Author Spotlight Review: Castles by Julie Garwood

Reviewer: Holly
Castles (Crown's Spies #4) by Julie Garwood
Series: Crown Spies #4
Also in this series: The Lion's Lady
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: November 4th 1996
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 354
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Series Rating:

Orphaned and besieged Princess Alesandra knew that only hasty marriage to an Englishman could protect her from the turmoil in her own land. To the amusement of her makeshift guardian, Colin, younger brother of the Marquess of Caineswood, the bold raven-haired beauty instantly captivated London society. But when Alesandra was nearly abducted by her unscrupulous countrymen, the fighting instincts that won Colin a knighthood for valor were rekindled.

Deceiving himself that he wanted only to protect her, Colin swept her into a union meant to be a marriage in name alone ... yet Alesandra's tender first kiss and hesitant caress ignited a wildfire in his soul. As the lovely princess dashed headlong into unforeseen dangers, Colin would follow, knowing he must claim her as his own forever. Now he would risk life itself before he would lose this sweet, tempestuous angel ...

 

After Rowena reviewed this I kept thinking about it and decided I had to re-read. While I enjoyed parts of it, I’d forgotten that Castles is one of my least favorite books by Garwood.

Colin acts like such a condescending jerk to Alesandra most of the time I found I was just annoyed with him. He doesn’t give her the credit she deserves for anything. While that was cute in the beginning, the longer his attitude wore on the less I enjoyed the book. By the time he realizes his mistakes and apologizes, I’d had enough of his high handed ways. Especially since he constantly “forbids” Alesandra from doing things.

For her part Alesandra was a good heroine, but I felt she became somewhat of a doormat toward the end. The way she constantly gave in frustrated me. There were times when I felt like she needed to give Colin a good set down, but she didn’t. Even the way she went behind his back to accomplish things bothered me, because I felt she should have stood up for herself instead.

There are some wonderfully humorous and/or touching moments, but they weren’t enough to save the story for me. While I didn’t hate it, it isn’t a favorite either.

3 out of 5

The series:

This book is available from Pocket. You can buy it here or here.

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