The Gift (utgåvan 1991)

Julie Garwood fans may be irritated by the whiny nature of this particular "heroine". Not as good as usual. ( )

In 1802, in an attempt to bring peace between two warring families, the king arranges a marriage between the 14-year-old Nathanialsp ok Baker, marquess of St. James, and Lady Sara Winchester, who is four. Fourteen years later and now a pirate, Nathan wishes to claim his bride--and the property that comes with her--but the Winchesters aren't cooperating. Nathan decides to indulge in a "clean, uncomplicated kidnapping" and spirits his wife out of England on one of his ships. In fact Sara, long infatuated with her absent, mysterious husband, settles into life at sea quite cheerfully, enlivening the voyage by accidentally destroying a couple of sails, giving the crew food poisoning and setting the vessel on fire. Despite it all, her determined affection for and faith in Nathan and his crew gradually wins her a place in their crusty, seafaring souls and a loyalty that is tested when, on their return to London, Sara's father threatens to expose an old scandal that could ruin the St. James name.

This book was one big bitter bottle of disappointment. It was Julie Garwood at its worst. The Lady lead was freaking irritating. I have read Garwood's other books and truthfully they are alot better than this.I felt like I could wring Sara's (the oh-so-sweet lead) neck half way through the book. Personally I wouldn't suggest it even as mediocre read. ( )

3rd in the series. My least favorite of the books. I don't care for the hero or heroine. Garwood always manages to make the books in this series eye rolling stupid and funny and campy. ( )

Third book in a regency series, we’d met Nathan in Caine and Jade’s story from Guardian Angel. It’s time for Nathan to go kidnap his bride—the baggage he’s got to accept in order to get the king’s gift of gold. He needs the money to grow his shipping business.

In an attempt to stop a long standing feud between the Winchester and St James families, King George came up with a contract, forcing four year-old Sara Winchester to marry fourteen year-old Nathan St James. They’ll be awarded a valuable strip of land that resides between the estates of both families. And when she gives him a child, the king’s gift of gold. If either breaks the contract, the other family gets the land. The two haven’t seen each other since being wed fourteen years ago and her family desperately wants Nathan to break the contract.

Chaotic humor abounds as naïve Sara is the cause of one mishap after another while aboard his ship, to the point where a sailor getting a wart also gets blamed on her. The two are as different as night and day. She’s a dreamer who grew up with the fairy tale belief that her husband loved her and should protect her from everything. That faith gets put to the test. For his part, he’s relieved that she’s nothing at all like her despicable family in either looks or temperament and both he and his crew come to appreciate her.

I love the characters. First read back in the 90s before I’d started reading so much urban fantasy with capable, kick butt heroines, today Sara seems like a wet noodle in comparison. But she’s so charming and funny. Her backbone is obvious from the start, but we see growth in that area. Expect to shed tears in more than one place as it’s easy to slip into Sara’s head and feel her emotions.

It’s not necessary to have read Guardian Angel first, but it would definitely help with a better understanding of some of the relationships as well as an issue that comes up. The characters and storyline from the first book, Lion’s Lady, have nothing to do with this third story. ( )