Ok, I just started a re-read of Until You, and I felt it necessary to start a new thread dedicated solely to this book since I know I will need to discuss everything and anything about this book which was my very first JM novel.

Let us start at the very beginning when it opens with his name and various titles. Stephen David Elliott Westmoreland. I remember discussing this with Steph years ago, and we both agreed that if it is possible for a name to be sexy...then Stephen David Elliott Westmoreland is the sexiest name of all. It is perfection.

One wonders how Judith just KNEW that throwing in an extra middle name for Stephen would make such a difference. Doesn't it just make him sound more noble and more powerful?

And then she starts rattling off all his various titles and I'm instantly drawn to him even more, and this is the very first PAGE of Until You! Now do you understand why I said I fall in love with JM's heroes the minute they enter the scene?

And in that very same scene, we see Helene Devernay lounging in bed while Stephen is getting dressed and having a conversation with her through the mirror.

I'm glad that Judith and I both have this fascination with men getting dressed. She has a similar scene in EBYT where Kate is watching Mitchell shave and it's just so sexy.

What is it about men getting dressed that is just so....appealing?

Maybe because it's such an intimate act that you wouldn't normally witness if you weren't privy to a man's bedroom routine...

Or maybe it's because men get ready so differently than women....with a single minded focus, instead of dilly dallying the way we do.

Whatever it is, it totally made me fall in lust with Stephen immediately. Not to mention his calm censure of Helene Devernay's line of questioning in that scene. He can convey so much with just a look or a lift of his brow.

*swoon*

rotf. I love y'all.

I had a similar case like Jessica. I met Stephen first in W,ML and he was such a happy, happy character. So carefree and what you would expect a Westmoreland brother to be like. ^.^ Then when I read UY, I was like *ooohhhhh, I sense JM Hero auro*. He he. He was literally A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. <3 <3 <3

Stephen Westmoreland ♥

Wow! Haven't read Until You for a long time and had forgotten how wonderful the book is and how WONDERFUL Stephen is. ...and how Judith can just pull the emotions right out of you. I'm only on page 70ish and I've had teary eyes several times already. So glad to be re-reading this one.

Me too, Mysti!

I'm reading it slowly and really savoring every detail this time, and I just love everything about Stephen.

First teary moment
After Stephen has talked to Burleton's aged butler, Hodgkins, who is worried about having no employment since his employer has been run over by Stephen.
With all the things Stephen is facing right then, Stephen turns back and has the kindness to think of Hodgkins' lack of a position and offers him a chance of employment.  Hodgkins was stunned and completely touched that Stephen had implied that he was 'competent'.  
Get more of a look AT STEPHEN'S CHARACTER/COMPASSION

Then
“Hodgkin tipped his head to the side, trying to imagine how he would look wearing the elegant Langford livery of green and gold, but his vision seemed to blur and waver. He lifted his hand, his long thin fingers touching, feeling at the corner of his eye, where there was an unfamiliar wetness.”

My vision blurred right along with him .

So many others!

And I LOVE Sheridan's back story...touching, sweet, funny, revealing Sheridan's diverse character.

Is anybody reading'? Nobody's posting!

Anyway, I'm to the place where Stephen is eliminating all the candidates his family has submitted for Sherry's suitor....too tall,too short, too old, etc. and Nicki DuVille submits himself as a candidate. So funny...

Stephen asks Nicki:
“You seriously want to be considered as a suitor for Charise Lancaster?"

"Why not?" Nicki countered, visibly enjoying the other man's discomfiture. "I am not too old, too short, nor have I ever shot myself in the foot. I dislike fishing, I haven't an excessive attachment to the hunt, and though I do have some vices, no one has ever accused me of being overdressed, razor-tongued, or a gossip.”

I absolutely LOVE Nicki. I wish Judith would have done a whole book about him, instead of just the short story...I didn't even know about the short story until just the other day when I started on this forum. That was a real find...something new by Judith I hadn't read. Don't know how that happened!

lol, Sorry Mysti! I've been pretty busy the last few days getting ready for Father's Day, so I haven't had as much of a chance to read. I'm at the exact part you just described but you're probably finished with the book by now. lol

I LOVED that whole scene and how Stephen kept finding things wrong with her prospective suitors. And then when he was imagining Nicki with Sheridan and it was infuriating him. I don't know why he doesn't realize right then that Sheridan was the girl for him. lol

No, I'm really not much further. (I've been watching the US Open...maybe boring to all of you, but I'm a golfer).

I'm just at the scene where Lord Rutherford is announcing there engagement.

See...the thing about JM's books is the hero is always totally awesome and not one woman wants to love them for themselves....what are these women? Blind,deaf and idiotic. I mean look at all of us!! We'd be good to them, right? Sheeze

Oops. That should have said 'their' engagement, not 'there'. I hate when people mix those two up...and I just did it.

Oops, diadem, that came out a little wrong...didn't mean it was a big 'IF' that YOU would have a chance; I meant it would be a big 'if' that a man of such perfection would be found in real life.

[quote=" You see, I have big issues about trust and men. [/quote]

I SO get that. I've had my share of that particular lesson!

I guess you are supposed to be named diadem, not didem. I've typed your name right twice and auto correct has changed it to diadem. LOL

I'm at the part in the book where Stephen thinks Sherry has been lying all along and Sherry has her memory back and they both have lost faith in each other. I realize we must have our angsty moments.....but did you think it was a little out of character for Sherry to just run away? I mean, she's spunkier than that, right? And, okay, Stephen has been hurt (didem, talk about having loss of trust) but not to even contemplate, for more than a few minutes that Sherry could be telling the truth? So, Steven goes all hardass, and won't even listen to her name spoken ( that's part of why we love them, though, right. --- because they feel so deeply).

So Whitney is scheming to get them together. I had forgotten this part, so I'm really interested to see how this goes. I'm sure Stephen is going to be VERY unhappy with Whitney. This should be good.

Just finished it! Chrystal, where are you in the book? Wow, it made me cry when Nicki brought Sherry to the chapel and Stephen was all humbled and he said:

“I would like you to give me daughters with your hair and your spirit," he said, beginning to enumerate his reasons and requests. "I would like my sons to have your eyes and your courage. Now, if that's not what you want, then give me any combination you like, and I will humbly thank you for giving me any child we make.”

What are we reading next? How about Once and Always? I haven't read that one in a long time.

Aaaaah!!! Just reading this thread has gotten me excited to finish this book! I've been on vacation for 8 days and had to put Until You down because I didn't want to take the heavy hardcover with me.

Not to beat a long-deceased horse, but if Until You was available on Kindle, that wouldn't have been an issue and I would have finished it by now!...Grrrr. Not naming names. *cough* SIMON & SCHUSTER! *cough* Instead, I had to amuse myself with three other books which WERE on Kindle. I am just saying...

*Note to self: Add "JM's books on Kindle" to nightly prayer ritual and Santa's wish list. End note to self.*

Well, I feel the same about Night Whispers and Tender Triumph. I can't help it! They are far behind other JM novels (far ahead of other romance books of course, but here my reference points are JM books ) But EBYT is one of my favorites! If you already feel this way about NW, you'll love EBYT. I hope I love Kate and Mitchell. They are awesome As the quote goes "Con ogni respiro che prendo" *sigh*

I just remember thinking the character development in those two was not nearly as good as in her other books. I'm not far into NW, but seems she is developing Sloan pretty well. Maybe as I get further, I'll remember why I felt that way. I agree that TT wasn't as developed either. I can't even remember what EBYT was about. As I said, just had the remembrance that they were not my favorites of hers. But, as you said, any of hers are better than the best of someone else. I'm going to read EBYT next. I've read all the others so many times I almost know them by heart.

Different subject...I did just read a really good Nora Roberts book, if anyone is interested. I can usually take or leave her books, but this one was really good. I suggested it to two of my friends and they thought it very good, too. It's called 'The Witness'. Give it a try.

I just want to leap into the middle of this convo to say that OH MY GOODNESS, if you remember being disappointed in Every Breath You Take, you are going to SO enjoy your re-read!! I just finished rereading it a couple of weeks ago, and it was sooooo good!!! It gave me stomach flutters. Mitchell is pretty high up on my list of favorite heroes. Just make sure it is the expanded version that you are reading--because JM added some extra emotional oomph and new scenes at the end!

Yep, I totally agree! I had only ever read the original version once, and then a few weeks ago I read the updated version and I was like WHY DID I NOT READ THIS YEARS AGO??????

Mitchell Wyatt is deliciously powerful. I lurve him.

Yes!! The Kindle version is the correct one!! I had the original hardcover too. You HAVE to get the expanded version. I think that's probably why I loved it soooooo much this time when I read it.

I guess Random House is on the ball about releasing her books on Kindle, because that is the only one available. But all the ones she published with Simon & Schuster are still being held hostage. haha...

I have another electronic version I downloaded, but have no idea if it is the expanded version or not. Could you give me a paragraph or something to compare? If I already have the right one, no need to get the Kindle one.

Yes! Take a peek toward the end of the book and see how many chapters it has. My hardcover (the original edition) goes through Chapter Fifty-Two. But the Kindle edition has Fifty-Eight.