The Gift (Crown's Spies Book 3)

Loved this book. Totally entertaining. The characters were so much fun! I had such a great time. Funny from one scene to the next. They were all so real. Love, action, friendship, everything I look for in a story.

This was the first romance novel I ever read years ago! And it is still the novel I turn to when I need to unwind! I love it! The way it is funny, thrilling, suspenseful, and dramatic at the same time is amazing! I highly recommend it! But please start at the beginning with The Lion's Lady.

This author has the ability to write very different main characters in each book in a series - I think that it's a gift! There are loads of summaries and reviews so I'll just say that I loved the way the h loved her husband and had absolute faith in their love (even though the H never loved her in the beginning) - it was so sweet. I think Ms Garwood handled the change in the relationship between the two very well even if she used a plot device I'm not keen on - the hea was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Sara and Nathan are married at the behest of loony King when they were four and fourteen, respectively. Nathan finally goes to collect his bride and hijinks (and romance) ensue.

The Good
-Sentimental: This is the first Garwood I ever read and I fell in love with Sara and Nathan, so they’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
-Best first line: “It was only a matter of time before the wedding guests killed one another.”
-Screwball comedy - could easily see this turned into a movie, it’s very descriptive without being bogged down in it, and it has a very “Bringing Up Baby” feel to it. Sara referring to the crew on Nathan’s ship as her “staff” and her parasols. The beginning and ending to most chapters were hilarious, as the mishaps continued to pile up.
-Part of series but can be read as a standalone.
-Sara and Nathan: I like it when the hero is a bit closed off emotionally, and learns to embrace his feelings, which Nathan does. Sara is a ditzy heroine, but at the end, when it matters she does take care of herself.

The Bad and Everything Else
-TSTL heroine: Sara, more than anything made me realize how my tastes have changed since I was a teenager. I still love Sara, and I think she’s more funny than anything else, but she should’ve died about 3 times just in the first 15% of the book alone.
-A bit of an abrupt ending.
-Very innocent love scenes: man, I was young when I read this, because I definitely like a little more steam in my love scenes. But they were sweet.

The Bottom Line
It’s a sentimental thing for me - I loved it, perhaps not the same way I used to, but the screwball nature of the tale was very enjoyable.

Reviewed at Another Look Book Reviews

I was most ecstatic the other day when I realized that there were two Julie Garwood historical romances out there that I had not yet read. Even more exciting was that I already owned them and they were sitting there on my shelf just waiting for me. I had seen them for so long I just assumed that I had read them. I love Julie Garwood's historical romances so I felt like I won the lottery.

The Gift is book 3 in the Crown Spies series. You can easily read The Gift as a stand alone. There is very little character carry over. Regardless of the previous characters involvement with past books, you will not be lost if you read The Gift out of order.

One of the magical components of a Julie Garwood historical romance is that she often has the bride and groom married near the beginning of the book. The marriage that took place in The Gift occurred right in the prologue and it was one of the earliest aged marriages ever. Nathan was only fourteen years old and Sara was a darling child of four. Of course there was no marital consummation because this forced marriage contract started before Sara could even print. The King, suffering from beginnings of dementia, was tired of the feuding families and arranged this mockery of a marriage. He set up the contract details, married off these youngsters and left the feuding families to deal with the consequences. Ultimately each child was returned to their respective families and for years each family plotted how to get out of the contract.

Once the reader is done with the ceremony in the prologue, the story's first chapter starts 14 yrs later.

Garwood's heroines are my most favourite in the historical genre. They are witty, adorable and they are so innocent that they could be viewed to be on verge of being a bit daft. This innocence is exactly the case with Lady Sara. She is a dreamer, an idealist and so darn likable that you have to forgive her constant mishaps. She believes that since she is married to a ship's captain that the men are her "staff". She deducts that since a captain is the master of a ship she equated that station to that of a Lord of a mansion. She has a heart of gold but unknowingly is oblivious to her surroundings. I dare you not to like her.

Nathan is both patient and yet an overbearing yeller. He scowls and is fiercely protective of her. After their forced marriage as children, neither Nathan or Sara meet again until she is 18 years old. He has no idea what she looks like or what her personality is. All he wants is get married to honour the contract and collect on his due.

I really enjoyed reading about the pair getting to know each other and ultimately fall in love. Sara made me giggle with her antics and Nathan was a great hero for her to fall in love with. I am rating 3.5 because although the story was cute, it did fall a little bit short of what I come to expect from a Julie Garwood historical. So I am rating The Gift against other Garwood stories.

Teasers: saving her aunt, away on the ship, dangerous soup, paradise island

The couple in this story, Sara and Nathan, are such a cute pair! Nathan is the strong and silent type. He married Sara when he was 14 and she was 4. It was a marriage sanctioned by the king with the hopes of Nathan's family (the St. James) and Sara's family (the Winchesters) to resolve their conflicts. After the marriage, they are reunited when Sara is 18. It took Sara's fierce loyalty and naive innocent ways to finally break down Nathan's hard shell.

The shenanigans that happened on the ship were entertaining and funny. Sara doesn't know anything about ship life and causes one disaster after the other but she manages to win not only Nathan's heart but her crew's as well. This is a romance where the heroine drives the man crazy but he loves her anyway. I actually cried at one particular scene in the end when Nathan finally reveals his true feelings.

Not a must read before you die but thoroughly enjoyed it! This one was a page turner for me and a quick read. I would recommend it for those who like ship adventure romances with pirates and the sea setting.

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This book was soooo boring, I only read it because its part of a series and theres another book after this one. I didn't want to start on that one and something significant in this one would explain the next one. There are so many things hinted to and are barely explained, if not at all. Sara is the most scatterbrained female ever created, and thats with me considering the time period.

I couldn't wrap myself around Nathan because the reason for who he is and how he became to be is hinted at, but no detail. So the story just goes on and on and on with her crying, and him yelling and roaring, it was just too long winded, by page 246 I wanted to scratch my eyes out. But like I said, its part of a series, bummer.

If you can avoid it, skip it, it won't affect the next book.

Compared with the heroines in the other three books link with this (I have them all) I found Sara to be a disappointment. Not that I hated her, and the soup mishap is quite acceptable, and so is the incident of setting fire to the parasols in the "heath", but come on!...what idiot would loosen ropes on a ship to untangle her parasol without checking first what the ropes are attached to?? And I found it quite tiring that she was such a watering pot. I liked the fact that she grew less timid and stronger as the book progressed, but the constant bursts of tears for rather grating after the first few times.

One thing that I HATE in series books are inconsistencies. How Caine went from being the Marquess of Cainewood (which he should be, being the elder son of a duke)in Guardian Angel to being the Earl of Cainewood in this book was a glaring mistake that should have been noted and corrected during the editing!

Nathan's titles are also confusing. If his father was the Earl of Wakersfield, how did Nathan become the Marquess of St. James? Did the king grant the title on Nathan when he was 14 (since he was already marquess when he married)? I can't imagine how else he would get that title since obviously it couldn't have been inherited (if his father held the title before him, why was the father never referred to using the marquess title as it the correct protocol?). If anyone knows, I'd be happy to hear the explanation.

All in all, this is unfortunately the least liked book in my Julie Garwood collection.

I usually like Julie Garwood even though her books follow a pretty predictable pattern it's a nice quick read for me usually. For some reason though her lead character in this one Sara is a whiny annoying shrew. She has very few redeeming qualities and the only 2 reasons why Nathan falls for her are the fact that she's pretty and they are stuck together on a ship for months. It was even more disappointing to me because I read another of her books with a lot of the same characters and I was looking forward to seeing them in depth

For years the St. James and the Winchesters have hated it each other. King George, not all there in his old age, has decided to end the feud by declaring that the young (14 years old) Marquees of St. James, Nathan, marry the daughter of the Earl of St. James, Sara. To sweeten the deal the King added a contract that would give Nathan and Sara a gift: a large piece of land and a great deal of gold once the marriage was consummated. If one of the couple backed out however, the other got the gift. There would be a great deal of time before the marriage is carried out however, as Sara is only 4 years old. And both sides want the gift.
Many years later Nathan has decided to finally retrieve his bride. He faces problems however from her family who don't want them to become true man and wife. Nathan, who was once the pirate Pagan, is finally forced to plan to kidnap Sara and sail away on his ship, and keep her there some months until the two families can come to terms with the marriage, and the couple can complete the marriage contract. Sara has always had romantic notions about her husband and this rough pirate is not what she imagines. Despite that she easily falls in love with him, as she has planed to do her whole life. Nathan, though he likes Sara, does not fall in love so quickly. But Sara will settle for not less than love.
This story is, in my opinion, one of Garwood's best. I loved the characters, especially Sara. On the ship she causes many funny mishaps, while she tries to make a good impression on her new husband an his crew. She almost poisons the crew and sets the ship on fire. Other characters brought back from previous books are Jade, Cain, Jimbo, and Matthew. The Plot was fast paced, and if there were any slow parts near the end, you won't mind too much.

This book is the third story sequel: I suggest to start with the Lion's Lady, then The Guardian Angel, The Gift and lastly, read Castles. The characters in all 4 books are friends/related to each other. It is more fitting if you know each character before reading the next book. If you read it in this order, I think it will bring more excitement as some questions are answered on the later book. Some secrets are also revealed beforehence.
The heroine, Sara, is not a whiner in my opinion. When she was but a little girl, she was described as awkward and clumsy, who fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on the reader) has only outgrown that flaw just a little bit. However, in my opinion, her clumsiness are humorous and somewhat sweet. That made me enjoy this book even more. It is the spice of this book. Since, she was married to Nathan as a child, growing up, she have already condition herself as a WIFE. Even when she hasn't seen him for over 10 years, and even after her family insist on her that Nathan is an enemy, somehow, deep inside of her heart, She longed for love and acceptance from her long lost husband, especially since she didn't get such at home. She kept waiting for him to finally come and collect her. The collection part was also hilarious. That's when the fun began...
The hero, Nathan, is so manly. Too manly that he doesn't even know a single terms of endearment to call his wife. He's never been in a serious relationship, therefore, know nothing above loving a woman. The learning begins with both of them. He decided he can control the situation, being married to Sara shouldn't be all that hard, afterall, he's always been a controlled, discipline man. Or so he thought...
The patience of learning about one other... The adjustment of each other's character, routine and lives... the acceptance and finally, the love...all made this book compelling. Sara's determination to be accepted not only by her husband but by his staff on board was the funniest moments of all. She means well, plans well.... but...... Aw~! It does embarrass me reading about her parasols and her accidents. I had to stop my reading, close my eyes and cover my face every incident. After I gather myself together & get over my embarassment, i continue reading, praying she doesn't get into another "INCIDENT" again. If I get to react this way about a book, I believe it is worth the buy and worth my time.

In 1802, two families who have been long enemies will gather together by edict of King George. Hoping to stop their continuous warring, the king arranges a marriage between the Marquess of St James and the Earl of Winchester's daughter. But there is to be no wedding night for Nathan is only fourteen while his new bride is still a horse-blanket sniffing four-year-old.

Then many years later, Nathan is now the notorious pirate Pagan trying to claim his bride and the wealth that comes with her. But when her family refused, he had no choice but to kidnap his own bride aboard his ship The Emerald.

And so the adventure begins...

Eager to be a good wife to her husband, whom she has fantasized about since she was a child, Sara does her best to please Nathan and win over his crew. She tries her hand in cooking, which sent them hanging over the railing due to food poisoning, and then she nearly destroys her husband's ship by causing a fire. But for all her naïveté, I couldn't help but like Sara. She is just the woman to break Nathan's defences down. Having suffered, and in fact carrying the physical scars caused by the betrayal of a woman, Nathan has built a wall around his heart, which Sara slowly breaks down.

THE GIFT is the third instalment in the Lyon series. Although this provided some laughs, I wasn't as enthralled with the whole story as I was with other Garwood books. I do appreciate a good laugh, but I felt that the romance wasn't well-developed and the whole story a little too similar to the second book GUARDIAN ANGEL. There were also some inconsistencies that bothered me while I was reading it such as how long Nathan has been a pirate. It didn't really tie up with the previous book. Then there's the fact that Nathan is a marquess, while his father is an earl. Isn't a marquess above an earl, and therefore the father should bear the higher ranking? I know these are only minor issues, but I have read a lot of romance books and therefore a little picky when it comes things like these. But overall, this was quite an enjoyable read for the humor alone.

The complete series in order are: THE LION'S LADY, GUARDIAN ANGEL, THE GIFT, and CASTLES.

Definitely would recommend. Sara and her antics are some of the funniest parts of this story. Her “staff/pirates” came to love her and even though her soup was awful the worshipped the ground she walked on and so do her husband. Such a joy to read.

The Gift by Julie Garwood was released in 1991. Sara and Nathan are the couple who drive this story. A historical novel set in 1802 England. I loved this one. Much plot, and fans of Julie Garwood will like this the most.

This was my first Julie Garwood book and I really liked it. I know now, that this book is part of a series, but I wasn't lost at all. I know that some reviewers found the h irritating, but I thought she was funny. I actually laughed out loud a few times. I think some reviewers missed when it was mentioned that Sara wasn't allowed to do anything or go anywhere. I think her naivete came from her overly protective family. I liked Nathan, but I do wish that I knew more about him. This might be where the other books in the series come in :). Overall, this was a good book and I would recommend it.