan’s passionate love story –they are another couple that you can’t help but root for.

Stephen is a very handsome and strong male character  who’s grown rather cynic about women and whose heart is difficult to get to, but Sheridan wreaks  havoc on everything he  believed in when she enters quite unexpectedly into his life.

Sheridan is a young woman who experiences the first stirrings of love and passion thanks to Stephen and what a way to do it! Like all the Westmoreland men, he knows how to make a woman melt in his arms and how to put his lovemaking skills to great use. Yes, he’s a hot man. Sheridan finds herself in a whirlwind of awakening desire and it’s heartwarming to see how she irrevocably opens her heart to him.

I also enjoyed seeing Stephen’s arrogance crumbling little by little whenever Sheridanwas concerned. He goes through quite the change of heart and there are several scenes where he shows his love to her that made my heart rate accelerate. McNaught knows how to create male characters that stay with you, no doubt about that 😉

It’s not all plain sailing, though. There are some hurdles they have to face in order to stay together and it’s not the easiest of paths. On several occasions they’ll have to prove to be worthy of one another and this is when the degree of their attachment is put to the test.

In Until You we again meet Clayton and Whitney, who play an instrumental role in Stephen and Sheridan’s story. I was excited to read about them once again, since I loved them in “Whitney, My love” and in this book we get to have several sneak peeks at how their relationship has evolved. They also add a lighthearted side to the story thanks to their cute banter and knowing glances that pass between them.

Until You was a charming read. If you’d like to escape for a few hours in the 19^th century in a world made of passion and a few scandals , this book is right for you. I’d like to mention that, despite it being the 3^rd book in the series, it isn’t necessary to read Judith MacNaught’s stories following that order, because each book is an installment in itself.

I give this book 4 of 5 hearts.

And now some of my favorite passages:

“ With a single smile, he could make her feel as if her gown were fit for a princess and that she was beautiful and that her memory was best lost. She couldn’t understand any of that, particularly why there were fleeting moments when she felt she didn’t want to remember.”

“You ‘bother’ me very much,” he said.

“In what way—“ Sherry asked, watching his gaze drop to her lips and feeling her heartbeat triple.

“I’ll show you,” he murmured huskily, and his lips seized hers with violent tenderness.”

“ He shoved her fingers into her thick hair, and the rope of pearls that had bound it broke loose, sending a shower of pearls and a gleaming waterfall of red tresses spilling over his hands and arms. He kissed her until they were both senseless and his hand was caressing her breast. He forced his hand to still, reminded himself that they were in a coach on a public street on their way to the ball…”

“I want to change your name,” he said with a tender smile, “ so there’s no doubt who you are ever again, or who you belong to.” He slid his hands up and down her arms looking directly into her eyes. “ I want the right to share your bed tonight and every night from this day onward. I want to make you moan in my arms again, and I want to wake up wrapped in yours.” He shifted his hands and cradled her cheeks, his thumbs brushing away two tears at the edges of her shimmering eyes. “Last of all, I want to hear you say ‘I love you’ every day of my life. If you aren’t ready to agree to that last request right now, I would be willing to wait until tonight, when I believe you will. In return for all those concessions, I will grant you every wish that is within my power to grant you.”

“Sheridan, “ he said quietly, “ we have been lovers since the first moment your mouth touched mine.”

Elena