Rating: 
Summary: Wow!
Review: All I can say is WOW!! I'm already a Garwood fan, but if I wasn't this book would have made me one! This is her best I've read, passionate, tender, interesting, and exciting! I wasn't so sure about the battered woman thing, it's kind of depressing and not what you want to concentrate on when you think romance, but Johanna was able to have a frightening past and still be full of spirit. Her initial timidity was well done and realistic, and so is the way Gabriel draws her fire out of her. I didn't think it got any better than Brodick in Ransom, or Connor in the Wedding, but Gabriel is my all time favorite Garwood hero! Her men always struggle w/ being too manly for love, but this time the hero realizes it before the heroine, and not only accepts it, but fights to make it two-sided!! What an awesome guy, can I take him home w/ me? I would have liked to hear more about Nicholas and Clare though. Awesome book, Julie Garwood fans, snatch this one up!!
Rating:
Summary: One of her Best
Review: I got this book when it first debuted on hardback ten years ago, and I must say that I've reread this story dozen of times since. Johanna, the victim of an abusive relationship, is persuaded by her brother, Nicholas, to wed Scottish Laird MacBain in order to protect her from King John. At first, Johanna is timid and frightened by her new situation. She is recovering from a first marriage in which she was repeatedly abused, and taught to be the way she was. However, when she hears her new husband's first name, she knows she will be safe with him. MacBain has come to the aid of the McClaurian clan, after their Laird perished in a fight with the English. After the English leave, MacBain becomes Laird of two clans, and must learn how to combine the two. At this same time, Johanna, his new wife, is a mystery to him. MacBain is a typical Garwood hero; strong, courageous and loving. He is the perfect compliment to Johanna's character. Johanna does not remain timid. She grows under the love and freedom given to her by MacBain. When she finally confronts her first husband with spuke, you want to appauld her for having the courage to do so. I highly recommend SAVING GRACE.
Rating:
Summary: One of her Best
Review: I got this book when it first debuted on hardback ten years ago, and I must say that I've reread this story dozen of times since. Johanna, the victim of an abusive relationship, is persuaded by her brother, Nicholas, to wed Scottish Laird MacBain in order to protect her from King John. At first, Johanna is timid and frightened by her new situation. She is recovering from a first marriage in which she was repeatedly abused, and taught to be the way she was. However, when she hears her new husband's first name, she knows she will be safe with him. MacBain has come to the aid of the McClaurian clan, after their Laird perished in a fight with the English. After the English leave, MacBain becomes Laird of two clans, and must learn how to combine the two. At this same time, Johanna, his new wife, is a mystery to him. MacBain is a typical Garwood hero; strong, courageous and loving. He is the perfect compliment to Johanna's character. Johanna does not remain timid. She grows under the love and freedom given to her by MacBain. When she finally confronts her first husband with spuke, you want to appauld her for having the courage to do so. I highly recommend SAVING GRACE.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it 3 times
Review: I hate reading a book again when I already know the ending. However, I've made an exception with all Julie's books. I love Johanna and Gabriel. This couple didn't suffer from all of those unrealistic miscommunications that often lead to them believing their unloved. You will also see Johanna evolve as a person (from a victim of abuse to a confident and independent woman). I do wish Julie had made the Epilogue focus on The MacBain's new baby rather than the death of Bishop Hallwick.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best romantic novel's I've read
Review: I have a special place for this book in my bookshelf and in my heart. The main character (an English young lady who has to get married to a Highlander) is strong and extremelly funny, and the story is very sweet. Garwood also manages to mix a bit of history in the plot, which creates an interesting background for the story. But mainly it is a love story between a big, fierce warrior and a small but strong and witty young woman. It may sound cliche, but the book is certainly worth getting past the cliche and letting youself be taken by the story and the characters.
Rating:
Summary: A very charming romance
Review: I loved this book, as I have all of Ms. Garwood's historicals. A word of warning before you read any of the other reviews here: Many of the following reviews contain SPOILERS! I found that out the hard way when I was buying the book here. But, I bought it anyway. I was glad I did as it's one of Ms. Garwood's best. Don't hesitate to add it to your collection. Just use caution in reading the following reviews. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A very charming romance
Review: I loved this book, as I have all of Ms. Garwood's historicals. A word of warning before you read any of the other reviews here: Many of the following reviews contain SPOILERS! I found that out the hard way when I was buying the book here. But, I bought it anyway. I was glad I did as it's one of Ms. Garwood's best. Don't hesitate to add it to your collection. Just use caution in reading the following reviews. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Magical
Review: I was first introduced to Julie Garwood after skimming through an excerpt of MERCY in the Cosmopolitan magazine. After reading that book, I read HEARTBREAKER. Then, I embarked upon reading her historical titles. As always, Garwood writes a tale about love, passion, and intrigue. SG takes place in the Highlands of medieval Scotland. The novel is truly captivating - for its memorable story, well-depicted characters, and excellent writing. Out of all the handsome, powerful, arrogant, and gallant heroes that grace the historical romance world, Scottish laird Gabriel MacBain is by far my most favorite warrior. He is a tender and passionate lover. Unlike many heroes, he does not torment himself, or struggle with the fact that he actually loves his wife! He accepts Johanna for who she is; he welcomes her love with open arms; and he protects her with all his might. Lady Johanna is wonderfully crafted as the golden-haired English beauty. Of course, she's clever, strong-willed, loyal, and absolutely devoted to MacBain. Together, they make one of Garwood's most beloved couples. I cherish SG, because it's the first historical romance novel that I ever read. I believe it's a definite must-have for all romance readers alike. I have read all of Ms. Garwood's books, except PRINCE CHARMING, KILLJOY, and A GIRL NAMED SUMMER. Her ability to entertain readers with her wonderful prose style is invaluable to the literary world. She's a masterful storyteller. After reading this book, I highly recommend that you read HONOR'S SPLENDOR, THE LION'S LADY, THE BRIDE, THE SECRET, and RANSOM. All of her books are great and very entertaining, but these 4 represent her best work.
Rating:
Summary: Unexpectedly delightful
Review: I'm not a reader of romance novels, but recently one of my good friends, who reads widely in that genre, said that I must sample what she considers to be the cream of the crop in romance. Reluctantly I paged through the several novels she lent me, and Saving Grace turned out to be the only one I could finish. I found it really enjoyable.
What drew me in at first was that the hero, Gabriel, and the heroine, Johanna, are not good-looking, empty-minded twits who come together for the sake of the plot. Despite the fact that both are beautiful people, their looks aren't belabored... it's plain to us that it's their characters that hold the key attraction. What begins as a marriage of convenience, blossoms into a relationship of trust, respect, and ultimately love. They bring out the best in each other and each is nourished by the unique strengths of the other.
As the hero, Gabriel is great. Sure he's gruff, and likes to grumble and shout, but as the heroine realizes very early on, he's just a big softy; it's an amusing moment in the book when she likens him to his pet dog - growls a lot, but really just wants to be petted and scratched behind the ears. He's honorable and loyal (would defend his wife at the drop of a pin), and despite all his bluster about how a wife should listen to her husband, he swells with admiration each time his wife shows him spirit and gives him sass, and he supports her various clever initiatives in improving clan life (so long as she doesn't place herself in harm's way, of course... he's terribly overprotective). Despite a professed inability to figure out women, and his repeated claims that warriors don't know anything about matters of the heart, from the onset he makes sincere efforts at knowing his wife's thoughts and feelings, even as he's confused by his own. When he learns at the start of the novel that she has been abused in her first marriage, he makes sure to always behave gently, tries his best to always be patient, and - on those occasions when he does tear his hair out in frustration - gives her repeated assurances that for all his barking he has no bite. Also refreshing - when he realizes that what he feels for his wife is deep and abiding love, he doesn't fight the vulnerable feeling, but tries to figure out how to make her feel the same way; he doesn't want to be mushy-hearted on his own.
Johanna starts off a bit on the timid side (which, given her age and her first marriage, is understandable), but even from the start she shows pluck. And once she settles in with her new husband and realizes that he's a good man who would sooner kill himself than harm a hair on her head, her confidence continues to grow and she thrives, becoming a commanding and remarkable woman. She has very appealing traits for a heroine - strength of character, great warm-heartedness (particularly for people who are weaker and undefended), and great force of spirit and cleverness; it's no wonder that within a few short months of marriage, her husband is eating out of her hand. Garwood writes her transition in her new home very well, how she breaks out of her old mentality of guardedness and fear and gains the respect and admiration of all the people in her clan.
Aside from two very appealing main characters, what makes the novel a good read is that it isn't written melodramatically or in an overwrought fashion. Though some of the writing and the plot twists are a little cliche, I really didn't care. Garwood writes with a great deal of wryness and humor, so that when truly emotional moments do come, the reader feels their power all the more. The light touch in the writing is great, and there are many very unexpected moments and bits of dialogue - another refreshing facet of Saving Grace that readers will appreciate. The hero and heroine actually have intelligent discussions and banter wittily (though they don't always intend to be funny).
A satisfying read. I enjoyed the time I spent reading it, and if there's any romance novel I would recommend to someone wanting to get a taste of the romance genre, this would be it.
Rating:
Summary: A sequel needed!
Review: My sister told me to read this book for the longest time. The reason why I prolong reading this one is cuz I didn't like the synopsis in the back of the book. Call me old fashion but I prefer my heroine a virgin. Since Johanna was once married, she didn't peaked my interest. I also thought I was getting tired of Julie Garwood's style of similar characteristics in her novels but I was wrong. Sure, this one does have a share of similar descriptions (such as heroine has freckles in nose, smells like rose and hero's a big, tall handsome warrior) just like on her other books, but i still love it :-) It's been awhile since I read a Julie Garwood novel, I just realized how much I love her style. The humor, the romance, the secondary characters that adds spice to the story & of course, the unexpected twist. What more can a reader want? Once again, this book trully satisfied me. I was entertained more than I expected. I should have read this one as soon as my sister told me to. I read here in Amazon that some readers don't find Johanna an interesting heroine because of her timidity and weakness. In my opinion, this is what made her different and more appealing. Yes, she WAS timid and I can't say I blame her considering her past marriage. I would find the story too far fetch if Johanna would right away snapped out of her timidity and fear after what had happend to her once before. She lived in fear, she walked on eggshells for far too long to simply be bold & audacious. The readers will also consider that Johanna was in a different environment, married (2nd time) to a stranger who's a big handsome brute, wouldn't u be timid and scared? It took time for her to trust McBain, it took time for her to come out of her shell. Deep down,she is actually fiery, spirited, spunky & a courageous woman. She just needs some encouragement, stability and security to let that flow out. She was married too young the first time (and what a mess that was) and therefore, didn't really know herself until McBain taught her how to find her true identity. In short, I think Johanna's character developed perfectly and realistically. As for their age difference, well, i do agree it's somewhat a big gap but I overlook this flaw merely because they fit in together. I agree with quite a few reviewers comments here however, that this book needs a sequel.
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