Rating: 
Summary: This is a GREAT Historical!!
Review: Ok, so this was such a good book. The writing was great! She put in funny little things that they would be thinking and it would crack me up.
So the story is about Sara Winchester and Nathan, Marquees of St. James. They were ordered to marry when he was 14 and she was 4 years old....... that's right FOUR! The reason was because the two families had been feuding for years and the king wanted peace and he thought the marriage would facilitate that peace. Sara's family talked bad about Nathan but she thought of him as her knight in shinning armor. Her family were not the nicest people. Nathan just wanted the gift the marriage contract would give them...at first.
Most of Julie Garwood's female character are very strong and Sara is strong but she is more of a "lady" than most of the others. I liked that change. Was I a little annoyed with Sara at first, yes, but I imagine a lot of women were like her back in the day. Sara has a strong mind. She is a bit of a dreamer and thinks only of the good in people.
Now Nathan is a whole different story. He likes being alone and doesn't want to depend on anyone especially a woman. He is jaded, but kind. He is at times a contradiction to himself. He would say he doesn't care about her feelings but then do things that would spare her delicate feelings. It was very sweet. But he does have a tendency to yell a lot...at her. But believe me it is funny when he does. My favorite line was when someone asked what endearments he calls her by and Sara says, "Damn it Sara." She did this because he never called her by endearments and wanted to upset him. Then he turns around and says "Damn it, Sara!" and then he starts laughing.
I could go on and on about this book but I will stop because I do not think I can do it justice. So much happens but I will not ruin it for you. I am going to stop now and just say....this is a very good book and you should think about reading it!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book.
Review: I was threatened into read this book. It was all kind of funny, really. I love to read. But the kinds of books I prefer was the small 100-200 page books about teens. Those 300+ novels scared me, even though I would probably finish one in two days. When I went to visit my cousin in Southern California for the summer, I was bent on having fun with her. How was I supposed to know that she had summer school? I seriously didn't want to do anything without her, so I stayed home, bothering the heck out of my aunt. Finally, my aunt, who was really annoyed with me, went up to my cousin's room and picked a random book off her bookself. She gave it to me and ordered me to do read it ... or else. I knew my aunt wouldn't hurt me, but I decided to placate her. The book she had chosen for me---The Gift.
I was drew in with the first sentence, "It was only a matter of time before the wedding guests killed one another." It took me my whole vacation to read it. I read it while my cousin was at school. I read it while waiting in the long lines at Disneyland. I read it while ON the rides of Disneyland. I woke up hours earlier than I use to to read it. I stayed up all night reading it. I was obsessed.
I'm not gonna tell you about the book since many others already have. But I have to tell you that you HAVE to read this. It's wonderful. It made me laugh, it made me cry. Julie Garwood is a GODDESS! (With one E or two?) The Gift immediately became my favorite book of all time. Heck, I even went out and bought it after I read it three times. The pages have creases and rips in it, and the spine is worn out. And I only owned the book for less than a year! So you can see how much I read it. I love to go back to it to get my mind off of things or to just relive the romance between Nathan and Sara. Months later, and fourteen Julie Garwood books, The Gift is still up there as number one. You'll love it, I swear.
I also recommend The Wedding, the Secret, the Lion's Lady, and Saving Grace. My number 2, 3, 4, 5 books.
Rating: 
Summary: Did not carry me away...
Review: There are wallpaper historicals, and there are wallpaper historicals. I don't mind reading the type where the history is very lightly sketched (or barely exists). I do mind the type where there are serious howlers. Unfortunately, this book started grating on my teeth with the first chapter. We have a setting that reminded me of Romeo and Juliet (late medieval to Renaissance-era Italy, without central authority) with two feuding authorities. Soldiers guard the king with bows and arrows. A marriage is forcibly arranged by an ailing king between two feuding families. So what is wrong? Unfortunately, the setting is England 1802. The hero, who is a marquess, is the son of an earl. [Usually, it is the other way around in the British peerage]. If you have any liking for the minutae of British social history, you would want to avoid this book.
What is good about the book? Well, the protectiveness of the hero towards his child-bride (she is four!) from the outset is apparent. Nathan, who is a spy cum a pirate, is undoubtedly a decent man. His young bride, Sara, whom he does not claim until she is at least 18, is naive. She is also a klutz (hopelessly and destructively clumsy) and scatterbrained. If you like klutzy heroines who are naive, you will love Sara. I didn't, although I tried.
I vastly preferred Garwood's GENTLE WARRIOR and HONOR'S SPLENDOR which are set in medieval England and Scotland. However, most of my Garwood reads were in the early 1990s when I was still new to single title contemporary romances or single title historical romances. If you are relatively new to romances, if you don't demand even a small measure of historical credibility (as opposed to accuracy), or if you love naive or off-beat heroines, you might enjoy Garwood. My re-read of THE GIFT (after several years) was a severe disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous 3rd book in a splendid must-read series!
Review: The gift is certainly a gift to Ms. Garwood readers! It has it all! Suspense, humor, anticipation and a sizzling romance that crackles with everything one wants in a great read! Only a gal like Sara could subdue a man like Nathan!Be sure to read the entire series: 1. The Lion's Lady 2. The Guardian 3. The Gift 4. Castles.
Rating: 
Summary: Did Julie Garwood write this book????
Review: I love all the Julie Garwood's historic romances and I've read them all. But, I found some flaws in this book compared with previous series. First, this story was about 1 year after Cain and Jade's story (Guardian Angel). But, this book hints that Nathan's been Pagan for more than 1 year. If you read Guardian Angel, you will know how long Nathan's been Pagan. Second, Nathan's sister Jade was not married to the Earl of Cainwood. If you see other series (Guardian Angel and Castle), it says Cain is a Marquess not an Earl. But overall it was a good read and fun too.
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