Castles Mass Market Paperback – July 1, 1993

This is a good book. I like Alexandra & Colin as a couple. I like how she is so calm and sophisticated and intelligent. She’s very clever and although she has some moments of insecurity, she’s always put together. I like how he eventually listens to her and like that she’s intelligent and is proud of her.The plot was interesting with trying to figure out who Alexandra will marry and who the murderer is. Lots of action and no angst.

This is a charming historical romance of a second son, one who was badly injured while working for the war department in defense of his country, and is now starting a shipping company to make his own way. He has no time for a princess, his father’s ward, who has recently left the convent where she was raised after her parents’ deaths, and come to England because of a political threat against her safety. There are wonderful characters, great chemistry, a lovely romance, and a scary bad guy lurking in the background to add suspense. A fun, fun story.I first read this book in 1993. I’d recently discovered Julie Garwood’s historical romances, and had read them all. I decided to try my own hand at writing, and took a sabbatical. I rented a cabin in northern New Mexico, alone with my new laptop, and started my first novel (never published). I also took this newly released story and read it three times that week. It’s still one of my favorite comfort reads. I never tire of it, and reread it every 3 or 4 years. It’s timeless. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Let me start by saying I love the premise of these books. It’s historical romance meets murder mysteries, which are two of my favorite genres.PlotGreat plot. I loved the storyline. It was unique, original, and I enjoyed it.CharactersI loved the characters. I will say that I did find Colin a little contradictory from his previous character in previous books. He was known as the charmer when we met him in books two and three of the series, but here, he was not all that charming.RomanceAgain, excellent. Very steamy romance scenes. The only complaint (and it’s hyper critical) is that I like a little more build up to the ultimate romance scene, which didn’t necessarily happen in this book (or the series).Historical AccuracyGreat.Typos/grammar:There may have been a few but none were super noticeable.Chief complaint:The reason I did not give this book 5 stars (and why I found the series lacking when it could have been spectacular) was the action climax scenes. Throughout the entire book, the author builds and builds with the rising action, making the reader need to see a climactic scene with the main characters. While there is a main scene if confrontation, there is never any real danger for the main characters. It was a let down for me. And in my opinion, every book in the whole series did that.SPOILER WARNINGFor example, the dangerous murderer shows up at the house. One shot, murderer dies. After the whole book sets up this man killing women, the reader expects a big action scene. This book did not deliver on that front.

Julie Garwood is an amazing story teller, the story grabs you from the first chapter, I love reading her books. Would recommend her to everyone who enjoys a good story.

I first read Castles when I was 15 or 16 (I'm 40 now) and had already fallen in love with Julie Garwood's writing style, strong heroines and tough-but-loving heros. Castles is one of my favorites because Alesandra, the heroine, has a plan to fix her issues on her own - it may get a little bumpy at times, but she can handle herself. Colin, the hero, feels obligated to step in and help "save" Alesandra out of duty to his family but finds himself falling in love with Alesandra because she's not waiting for him to rescue her. It's a great story that I've read many, many times - and I'm sure I will read many more times in the future!

Aaah but don't'cha just love these handsome, arrogant, big Alpha men that JG gives us to slobber over? <sigh> And WHERE does JG retreat to..to dream up these wonderful stories? She usually doesn't fail to deliver...however this story isn't par for the course. Even though it was a fantastic plot full of romance (but of course m'dear!)..mystery, intrigue, adventure and murder...we're left with two sub-plots...One concerning the mysterious and, (we're told) evil General Ivan from some unknown Country (can anyone give us a frikkin' clue?)...and a serial killer run amok.I loved Princess Alesandras' character...but found it odd that this woman of high intelligence acted..at times, like the perfect ditz. hmmmm...Just didn't make a whole lotta sense. ok, movin'on...Colin was always true to his character and never lets us down, all the while dealin' with a painful injury and comin' to grips with so many life altering changes suddenly tossed in his lap...tryin' to trip up his plans to build a Shipping empire...and even though this story had me sayin' "huh"? to myself a couple'a times and was...at times...somewhat predictable...I gotta admit I still found it quite enjoyable and definitely worth the time/effort. I dunno...maybe I just need a life!?!All the secondary characters; Caine/Jade, Nathan/Sara, butlers, parents & siblings are all brought back for a thoroughly delightful dialogue with humorous situations regardless of a serial killer lurking in the shadows.

enjoyed the book

This was the culmination of a four book series and there wasn’t a bad one among them this is Colin’s story and how he and his princess get it together, I can guarantee you will love them all. Julie Garwood was a fabulous author and many a Time as with Colin’s story I couldn’t put them down. I also read them more than once that’s how much I enjoyed them.

Muy bonita la historia de amor, la relación entre la familia, y como se relaciona con los libros anteriores de la colección

Loved reading the book and enjoyed every detail of the story, since having bought all the collection of Julie Garwood's books, every book is unique. It entails humour, friendship, loyalty and witty natures of both men and female characters. Also the importance of family and love, that conquers all in every odds.

Julie Garwood's historical romance is so much better than her modern day stuff, and 'Castles' is a great example. It's romantic, exciting and very funny.Aristocrat Colin comes home to find a princess in his house. He instantly suspects his father of matchmaking. Princess Alesandra is beautiful rich and kind, yet she and Colin fall into childish squabbling and pinching each other at every opportunity. They are great characters. Alesandra is likeable but a bit of a sook. Colin issues dry one liners. The adoring butler is thrilled to have royalty in his household. In the background is an evil ruler who wants to abduct Alesandra.I don't know why this author's HR is so much more fun than her modern stuff, but I highly recommend all her historical novels. If you have not read the wonderful 'The Bride' and 'The Wedding', I would start there.