Rating: 
Summary: GREAT!!
Review: I've just recently gotten this book about 2 weeks ago I think, and I've already read it about 6 times! I love it, the Love story between Johanna and Gabriel is one of the best. Johanna doesn't trust any male except her brother and she's not real excited about marrying Gabriel because of her abusive first marriage, she is afraid he will hit her and abuse her like her first husband did. So Gabriel has to use ALL of is patience and understanding to make Johanna feel safe and eventually learn to trust him that he will never hurt her. Johanna starts out frightened and scared, but once she learns that Gabriel will never hurt her, she gains more confidence to stand up to him, and to DELIBERATELY provoke his temper, which is HILARIOUS! The love story is great, actually the WHOLE book is great! Definately a keepe
Rating:
Summary: Comical
Review: I love this book!! The relationship between Johanna and Gabriel starts out one sided and then grew to an equal relationship. I especially loved the part where she aggrevates him on purpose because it is so hilarious!! You will love this book!!
Rating:
Summary: My all time favorite Julie Garwood book!
Review: I have read every book by Julie Garwood, and this is my
all time favorite! I have read it 5 times, and I laughed each time! Her characters are always warm and funny but
Johanna and Gabriel have a special something that wins your heart. I now buy all of Julie Garwood's books in hard
cover so I can read them over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Cute Story
Review: This was a very cute story. I really enjoyed reading it. Made me laugh and sigh a lot.
Johanna was married at a very young age to a mean English Baron. The Baron died and then the King told her she had to remarry. Johanna did not want to marry again but the King ordered her to. She was going to have to marry another evil English Baron, but then her brother told her of another man that might be acceptable to the King. The only problem is that this man was a Scottish Highlander. Laird MacBain did not really want to marry but he wanted the land that Johanna had inherited.
Johanna has a timid nature but tries to overcome it. When she first came to the Highlands the clan thinks that she is a coward and in some ways she is, but she has courage when it counts. She is faced with a lot of problems concerning the clan but she does not bring them the Gabriel, she wants to solve them herself. She has her timidity but is sassy at the same time. She has to over come a lot of fears because of her first husband. At the end she is very well respected by her clan.
Gabriel is such a sweetie. Gabriel had a very hard life. He had given up hope of having a family. He has a lot of problems and fears but they do not come to the foreground until Johanna becomes important to him. He wants her to rest all the time because he does not want her to be like his mother who worked all the time and died young. He is scared of losing her. He is a very strong man and respected and feared by many of the other clans. He has a kind heart but is also a bit stubborn. He might not fight honorable but he is a very honorable man. When he says he is going to do something he will do it. He is also very possessive, which I just loved. By the end he is so happy that she is a part of his life, he calls her his Saving Grace.
This story had so many things that I liked. I loved the fact that he admitted to himself that she was the love of his life before she did. He was not all about looks. Her appearance had nothing to do with why he loved her. It was her Character, the beauty in her heart and in her soul that he loved. He was a proud man and did not like being questioned but was so proud of her when she stood up to him because it proved that she felt safe. He loves the fact that she is sassy. It is so sweet also because he thinks she is perfect just the way she is. I just loved that because he was such a strong man and you really did not know that he was going to end up being so....romantic in his thinking. Julie Garwood wrote this well. I really was not sure of Gabriel in the beginning because he was not opening up but by the end I loved his character. Julie Garwood did that very well. You could see him changing his thinking and it was great. I love books where you really feel like you get to know the characters and I so got that from this book. This is a very sweet story and I would suggest reading it when you feel the need to...sigh.
Chrissy
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT READ!
Review: THIS IS ONE GREAT READ,THAT YOU HAVE TO TRY IF YOU ARE A JULIE GARWOOD FAN! ITS ABOUT AN ENGLISHWOMAN NAMED JOHANNA, AND A SCOTTISH WARIOR NAMED GABRIEL MCBAIN. JOHANNA WAS MARRIED TO AN ENGLISHMAN, THAT TREATED HER VERY BADLY SO SHE IS NOT COMPLETLY SOLD TO THE IDEA OF A SECOND MARRIAGE, BUT DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES ITS NOT AN OPTION.THATS WERE GABRIEL COMES INTO THE PICTURE.HE IS LAIRD OVER TWO CLANS, AND FOR JOHANA THE LESS OF TWO EVILS COMPARED TO HER OTHER OPTIONS.THIS BOOK HAS GREAT DIALOUGE IS FUNNY AND THE STORY IS CAPTIVATING.THE CHARACTERS ARE GREAT WITH ENOUGH FLAWS TO MAKE THEM SEEM REAL.THIS IS A MUST READ BOOK,AND RECOMMEND IT TO ALL JULIE GARWOOD FANS.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best romantic novel's I've read
Review: I have a special place for this book in my bookshelf and in my heart. The main character (an English young lady who has to get married to a Highlander) is strong and extremelly funny, and the story is very sweet. Garwood also manages to mix a bit of history in the plot, which creates an interesting background for the story. But mainly it is a love story between a big, fierce warrior and a small but strong and witty young woman. It may sound cliche, but the book is certainly worth getting past the cliche and letting youself be taken by the story and the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpectedly delightful
Review: I'm not a reader of romance novels, but recently one of my good friends, who reads widely in that genre, said that I must sample what she considers to be the cream of the crop in romance. Reluctantly I paged through the several novels she lent me, and Saving Grace turned out to be the only one I could finish. I found it really enjoyable.
What drew me in at first was that the hero, Gabriel, and the heroine, Johanna, are not good-looking, empty-minded twits who come together for the sake of the plot. Despite the fact that both are beautiful people, their looks aren't belabored... it's plain to us that it's their characters that hold the key attraction. What begins as a marriage of convenience, blossoms into a relationship of trust, respect, and ultimately love. They bring out the best in each other and each is nourished by the unique strengths of the other.
As the hero, Gabriel is great. Sure he's gruff, and likes to grumble and shout, but as the heroine realizes very early on, he's just a big softy; it's an amusing moment in the book when she likens him to his pet dog - growls a lot, but really just wants to be petted and scratched behind the ears. He's honorable and loyal (would defend his wife at the drop of a pin), and despite all his bluster about how a wife should listen to her husband, he swells with admiration each time his wife shows him spirit and gives him sass, and he supports her various clever initiatives in improving clan life (so long as she doesn't place herself in harm's way, of course... he's terribly overprotective). Despite a professed inability to figure out women, and his repeated claims that warriors don't know anything about matters of the heart, from the onset he makes sincere efforts at knowing his wife's thoughts and feelings, even as he's confused by his own. When he learns at the start of the novel that she has been abused in her first marriage, he makes sure to always behave gently, tries his best to always be patient, and - on those occasions when he does tear his hair out in frustration - gives her repeated assurances that for all his barking he has no bite. Also refreshing - when he realizes that what he feels for his wife is deep and abiding love, he doesn't fight the vulnerable feeling, but tries to figure out how to make her feel the same way; he doesn't want to be mushy-hearted on his own.
Johanna starts off a bit on the timid side (which, given her age and her first marriage, is understandable), but even from the start she shows pluck. And once she settles in with her new husband and realizes that he's a good man who would sooner kill himself than harm a hair on her head, her confidence continues to grow and she thrives, becoming a commanding and remarkable woman. She has very appealing traits for a heroine - strength of character, great warm-heartedness (particularly for people who are weaker and undefended), and great force of spirit and cleverness; it's no wonder that within a few short months of marriage, her husband is eating out of her hand. Garwood writes her transition in her new home very well, how she breaks out of her old mentality of guardedness and fear and gains the respect and admiration of all the people in her clan.
Aside from two very appealing main characters, what makes the novel a good read is that it isn't written melodramatically or in an overwrought fashion. Though some of the writing and the plot twists are a little cliche, I really didn't care. Garwood writes with a great deal of wryness and humor, so that when truly emotional moments do come, the reader feels their power all the more. The light touch in the writing is great, and there are many very unexpected moments and bits of dialogue - another refreshing facet of Saving Grace that readers will appreciate. The hero and heroine actually have intelligent discussions and banter wittily (though they don't always intend to be funny).
A satisfying read. I enjoyed the time I spent reading it, and if there's any romance novel I would recommend to someone wanting to get a taste of the romance genre, this would be it.
Rating:
Summary: A very charming romance
Review: I loved this book, as I have all of Ms. Garwood's historicals. A word of warning before you read any of the other reviews here: Many of the following reviews contain SPOILERS! I found that out the hard way when I was buying the book here. But, I bought it anyway. I was glad I did as it's one of Ms. Garwood's best. Don't hesitate to add it to your collection. Just use caution in reading the following reviews.Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: One of her Best
Review: I got this book when it first debuted on hardback ten years ago, and I must say that I've reread this story dozen of times since. Johanna, the victim of an abusive relationship, is persuaded by her brother, Nicholas, to wed Scottish Laird MacBain in order to protect her from King John. At first, Johanna is timid and frightened by her new situation. She is recovering from a first marriage in which she was repeatedly abused, and taught to be the way she was. However, when she hears her new husband's first name, she knows she will be safe with him. MacBain has come to the aid of the McClaurian clan, after their Laird perished in a fight with the English. After the English leave, MacBain becomes Laird of two clans, and must learn how to combine the two. At this same time, Johanna, his new wife, is a mystery to him. MacBain is a typical Garwood hero; strong, courageous and loving. He is the perfect compliment to Johanna's character. Johanna does not remain timid. She grows under the love and freedom given to her by MacBain. When she finally confronts her first husband with spuke, you want to appauld her for having the courage to do so. I highly recommend SAVING GRACE.
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