Ransom

Rating:
Summary: No one can compare to Julie Garwood... Her humor is amazing!
Review: Although I would have enjoyed seeing Brodick and Ramsey having their own individual stories (each were just as deserving as Iain) I laughed (Alec was priceless) until I cried and read the entire book in less than a day. I have to re-read it again so I can slowly enjoy each page! Ransom far surpassed For the Roses and the Clayborne Brides and I'm glad to see that Julie Garwood is back to her original style... humor (know what...) and love (Gillian and Brodick's love story was beautiful), adventure (the escape) and action (retribution). One minute you're laughing and the next minute you're crying! Amazing... (by the way, Secret was even more incredible)!

Rating:
Summary: Once you start, you can't put it down!
Review: What an amazing book! Gillian, the sweet heroine, and her love Brodick, the strong Highland warrior with a ruthless reputation, make an incredible couple. From the beginning there is chemistry between these two and unlike most historic novels, we don't spend the whole book with them at odds until the final chapter. It flows so easily that I finished the book within 2 days because it was so hard for me to put down! The characters are so extremely likeable and inspired that this book makes even the hardest of hearts yearn to find and experience the love that these two have. Wonderful reading and would make a great Christmas present.

Ms. Garwood is easily one of the finest historical romance novelists around. I have read so many of her books and I have enjoyed each and every one. I particularly enjoyed the fact that this was set in the Scotland Highlands, which I love.

Rating:
Summary: Best Romance Ever!
Review: In my opinion, this is [possibly] the best romance ever written. This is Julie Garwood's best work by far, and I've lost count of how many times I've read it! This is a book you'll fall in love with, even if you're not a big romance reader. The historical setting of the book is beautiful, as well as the characters and their fates! I definitely recommend this book. :-)

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!!
Review: "Ransom" is a wonderful book. Unlike other romance authors, Julie Garwood knows how to tell a story, instead of just writing detailed sex scenes. This book is the sequel of "The Secret" which is written about the romance between Ian and Judith, the parents of the little boy Alec who was responsible for the meeting between Gillian and Brodick.

The characters were well defined. The painful past made Gillian strong and courageous. Brodick, though a fearsome warrior, possessed a tender and gentle heart. His character was somewhat different from the description in "The Secret", but this book took place 8 years later and therefore, didn't really present itself as a problem. I love those Buchanan men, they were very protective and possessive of Gillian and I think they were real cute!
Contrary to what other viewers belief, I think that it was not the intention of the author to develop two separate love stories in this book. Make no doubt that this book was all about Brodick and Gillian. I think that the reason of the detailed description on Ramsey and Bridgid's first meeting was to lay groundwork to the treachery and deception. I believe that the mystery of Christen's identity also played an important role in the detailed description on the secondary characters. Personally, I don't really care about Ramsey and Bridgid's romance as much as Brodick and Gillian's. I think it's refreshing to read a novel in which the hero of the story knew his own intention and not 'mean'; most of the author of romance seemed to think it was necessary that heros don't know their own hearts. (No wonder Bridgid though men were stupid.)

I was surprised by the outcome of Christen and Gillian's meeting and must applaud for Garwood. Though I am sorry about the outcome, it made the story more realistic and unpredictable.

With all the treachery and deception, this book was full of wits, too. I laughed so much when I was reading the part involving the wedding. It was terribly funny and I appreciated the humor.

I strongly recommend this book to you. If you like to read love stories and do not like to be overloaded with sexual descriptions, I suggest you read the novels by Julie Garwood.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I really liked this one! I read it, loved it, then proceeded to re-read The Secret (the first introduction of Brodick and Ramsey) as well as my entire Garwood collection (with the exception of the Roses series - yuck!). A minor downfall in the beginning -- there is maybe a little too much information to grasp. But alas, things pick up as Brodick and Gillian meet. I enjoyed Brodick's character as I did in The Secret. I had a constant silly grin on my face throughout the majority of the book and much to my own embarassment, laughed out loud quite a few times. I did find Gillian a bit questionable, but could deal with that. She was fearless and courageous one minute and accident prone the next? Whatever. I enjoyed the incessant dialogue and witty bantering of these characters much more than reading paragraph upon paragraph of blah, blah, blah. There were things I didn't understand such as the loose end of Gillian's nightmares and a few other things.

I agree that Ramsey and Brigid deserved their own novel and would have preferred the hint of a relationship forming in Ransom only to have it blossom into their own special story. All things considered, I highly enjoyed this book and did NOT want it to end, therefore I had to read it two more times! Thank you Ms. Garwood!

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Reaction to RANSOM
Review: I read this book last year yet didn't write a "review" for it right away. I didn't know exactly what to rate it then. I read it the second time today and finally realized that I have mixed opinions about this book. One minute, I am loving each page... then next minute, I am somehow full of uncontentment. I don't want to say that I am totally disappointed in this book because I am not. It's just that there are many things I preferred would have turned out differently. Like for instance, I strongly feel that Ramsey Sinclair and Bridgett deserve their own book. Their love story was too endearing to be hastily combined with Brodicks and Gillian. In THE SECRET (prequel of this book), Ramsey was described as the most handsome of the three Laird friends (Iain, Brodick & Ramsey). He was always composed, nonchalant & roguish. Therefore, he deserves to have a longer story line. His love story would have truly been a fascinating read. I was also disappointed in how Julie Garwood twisted Christen's character in the end. It was too sad for me to know that after all the childhood closeness of Gillian and Christen, they had to go on seperate ways in the end. I don't want to ruin it for others but I simply must mention this part so that readers will be prepared. Perhaps I expected a warm reunion that is why I was devastated by Christen's decision. It was dreadfully annoying considering all the search and all the hard works Gillian put in just to find her... It was rather selfish of Christen to only think of her own self. Not even asking about her sister's sacrifices. Gillian went through a lot more than her! No matter how scared I would be to be in Christen's situation, I truly would still prefer to have a relationship with my sister. I would be happy to see her - I wouldn't act the way Christen did. I also found it a bit unbelievable that Christen would rather not have anything to do with Gillian considering their closeness once before. What hurt would it do for Julie Garwood to simply soften this part up and made it a warm reunion between sisters? I mean, There were so many protectors involved in this book! What is one more Lady to protect, huh? Oh well, that's just a small niggle in my part. Others might not have a problem with this.

As for Gillian and Brodick, their love story was unique and electrifying. I don't have any problems with their romance and developement. I enjoyed their banters! I enjoyed their adjustment to each other (esp. Gillian's adjustment to the Highlands and to Brodick's clan who live like a Spartan-now that was a riot!). I love the Buchanan clan. They are all fierce, possessive, protective and BEARY lot. Gillian is a strong & courageous Lady. Truly what Brodick deserves.

Since I love the prequel of this book, The SECRET, I enjoyed reading updates of Judith and Iain. I love the part wherein their son was involved in the plot. It was unexpected and the conclusion was heart warming. The action/mystery twist of this book was also exciting. It didn't overshadow the romances involved but added a tasty spice to it all. Overall, RANSOM was an interesting & worthy read despite some of my small complaints above. However, compared to THE SECRET, this one couldn't past as one of "Julie Garwood's Best".

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Summary: Wonderful Highland Romance!
Review: Gillian was just a small child when she saw her father murdered by the vicious Baron Alford. Claimed as Baron Alford's ward, Gillian was fortunate enough to be raised by her beloved Uncle Morgan, but Baron Alford soon called her back to his castle. For the Baron needed to produce Arianna's Box, a bejeweled golden box commissioned by King John, or King John would kill him. King John had never forgiven Gillian's father for murdering his great love, his beautiful Arianna, but he was convinced that Gillian would know where the box was hidden. Unfortunately, Gillian had no idea, but she knew that they would carry through their threat of torturing and killing her Uncle Morgan if she didn't find the box. She also knew that they would kill the young child, Alec, the son of a Highland chieftain, as soon as they discovered that they had kidnapped the wrong child. Left with no choice, Gillian took Alec and fled for the Highlands to find her long-lost older sister and to return Alec to his home and parents.

Gillian knew that she needed help to find her sister and she knew that she would need a strong champion to help her save her Uncle Morgan. When Alec waxed eloquent about his protector, Brodick Buchanan, Gillian knew that she had found her champion. By pretending to be Brodick's bride, Gillian ensured that Brodick would find her quickly and she could see his skills with her own eyes. When Gillian first spotted Brodick, she knew she was in trouble. The man was so stubborn and exasperating, but she found herself falling in love with him regardless. Brodick knew that Gillian was English, which was a pretty big flaw, but he had never seen anyone so lovely and she didn't seem to be afraid of him, which was a first. As he escorted Gillian and Alec to Iain's land to return the lad and then took Gillian to Ramsey Sinclair's land to find her sister, he found himself falling in love with her. However, just because he loved her and married her didn't mean that Gillian would obey him...

Many of Ransom's characters come from Garwood's book, The Secret, which introduced Laird Iain and his bride. Brodrick and Ramsey were Iain's commanders at the time and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them again in this book as they sought out their own happiness. I thought that the romance between Brigid KirkConnell and Ramsey Sinclair was too rushed and would have liked to have seen them have a book of their own, but their plot was integral to Brodick and Gillian's story so I understand why it was a subplot instead of a full story. However, I still would have liked a separate story as Ramsey was such a handsome devil that he deserved a woman who would give him a bit of trouble! Other than that complaint, I would have to say that the story is thoroughly enjoyable and fast paced. I appreciate Garwood's efforts to actually create a story with memorable characters and historical background and detailing, rather than a shallow book with small links between sex scenes. I liked the characters and thought that it was a fun, fast read. If you enjoy historical romances, especially those set in the Scottish highlands, then don't miss Garwood's excellent romances based there!

Rating:
Summary: It's alright
Review: I think Garwood did a better job here than in the Secret...

INTRODUCTION WITH PROLOGUE: I thought it started off pretty good. IT begun with a tragedy and a promise of vengeance. I like Gillian's character and I think she is the best Garwood heroine. She had endured a lot of hardships and I find myself symphatizing with her. Garwood has perfectly molded a courageous and brave heroine, though she's oblivious with her strengths. I also think Alec is adorable with his you-know-what questions. I met Brodick in the Secret, and I like him better than Iain.

THE MIDDLE: I was almost impress with this novel...but when I got into the middle, it slid off into the usual Garwood pattern...Gillian and Bridgid turned into "Judith" and "Frances Catherine" Father Laggan was hilarious. The mystery of the traitor's identity kept the novel from going downhill altogether.

THE ENDING: Here, it started to climb up again. Garwood has brought back the adventure and excitement that was lost in the middle part. The ending, thank god, is not cheesy. I thought it was funny and just right.

All in all, this is a good book which is worth reading. I hoped that Garwood has written a better prequel than the Secret.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story From Start To Finish
Review: BUT...while many sequel-type stories will also stand alone, one simply MUST read The Secret before Ransom. The enjoyment of Ransom will be 10-fold. Usually these sequels give a passing nod to our H/Hs of earlier books. In this book they play a much more significant role. Besides, The Secret was also a lovely story and the 2 together are just 10 stars.

I have had mixed reaction to the JG stories I have read because they were a bit 'light' to the historical romances I usually preferred. She certainly got my attention with these 2 stories however.

Rating:
Summary: Julie Garwood Delivers in this book.
Review: Ms. Garwood has done it again. She wove an intriguing tale of desire, adventure, danger, bravery, and love into this exciting story. I love sword fights! And this one has it and much, much more. It was fun to see how the story unfolded and how Garwood was able to tie all the loose ends and make everying come together and make sense.

It is an exciting read and will leave you wanting the story to never end.

The one thing I wish could have been changed is for Ramsey to have his very own story. For such a brave, HANDSOME, dashing, diplomatic man, there wasn't enough attention given to him. I wish Garwood would have created a story just for him. He is the kind of hero I consider a favorite in any story line. PERFECT.

I love all of Garwood's books and highly recommend all of them. If I had to choose a top five they are: 1. Honor's Splendor, 2. The Gift, 3. The Secret 4. The Wedding 5. Ransom. Read them all. You won't be disappointed!!