I'd rate this 4.5 stars but enjoyed it enough to round it up. Set in the Middle Ages following William the Conqueror's successful campaign to become the king of England, the story follows Nicholaa, a Saxon, and Royce, a favoured baron in William's forces. Three other lords and their contingents were sent to take Nicholaa's holding but with a neighbour's support and her own cunning, she was victorious in chasing them away. Enter our hero, Royce, showing greater talent than his predecessors.
Upon taking the keep, Royce is very cleverly duped by Nicholaa, who escapes to the local abbey, gaining the protection of the Church by seeking sanctuary on religious grounds. Not to be outdone, Royce demonstrates his excellent strategic mind and outwits Nicholaa, capturing and escorting her to London as per his king's request. Due to her reputation she becomes...you guessed it...the prize. Suitors are able to put themselves forward to challenge for her hand in marriage and also receive her lands as dowry. Before this can happen, Nicholaa's resourcefulness brings her a stroke of luck where the tables are somewhat turned and she gets to choose her own husband. Preventing what would have otherwise been a very strange turn of events, she chooses Royce.
For the most part, I really liked the main characters. When the book started with Nicholaa slinging a rock to strike Royce, she'd won me over. It's often difficult for an author to successfully portray a strong heroine in a medieval time period without her becoming over the top and/or unlikable but Garwood did a wonderful job of representing an intelligent individual that had backbone and personality whilst also being time-appropriately naive, kind and gentle. I can't stand wilting violets whose only personality traits are crying, being distressed and being a virgin so the author did a great job of stopping me from feeling stabby. Royce was also a strong character. To be frank, I found him frustrating a few times as he was very stubborn and prevented his wife from having an opinion. He also seemed to have a weird penchant for lecturing, which to me would equal boring as all hell in real life. What I did like, however, was that the author created a character that was alpha without being a giant tool and he demonstrated kindness and patience throughout the book. He did call Nicholaa daft several times but was smart enough to do it in his head otherwise she probably would have set him on fire. Now that would be a plot twist. And for those that are into the whole possessive male thing, there's a bit of this for you, too.
The writing was solid and wonderfully cheesy at times. Generally I hate it when elements of the story are laid on too thick, but this was done in a romantic way that suited the medieval period and the overall plot. The point of view of the characters changed frequently at times - I'm talking paragraph to paragraph in some instances - but it was done well and didn't bother me, showing different characters' perspectives in a pretty streamlined way. It had a fair, but not overwhelming, amount of historical detail for the time period in which it was set. A good chunk of the story also told of Nicholaa and Royce's day to day life at the beginning of their marriage which I actually enjoyed and found it contributed to showing how their relationship developed. Again, the writer showed talent in doing this as it didn't become tedious even though there actually wasn't an awful lot going on.
I took half a star off because there was quite a bit of back and forth between the main characters concerning their relationship. There was a fair whack of the whole 'I have feelings for them but they couldn't possibly love me' business along with a good dose of ignoring feelings, therefore it felt that some themes had been covered several times. Nicholaa also seemed to be the most accident-prone individual in the whole of the Middle Ages as well, with several plot points revolving around her injuring herself or getting into predicaments.
The story didn't end how I thought it would and while there was drama, it certainly wasn't the hugely dramatic affair I was expecting and assumed the author was leading up to. There were a couple of bonus chapters at the end for other Garwood books, having the novel end at about 92%, but fear not, the story was a great length. This is only the third book I've read by this author but I've enjoyed them all so far and will continue to read her novels in the future. While there are no great surprises here, it's exactly everything you want in a historical romance.
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Popular Highlights in this book
He didn’t just care about her. He was falling in love with the woman.Highlighted by 98 Kindle readers- Royce always treated his men the way he expected to be treated. Respect was earned, not demanded, but dignity was taught by example.Highlighted by 83 Kindle readers
- “I wasn’t thanking my baron,” he said. His voice was gruff with emotion. “I was thanking my brother.”Highlighted by 56 Kindle readers
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Top reviews from other countries
BB
Four stars for another amazing Julie Garwood book
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on July 9, 2018
Mademoiselle
LOVED IT. Laughed and smiled throughout the book
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on June 2, 2015
