M is gonna KILL me!

Title: Ransom
Author: Julie Garwood

Published: 1999 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Genre: Romance (just look at the cover, fool)

ISBN: 9780671003364
# of Pages: 546

Began Reading: December 17th, 2006
Finished Reading: December 18th, 2006

Nessie: Ah! I just finished The Christmas Carol and I loved it! What a suprise Dickens is.

M: Yeah, he is good. [...some discussion on the book as we discuss the corrections for 'God Bless Us Everyone!' post...] What are you planning on reading next?

Nessie: Well, considering that the last 2 have been horrendous, I am in need of reading another romance, M. [look of fire from M] No. No, don't look at me that way. I have to.

M: What about The Red and the Black? What about that AMAZING book. Why don't you read that?

Well folks, that's how I went to Chapters, bought Ransom and enjoyed every single page whilst reading it. Oh, and M- I am reading The Red and Black right now. Finished Chapter 1 and it's right by me this very moment, as I type this post.

The Story: Gillian not only witnessed the murder of her father but she has been kept captive in her Uncle Morgan's home by the man who committed the former deed in the first place, Baron Alford. When Alford not only takes her away once again from the only family she has to his castle, she finds a young boy from Scotland there that was mistakenly kidnapped. Alford tells her his intentions to kill not only the boy but Uncle Morgan if she does not return to him the jeweled box that belonged to King John's love before she went and got killed. Gillian steals away through a secret passage with the boy Alec all the way to Scotland until they reach the land of his godfather, Brodick, who happens to be the usual hard, tall, mean Scottish hero we find in these stories. After a lot more killing and violence, Gillian finds the box and returns it to its rightful owner, King Johnny, and of course they live happily ever after.

Comment: Boy, I was scared for a while that there would be no more good romance. But you can always count on Garwood to give a great retelling - especially her Scottish work. I find her weak when it comes to England but Scotland is AMAZING. As usual, it is her dialogue that makes this a fun read. I always need a dessert book - whether it be a Dahl book or romance - when times get tough or I need some time to digest and re-think the book I have just finished reading. Count on Garwood to make you laugh and cry! She is really good.

Warning: We have met Brodick before in Garwood's The Secret which is Iain and Judith's story. Though it doesn't give away much - what romance novel doesn't have a happy ending? - it's still funner if you read it chronologically.

Worst Part: None really. My expectations when reading this were fulfilled. The text does what it promises. No complaints. I am sure M may want to add in a few words here but I won't let her since she hasn't read it. YET.

Best Part: Unlike Deverall's penis, Brodick has a character. I love our hero. Can't really describe him without sounding cheesy... he made me laugh out loud in a good way. And though there is A steamy love scene, really it's inconsequential to the text and easily glossed over. What's important in this text is the adventure of King John's box and bringing Alec to safety. After all, we only meet Brodick 150 pages in or so!

Recommend it to: Hahahaha. If you like romance, then pick up Garwood. I had started into this genre some years ago with Deveraux and though she too has great dialogue, Deveraux has excessive amounts of cheese involved.

Ok, better get back to The Red and The Black now!!