Saving Grace by Julie Garwood

I found this book about eight years ago on a Goodreads historical fiction group and it's one I re-read every year or so. It's not clean romance, so you can ignore this post if you're not interested, but I think it's worth skipping a few pages in order to read such a compelling story. And it's on sale today for $2 on Kindle!

Saving Grace is the story of Lady Johanna, a loyal subject of King John until he demands that she remarry a man she can't stand. Her brother instead arranges a match with his Highlander enemy Gabriel MacBain, a man whom he trusts to protect her despite the bad blood between them. Having lived through an abusive marriage once already, she is understandably frightened of the larger-than-life warrior, but agrees to marry him anyway with a few conditions.

It takes a while for Johanna to become used to life at the castle. She doesn't understand why her stepson doesn't live with them; why she must switch her plaids each day to appease the two proud names under the MacBain banner; and why on earth she has to sit inside all day doing needlework when there is so much more she is capable of accomplishing. As she grows more confident in her position and trusts more fully in her husband's care, she slowly begins to adapt to and even to change life at the castle for the better. Previously, her only act of rebellion was learning to read against the king's law, but she comes to be as feared and respected as her laird. (Whew! I would love to actually see her wield that bow!) Unfortunately, the past will not remain in England and come to Scotland with danger in its wake.

As previously stated, this is not a clean romance and contains several sex scenes, most not very descriptive. They serve to show the strengthening bond and trust between the lead characters, especially when Johanna doesn't particularly like Gabriel at the first. Personally, I think Garwood could have shown that growing bond without the descriptive love scenes, but some readers enjoy that in her books. There are a few authors that I habitually read even though they're not entirely clean because they write beautiful books and are worth a few skipped pages. I've read a few by Garwood and she doesn't fall in that category, but this is a moving book with a very satisfying ending where all fears are vanquished, their deep mutual love is declared, and all the loose ends are tied up. Even with a few jarring modern words slipped in, I just can't help cheering every time Johanna does something courageous or even outrageous because it makes me feel a little happier and stronger by default.

You can also read more about this book here on Goodreads. This is a medieval romance, which I rarely read, but I also recommend looking into the authors Joyce DiPastena or Jan Cox Speas on Goodreads or Amazon.