Rating: 
Summary: Simply Wonderful!!
Review: Ransom by Julie Garwood is only my second book by this author (the first being Heartbreaker which is more contemporary but nonetheless very good). Overall this book is simply wonderful, heartwarming, romantic, exciting... I could go on forever. I would recommend this book to any mystery, romance, historical fiction lovers out there. Judging from my first two Julie Garwood novels, she is a very talented author and I look forward to enjoying much more of her work. I have already placed three of her novels on order at my local library.Ransom is the story of Lady Gillian, whose father is killed and family destroyed when she is only five and Baron Alford invades her home. She is separated from her sister Christen, who flees into Scotland for protection. Gillian remains in England with her Uncle Morgan. When she grows up, her uncle is held for ransom until Gillian can find Arriana's box, King John's missing treasure that holds the clue to who killed his one true love. Gillian has reason to believe that her sister has the box, so she escapes the baron with a kidnapped Scottish boy, Alec. They head to Scotland to find Christen, and fall together with the laird and a few soldiers of the Buchanan clan. Gillian falls in love with the laird, Brodick. Also included included in the storyline is the romance of Ramsey Sinclair and Bridgid, although it plays a disappointingly secondary role to the main romance between Brodick and Gillian. Between searching for her sister, finding a traitor in the midst of the Sinclair clan whom only Gillian can recognize, and falling in love, the plot is amazing in its complexity. The setting feels utterly real and the dialogue is witty and entertaining. (I especially love the conversations between Alec and Gillian because it makes Alec innocently lovable while being realistic - hey, all five year olds talk practically nonstop about the most mundane things and then say all the things they shouldn't! After all my praise, I must add one tiny complaint. The first few chapters are very hard to get through. I was completely confused as to what was going on with Gillian and Alec (why was he hanging off a cliff, why was Gillian chasing him, how did Gillian come to know about Alec being held prisoner, etc.). Maybe I missed a few hidden clues about what was happening, but it took me a few chapters for everything to make sense and at the time I was getting very frustrated. Perhaps Julie Garwood was attempting to try something different by plunging right into the action, but I feel she could have started at the beginning and the effect could have been the same if not better. This might also have prevented a few readers from giving up in the beginning. However, once everything clicks into place, this book is awesome. I loved it and stayed up till 2 in the morning reading. *****Also, I shall be going back to read The Secret, which I have discovered is the prequel to this, centering on Iann and Judith, who are the parents of Alec and minor characters in Ransom. I look forward to it!
Rating:
Summary: Go get it
Review: If you like historical romance novels, read this book. It's one of the best I've read of this genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many characters
Review: I got this book by accident, I was in a group of books that a coworker left for to look through. And after reading it I was just captivated by it all and wanted to read more of julie garwoods book. The story was just wonderful and all that I love to see in stories. I loved how ms garwood told the story about guillans father and his death and how her and her sister were talken away. It was wonderful and helped later in the book to already understand things and not have to wait to find out why this or that was going to happen. My favorite part of this book was when guillan finds out that she was married on a horse. " A horse, I was married on a horse"? It was just perfect.. I look forward to reading all of Ms. garwoods book and hope that she will be writing for a long time to come.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite!
Review: I have read all of Julie Garwood's books - several times and this is one of my absolute favorites! I had to go out and buy them all!
Rating: 
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: 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: 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.
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