| Shadow Music: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Garwood
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $0.94
You Save: $25.06 (96%)
New (50) Used (63) Collectible (6) from $0.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  133 reviews
Sales Rank: 53331
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0345500733
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345500731
ASIN: 0345500733
Publication Date: December 26, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Loved the book but there are some inaccuracies! July 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really loved this book! I was so happy when she returned to historical... I mean I love her contempories, but she writes a wonderful historical romance. My one problem with this book is that she seems to forget her previous stories in the mix. Early on in the book her previous character Broderick asks Colm if remembers how he met his wife and Colm responds - Yes, when she was returning Laird Ramsey's brother to him. Anyone who read Ransom know that she was returning Alex MAITLAND to his father, not Ramsey's brother. Other than the little mistakes like that, which Ms. Garwood should have caught, this book was awesome and I think a great way to get back into historicals. I am hoping she will write more historicals soon!
 This is the book that ends it July 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm going to keep my review to the point & simple: thank goodness I had the sense to borrow this book from the library instead of buying it at hardcover price!! I still can't believe that this book was written by the same Julie Garwood who wrote 'The Secret', 'Honor Splendour', and more. To call the book has a plot is laughable, the dialogues and writing style are so unbelievably bad, complete with characters I could't possibly care less!
Shadow Music just hit the last nail on the coffin. Goodbye, Julie Garwood!
 Pretty Terrible, but Amusing for a Hot Summer's Day June 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Was contentment the ultimate to be wished for? Were passion and love and excitement only for dreams? Was it ever possible to have it all?" wonders Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel in Julie Garwood's latest historical romance "Shadow Music." "Shadow Music" is the tale of a beautiful princess promised by King John of England to a Scottish Lord. The union is meant to settle tensions along the Scottish border. Gabrielle's betrothed is murdered and she is taken in by a Highland clan who protects her and accepts her as one of their own. "Shadow Music" is a tale of love, lust, and political maneuvering that, once you get into it, makes for a good read.
The characters leave much to be desired. They are neither multidimensional nor believable. Gabrielle is described many times as being beautiful and troublesome, yet those adjectives hardly create a whole character. What are her hopes? Ambitions? True feelings? What really makes her tick? Her character is flat. I also questioned why Gabrielle was able to speak Gaelic, which she said was her mother's native language, when her mother was from St. Biel, in the Byzantine Empire. I did not find Gabrielle's character to be realistic and was not able to relate to her.
Another example of the lack of character development can be found in the Barons Percy and Coswold. They are in constant competition for Gabrielle's hand until she's excommunicated following false accusations. Garwood does not explain why the two men want Gabrielle so much besides for that she is beautiful. We do learn that Barron Coswold has ambitions about finding the gold of St. Biel, but even those ambitions are not expanded upon. How did he learn about the gold? What does he hope to achieve by finding it? What has brought him to this point in his life? There is no substance behind their names, leaving them unmemorable and unbelievable.
The plot is predictable and the foreshadowing is overkill. Garwood is not subtle in hinting what will come next. She ends chapters with phrases such as "The best-laid plans had a way of changing" and "never in her wildest thoughts could she have imagined what was coming."
Moments that seem important to the plot are covered quickly and with little detail. For example, the feud between the MacHugh and MacKenna clans is spoken of frequently and MacHugh's desire to avenge the attempted murder of his brother Liam is an important side plot. The battle between the two clans is two pages long. Another significant portion of the book that is skimmed over all too quickly was when Isla accused Gabrielle of being a wanton woman. Gabrielle is suddenly shunned from society, excommunicated from her country, and wounded by men throwing stones. I found this highly unbelievable. There was no proof and only a second before she was a pillar of virtue and grace!
There is not much that sets this book apart from others in its genre. I found the book difficult to get in to. However, if one ignores the one-dimensional characters and predictable story line, "Shadow Music" is a decent read. This was my first experience with a Julie Garwood novel, and I probably wouldn't read one of her books again. Some of her novels must be great, though, since she's been on the New York Times Bestseller's list 15 times. This story was not spectacular and the characters were certainly not memorable, but reading this novel is not the worst way to spend a hot summer's day.
 A pure delight! June 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm so glad I don't pay much attention to reviews! I found Shadow Music a pure delight from first to last page! I will admit that at first I wasn't sure if I would like the book but once I got into it, I fell in love with both Gabrielle and Colm. The novel had me cheering, laughing, sighing, and dreading the things that were happening to the characters. I simply couldn't put it down until the last page was read.
I recommend that you read Ransom first before you read this book as The Buchanan's story is in that one. I also found out that I need to read Shadow Dance as it deals with the ancestors of the Buchanan's and the McKenna's. Even though I like Garwood's historical romances I find I am looking forward to digging into Shadow Dance.
From J. Kaye's Book Blog June 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've never read a book by Garwood and wanted to give it a try. Personally, I loved the book. Maybe if I'd read the book instead of listening to the audio, there would have been dry spots. I can only guess though. I found the story engaging enough to forget about exercising and that says a lot!
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