"THANK YOU GOD, THANK YOU GOD, THANK YOU GOD" Ini doa Lady Johanna saat suaminya di kabarkan meninggal dunia....lho? kenapa? Ini ceritanya.... Ini ttg Lady Johanna yg suami jahat nya mati, trus di paksa Raja mesti milih suami baru, dia di minta kakaknya nikah sama Gabriel McBain yg Laird Skotlandia, nah cinta mereka ini nanti yg jd cerita...Gabriel ini galak, tapi melting sama Johanna...dari pertama kenal udah mulai posesif, besok sore nya nikah, malem nya langsung uhuk2 pake acara oralit segala hiihihii... Penampilan memang gak menjamin sih ya, serem tapi baik hati, Gabriel McBain, Laird klan McBain memang luar biasa manis buat istri baru nya Lady Johanna yg trauma akibat di pukulin suaminya pada perkawinan pertamanya...untung bastard itu mati deh... Awal ketemu sih si Gabriel udah naksir berat sama Johanna, padahal sebelum ketemu sempat di hhina dina...ngapain kawin sama cewek Inggris? Beuuuuu...... kena batu nya dia ahhahahhah Awalnya sih dia gak mau karena Nicholas kakak angkatnya maksa dia mesti nikah sma Gabriel demi rasa aman, dari pada di paksa Raja John buat nikah ssama William yg jahat. mana si Johanna barren pula, tapi Gabriel gak masalah sih,secara dia udah ada anak (anak haram dari ceweknya yg dulu , tenang, udah mati juga)....hihihihihi After menikah dan malam pertama yg mengesankan (Johanna gak pernah ngalamin orgasme sama suami yg dulu, begitu jari2 lentik Gabriel bermain, langsung "O" dia) hihihihiihih ...mulailah Gabriel stress karena istrinya yg suka gak sadar lingkungan, orang2 lagi perang2an dia malah jalan di tengah2,hampir kena tebas pedang, yg bikin jantung Gabriel hampir copot.... Sempet melotot sama Calum yg meluk Johanna karena Johanna hampir jatuh kena tebas pedang ..deeeuuu....posesif banget deh dia.....After itu, Dumfries si anjing yg sangat di takuti Johanna luka hampir mati karena di serang serigala, Johanna malah ngerawat dan melarang anak buah suaminya membunuh Dumfries buat menghilangkan penderitaan Dumfries...sejak saat itu,Johanna gak takut lagi sama anjing raksasa itu..unyu bangeet disini.... Mulailah masalah demi masalah berdatangan sejak pernikahan mereka, mana si Gabriel posesif nya menyebalkan, masa si Johanna gak boleh kerja hihihihihi..kalo aku sih pasti suka, gak kerja seharian baca buku...tapi Johanna gak betah, makanya dia curi2 waktu main golf (waktu itu gak tau apa namanya, cuma iseng2 aja pukul2 bola ke lobang) ....mana rese banget Johanna, pake segala acara cari harta karun lah di goa yg jauh... Sampai gara2 itu, one day dia nekat pas Gabriel berburu, dia pergi sendiri, dan di keroyok sama srigala, beberapa ekor sekaligus, untung jago manjat pohon dan jago memanah...bikin jantung Gabriel hampir copot waktu liat bininya di atas pohon di tungguin serigala.... Sampai castle mereka, gak lama , mereka sdh di tunggu kejutan lagi, ada satu klan yg datang bawa perempuan telanjang berdarah2 habis di pukulin, karena katanya, Clare ini tadinya calon istri anaknya laird siapa itu yg jahat, McInnes kalo ga salah, tapi Clare nya ngaku kalo dia 3 bulan yll spending a whole night sama cowok McBain..makanya Clare di kirim ke Mcbain,dan dianggap whore...Sadis banget deh,sampe Gabriel terpana...Johanna yg pernah mengalami pemukulan sama suami terdahulunya,ngamuk berat, sampe anak laird itu dia panah 2 kali di kakinya,dan di biarin aja sama Gabriel,terakhir malah Gabriel yang memanah punggung si Robert itu karena berani2 ngeluarin belati buat ngancem istrinya... Lumayan tegang disini , akhirnya Clare di rawat sama Johanna...di tengah2 ngerawat Clare, biarpun capek, tetep aja mereka uhuk2 selalu...pasangan ini memang hot sangat, gak bisa dapet kesempatan berdua, langsung deh uhuk2..kalo gak,ya ngobrol sambil pangku2an hihihiihihih..... Gabriel curiga,kalo laki2 yg spending the night sama Clare itu adl Nicholas, kakak Johanna yg waktu itu memang di kasih plaid nya klan McBain...hm.... After itu ada kejadian lagi waktu Gabriel bilang kalo mama nya Johanna mau dateng, sibuklah Johanna memperbaiki "manner" para cowok2 barbar itu, sampe after dia banting2 piring .... dia tiba2 pingsan, dan cowok2 barbar itu pada bertobat dan bertekad buat mematuhi aturan makan di rumah Johanna.... Tapi..pingsannya Johanna sebetul nya bukan karena overwhelming sama para soldiers siiih...hm, aku tau....hihihihiii..ternyata...Johanna tidak barren, dia hamil ! owowoowow..jago sekali si abang Gabriel ini ternyata yaaa....aaauuuuuuuuu.......... Sperm nya pasti juara renang olimpiade sperm nih...hihihihiihi Belom lagi kejahilan Johanna yg memadupadankan 2 plaid buat mempersatukan kedua klan yg di pimpin suaminya...sadar juga akhirnya Gabriel bahwa istrinya ternyata lebih care dan lebih cerdas dari dia...seluruh klan akhirnya setuju kalo from now on, mereka semua pake plaid McBain,karena Gabriel adl seorang McBain....Belom lagi si Johanna suka jodoh2in semua orang hiihihii.... Kejutan demi kejutan mulai berdatangan lagi menguji kekuatan cinta mereka (cieeeee...) ...tapi memang ujian nya lumayan berat...termasuk kemunculan Baron Raulf yg tak lain tak bukan adalah suami pertama Johanna , yg ternyata belum mati..nah lo????? Di akhir2 memang seru banget, ada Clare dan Nicholas yg akhirnya jatuh cinta dan menikah , yg tadinya gak di setujui papi nya Clare karena Nic English,tapi pas Johanna bilang Nicholas kaya..bangeeeeeet...jsdi deh mereka dapet doa restu,.....hihihi...dasar matreeeee Sampai sidang2 yang di hadiri di hadapan Raja, dan Raulf yg gak mau terima kalo istrinya sudah menikah lagi dan pernikahan mereka di annulment..tetap dia mau merebut Johanna yg sudah jatuh cinta setengah mati sama suaminya,dan sedang hamil...Hm, bisa di tebak sih,akhirnya si Raulf mati juga ... matinya kenapa? Udahlah, baca aja sendiri ya..... Buat yg suka cerita2 fairy tales yg hero nya setia abis, heroine nya lemah lembut tapi kuat dan bikin hero nya lembek kayak ager2...pasti suka ini, aku sih suka banget, lagi capek sama Lord2 yg tidur sana sini, sleeping around sama mistress2 ...hyuck... Buat yg suka hero yg panas membara, yg selalu gak tahan berada di sekitar istrinya...dan bawaan nya pengen colooooook terus..ini juga recommended guys....
Review courtesy of: http://escapebetweenthepages.blogspot...Have you ever found yourself reading a certain book over and over again. Not because you didn't understand it, but because it was just that good? That is how I feel about Saving Graceby Julie Garwood. This book has it all. When I first bought it, I read it straight through, never putting it down, except for the occasional potty break. After looking over the elegant cover, with its simplistic style and inviting colors, I opened the book and traveled back to 13th-century England and Scotland. A timid Lady Johanna is relieved to learn that her abusive husband is dead. I found myself wanting to congradulate her. Unfortunately, her freedom is short lived, when the wicked King John wants to marry her to another abusive lord. Her brother makes a decision to save his sister and convinces the powerful highland laird Gabriel MacBain to put aside his natural disgust for all things English and wed her. Of course, he needs to agree sight unseen, and is given an incentive. He gets land that once belong to Scotland. The laird agrees and is of the mind, that he will sacrifice for the good of his people. The only problem is that the beloved brother has to convince Johanna to marry Gabriel. Johanna's first impression of Gabriel, he is a barabarian. Gabriel's first impression of Johanna, OH YES!, She will be mine. LOL, you just know he was mentally on his hands and knees thanking God, that she wasn't a walking hairy zit. The dialog between Johanna and Gabriel was fun and exciting. Getting married proved to be a challenge in itself. Gabriel being the alpha male, is used to things being his way. Johanna, the suppressed female, is tired of being disrespected and mistreated. The bickering back and forth was well written and gave credablitly to the story. There are also moments, that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I was like Awwwwwww. But under all the fun and fuzzy, there were some real serious and thought provoking issues. For so long, Johanna lived in fear. Fear from her first husband and fear from the church, who's confessor taught that women were last in God's love. Now she finds herself, afraid and uncertain as to the ways of life with the clan. Johanna has difficulty adjusting to life within a clan and being the new wife of the laird. The clan women make fun of Johanna behind her back, she has a hard time trusting her new husband, always expecting the shoe to drop or should I say the hand to start flying. She also has to learn to accept that not all men of the church are as sadistic as her previous confessor. But with the friendship of an old man obsessed with golf, a little boy, and a dog, Johanna begins to step out of her shell and grow strong. Her relationship with her new husband grows into love. Unfortunately, her new strength is tested when she rescues a battered woman and all the painful memories come flooding back. Not to mention, her brother returns to reveal news so shocking, that it could very well destroy all that she has come to love.What I appreciate about this story is the fact that there are real issues that could pertain to this day and age. There is physical and psychological abuse, political intrigue, corruption within the church, and so much more. When I say this book has it all, it does. The story is not only enjoyable, but believable and with a ending that leaves you both satisfied and wanting more. If you have never read a Garwood book, you are missing out. Saving Grace had my emotions going back and forth. Laughing, awing, anger, etc... You have to love a book that can accomplish that!
What do You think about Saving Grace (1994)?
Having heard such high praise about this book, I had sky-high expectations and expected to be blown away by it. Unfortunately, that didn't happen - not in the firsst half of the story, anyway. It took me a long time to like Gabriel - too arrogant and distant - and Johanna - too ditzy and scared. At one point, I was ready to scream if he told her to rest one more time! That was funny at first, like a recurring joke, but it got old pretty fast - probably because she didn't put a stop to it soon enough to suit me. Considering what she'd gone through during her first marriage, when she'd been a silent victim of spousal abuse, I completely understood her fears when it came to Gabriel, who was this "big and bad" Highland warrior, and I knew she needed time to get over them so I gave her some slack, but I couldn't wait to see her grow some spine. When she finally did... Wow, it was like I was reading another book! It was funny, touching, action-packed, everything I had expected to find at first, and I could not put the book down. Wonderful save, Ms. Garwood! :)Now, addressing the age issue that had me concerned before I started reading this book... Unless I missed it, neither Gabriel's nor Johanna's age was mentioned in the story. Aside from her brother saying that she had gotten married the first time when she was “still a child”, there was not other clue in the book and I only “knew” she was sixteen years old at the beginning of story because I read the book description. I know this is a minor detail and it shouldn't have bothered me, but it did. I like knowing how old the H/h are, especially if one of them is that young.All in all, this was another very good story by Ms. Garwood, and she's now officially one of my favorite authors.
—Dina
After a re-read of this recently, I'm bumping my rating to five stars. A really good read! I didn't love it as mch the first time I read jt for some reason. The story took a bit of time to unravel, and at first it was moving too slowly for me in my first read through, but I really warmed up to it. Johanna is a strong character, but she's very young when she's first married and violently abused by her husband. So it takes her time to come out of her shell and start asserting herself. But from the get go, Garwood really shows us that Johanna isn't weak in any way, shape or form and when Johanna finally does grow into her own, does she ever make everyone stand up and and notice of her. Literally. This character blew me away at the end and I have to say, really established herself as a vital, brave woman in her osn right, and perhaps just as fiercely protective of Gabriel as he is of her. I really love this character. And Garwood didn't disappoint with her hero. I can't resist the big, burly barbarians with soft hearts. Who can? Gabriel is infuriatingly protective, stubborn beyond a fault, mean even at times, but underneath it all he's a genlte soul. Just and loyal and true and what more do we want? I wasn't complaining. And this book was hysterical! I love how Garwood uses humor in her work. I'm literally laughing out loud when I read some of the scenes and that's a big plus. It goes a long way towards character development as well, and I'm all about well developed characters. All those puns about idioms were killing me. I wonder if even half of the idioms Johanna was using in her "lessons" had been invented at that time, even as mixed up as they were. I am however, fairly certain that the term romance, as Johanna uses it when she's thinking of Gabriel after she discovers his first name, was not a developed concept during the time period of this book. Personally, that doesn't bug me at all though I know it annoys some readers. However, I'm pretty darn certain with all the play on language, that Garwood thinks it amusing to play around with terms and phrases just to get a laugh out if her readers. And this reader is loving it.
—Jewels ♥ My Devastating Reads
Overall rating: 4 "Saving Grace" stars!Triggers:Cheating: (view spoiler)[ No (hide spoiler)]
—Rachel Regina
