Book Review: Because You're Mine by Lisa Kleypas

Re-issue cover

At First Sight: Lady Madeline Mathews will do just about anything to avoid marrying the aging viscount her parents have selected for her. So she hatches a crazy scheme of running away from her boarding school and seeking someone notorious to 'ruin' her. 

Her chosen target? Logan Scott, a renowned actor and businessman who is also handsome as sin. Thinking he was probably a bit debauched anyway, Maddy doesn't expect it will be a problem to get him to bed her and then she can go on her merry way.

But Logan isn't quite that cooperative. Having struggled for just about everything he has ever gotten in life, Logan isn't really in the business of seducing innocent girls, and he finds Maddy tendency to disrupt his life with her charm and energy quite annoying - particularly after his business partner, Julia, Duchess of Leeds, gives Maddy a job in his theater. 

At the same time, he can't seem to stay away from her. But Logan is a man who has been shaped by the betrayals in his past, and when Maddy's original plan comes to light, it might very well ruin any chance of a future together. 

Second Glance: Because You're Mine is actually one of the first romances I ever read and for that, I always think of it with fondness. 

Original Cover

Maddy is charming and willful, but smart too, and even though her plan starts as nothing more than that, she gets very involved, not only with Logan but also with the theater that is his world. Logan is a great leading man, and not only because he often plays one in the stage. He's a smart, hard working man who has known very little softness in his life, but he's not bitter. 

The secondary characters were good too, from Julia - whose story is told in Somewhere I'll Find You - and the theater crew, to Mrs. Florence, the aging actress that takes Maddy in when she first arrives in London, and Logan's best friend Lord Andrew Drake.

They also spend a lot of time in the Capitol Theater - which Logan owns - and so you get to hear a lot about the ins and outs of running the theater, which is also quite fun. 

Bottom Line: Because You're Mine has remained one of my favorite reads over the years. I just find it so comforting. I love getting lost in the Capitol Theater and hanging out with Logan and Maddy. I wouldn't say this is one of Ms Kleypas finest works, but it is one I simply enjoy. 

1/2