Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Once and Always, one of Judith McNaught's most masterful and moving love stories, powerfully brings to life the fiery passion of a free-spirited American beauty and a troubled English lord.

Suddenly orphaned and alone, Victoria Seaton sails the vast ocean, eager to reclaim her heritage at Wakefield, the sumptuous English estate of a distant cousin, the notorious Lord Jason Fielding. Bewildered by his arrogance yet drawn to his panther-like grace, she senses the painful memories that smolder in his eyes. When he gathers her at last into his arms, arousing a sweet, insistent hunger, they wed and are embraced by fierce, consuming joy -- free from the past's cruel grasp. Then, in a moment of anguish, Victoria discovers the treachery at the heart of their love . . . a love she had dreamed would triumph not just once, but always.

Average Customer Rating:

once and always	Customer Rating:
i LOVE judith mcnaught.this is a very good and sexy book loved it.i however do not like her contemporary books.they do not have enough romance at all.but this book is GREAT

Sigh...

Customer Rating:

There is no one like Judith McNaught for making you just sigh at the lovely romance she creates. She's the master, truly. Although this isn't my favorite of hers, it's still awesome and better than most of the other romances out there. What I didn't like was that while all of her characters are extreme alpha males (and all basically the same except for some minor detail changes), Jason was quite the jerk. Of course, it's nice to see him go from being a big jerk to totally besotted, but still. Like other reviewers, I was deeply disturbed at the wedding night scene and other abusive scenes. He was always shouting at her and man handling her, even deep into the book. I was practically shouting through the book for him to quit grabbing her arms. This book is also pretty formulaic. If you've read her other books, then you know what I mean. The heroines, heroes, side characters, and even descriptions of characters are extremely similar, but I'm ok with that. Her formula works, and her romances are amazing. This has got to be one of the best endings with Jason thinking she's dead. In all romances, it's clear one can't live without the other, and in this, we finally get to "see" the hero's reaction. Man, I cried right along with Jason! I just wish there had been an epilogue. They'd just barely gotten together before it was all over. All in all, a touching, beautiful romance. I just have issues with the abuse, obviously.

One of my favorites	Customer Rating:
This is one of my favorites of Judith McNaught. None of the characters are perfect, they are human. That makes the story better for me.

Loved It!!

Customer Rating:

Mcnaught is able to bring such emotion to these characters. I wanted them so much to find happiness. I just felt bad for Andrew and when the book ended, my thought was "What about Andrew?" Regardless, I enjoyed the story all the way through - very enjoyable read. As far as the "rape" some other reviewers complained about, I didn't see it. When I read those reviews, my first thought was "huh?" I remember a lack of caring and gentleness but not a rape. So, I guess what we read is definitely open to interpretation and one must also remember context, and time period. Recommend! Finished Whitney, My Love 2 days ago and recommend it as well - like it so much I picked this one up and read it immediately.

I'm with the other bad reviews...(spolier alert)	Customer Rating:
Yes - between all the "misunderstandings" and date rape behavior - who needs this book. The first kiss was rough & punishing - as was the wedding night. The hero is hard to like at all. I wish she had left with Andrew. I also wish so many romance novels did not promote date rape behavior (e.g., she fights the kiss initially & then caves).