- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Warner Books (16 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446614262
- ISBN-13: 978-0446614269
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.7 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 700,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
To Love a Thief
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Gideon Cole is a kind-hearted barrister with too many clients who can't afford to pay him. Armed with extraordinary good looks and irresistible charm, his master plan is to marry the Lady Constance Clary and gain the title he so desperately wants. When impoverished Lily Masters picks his pocket one day, he is captivated by her aquamarine eyes and heart-shaped lips. Their next encounter becomes a rescue mission when he buys the silence of one of her wealthy targets. Lily's surprisingly gentle ways inspire Gideon to incite the jealousy of Lady Constance by passing Lily off as a society lady. The trans- formed Lily is an unqualified success, but Gideon's plan takes an unexpected turn when he finds that the lovely pickpocket is beginning to steal his heart.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, well-written regency romance,
By
This review is from: To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)
This was my first book by Julie Anne Long and so I really did not know what to expect after buying it on impulse. I am glad to say that by the end I was very much a fan.The story uses Pygmalion for its inspiration but although there are similarities - this is so much more than just a reworking of an old story. Lily Masters is a skilled London pickpocket who steals to support herself and her sister, and is good at what she does. Gideon Cole is a handsome barrister who has a desire to better his position in life and plans to do so by marrying the daughter of a marquis and so obtain a position in the government. Gideon catches Lily trying to rob a man and in exchange for her freedom she must pose as the object of his affection to make the marquis's daughter jealous enough to accept his proposal. So Lily and her sister move to Gideon's estate and as she is polished into a lady, they find themselves drawn to each other and start to fall in love. Lily is spirited and feisty without being a stereotype and is someone you can really root for. Gideon is your typical deliciously rugged male who despite his desire to marry high to better his life, is not single-minded and makes a convincingly troubled hero. Together, the pair have chemistry that jumps off the page and this makes you more than interested in their story. The basic story is not new, but with the quality of the writing it really shines through as an original. The character development shows you the characters struggling with their feelings and you can really see why they act the way they do and feel their happiness and pains. At times the book is poignant and touching but is also witty, and on occasion laugh-out-loud funny. The secondary characters add depth to the book and are entertaining and realistic but never overpowering. All in all I was thoroughly impressed with the book and will be seeking out Ms Long's first book and any she writes in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a sweet, well-written regency romance that is similar in style to Julia Quinn or Sabrina Jeffries - I'm sure you will enjoy it.
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read,
By
This review is from: To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)
JAL delivers original plots, great characters and very witty dialogue. The hero grooms a pick pocket to become a rival for the affections of the lady he is determined to marry. Although he resists the attraction he is forced to throw away his careful plans and concede that the pick pocket is the lady he'd rather marry. I was worried this would be a predictable My Fair Lady type story but it was not.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews) 16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fun historical romance,
By Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)
TO LOVE A THIEF by Julie Anne Long
May 27, 2005 Amazon rating 4/5 In Julie Anne Long's TO LOVE A THIEF, Gideon Cole is trying to woo the woman of his dreams, but instead finds himself falling in love with a pickpocket. Gideon is a barrister, but tends to take on cases in which clients do not have much money to pay him with. In order for Gideon to secure a title and wealth, he needs to marry up, and Constance, who is beautiful and wealthy, is his ticket. He isn't just after her money, however. He truly believes she's the right woman for him and he thinks he loves her. And since his Uncle Edward, who is supposedly on his deathbed, is to pass on his estate to Gideon, Gideon feels he should look good in Constance's eyes. Lily is the pickpocket that Gideon saves from going to jail, and he makes a bargain with her. He and his best friend Laurie (Lord Kilmartin) will coach her until she is presentable in society, and with her help, he will win Constance's heart by making her jealous. It's a variation on the Eliza Doolittle story, and for me it worked. I enjoyed the characters and their shenanigans as they (and Lily) fooled society. Lily becomes the toast of the town, and of course Gideon finds himself infatuated by her. Lily also finds herself falling for him, but both know that this is a romance that can never be, as they are from different worlds. Lily's young sister Alice is also a charming addition to the story, and as usual a child in a historical romance makes for a welcome subplot. Lily and Alice are orphaned, and so it is Lily who is looking after her ten-year old sister. Lily makes her living as a pickpocket because there was no other way. But stepping into Gideon's world makes her own world look even worse, and she dreads the day she and Alice will have to return to it. For those who enjoy regency romances, I recommend TO LOVE A THIEF. It's funny and charming and the author did a good job describing the world of Regency London. It was a definitely fun book to read. 20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A funny, touching, steamy and wholly entertaining Regency!,
By Mama Starfish - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Julie Anne Long! This book is a treasure! My husband teased me because I carried it everywhere around the house with me so I could read it whenever I had a free moment. He said it was the first book since we've been married that I didn't ask him if he knew where I'd left it because I never put it down! In my opinion it surpasses Long's first romance "The Runaway Duke", which was my favorite book of last year. Long outdoes herself and is proving to be a unique and talented new voice in Regency romance. She is a master at developing charming, unique characters that you remember long after you've read the last page. The "intimate" moments between her protagonists are tender while being heated and lush at the same time. Even her antagonists are interesting and sympathetic in their own way. Gentle humor pervades her work, and she is quickly becoming my favorite romance write. The heroine and hero in this book, Lily and Gideon, are two of my favorite literary characters in recent and far memory. And I can see Lady Constance so clearly in my mind's eye! Her character is painted so vividly by Long's words. I wish Long wasn't so new so that she had a body of work that I could dive into while I await her next book.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To Love a Thief Will Steal Your Heart,
By Where's My Glasses? - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: To Love a Thief (Warner Forever) (Mass Market Paperback)
.
I wish I could reach every reader of this genre to share the news that regency romance has an exciting new author. What enchanting stories Julie Anne Long tells! I was charmed to my toes by Ms. Long's first book, "The Runaway Duke", and now I have read her second, "To Love a Thief", straight through while dishes piled high. It's one thing to read a good book; however, savoring each and every page of a delicious book is as satisfying as - well - chocolate! "To Love a Thief" showcases the author's ability to engage her reader emotionally in a seamless gentle way. And she does it to you before you even realize it... It takes a word master to sweep you away completely. Nora Roberts has reigned supreme in weaving tales that completely captivate the reader - NOW we also have Julie Anne Long. *whispering*I won't be giving anything away by revealing one of the main characters is a thief, plain and simple. She was not a sophisticated thief but merely a struggling, "not-so-common" , street pick-pocket whose luck, for better and worse, was about to undergo a major change. In spite of her efforts to gallantly rise, ahem, SINK to the level her high-risk profession required, anyone could tell this was not a long term solution. Not only was the ceiling on earnings, promotion & benefits woefully inadequate, she was placing herself in grave danger. This irresistible pick-pocket needed a mega-hero FAST. Oh my, and what a hero Julie Anne Long created for her. He was everything a hero should be plus even more - sigh - & such is Julie Anne Long's writing skills, the inevitable magic between the two keeps you turning the pages. When you've read a great book, what you want to do and shouldn't do is tell all the "good parts". I will say that in this book, it ALL seemed to be good parts. Supporting characters in the book are so appealing that, really, I wished this was at least a triology. Another about his best friend and another about her little sister, a true minx. And some of those street urchins - so much left to build upon. A promise: "To Love A Thief" will steal your heart one word at a time leaving you yearning for more. |
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