Castles

The narrator used the American pronunciation of one of the main charactor's name Colin. Were all the other audio books leading up to this one used the English/British pronunciation. Made it quite annoying as I grew up using the English/British pronunciation.

Castles is a lovely romantic story with a little mystery and a quietly sassy heroine. Alesandra keeps tries to act with decorum and it's not always easy, but she is very smart and figures out ways to get what she wants. I enjoyed reading about a heroine who wasn't too outspoken or confident, but was not a pushover and could hold her own against the forceful personality of Colin.

Colin was a total alpha male, and a great match for Alesandra, even though I sometimes felt like Colin could be a little too overbearing and harsh. But he did soften in time (as of course he had to!) and it was very sweet to see how Alesandra changed him for the better. Both of them had their insecurities that they worked through and I love that their romance developed somewhat slowly.

I also loved that the secondary characters felt fleshed out and added to the story - even the smaller characters felt like a big part of Alesandra and Colin's development, and it was great to see how much they added to the plot.

The story has a mystery that is pretty predictable, and because it figured so little into the main plot, it was a little jarring when the story would make reference to it. It created a great denouement for the story, but sometimes it did feel unnecessary. This is a book I'd recommend for the way it builds the romance which is very touching, and for the great heroine.

Castles was such an endearing story. It wasn't my favorite in the Crown's Spies series (those would be The Gift, then Guardian Angel), but I did like it quite a lot.

I tend to enjoy a good marriage-of-convenience story, particularly when the circumstances aren't contrived. Colin was a grumpy but honorable man, and I'm glad he got his happy ending. Alesandra was a lot tamer than the other ladies in the series, and I loved that she had a great head for business (and a bod for sin - sorry, couldn't help myself). They were a charming couple.

Having said that. Despite my enjoyment, I can't help but note that pieces of their story seemed to rely on more tell than show. I felt that, yes, I was being told that they really loved each other,but I never felt the spark that the previous couples had.

I also have to say that the mystery was very creepy, a but rushed at the end, but compelling.

Despite my hangups, I did truly enjoy Castles. It was a nice way to round out the Crown's Spies series, and I do recommend them all.

In the dead of the night, the sole surviving heiress to a great kingdom was escorted into England, into the care of the Duke of Williamshire, her guardian and a great friend of her beloved father. And with a greedy general intent on marrying her in hope of getting his hands on her vast fortune, Princess Alesandra knows that she must marry soon. For her guardian, what better way to repay his old friend than to offer his own son to the princess? The only trouble is - his son has a five-year-plan that doesn't include a wife.

Colin was surprised to find the unexpected visitor in his townhouse. But his head reeled upon hearing the purpose of Alesandra's stay. Having vowed never to marry regardless of his father's constant nagging, he knows that he must get Alesandra out of his life before he succumbs to the intense attraction he feels for her. But when her life was threatened, the protector in him wins over and he finally agrees to marry her.

From their first meeting, sparks fly between Colin and Alesandra. The undeniable attraction heats up the pages, and even their verbal spats show their intense attraction to each other. Alesandra is just wonderful - strong-willed, compassionate and very astute. You won't doubt her intelligence right from the start, and I loved how she was brought up very un-princess like. Colin is arrogantly sexy, but I loved how protective he is of those people he cared for. Sure, he started off stubborn, but we know that it wouldn't take long for him to come around.

CASTLES, with its blend of mystery, romance and laughs, is a great way to finish off the series. I am so glad that Colin has found his princess and glad that Alesandra has broken the wall that he has built around himself ever since that tragic accident. Although the murder plot seemed rather pointless at times, the romance more than makes up for it that I truly didn't care about anything else.

The other books in the series (in order) are: THE LION'S LADY, GUARDIAN ANGEL, and THE GIFT.

Before reading Castles, 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.
Castle is a story of Colin, who is the younger brother of Caine (in The Guardian Angel) and a troubled Princess Alesandra, who is the ward of the Duke of Williamshire, Colin and Caine's father. Alesandra was searching for a good husband in three weeks time, to save her from marrying a ruthless General, who wanted to marry her only for the throne. I find the search very enjoyable. The list of every noble and available earls and Dukes names... and of course, the dipping of ink to cross each one off, as Colin finds each name in the list horrobly inappropriate. This is my favorite part. I find the herione funny yet unselfsih, charming and regal. Even in her frustrations and anger, mostly of Colin, she manage to remind herself "Dignity & Decorum". She is afterall a princess. Her obsession of LISTING everything in a notecard is also quite amusing. Colin is a proud yet somewhat a sensitive man. The best way to describe him is to compare him to a wild horse that needed to be tamed. Alesandra did just that with love and patience. Flannagan, the butler, is also one of my favorite character in this book. The Romance between the two is perfectly match. There are just so many interesting and funny scenes. I don't want to give it all away so you have to pick up the book to find out yourself. It is worth your time. The whole family helping each other to solve a mystery crime is also thrilling and heart warming. Although, i wished Nathan and Jade (in the Gift), Lyon and Christina (in The Lion's Lady) are mentioned more in this book, I still love it and will keep it in my collection. I have reread it more than once and still have the same reactions.

I am unabashedly a Julie Garwood fan. I have read this little gem before and loved it ~~ and when I found it at the local book exchange, I had to read it again. And while it's sweetly predictable ~~ I still enjoyed it.

This one focuses on Colin, the Duke's younger son, partner with Nathan in a shipping business and younger brother of Caine (of the famous Jade romance)and on Alessandra, a princess of an unnamed country. Alessandra was told to leave the convent where she had lived since her mother died to England to be with her guardian since the general of her country will try to kidnap her. The Duke, Colin's father, was sick and sent her to live with Colin and appointed him to be the guardian. And of course, sparks fly and soon, the princess and Colin were falling in love.

There is mystery & intrigue as well as gentle romance (which I really like!) and witty repartee between the two lovers. It's a gentle read ~~ perfect for any time especially when you just want to relax. I have always loved Garwood's books since college years ~~ and this one is no exception.

7-17-06

I usually love Julie Garwood's books, but I hated this one. I can tolerate some minor anachronisms, but there were so many that they jarred me out of the story. No one of that station, in that time period, would send an unrelated female to stay in a bachelor residence, especially with just a maid for a chaperone. Servants in that time period would show more deference, even if they enjoyed a somewhat relaxed relationship with their employer.

I also found this book to be a bit flat and boring. There seemed to be too much repetition of thoughts and conversations that caused the story to drag. As well, there seemed to be too much room taken up by sex scenes. There were too many and they were too long. For me, they interrupted the story instead of adding to it.

I hated the hero in this book. He ran roughshod over the heroine, was a bully, and treated her in a demeaning and disrespectful fashion. I like alpha heroes, I like books where the hero and the heroine have strong disagreements, where each tries argue his or her case. I like the juxtaposition of an alpha hero and an assertive heroine who learn to compromise and respect each other. This hero treats the heroine like a child. He orders her to change her dress, he crooks his finger and expects her to heel, he cuts her off and refuses to listen when she tries to explain something. He demands that she does what he orders, he gives her orders but refuses to explain the purpose, and he shows disrespect for her in his words and actions, in front of family and friends. He annoyed me so much that I wished the heroine would find a good cast iron frying pan and give him several severe blows to the head with it.

I liked the heroine, who was intelligent, kind and modest. I liked that she did try to assert herself and that she wouldn't give up in some areas. On the other hand, I wish she had told the hero to, well, hmm, can't say it here, but that's what she should have said to him. The hero was the kind of guy you could not sweetly try to reason with, so the heroine definitely needed to be a stronger character.

The writing mechanics were good. I enjoyed the serial killer side story, and I liked the overall plot. These did not compensate for the things I disliked about the book.

This book got a lot of positive reviews, so I am in the minority on this one, but I hated it. I would definitely not recommend it as the book to start with, for readers new to Julie Garwood. As for fans of Ms. Garwood's books, of which I am one, I suggest reading it from the library before buying it. I wish I had done so.

I purchased Castles a couple years ago and have read it at least 2 more times since. Its a great story, funny, intriguing and romantic, and I like the hero especially. The heroine is a tad too naive for my taste, but still, she is smart and often flippant and clever when dealing with her husband (which is when I liked her best) and I liked their chemistry. While not one of the very best books I've ever read, it certainly is in the very top tier of outstanding historical romances. If the store allowed it, I would give this story 4.5 stars . . .

What's compelling me to write this review, however, is that finally a few weeks ago I found a copy of the Lyon's Lady at the library, read it and then went on to read the rest of the series in order, including, once again, Castles. Of the four, the Lyon's Lady is tied with Castles as the best of the series -- they each deserve 4.5 stars. The weakest is probably The Gift (3 stars). Guardian Angel (4 stars) was good, but was similar enough to Lyon's Lady in terms of the dynamics between the leads and the temperaments of the hero and heroine, that it got a bit boring. Overall, the series comes in at 4 stars.

I somewhat disagree with those who say you need to read the other books first in order to best enjoy Castles. This is my 4th reading but first time with some knowledge of prior characters, and that didn't really change anything for me. Furthermore, the leads of Lyon's Lady are mentioned but once in this book, in a very ancillary and irrelevant way. The leads of the other two stories (Caine & Jade and Nathan & Sara) were mentioned quite a bit, especially Caine & Jade, and I suppose the Castles story was a bit richer reading this time around already knowing something about Caine and Colin's relationship and family. However, don't worry too much if you haven't read the other three when deciding whether to pick this one up or not. Its definitely worth reading all on its own.

If you love silly (in a good way), saccharine sweet, Mary Sue romances this a book you would enjoy. There's very little plot to the story and very little character development of minor characters. Our heroine disposition is very similar to Maria, (Julie Andrew's character from the Sound of Music). While our hero is the typical alpha male mold. Although not "a keeper". I did enjoy the story for what it was. I just wish that a better plot had been developed for it. A serial killer that struck no fear in my heart, deaths of characters I could barely remember and a demented general intent on forcing the Princess to marry him in order to secure the crown did nothing to enrich the story at all. I think people that love this book simply fell in love with the simple nature of Hero and Heroine.

I couldn't stop laughing! Julie Garwood is one of my very favorite writers, I read all of her historical romance novels so far...actually, I read again and again!

The plot is predictable, no great mystery there. However, the interaction of the characters, even the secondary ones like Colin's young butler, was always live and witty. One of my favorite scenes is when they try to make a list of candidates to wed Alesandra and Colin gets so work-up!

The only thing I didn't understand is this whole story about HOW Colin and Nathan were betrayed. I have read the previous books in the series, Guardian Angel and The Gift. It was never really said how and who betrayed them...who shot Nathan and tortured him? And who was the woman involved? ((This doesn't really affect the story but for someone who read the books, you'd like to know))

Julie Garwood's Castles is my favorite romance novel. It's also the first Garwood romance I ever read (several years ago). What makes it shine so bright? Incredible humor, fabulous love scenes, and characters so very easy to love. All that, and a princess too!
Some readers find Garwood's heroines too stupid to live, but I never have. I do, however, find each's quirks to be lovable, and when I interviewed the author back in 1997 and she revealed their flaws are based on her own, I marveled at how she could turn personal weaknesses into delightful quirks of character.
The heroine is not only wonderful in this book, though - the hero is to-die-for. As I wrote in my Desert Isle Keeper Review at All About Romance, "While he doesn't want to marry her himself, he finds something wrong with every single bachelor he, his father, his brother, and Alesandra discuss. One has bow-legs, another gambles, and still another has a case of 'bad humours'."
This is truly a delightful and charming romance and I encourage one and all to read it. If you are like me, you'll end up with two copies - one to keep and one to lend out to friends.
TTFN, Laurie Likes Books
Publisher, All About Romance

"Let me get understand this, a princess just decided to take up residence with us?"

The hero is a hardworking second son determined to build an empire for himself without the aid of his loving father (a duke) and protective brother (a marquess). He's a kind sort, decent fellow who's been betrayed before yet isn't bitter... just determined to prove himself even if it means living his days as a solitary workhorse.

But one night he comes home, finds guards in his home and his young butler telling him his father has sent a beautiful princess to his home, sleep in his bed, and become his temporary ward.

Allesandra is all alone in the world since her mother died and left her to be raised by nuns in a convent bordering her home. She aspired to be dignified and what a princess should be, but despite being a dutiful ward and sweet soul she has a head for business and a heap of political intrigue.

This is a marriage of convenience story but one driven by a sweet desire, a bond of family honor, and two people who are so goodhearted they deserve a fairytale ending.

Now the mystery elements are lacking. It pretty much exists as the villain's thoughts sprinkled throughout in obtrusive ways to the main story. The political intrigue is allowed to just dry up midway through the story. At the very least there could have been a followup on that insurance policy.

Yet it's pleasant to see the other sequel characters in this story. I just wish Garwood hadn't made so many niggly mistakes with her own story facts. (First it is the Frenchman and his daughter who are killed and then it is the Frenchman and his sister.)

Yeah, ok, so I expected a romance, but because it's from J.G., I also expected a bit of suspense, mystery. HOWEVER, since I'm such a little fraidy-cat, I am still a little afraid that Morgan's going to come get me. His death was too graphic. And I read it in the dead of night so that I could finish it in one day.
But overall though, I thought it was a pretty nice book. I didn't give it 5 stars because the threat of the general could have been explained a bit more, expanded upon. Also, there were a lot of minute details that were never resolved nor was an explanation supplied.
The part where Colin finds something wrong in everyone one of the guys on her list and then how he traps her into marriage...MUCHO HILAIROUS! My brother thought I was crazy, I couldn't stop laughing.
All in all, a good book to read and I would read it again, but I'd skip over a quite a bit of pages.

Wowza! This is one of my very favorite romances EVER! If you read Guardian Angel and The Gift before reading Castles, you will get an even bigger picture of Colin. And if you didn't already love in him the other stories, you will most definitely fall head over heels in love with him as I did. *fanning myself*

Princess Alesandra is an adorable heroine, and I got such a kick out of her "doctoring" the books at the cloister, as well as the other mishaps. She is really an unintentional crack up, you will love her! And I also loved that she went to such great lengths to help Colin's leg feel better, most women would just leave him alone and she stood up to the plate.

K, but back to Colin. I have a weakness for the whole pirate thing in the first place, but a pirate with a heart of gold...well, that's just too much! And their sexual encounters were so absolutely sizzling, I swear I held my breath the entire time. O-M-G! Julie Garwood is a master at creating great stories with hot lovin'! And I laughed so many times at the way Colin has to explain everything to Alesandra, that was hilarious. He is seriously everything a hot-blooded woman could ask for (and a cold blooded woman wouldn't be that way for long around him either!).

Devinitely 10 stars out of 5! This is one to read over and over again, and DON'T LEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS!!! YOU WILL NOT GET IT BACK!

This book captivated me. It was beautifully written and the characters couldn't be any better. It has great mystery and adventure. When Princess Alesandra was looking for a husband so it would help save her from the turmoil in her own land. Colin rejected at first, but inside he's been denying that he doesn't like her. Of course, everyone has gone through denial, but for Colin it's stubborn. He didn't even let her chose her own clothes. When Princess Alesandra was almost kidnapped by her own fellow countrymen, Colin came to save her. A murder has aroused in city and he worries that if he wouldn't solve it soon he might lose his angel. I think that this book is a must read and you will enjoy it very much. The suspense is very exciting, I hope you'll have fun reading it as I did...

The fourth book in the series tells the wonderfully warm story of Caine's brother Colin and Princess Alesandra. Although not my favorite book in the series (Lion's Lady is my favorite followed by The Gift) I still couldn't put it down.

Though this book CAN be read on it's own, I do recommend that you read the other three before you delve into this one as characters mentioned in Castles are revisted from the previous books.

Julie Garwood is a very popular romance writer. Many reviews I have seen for other books suggest this author, so I decided to give her a try. I guess I am in the minority on this one, because after reading this story and The Prize, I can honestly say that Garwood is not for me.
To start out with, I don't find it romantic in the least to have the hero treat the heroine like a child. This is a regency novel and it being such, I know the husband had the right to order the wife around but this was a little extreme. It seems like every page the hero is telling the heroine what to do and what not to do and it seemed to get to the point where the poor couldn't do anything without giving him the ok. Even choose her own clothes.
My second problem is that the heroine, Alesandra, behaves like an idiot the whole time. I think Garwood is trying to make her seem innocent, but she gave a different impression entirely. She comes off as dumb and childlike.
Garwood just isn't for me. I can't believe she is so popular. Her work pales in comparison to authors like Mary Jo Putney, Lisa Kleypas, or Marsha Canham.

Castles was the third Julie Garwood book that I read and I felt slightly let down halfway through. Colin seemed like a jerk throughout most of the book and all of a sudden, he does a complete 360 and becomes a loving husband. I usually like the picture the characters in my head as I read, but with Colin and Alesandra, I just couldn't see them in my mind. And the parts with the murderer's thoughts were just lame! Overall, the book was good, but not what I expected after The Secret and The Prize.

This book is an excellent romance. It will captivate you the moment you read the first page. It has a wonderful plot with truly terrific characters. The minute you start to read you will not want to stop. It is a superb romance with a little mystery. This book has left me in awe. I think Julie Garwood is a fantastic author and really out did herself this time. I can not wait to read more of her books. If you want to read a funny romance/mystery this is definetly the book for you.

I always enjoy reading Julie Garwood. This book is appealing because Alexandra is intelligent, clever, and down to earth even though she's a princess. She holds her own with the men in this book but also endears herself to the women she meets. The plot line is obvious but doesn't keep you from enjoying the book. Her relationship with Colin and his family is the important thing. I love Julie Garwood's style of writing.

This is probably my favorite Julie Garwood book. It is the 3rd book of a series. The first book, Guardian Angel, is about Colin's brother Caine. The second book, The Gift, about Colin's partner Nathan. But this book surpasses both of them. Colin is afraid to love Alessandra because he feels he is not good enough for her because she is a princess. He marries her out of family obligation and because there is a cruel man after Alessandra's title and fortune. Only after he almost loses her, does he realize how much he loves her and how deserving he is of her love. You will read this book over and over. It is definitely a keeper.

Castles is a good read, involving a princess, villains , and a great hero. It was released in 1993. The hero and heroine take their time to get together. Julie Garwood writes well and keeps the story interesting.Fans of Julie Garwood will like this the most.