The Garwood Wayback Machine Project continues
https://juliegarwood.com/
Now onto the second book in the series, Guardian Angel - 1990. Guardian Angel was a lot
of fun. As I read this story, I was amazed at how much I was enjoying Ms. Garwood’s writing. What can I say? I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and it mainly had to do with the fact that the heroine, Jade, ran so many circles around the hero, Caine that it was hard to keep up. Caine had trouble keeping his equilibrium and so did we all.Here’s the premise of the story. The Marquess of Cainewood, aka Caine, is pretending to be the nefarious pirate Pagan. He has situated himself in a pub and loudly proclaims his fake name. You see, the real Pagan murdered his brother Colin, or at least that’s what he believes. Into the pub walks Jade. She is looking for Pagan. She wants to hire Pagan to kill her. Caine is intrigued. After much funny dialogue, Caine attaches himself to Jade – to protect her. At least that’s what he thinks, but all is not as it seems. Spoilers ahead. The story gets delightfully more twisted. Jade is actually the dread pirate Pagan; Caine’s brother Colin is still alive and has asked Jade/Pagan to protect his brother Caine until he can return. Someone is out to murder the brothers. All this hub-bub means that Jade/Pagan must hide some biggggg secrets. She must protect Caine but allow him to think that he’s protecting her. It was alllll great fun!
Not only were Caine and Jade/Pagan a great couple, but there were numerous supporting characters who came along for the ride. Jade’s uncle, the colorful Black Harry, makes an entertaining appearance. And let us not forget the butler Stern; he’s one of those feisty servants who speaks his mind to his employer – and doesn’t get fired.
From beginning to end this story was a fast-paced farce, filled with engaging characters. There was great chemistry between Caine and Jade/Pagan. Something which struck me as unique while I was rereading Garwood’s books was the way she wrote her heroines. On the surface, her heroines seem to be silly, eccentric creatures who sometimes have TSTL actions. But when one looks a little deeper into the female leads, one finds loads of charm, intelligence, and integrity as strong as steel. Jade was all of these things. Now don’t get me wrong, she had insecurities and was afraid of Caine’s reaction when he found out the truth. She wasn’t always correct, but her heart was in the right place – who wouldn’t be charmed by Jade. Certainly not Caine.
Caine. I love Garwood’s males. They are pure and simple alpha males. Which is why it’s so much fun to watch them fall. And, they fall almost immediately, usually in the first chapter. I will be honest, I don’t think I want to be married to one – they are wayyyyy to possessive for my taste, but in these little fairy-tale books by Garwood they are fun to watch.
In case you didn’t guess, Guardian Angel was a joy to read.
Time/Place: Regency England/High Sea
Sensuality: Warm/Hot
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