| The Prize | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Garwood
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 27948
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0671702513
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780671702519
ASIN: 0671702513
Publication Date: August 1, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Amazing historical January 10, 2008
It's England and it's 1066, which means that the Normans are coming, and the Saxons are doomed. Except if you happen to be our Heroine, Nicholaa, a courageous, crafty, spontaneous young woman who is the Prize that the title refers to. She has become quite the legend at King William's Court because thus far she managed to fight off 3 of the King's warriors that were trying to get her to surrender her keep and her lands.
The book opens with attempt number 4 by the Normans who are being led this time by one of the King's Favorites, Royce. He is a warrior and he trains William's men in the arts of war. He is also our Hero, which means that this time she will fail and her keep will finally fall into Norman hands. But not before outsmarting him one last time - he didn't count with her faithful servants who help her to get away to the safety of the Abbey where her brother is - she dresses up as a nun and pretends to be her own twin. He soon finds out about the deceit and figures out a way of getting her out of the Abbey so he can take her to the Court, where the Lords will have a chance to fight for the Prize.
Over the time they spend together on the way to London, they come to appreciate each other: he finds himself admiring her struggles and failed attempts to escape and she appreciates his sense of honor and the fact that he never seems to loose his patience with her or with any of his subordinates. At this point, they are half way through falling in love with each other and it's not a surprise when Nicholaa, after winning the Queen's respect and given the chance to choose a husband, picks Royce.
What happens next is the good old battle of the sexes where each has its own views on what their place in the world should be. Royce sees marriage as a map: ordained, organized, where everyone has a duty. His is to protect his wife, her family, his men. Hers is to give him peace by following his rules: to obey his orders without questioning, to not raise her voice, to not allow spontaneous actions to rule her decisions and to not weep - each and every single one she fails miserably to comply with which leads to funny and endearing moments of endless lectures by Royce while she daydreams about love and family traditions and how to make their marriage a happy one:
It was great fun to follow these two and see them slowly but surely fall in love with each other. But the love story was not the only amazing element in this book. The historical research was spot on and there were other subplots that also kept me entertained: the growing friendship between Royce and her younger brother Justin who was struggling to find his new place in the new order of things, her fear that at some point there would be a deadly clash between her older brother and her husband - what would her place be then? Is she a traitor of her people by accepting her fate so easily and falling in love with the enemy?
I loved The Prize and this is one of those books that I will be coming back to in a rainy afternoon when all you want to do is to get a cuppa and a blanket and sit down with a comfort read.
Review Courtesy of The Book Smugglers
 I like Julie Garwood - this book was a little lacking October 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I like Julie Garwood's writing style. It's easy to ready & fast paced. I liked this book but didn't really love it. I thought when we first met Nicholaa she was really going to be something else. Clever, feisty, beautiful. She ends up being a totally different character. She will do anything to make Royce happy. It got really tiresome. I still enjoyed the story. It might have been better to see a little bit more tension with her older brother Thurston. He totally gets lost in the book.
 4 stars is maybe a bit generous, but hey, this is a J.G. book! July 28, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
So far, I've read 4 J.G. books, and the other 3 I loved and would award 5 stars to (Honor's Splendour, The Secret, Ransom). Then I read this one. It was pretty good, but to me not near as good as the others I've read.
What I liked most:
Heroine is practiced at slingshot slinging
Heroine saves small child from a fire
Heroine saves hero by putting herself between him & the oncoming arrow
Hero is mostly likeable, but does have his overbearing moments
Loved how Justin comes around to be a productive and strong man after his accident
What I liked the least:
Heroine's attitude towards rescuing the king's niece from the fire. It was a courageous act, but later she whines about how ugly the scars are and you get the impression that she then wished she hadn't saved that little girl;
I wanted to see Thurston come back to get Justin, and Justin stand up for himself and either seriously injury Thurston or even kill him, if necessary. Thurston had it coming and the reader is deprived of seeing Justin, who is up to the task, courageous, and the perfect person to take him out, being allowed to do so;
We are never told how Royce got his scar, only that he got it at the age of 15. That was one of the things I was looking most forward to in the book is finding out how he got that scar. We never do find out;
Nicolaa had no fight in her. She gave up her home too easily to Royce. And why? Because he is handsome & she is attracted to him? How silly is that??? I wanted to see some sparks from her. She is told by a servant that he's taken over her home, gave it a name - Rosewood - now tell me, how many men are going to take over an estate & name it Rosewood? - is friendly with her people, etc. She took this news of the hated Norman conquer practically becoming Martha Stewart in her family home in stride! WHAT??? I don't mind her succumbing to him eventually, but to just give up at practically the beginning of the book and let him take over like that? It didn't make sense and it only shows the heroine as someone who gives up easily.
I know this book was written in the spirit of fun, not meant to be realistic like other romance novels about conquerers, which show the reality of the times, the brutality. But still, I wanted to see some backbone to this witty novel!
I would recommend not reading this Julie Garwood book right away, trying one of those others I mentioned first instead, save this one for later in your Julie Garwood reading career.
Julie Garwood never disappoints July 25, 2007
In The Prize, a Norman baron, Royce, is sent to capture a beautiful Saxon lady and bring her back as the king's prize. King William's intention is that Lady Nicholaa be given as a bride to one of his honorable soldiers, who will have to compete to win her hand. But when Nicholaa proves herself valiant and honorable, William gives her a choice, and she chooses Royce. From the on, the marriage between this defiant Saxon woman and her courageous Norman husband is the stuff that romances were made for. The two find a love based on common respect, loyalty, and honor. I've been reading a lot of Julie Garwood lately and I have to say that she never disappoints. While my favorite lately is The Bride, I will say that The Prize was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Garwood crafts beautiful tales that tell a complete story from start to finish and never leave you wanting. Her heroes are honorable, courageous men who any woman would be happy to call her own. I would definitely recommend The Prize to anyone in the mood for a good historical romance.
Love and chess... July 16, 2007
Another fantastic Garwood historical romance. This story is engaging because, despite the initial attraction, the hero and heroine are more than happy to throw sparks while disagreeing. Their romance is as complicated as a good chess game, a metaphor Garwood engages. My only criticism is that the book ends a bit abruptly, but it isn't disappointing. It just left me wanting more.
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