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A review by thesiege_208
Gentle Warrior by Julie Garwood
2.0
Man, it was a struggle getting through this book! After [b: The Prize|107772|The Prize|Julie Garwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1304789713s/107772.jpg|1913455] and [b: The Lion's Lady|107783|The Lion's Lady (Crown's Spies, #1)|Julie Garwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348750925s/107783.jpg|3245791] and then this one, I feel like I just read the same book three times in a row. Or at least slight variations on the exact same characters in slightly different situations. ( ⚆ _ ⚆ ) YIKES. Not a good time. I'm afraid I don't foresee any more Julie Garwood in my future.
It's your generic alpha male hero: emotionally stunted, "I don't know what love is," overbearing, over-possessive, over-arrogant, and this guy was especially angry. I side-eyed him a few times when he had sketchy domestic abusive thoughts towards the heroine, and he definitely yanked her hair really hard (and not in a sexy kinky way) and made her cry.
Then we have the stubborn, feisty, self-possessed, self-assured, independent heroine whose beauty inspires immediate loyalty and also makes men dumb. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Honestly, I roll my eyes when a heroine is "not beautiful, but striking" or something similar, but I honestly prefer that to "dear lord, she's a beautiful goddess, men fall and weep at her feet," etc. etc.
Definitely insta-lust and insta-intense feelings going on here! Nothing new or unusual. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also, what was with all the whispering??? Why do Garwood's characters, especially the heroines, love to whisper? There are literally a billion other terms for quiet/timid/discreet speech, including but definitely not limited to murmur, mumble, mutter, coo, breathe, grumble, hiss, and so on. There are also myriad adverbs to pair with boring verbs like asked, said, answered. Just stop with the whispering, please!
It's your generic alpha male hero: emotionally stunted, "I don't know what love is," overbearing, over-possessive, over-arrogant, and this guy was especially angry. I side-eyed him a few times when he had sketchy domestic abusive thoughts towards the heroine, and he definitely yanked her hair really hard (and not in a sexy kinky way) and made her cry.
Then we have the stubborn, feisty, self-possessed, self-assured, independent heroine whose beauty inspires immediate loyalty and also makes men dumb. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Honestly, I roll my eyes when a heroine is "not beautiful, but striking" or something similar, but I honestly prefer that to "dear lord, she's a beautiful goddess, men fall and weep at her feet," etc. etc.
Definitely insta-lust and insta-intense feelings going on here! Nothing new or unusual. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Spoiler
Within the confines of the plot, the hero takes over the heroine's life and she proceeds to yield several small defeats and raging about the hero's bossy streak while simultaneously waxing poetic about his kindness and understanding and general squishiness (but it's hidden, of course). They have sex consistently even though they're at odds with each other during the day, and she says "I love you" first while knowing he doesn't believe in love and can't return her feelings. He then hurts her feelings deeply and has a random internal epiphany of "God's truth, I am in love with her!" Then the plot resolves itself anticlimactically and the heroine is pregnant and HEA. The End.Also, what was with all the whispering??? Why do Garwood's characters, especially the heroines, love to whisper? There are literally a billion other terms for quiet/timid/discreet speech, including but definitely not limited to murmur, mumble, mutter, coo, breathe, grumble, hiss, and so on. There are also myriad adverbs to pair with boring verbs like asked, said, answered. Just stop with the whispering, please!