A review by noisydeadlines
The Bride by Julie Garwood

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This book is so plot-rich! There's always something going on, the heroine is so pro-active, and strong and kind. It's set in 1,100’s Scotland Highland times with an arranged marriage between an Englishwoman (Jamie) and a Highlands Laird (Alec Kincaid). Because this book was published in 1989 set in a medieval setting, there might be some issues with consent, but I think the author did her best to make it less problematic. Another interesting fact is that this romance has humour and funny situations, something that was not common in romance novels back in the 80's (there's a foreword by the author talking about it). It’s the type of writing I enjoy, where we can be inside the characters heads a lot. I enjoyed how quickly the author changed characters viewpoints within the same chapter, so we  get glimpses of different characters within the action/dialogue. I though it was pretty well done. I loved the grumpy hero with a kind heart. I loved the bold heroine standing up against ridiculous status quo (and said grumpy hero stubbornness). Lot's of funny banter and there's is even a murder mystery in it. Overall a non-stop read, super rich and interesting.