A review by mamamelreads
The Bride by Julie Garwood

4.0

3.5 stars. This is the first historical romance I have read that is set in medieval times. It's a bit hard to get used to the setting ... much different than Victorian England. The roles of men and women are much more defined and separated in this era, especially in Scotland, where this story takes place. Sometimes I would have to pull myself out of the story to remind myself that Alec was not a boorish overbearing man as a character flaw ... it was just how the world was set up in his time. There are tons of people who adore this book, and I can see why. The interactions between Alec and Jamie are wonderful to read. My introduction to historical romance, however, came with more recent authors, and there is a bit of difference in style between those authors and those from 20-25 years ago. I find that I prefer the more modern style. Having said that, though, I still found much to love in this story where two people thrown together in marriage because of the dictates of their respective kings find a way to love each other. I loved seeing the way that Jamie found a way to adapt to the Scottish lifestyle, and I also loved seeing how the Scottish Kincaid clan found themselves falling in love with her despite their previous prejudices against the English. I was leaning toward giving this 3 stars, but I just adored the final scene of this book. It was magnificent! It made the whole story come together perfectly. It was beautiful. I wasn't sure if I would read any more Julie Garwood books, but she has a way of crafting memorable scenes that makes me want to check out some of her other popular novels. I did end up enjoying this one quite a bit.