Somewhere I'll Find You

Rating: 1 star

So, bullying a woman you "love" is romantic? No. No, it is not. What exactly did Damon have to sacrifice in this story? Nothing. What did Julia have to sacrifice? Everything.

The thing that upset me the most in this book, however, was the treatment of Pauline. Why was she treated like a villian? Through-out the story Damon insists that Julia needs a man to protect her. Well apparently because he only wanted Pauline for sex and not as a wife she doesn't deserve protecting. What the hell? Welcome to another story that puts virgins on a pedestal and vilifies a woman for having any kind of sexual experience. Oh, and William can sleep with anything that breaths and still be "good", but Pauline has an affair with one man and show more she's bad?

If this book had been written from Pauline's point of view it would be a depressing story of how men use and throw away women without a second thought for the consequences. But because the story was from Damon and Julia's pov it was a story of two self-centered people pretending to overcome things that aren't real issues and vilify a woman who had been used and cast aside after Damon became bored with her. show less

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 marriage – not exactly standard historical romance fare! Julia Hargate and Damon Savage were forced into marriage as young children, and some years later Julia is disowned by her family when she runs away to London and becomes a famous actress – show more under a new name. Damon has been searching for his wife for years, with the intention of dissolving the marriage. When he is introduced to her as a potential patron for the theatre, they fall in love. It looks as though Julia will be forced to choose between her career and her marriage.

Some reviewers have expressed dislike at Julia’s indecision, but that is what makes the story so good. I’m glad this heroine had something in her life beyond balls and fancy outfits, and I suppose it was the break from tradition that upset some.

I adore books set in a theatre environment, and Lisa Kleypas really paints a realistic picture of the theatre world and the passion that comes with it. This is one of the most fascinating facets of London, and I only wish there were more books to the series. The story also takes us to beautiful Bath, which was another aspect of the story I really enjoyed.

The relationship is wonderful – not only is the ‘big reveal’ brought out early enough for the characters to deal with their issues, but both Damon and Julia face the fact they are in love with each other quite early on. It is straight-laced Damon’s struggle with social conventions, and Julia’s passion for life that causes the conflict between them.

As with the other Capital Theatre book, I love that we get to meet such a cross-section of London society in this book. This is a city functioning on all levels, not just a group of pretty little virgins lining themselves up at a ball. It really brings the story to life.

The Capital Theatre books have been really great reads for me. The combination of the theatre, the characters, the conflicts and the romance is wonderful. I’d definitely recommend them. show less

An early Kleypas historical, it's the story of an aristocratic young woman, Julia Wentworth, who disguises herself and becomes an actress in London. Secretly she is married to a handsome duke, Damon Savage, who doesn't know who she really is. Their marriage was arranged when they were children and they haven't seen each other in years - they don't even recognize each other! There is a lot of drama (no pun intended) and back story in regard to Julia's career leading up to when she and Damon finally come together and fall in love - yet, all the while, he still doesn't realize she is really his wife! Eventually he finds out the truth but the big deal is will he require that she leave the stage and her career? He's so controlling and he show more keeps on calling her "mine", it was borderline annoying. Still I thought this was pretty good for an early Kleypas and I am interested in seeing what happens with her boss, Logan Scott's story in the next book in the series. On audio, well done by Rosalyn Landor, as always. show less

In "Somewhere I'll Find You" Kleypas cuts down on thrills and focuses on carefully setting up the advance-and-retreat of the romance between Julia and Damon.

In fact, she does such a good job of it that she doesn't have to fall back on the premise from which the novel begins: that Julia and Damon are already married. Rather than using that hook to lasso them together, by the time Julia and Damon recognize one another as husband and wife their relationship continues to develop with a momentum of its own.

Julia is wonderful and vivacious. Damon was not a very well-defined hero, in my opinion; a little wooden. I never felt like I knew him well or understood him thoroughly. This is problematic because Kleypas devotes quite a bit of space in show more this novel to setting up the sequel, and the character of its hero Logan Scott is compelling and believable in a way that Damon isn't.

Still, this is a better-than-average Kleypas, and Kleypas is always a cut above the rest in romance. It's worth a read. show less

This is not one of Kleypas's best books, although it is still completely readable. While the main characters are good enough - although maybe not entirely interesting - I found myself interested more by Logan Scott - who to me was a far more interesting character than Damon. Kleypas does a lot more "telling" than "showing" - which I see as a fault - and I think she has Julia give in to Damon too quickly. It seems that one moment she's convinced she can't marry him, and then switches her opinion in an instant. I would have liked to see that better developed. Still, all in all, not a bad read.

I'm in shock: I did not like it! That is to say, not as much as all the other LK books I've read. The plot was okay and the style was just as good as always. I think it's mainly because of Damon - I just couldn't like him and had no idea why he - suddenly it seems - decided he loved Julia. I don't believe in a HEA for them at all. I'm almost waiting for him to leave her or ask her to give up the theatre after all.
Grade: C

This is not one of Kleypas's best books, although it is still completely readable. While the main characters are good enough - although maybe not entirely interesting - I found myself interested more by Logan Scott - who to me was a far more interesting character than Damon. Kleypas does a lot more "telling" than "showing" - which I see as a fault - and I think she has Julia give in to Damon too quickly. It seems that one moment she's convinced she can't marry him, and then switches her opinion in an instant. I would have liked to see that better developed. Still, all in all, not a bad read.