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Just This Once
As she picked the stranger's pocket at a public hanging, Josie Cooper was swept into the steely arms of her intended victim, an angry gunslinger with a face so handsome it made her ache. Josie escaped. But Ethan Savage caught her again and gave her a choice: marriage or jail. It was strictly business: six months in England, then she was free--and rich. She couldn't say no. And she couldn't tell him the truth: she was already married--to a brutal outlaw who would track her to the ends of the earth...
Ethan thought he'd left his aristocratic past behind--until his family hunted him down, forcing him to return to England and claim an inheritance and a title he didn't want. All he needed was a bride, and Josie Cooper had to say yes. Now he had to turn the sometime dance-hall girl into a countess. Love had nothing to do with it--until he fell head over heels for the newly minted countess who took London by storm...
Ethan thought he'd left his aristocratic past behind--until his family hunted him down, forcing him to return to England and claim an inheritance and a title he didn't want. All he needed was a bride, and Josie Cooper had to say yes. Now he had to turn the sometime dance-hall girl into a countess. Love had nothing to do with it--until he fell head over heels for the newly minted countess who took London by storm...
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 12, 1997
46 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Jill Gregory
62 books201 followersNew York Times and USA Today best-selling author Jill Gregory is the award-winning author of more than thirty novels. Jill has been awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence and her novels NEVER LOVE A COWBOY and COLD NIGHT, WARM STRANGER were honored with back-to-back Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice awards for Best Western Historical Romance.
Jill Gregory's novels have been translated and published in Japan, Russia, Norway, France, Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and Germany. Jill grew up in Chicago and received her bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Illinois. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband.
Jill Gregory's novels have been translated and published in Japan, Russia, Norway, France, Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and Germany. Jill grew up in Chicago and received her bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Illinois. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 7, 2015
Just This Once was a good read, but had too many unbelievable coincidences to give it a solid four stars. This is a tough one to rate, because it sounds like a fun frolic, but it is more serious than that. 3.5/5
July 15, 2020
This is a surprisingly good read. Going from the wild west to London ball room. Ethan needs a wife to claim his inheritance and picks Josie.
Josie has been on the run from her abusive husband and picks the wrong pocket. She agrees to marry him and go to London. Together they have to make their marriage work.
The villians are numerous and Josie has an interesting surprise past. A great,fun ride.
Josie has been on the run from her abusive husband and picks the wrong pocket. She agrees to marry him and go to London. Together they have to make their marriage work.
The villians are numerous and Josie has an interesting surprise past. A great,fun ride.
October 5, 2020
Too much hysterics, fisticuffs and throwing of random objects for me.
August 21, 2022
Spoilers ahead
Official rating :3.5 for me ((update as I am writing this review, i am now putting this as just a solid 3))
This is the first non Christian historical romance I read. I found it Salvation Army and was excited to start my first one of this type of book since started watching booktubers talk about how romantic historical romance are.
I haven't heard of this author on Youtube but the stepback drew me in and just reading the back, the story seemed like a mix of American and British so I thought it would be a good start for me.
Let's begin with the review:
Straight off the back: if you are looking for romance, this isn't it.Yes there is a two delicious scenes but they kind of not all there because I did not believe the romance between Josie and Ethan.
Why I say that is because it was so rough in the first half of the book and Ethan's dark atttiude seem to overshadow any real growth of feelings. It felt out of nowhere for me when he admitted to feelings for her. Also was he really romantic underneath it all? I dont buy it. He was given far too much power in his fighting skills. I never like a character to have a lot of plot armor. He was lacking and he deserves a 2 stars.
I like Josie and her personal story a lot. I felt for her past and how she felt in the present. I don't believe she really loved Ethan in an natural way. The story of wanting to find her real family was greater than the love story. She was sort of dramatic with Ethan about certain things such as his first love and kept secrets that didnt need to be kept. She wasn't really romantic either. But I like her as a person so a 3.5 for me for her character alone.
The whole time in West is kind of not boring but made me just want to get to England. They fought so much and these were super rocky. That is where I say that the attraction to one another doesn't seem quite natural for me. also the second delicious scene doesn't start out very romantic and is kind...well borderline consensual. And also Josie say a big reveal to him and his response was still to go forward with the deed after little comfort. Ethan is not that likable as I said above. You be the judge there if you are okay with the second scene. The first one was alright and Ethan too oushy at the beginning. If it just based on romance, I give this just 2 stars.
This is where I reveal why I gave it a 3. There was also more action than romance. So much fighting and drama. That part was engaging to me. All the bad guys and the gossip being spread was more juicy than the romance. The bad guys were all different types of bad. Two was more inline but they had different motives. I enjoy that part a lot. Seriously the drama keep me from putting this book at 2.5 stars.
As for writing, it was fine. The settings were not describe the best but I didnt find that I truly needed either. To me, I kind of like when an author doesn't take pages to describe a house. A paragraph or two works for me.
I also liked Miss. Perry a lot. She deserved her own love story instead of minor love story in this.
As for the author, I think I want to explore her other works just to see if there something else there. The writing was fine in my eyes. I laughed a few times at the side characters actions. Just this story could have been more. Definitely the romance could be more believable.
Overall, I am happy I read this. I think it is the basic level of getting me started.
Official rating :3.5 for me ((update as I am writing this review, i am now putting this as just a solid 3))
This is the first non Christian historical romance I read. I found it Salvation Army and was excited to start my first one of this type of book since started watching booktubers talk about how romantic historical romance are.
I haven't heard of this author on Youtube but the stepback drew me in and just reading the back, the story seemed like a mix of American and British so I thought it would be a good start for me.
Let's begin with the review:
Straight off the back: if you are looking for romance, this isn't it.Yes there is a two delicious scenes but they kind of not all there because I did not believe the romance between Josie and Ethan.
Why I say that is because it was so rough in the first half of the book and Ethan's dark atttiude seem to overshadow any real growth of feelings. It felt out of nowhere for me when he admitted to feelings for her. Also was he really romantic underneath it all? I dont buy it. He was given far too much power in his fighting skills. I never like a character to have a lot of plot armor. He was lacking and he deserves a 2 stars.
I like Josie and her personal story a lot. I felt for her past and how she felt in the present. I don't believe she really loved Ethan in an natural way. The story of wanting to find her real family was greater than the love story. She was sort of dramatic with Ethan about certain things such as his first love and kept secrets that didnt need to be kept. She wasn't really romantic either. But I like her as a person so a 3.5 for me for her character alone.
The whole time in West is kind of not boring but made me just want to get to England. They fought so much and these were super rocky. That is where I say that the attraction to one another doesn't seem quite natural for me. also the second delicious scene doesn't start out very romantic and is kind...well borderline consensual. And also Josie say a big reveal to him and his response was still to go forward with the deed after little comfort. Ethan is not that likable as I said above. You be the judge there if you are okay with the second scene. The first one was alright and Ethan too oushy at the beginning. If it just based on romance, I give this just 2 stars.
This is where I reveal why I gave it a 3. There was also more action than romance. So much fighting and drama. That part was engaging to me. All the bad guys and the gossip being spread was more juicy than the romance. The bad guys were all different types of bad. Two was more inline but they had different motives. I enjoy that part a lot. Seriously the drama keep me from putting this book at 2.5 stars.
As for writing, it was fine. The settings were not describe the best but I didnt find that I truly needed either. To me, I kind of like when an author doesn't take pages to describe a house. A paragraph or two works for me.
I also liked Miss. Perry a lot. She deserved her own love story instead of minor love story in this.
As for the author, I think I want to explore her other works just to see if there something else there. The writing was fine in my eyes. I laughed a few times at the side characters actions. Just this story could have been more. Definitely the romance could be more believable.
Overall, I am happy I read this. I think it is the basic level of getting me started.
December 27, 2024
Okay, I really liked Forever After by this author, so I wanted to give another book by her a try. Unfortunately I was very disappointed. It starts out okay and grabs your attention, but it falls apart in the middle. Snooze fest. She tries to pull it together in the end, and it does get a little more interesting, but still falls short.
June 18, 2017
this was not a sweet tale as I am accustomed to reading from this author. violent, vulgar and unfeeling. very disappointed. he treated her with very little respect.
May 27, 2018
A cheesy story is good once in awhile
Read
February 20, 2016Somewhat original, but flawed
I'll give the author credit for approaching the 'he-must-marry-to-secure-his-inheritance' trope from an original angle. Beyond that, however, there were a few too many plot elements that stretched my credulity given time the period. I also felt that the first part of the novel set in the Old West, was very cliched especially with regard to the characters and the dialogue.
Characterization was pretty good for both the H/h. However, what felt like a fairly sudden shift for the Hero from distrust and wary regard of the heroine to all consuming passion seemed just a ploy to put in a sex scene. I did appreciate the author's handling of that scene given the heroine's previous experiences.
Bottom line: Different choices in some character names and some of the dialogue of the first part set in the American West might have improved this novel. I just found many of those scenes a bit silly and they made taking the rest of the novel seriously a somewhat more difficult. It's an okay read, but not so much that I'll continue the series.
I'll give the author credit for approaching the 'he-must-marry-to-secure-his-inheritance' trope from an original angle. Beyond that, however, there were a few too many plot elements that stretched my credulity given time the period. I also felt that the first part of the novel set in the Old West, was very cliched especially with regard to the characters and the dialogue.
Characterization was pretty good for both the H/h. However, what felt like a fairly sudden shift for the Hero from distrust and wary regard of the heroine to all consuming passion seemed just a ploy to put in a sex scene. I did appreciate the author's handling of that scene given the heroine's previous experiences.
Bottom line: Different choices in some character names and some of the dialogue of the first part set in the American West might have improved this novel. I just found many of those scenes a bit silly and they made taking the rest of the novel seriously a somewhat more difficult. It's an okay read, but not so much that I'll continue the series.
July 25, 2014
Josie Cooper needs money to get out of town...quick. That is why she decided to pick the pocket of a gunslinger who just won a poker pot. But when Ethan Savage catches her, he gives her an ultimatum: Go to jail or travel to England as his wife for six months in order for him to get his inheritance. After that they will get an annulment and he will pay her handsomely. Josie jumped at the chance--even though she was already married--and running away from her outlaw husband who wants to kill her.
The first half of this historical romance moves very slow. I was ready to start skimming by the time Josie and Ethan arrived in England. The story did pick up at that point but I never really felt like Josie and Ethan were in love. It just felt flat to me. My rating: 3 Stars.
The first half of this historical romance moves very slow. I was ready to start skimming by the time Josie and Ethan arrived in England. The story did pick up at that point but I never really felt like Josie and Ethan were in love. It just felt flat to me. My rating: 3 Stars.
January 30, 2016
Read it in one go
Can't say why exactly, perhaps it was the charming characters, or the creative plot, but I very much liked this book. Set partly in the old west,partly in recency England, I was quickly swept up and entranced.
Can't say why exactly, perhaps it was the charming characters, or the creative plot, but I very much liked this book. Set partly in the old west,partly in recency England, I was quickly swept up and entranced.
January 16, 2015
A fast paced novel.
April 10, 2015
A little flat at times but otherwise an enjoyable read.
March 22, 2016
Romance novels are not my favorite reads, but I have to say that this one I enjoyed. It's a mix of English and cowboy story all in one.
January 31, 2016
Excellent read!
From the first page, all the way to the end. I became enthralled. A wonderful story that drew me in to the world of Josie.
From the first page, all the way to the end. I became enthralled. A wonderful story that drew me in to the world of Josie.
March 18, 2016
In this book the reader was able to visit the West, the poor, the rich, the upper class, the "really bad guys," fear, romance--it pretty much covered the bases.
April 26, 2016
Just this Once
Again she knows how to write a romance novel with plenty of suspense and romance...Five stars..Jill Gregory is one of my favorite authors
Again she knows how to write a romance novel with plenty of suspense and romance...Five stars..Jill Gregory is one of my favorite authors
February 15, 2021
Feel good story
This was well-written and had a good plot. Some of it was unbelievable but it was still a fun story!
This was well-written and had a good plot. Some of it was unbelievable but it was still a fun story!
January 28, 2016
Quick read, predictable but still enjoyable.
February 12, 2016
A romance with some absurdity, but a good escape.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews