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Capricorn Man
She promised to be on her best behavior
Nicola couldn't resist the richness of the situation. Michael, her childhood adversary, needed a legal secretary in Surrey, and his younger brother and sister were too much of a handful--even for him.
Michael had always had too many responsibilities thrust upon him too soon--and Nicola had been one of them. As a child, she'd given him the devil's own job keeping her safe when she tagged along after him and his cousin Kit.
As far as Michael was concerned, Nicola gravitated toward danger-always had and always would-even when it came to love....
Nicola couldn't resist the richness of the situation. Michael, her childhood adversary, needed a legal secretary in Surrey, and his younger brother and sister were too much of a handful--even for him.
Michael had always had too many responsibilities thrust upon him too soon--and Nicola had been one of them. As a child, she'd given him the devil's own job keeping her safe when she tagged along after him and his cousin Kit.
As far as Michael was concerned, Nicola gravitated toward danger-always had and always would-even when it came to love....
187 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
3 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 11, 2026
I don't find romances where protagonists supposedly pine for each through years and years and years of separation but don't lift a finger to assert their supposed Great Big Lurve inspiring or exciting.
Here, hero and heroine were childhood frienemies. When she turned 21, he realized he was in love with her but he thought he couldn't compete with his younger, more attractive male cousin who was very close friends with the heroine. So he didn't do anything about his great luuuurve, in fact he started to actively avoid her whenever she came back home to visit. He dated casually and was even on the lookout for someone "like" the heroine.
It was only when the heroine, at 28, happened to move in with him to take care of his orphaned plot moppet half-siblings, that he half-heartedly started taking some tentative steps to woo her. Then he ruins any progress he might have made by inviting his colleague-with-benefits OW for a sleepover at his house, while the heroine, the supposed love of his life, is sleeping under the same roof! No, just no.
He eventually declares himself to her but in the midst of avowing his undying love, he also blurts out that he would have probably found some other woman “like” her to marry in the end, if she hadn’t reciprocated his feelings. Nice timing buddy, I am sure that is a speech EVERY woman finds super romantic!
The final ILY conversation also mentions the OM’s name something like fifty times, with the heroine fretting about how her relationship with the OM might be irreparably damaged by her and hero getting together. What???!!! Priorities, please!
I never got the feeling that these two could not go on with their lives without each other. In fact, quite to the contrary. In a romance book, that is an epic fail.
Here, hero and heroine were childhood frienemies. When she turned 21, he realized he was in love with her but he thought he couldn't compete with his younger, more attractive male cousin who was very close friends with the heroine. So he didn't do anything about his great luuuurve, in fact he started to actively avoid her whenever she came back home to visit. He dated casually and was even on the lookout for someone "like" the heroine.
It was only when the heroine, at 28, happened to move in with him to take care of his orphaned plot moppet half-siblings, that he half-heartedly started taking some tentative steps to woo her. Then he ruins any progress he might have made by inviting his colleague-with-benefits OW for a sleepover at his house, while the heroine, the supposed love of his life, is sleeping under the same roof! No, just no.
He eventually declares himself to her but in the midst of avowing his undying love, he also blurts out that he would have probably found some other woman “like” her to marry in the end, if she hadn’t reciprocated his feelings. Nice timing buddy, I am sure that is a speech EVERY woman finds super romantic!
The final ILY conversation also mentions the OM’s name something like fifty times, with the heroine fretting about how her relationship with the OM might be irreparably damaged by her and hero getting together. What???!!! Priorities, please!
I never got the feeling that these two could not go on with their lives without each other. In fact, quite to the contrary. In a romance book, that is an epic fail.
August 15, 2016
Aw. Such a sweet story. This is an author I really like. She writes well-drawn characters and places them in situations that could happen in real life. No high HP drama, but her stories are emotional because she makes you care about the characters.
The trope is unrequited love on the H's part. He and the h have known each other since they were children. He is a buttoned down barrister, she is a free-spirited secretary, part-time model, and new mystery novelist who lands on his doorstep when he finds himself without a secretary or minder for his teenage siblings in his care. They fought like cats and dogs in their youth and the h thinks the hero still disapproves of her. (It's okay, honey - he just thinks you and his cousin are on the verge of engagement and he's trying not to show his feelings).
Once the heroine is living in his house, his feelings start to show through, and that's just lovely to watch as the heroine slowly realizes her feelings for him. There are complications with the cousin and his OW. But the best parts are the insightful conversations the H/h have based on their long friendship and their very real affection for each other. I loved when the H hunts the h down after an argument and acknowledges how sad and pale she always is after a row. (That's me - I don't like confrontation). He's a lawyer and doesn't mind arguing, but he understands how it hurts her. It's little scenes like that that sell me on a romance.
The trope is unrequited love on the H's part. He and the h have known each other since they were children. He is a buttoned down barrister, she is a free-spirited secretary, part-time model, and new mystery novelist who lands on his doorstep when he finds himself without a secretary or minder for his teenage siblings in his care. They fought like cats and dogs in their youth and the h thinks the hero still disapproves of her. (It's okay, honey - he just thinks you and his cousin are on the verge of engagement and he's trying not to show his feelings).
Once the heroine is living in his house, his feelings start to show through, and that's just lovely to watch as the heroine slowly realizes her feelings for him. There are complications with the cousin and his OW. But the best parts are the insightful conversations the H/h have based on their long friendship and their very real affection for each other. I loved when the H hunts the h down after an argument and acknowledges how sad and pale she always is after a row. (That's me - I don't like confrontation). He's a lawyer and doesn't mind arguing, but he understands how it hurts her. It's little scenes like that that sell me on a romance.
December 20, 2015
Re Capricorn Man - JG usually creates a well rounded romance that isn't huge on the drama and CM is no exception. Capricorn refers to the H of course. He and the h have been in a somewhat antagonistic relationship since they were children when she came to live with the H and his family while her violinist mum toured with her orchestra.
The H is described as being enigmatic, inscrutable, authoritative and difficult sometimes. All of which are typical Capricorn traits according to the astrology books, but basically that is the definition of every HPlandia H, so I don't think we are missing much there. (I am a Capricorn myself, so I know what those other signs are saying about us goats, really most of us are just very, very stubborn and maybe good at organizing things.)
The h is a bit older than the typical HP h, she is 28 - well traveled, NOT a virgin (although no previous details are given, the lady has been around a bit) and a newly published author of suspense via her cousin's publishing house. Although no one in the family except her mum and new stepdad know that she is an author, she submitted the manuscript under a pseudonym to surprise both the H and the publishing cousin.
The h has had a very long relationship with both men, when she was young her aunt on her mum's side married the H's father and offered to keep the h while her mum toured. The cousin and the H were best friends that was really more of a sibling relationship as they were always together. People thought they were twins with opposite looks and personalities. When the h first meets them, the other cousin is happy to meet her but the H denies all ties of kinship. The h then determines to follow them every where and gets into all sorts of adventures. The H swears the h caused all the adventures but the h says it was usually the H's idear and she just carried it out until he had to rescue her.
The H and h haven't seen much of each other over the last several years, the h was traveling the world and the H was moving up the English law chain. She shows up to care for his younger teenage half-brother and half-sister, the H became responsible them for after their parents died in a plane crash, and the woman the H had hired got angry with the little sister over the animals she kept bringing home. The woman was also in love with the H but he wasn't interested, so the sister called the h and asked her to come.
The h is determined to be civil to the H and she genuinely likes the teenagers, she also needs a place to stay until the sublet on her flat runs out, so things work out well all the way around. What follows is the gradual transformation of a former childhood rivalry into a mature relationship where two people start to acknowledge their attraction to each other.
The first kiss is not very hopeful, the h risks injury to rescue a drowning dog and the H freaks out and forces a very punishing kiss on her and the h slaps his face. Apparently she did the same thing when he kissed her at 14, he says he should have remembered to duck. They move on from the spat and the h is enjoying the huge family home, (she has always wanted a home like the H's-it gives her a sense of security and roots.)
She is also spending time with the other cousin, who she sees as a brother, altho he tells everyone that he and the h will probably marry eventually. The h always blows this off, she just isn't interested in him as a lover. Then the other cousin decides to marry a wealthy heiress that the h has always disliked, apparently she was a two-faced tattletale as a child and it doesn't appear she has changed much. The H thinks the h is heartbroken by the engagement, and she is surprised but not hurt - her shock at the moment the cousin's engagement is announced comes from her realizing she is in love with the H.
The H looks as if he is dating another woman from his legal chambers and the rest of the family thinks he is going to marry the woman. The h feels like her love is pretty futile, so she finishes her next novel and moves back to her flat after finding the teenagers a new lady to look after them. They already have a butler/cook general who likes to read tea leaves and palms and uses odd bits of Shakespearean verbiage. He is always trying to read the h and H's palms, so it is a running joke that they won't let him look at them.
The H calls the h up and asks her for a date, (probably one of the few actual dates between an H and h in all of HPlandia - anyone else ever notice how little our main characters actually seem to just go on a date together?) She giddily accepts and all is magical and they wind up in bed. The bed scenes are mainly closed door, but the lurve club must have been working it's magic touch cause the h is totally in love.
The h then delivers her new manuscript to her cousin and he is surprised, but already working out N. American distribution, which means she is going to be a major success. The H had been promising to call her and he does, but the cousin mentions that he was dining with the OW at a formal occasion the night before. The h doesn't really know what to think, especially as the cousin insinuates that the H is going to marry the OW as she is the "perfect" wife for him.
The cousin shows up at the h's flat later that night after he read the new book and he winds up kissing her in a more than cousinly way. The h is pretty shocked, she really did not realize that she was inadvertently in a love triangle between the cousin, the H and herself and she is a bit repulsed by the cousin too.
The H show up after the cousin leaves and he is furious and accuses her of having an affair with a married man, the cousin. The h throws back that he is courting the OW and treating her like his bit on the side and kicks him out of her life. She then leaves to go see her mum and stepfather (who is a famous conductor) in Bordeaux, France. The mum knows something is up, but tactfully doesn't comment - for once we get a non-interfering mum- until the H shows up.
He tracked the h down via her office and the mum tells them to stop acting like kids. She also tells the h that the H has been in love with her for years and the step dad tells her to take him back after she makes him grovel. The h and H wind up on the beach and the H explains that he was stupid with jealousy over the cousin, cause the cousin always said he was going to marry the h. When the cousin married someone else, the H though he had a chance and he has been in love with her for years. The h loves him back of course and they retire to the hotel for love in the afternoon.
The H reveals that he hit the cousin and finally sorted out the misunderstanding he had about the cousin's place in the h's life. They spend some time traveling through France and arrive at the H's house for a nice HEA.
This is not an intensely passionate book, but it is a good story. There are clues to the H's feelings even though the h doesn't see them and in quiet way, it is a very satisfying romance. JG also wrote the Trodden Paths , which is one of my top HR reconciliation stories. I really recommend JG when you need a break from the drama.
Her characters and relationship building are always well thought out and she is worth the time when you are in the mood for a solid romance.
The H is described as being enigmatic, inscrutable, authoritative and difficult sometimes. All of which are typical Capricorn traits according to the astrology books, but basically that is the definition of every HPlandia H, so I don't think we are missing much there. (I am a Capricorn myself, so I know what those other signs are saying about us goats, really most of us are just very, very stubborn and maybe good at organizing things.)
The h is a bit older than the typical HP h, she is 28 - well traveled, NOT a virgin (although no previous details are given, the lady has been around a bit) and a newly published author of suspense via her cousin's publishing house. Although no one in the family except her mum and new stepdad know that she is an author, she submitted the manuscript under a pseudonym to surprise both the H and the publishing cousin.
The h has had a very long relationship with both men, when she was young her aunt on her mum's side married the H's father and offered to keep the h while her mum toured. The cousin and the H were best friends that was really more of a sibling relationship as they were always together. People thought they were twins with opposite looks and personalities. When the h first meets them, the other cousin is happy to meet her but the H denies all ties of kinship. The h then determines to follow them every where and gets into all sorts of adventures. The H swears the h caused all the adventures but the h says it was usually the H's idear and she just carried it out until he had to rescue her.
The H and h haven't seen much of each other over the last several years, the h was traveling the world and the H was moving up the English law chain. She shows up to care for his younger teenage half-brother and half-sister, the H became responsible them for after their parents died in a plane crash, and the woman the H had hired got angry with the little sister over the animals she kept bringing home. The woman was also in love with the H but he wasn't interested, so the sister called the h and asked her to come.
The h is determined to be civil to the H and she genuinely likes the teenagers, she also needs a place to stay until the sublet on her flat runs out, so things work out well all the way around. What follows is the gradual transformation of a former childhood rivalry into a mature relationship where two people start to acknowledge their attraction to each other.
The first kiss is not very hopeful, the h risks injury to rescue a drowning dog and the H freaks out and forces a very punishing kiss on her and the h slaps his face. Apparently she did the same thing when he kissed her at 14, he says he should have remembered to duck. They move on from the spat and the h is enjoying the huge family home, (she has always wanted a home like the H's-it gives her a sense of security and roots.)
She is also spending time with the other cousin, who she sees as a brother, altho he tells everyone that he and the h will probably marry eventually. The h always blows this off, she just isn't interested in him as a lover. Then the other cousin decides to marry a wealthy heiress that the h has always disliked, apparently she was a two-faced tattletale as a child and it doesn't appear she has changed much. The H thinks the h is heartbroken by the engagement, and she is surprised but not hurt - her shock at the moment the cousin's engagement is announced comes from her realizing she is in love with the H.
The H looks as if he is dating another woman from his legal chambers and the rest of the family thinks he is going to marry the woman. The h feels like her love is pretty futile, so she finishes her next novel and moves back to her flat after finding the teenagers a new lady to look after them. They already have a butler/cook general who likes to read tea leaves and palms and uses odd bits of Shakespearean verbiage. He is always trying to read the h and H's palms, so it is a running joke that they won't let him look at them.
The H calls the h up and asks her for a date, (probably one of the few actual dates between an H and h in all of HPlandia - anyone else ever notice how little our main characters actually seem to just go on a date together?) She giddily accepts and all is magical and they wind up in bed. The bed scenes are mainly closed door, but the lurve club must have been working it's magic touch cause the h is totally in love.
The h then delivers her new manuscript to her cousin and he is surprised, but already working out N. American distribution, which means she is going to be a major success. The H had been promising to call her and he does, but the cousin mentions that he was dining with the OW at a formal occasion the night before. The h doesn't really know what to think, especially as the cousin insinuates that the H is going to marry the OW as she is the "perfect" wife for him.
The cousin shows up at the h's flat later that night after he read the new book and he winds up kissing her in a more than cousinly way. The h is pretty shocked, she really did not realize that she was inadvertently in a love triangle between the cousin, the H and herself and she is a bit repulsed by the cousin too.
The H show up after the cousin leaves and he is furious and accuses her of having an affair with a married man, the cousin. The h throws back that he is courting the OW and treating her like his bit on the side and kicks him out of her life. She then leaves to go see her mum and stepfather (who is a famous conductor) in Bordeaux, France. The mum knows something is up, but tactfully doesn't comment - for once we get a non-interfering mum- until the H shows up.
He tracked the h down via her office and the mum tells them to stop acting like kids. She also tells the h that the H has been in love with her for years and the step dad tells her to take him back after she makes him grovel. The h and H wind up on the beach and the H explains that he was stupid with jealousy over the cousin, cause the cousin always said he was going to marry the h. When the cousin married someone else, the H though he had a chance and he has been in love with her for years. The h loves him back of course and they retire to the hotel for love in the afternoon.
The H reveals that he hit the cousin and finally sorted out the misunderstanding he had about the cousin's place in the h's life. They spend some time traveling through France and arrive at the H's house for a nice HEA.
This is not an intensely passionate book, but it is a good story. There are clues to the H's feelings even though the h doesn't see them and in quiet way, it is a very satisfying romance. JG also wrote the Trodden Paths , which is one of my top HR reconciliation stories. I really recommend JG when you need a break from the drama.
Her characters and relationship building are always well thought out and she is worth the time when you are in the mood for a solid romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2016
I found it! Enjoyable, but I think I preferred Scorpio Summer.
January 10, 2014
this was no romance. they shared a very platonic relationship, they were like cousins nthg more. i did not believe 4 1 sec dat der was more 2 it than simple affection n companionship.
August 3, 2025
Review of Capricorn Man by Jacqueline Gilbert
The premise of Capricorn Man had great promise—a childhood connection blossoming into a warm, mature love. The opening was engaging, and both hero and heroine seemed like characters worth investing in.
Unfortunately, as the story progressed, my hopes fell flat. The romance felt emotionally and sensually cold. I couldn’t feel the hero’s love for the heroine, nor hers for him. Both seemed to spend far more time thinking than feeling. There was no real spark, no tension, no sense of attraction.
What should have been a romance between two people in the prime of their youth ended up reading more like a polite companionship between two elderly friends. The novel failed entirely to deliver the passion, chemistry, and emotional depth that make a romance truly come alive.
Disappointing, especially given the potential of its beginning.
The premise of Capricorn Man had great promise—a childhood connection blossoming into a warm, mature love. The opening was engaging, and both hero and heroine seemed like characters worth investing in.
Unfortunately, as the story progressed, my hopes fell flat. The romance felt emotionally and sensually cold. I couldn’t feel the hero’s love for the heroine, nor hers for him. Both seemed to spend far more time thinking than feeling. There was no real spark, no tension, no sense of attraction.
What should have been a romance between two people in the prime of their youth ended up reading more like a polite companionship between two elderly friends. The novel failed entirely to deliver the passion, chemistry, and emotional depth that make a romance truly come alive.
Disappointing, especially given the potential of its beginning.
February 21, 2023
The dialogue in this one was so clever, and the h was genuinely warm and funny. I could read her bantering with just about anyone all damn day.
Lovely romance all round. Grumpy/sunshine. I love those books were the main couple palled about as kids and fall in love as adults. So sweet.
Lovely romance all round. Grumpy/sunshine. I love those books were the main couple palled about as kids and fall in love as adults. So sweet.
October 6, 2021
2.5. A nice premise but got a bit bogged down.
September 24, 2023
I liked this! Will look for more by JG.
June 6, 2024
Ah this was such a lovely slow-burn unrequited love book ❤️🥰
July 15, 2019
الفجر المر لجاكلين غيلبرت
Book description:
She promised to be on her best behavior
Nicola couldn't resist the richness of the situation. Michael, her childhood adversary, needed a legal secretary in Surrey, and his younger brother and sister were too much of a handful--even for him.
Michael had always had too many responsibilities thrust upon him too soon--and Nicola had been one of them. As a child, she'd given him the devil's own job keeping her safe when she tagged along after him and his cousin Kit.
As far as Michael was concerned, Nicola gravitated toward danger-always had and always would-even when it came to love....
God how I love this book! It was a teenage favorite and it still is... the main character reminds me of myself. Nicola was raised with Michael, she was a naughty child, he always saved her. Years pass, he becomes a lawyer and she a novelist, she returns home to help in a family situation to discover that she has fallen in love with him and that he loved her since they were children.
Book description:
She promised to be on her best behavior
Nicola couldn't resist the richness of the situation. Michael, her childhood adversary, needed a legal secretary in Surrey, and his younger brother and sister were too much of a handful--even for him.
Michael had always had too many responsibilities thrust upon him too soon--and Nicola had been one of them. As a child, she'd given him the devil's own job keeping her safe when she tagged along after him and his cousin Kit.
As far as Michael was concerned, Nicola gravitated toward danger-always had and always would-even when it came to love....
God how I love this book! It was a teenage favorite and it still is... the main character reminds me of myself. Nicola was raised with Michael, she was a naughty child, he always saved her. Years pass, he becomes a lawyer and she a novelist, she returns home to help in a family situation to discover that she has fallen in love with him and that he loved her since they were children.
October 27, 2016
Charming, that's the only way I can describe this read. The family and setting was quintessentially English, with Victor and his cockney rhyming slang to animal lover cousin. I really liked it but didn't love it. The relationship between the H and the h is developed beautifully, but to a point. After the h has a sudden self revelation, it lost some of its subtle intensity.
I'm not sure why, maybe the tone of the book, but reading it reminded me of Gerald Durrell's 'My Family and Other animals'.
I'm not sure why, maybe the tone of the book, but reading it reminded me of Gerald Durrell's 'My Family and Other animals'.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews