Comments on: REVIEW: The Secret by Julie Garwood

By: Pam

Pam — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:55:16 +0000

I think my all time favorite book of hers is The Wedding. I’ve also read and reread all of her books. Does anyone know of another author who has her highland style? I’ve read several books by different authors but haven’t found one who can compare to JG. Any suggestions?

By: Karen P

Karen P — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:29:46 +0000

Great book! Don’t forget Ransom, it’s the follow up (but not really a sequal, can be read in any order) to this book. It too is great. My other fav’s by Garwood is Honors Splendor and The Gift. I haven’t read a bad Garwood historical yet, but some hit the spot a bit more than others. I too am looking foward to her new historical. I hear it is based on characters we meet in Secret and Ransom.

By: Keishon

Keishon — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:14:55 +0000

Well, Jayne is not alone. I don’t get the appeal of Garwood and I’ve tried reading her several times as well. However, I did read and like Saving Grace but her humor and her appeal continues to elude me.

By: Shannon C.

Shannon C. — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 19:30:24 +0000

Jayne,
I’ll be over here with you in the does not get Garwood corner. I know that her books sound very much like books I *should* like, so it makes me sad that I’ve never quite made it through any of them.

By: raspberry swyrl

raspberry swyrl — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:24:12 +0000

I tihnk Garwood is like a warm fuzzy blanket sort of like JAK. You can re-read them over and over again and it’s all very comfortable….

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:53:30 +0000

I’m sort of in between on Garwood: she’s one of the first romance authors I read and I liked her medievals at the time, although I never much cared for the Regencies (the heroines were a bit too perfect). “The Secret” was in fact one of my favorites, with “Honor’s Splendor” another. However, over time I liked the Garwoods less and less, and they all began to blend into one another. What I can’t understand is why the same phenomenon in Amanda Quick forms the basis of comfort read but in Garwood spells boredom. Of course, as my family and friends will attest, totally irrational and contradictory reactions are not entirely unknown in my personality.

By: drbs_tweeti

drbs_tweeti — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:55:58 +0000

I love JG….I remember reading them a long time ago, when I first started reading romance. Now, I’m making it a practice to buy them all at the local used book store…and I’ve fallen in love with her work again!!

By: Casee

Casee — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:04:42 +0000

Jane, that is so funny b/c I just finished re-reading The Secret last night then started Ransom. LOL.

I love JG’s historicals. Like you, I tended to be a little more critical this time around, but I still loved it. I just hope the upcoming historical will be up to par with her past historicals.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:34:10 +0000

Alas Jill, THE BRIDE is the one Garwood I managed to get through. And I hated it. I tried one of her westerns and couldn’t even finish it.

By: Jill Myles

Jill Myles — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:56:05 +0000

Jayne, I found that her early historicals (Gentle Warrior, Honour’s Splendour) weren’t as well written as her later ones. Her medievals are indeed her best ones – THE BRIDE, THE WEDDING (I almost wrote that as the ‘weeding’), THE SECRET, and RANSOM.

Julie Garwood is one of my yearly re-reads – I’ve probably read all of hers at least a dozen or more times. They stand up better to the test of time than Judith McNaught’s books do for me (though I still love me some Judith McNaught with some crazee love too).

Sigh. I could go on forever about the greatness of Julie Garwood.

By: sula

sula — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:54:07 +0000

When I started to seriously get into romance novels whilst in college, Julie Garwood was my go-to gal. I think I read every single historical she had written. Multiple times. And this book was one of my favorites. I recently reread some of her stuff and found that the regencies did not hold up very well (at least for me). But I still have a soft spot in my heart for the highland tales, even though if you read them all in a rush, you’ll spot the cliches. The heroine is always a little ditzy and with some sort of endearing quirk, the hero strong and “rational”, the clan suspicious of the outsider, there’s usually one good girlfriend, and of course a sidekick for the hero who gets the next book, etc. BUT despite that, they’re still highly readable and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to Ms. Garwood’s return to historicals. :)

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:27:51 +0000

I recently discovered Garwood’s historicals and while I like the highlanders, I don’t care much for the regencies. And now that I’ve read all her highlanders and loved them all, I’m moving on to highlanders from other authors. if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to drop me an email. :-)

By: Nalini Singh

Nalini Singh — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:14:43 +0000

I’m another one who loves Julie Garwood’s historicals! Do you have any more info on the new historical? There’s info about Shadow Music on her website but it sounds like a contemp from the description.

By: Angela James

Angela James — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:33:11 +0000

Oh God, I swear I’ve read this book at least thirty times, no lie. It’s my favorite Garwood but I do love me some Garwood (err…historical Garwood, not contemporary Garwood). I also love Saving Grace nearly as much. *sigh* Now I must re-read The Secret

By: Charlene Teglia

Charlene Teglia — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:01:49 +0000

I love her historicals. I can’t wait for the new one!

By: Stacy S

Stacy S — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:49:23 +0000

When I first started reading romance, The Secret and The Gift were really the first ones I read and liked ( and have been hooked ever since). I’m one of those people that even like her contemps.

By: Jayne

Jayne — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:31:17 +0000

Oh Jane, you write these reviews that tempt me to see if maybe, just maybe, I might find a Garwood to like. And then I remember my responses to the one I finished and the one I tried. Blech, shudder, gah.

But wax rhapsodicly away. I know you love her.

By: Sarah McCarty

Sarah McCarty — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:26:53 +0000

There is nothing as good as a Garwood historical. Sigh!

By: Collette

Collette — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:26:10 +0000

Thanks for the info–at least I’m not missing something right in front of my face which, frankly, has been the case all day.

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:22:00 +0000

Collette – You know I meant to research that issue before this posted and forgot. I looked it up though and it appear only her contemps are in ebook form. Weirdness.