Rebellious Desire

I have to be honest, getting through this book was a struggle for me. I have been a Julie Garwood fan for a very long time, but it's almost as if someone else wrote this story. Everything felt rushed and off kilter. The humor seemed to be forced and I felt like Milford and Caroline had more chemistry between them than Caroline and Bradford. The small details are what make a story great to me and this book is sadly lacking. It made me think of the "See spot. See spot run. Spot is running." books from when I was child. The characters were redundant and the plot was underwheming. When reading a good book, I get pulled in and care for the characters. A really good book can make me laugh or cry as I'm reading. I found that, in this book, I just thought Bradford was stupid and Caroline annoying. This was a fail for me. I only gave it 2 stars because Julie Garwood's name was on the cover.

I have to be honest, getting through this book was a struggle for me. I have been a Julie Garwood fan for a very long time, but it's almost as if someone else wrote this story. Everything felt rushed and off kilter. The humor seemed to be forced and I felt like Milford and Caroline had more chemistry between them than Caroline and Bradford. The small details are what make a story great to me and this book is sadly lacking. It made me think of the "See spot. See spot run. Spot is running." books from when I was child. The characters were redundant and the plot was underwheming. When reading a good book, I get pulled in and care for the characters. A really good book can make me laugh or cry as I'm reading. I found that, in this book, I just thought Bradford was stupid and Caroline annoying. This was a fail for me. I only gave it 2 stars because Julie Garwood's name was on the cover.

"Rebellious Desire" is one of Julie Garwood's earlier works. Therefore it is not quite as polished as her more recent novels, as seen through a significant use of exclamation marks and various wording. However, that does not make this novel any less appealing. It follows the typical romantic storyline of where it's obvious that the couple love each other, but for some reason they are trying to deny it, as well as some hidden agenda that is slowly revealed & that they have to work together in order to figure it all out.

The prologue throws us into a dark chilly night where a young damsel (circa 1700s) is defending her daddy via a pistol. Then we jump to 14 years later where she returns to England & is reunited with her father. She has no recollection of the night mentioned in the prologue, only that she had an extreme phobia of pistols when she was younger & worked to overcome it to the point where she could "shoot a speck of dust."

We get to be a part of the beauty, Caroline, and her cousin, Chasity, being introduced to the socially elite ton of England & the intriguing Earls, Duke, Marquis, etc. Some are accepting and others love to walk around with their noses in the air.

The night that she can't remember comes back to haunt Caroline although she doesn't realize it. Her love interest, Jered/Bradford, is the one who gets answers and figures out what's going on. Together with her friends, family, and love interest she battles against someone who has taken quite a dislike to her.

In short, Rebellious Desire is typical early Julie Garwood (circa 1986), but just as desirable as any of her more recent novels. As always, a definite must read from a brilliant & accurate authour.