The Prize

I’ve been doing a reread of some of my favorite books written by the author over twenty years ago. Okay, most of this author’s early writings have been reread by me practically every year since their original release. This one has to be included as one of the best.

Normandy is invading Saxony and Lady Nicholaa is left alone with the servants and a small contingent of soldiers to protect her family and home. Her brother, Thurston, is leading a rebellion and her younger brother, Justin, lost his hand during the fighting and has given up on life. She’s also been saddled with taking care of Thurston’s baby. Three contingencies of young soldiers attempt to claim her home and take her before the new king who considers her a prize to be show more given away to one of his loyal barons. Each is driven away in humiliation. The fourth, Baron Royce, is a trainer of soldiers, and is able to succeed where the others have failed. He’s amazed at Nicholaa’s cunning and she’s not only attracted, but finds he’s a very patient and considerate man.

The tables are turned when presented to the new king and his wife, Nicholaa saves the life of the queen’s niece and instead of being offered as a prize, she gets to pick her husband from the single warriors in the room.

Humor abounds throughout the story, although not so much on the fun chaotic level that can be found in some of the other books. The romance is poignant and you’d better have tissues handy. While struggling over the idea that she’s attracted to her home’s invader, she comes to appreciate how her life is changed. And while Royce is patient, he is rigid in his expectations and schedule. Nicholaa is pure spontaneity in comparison, as well as a strong strategist, generating much of the humor.

A great story, interesting characters and situations, told with the author’s trademark flare, this book is worth a reread. show less

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. Her parents are long dead, her younger brother is at his death bed in a nearby abbey, and her older brother is off fighting the Conqueror in the North so she has to use whatever methods are at her disposal to defend herself and her people (including her sling – she is a mighty shot and she never misses.)

The book show more 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 - whoever gets her gets not only gets one of the most beautiful women in England but also a wealthy one.

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. “Checkmate” she says, alluding to the game of wits they have been playing for the past weeks.

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 all so simple. Royce was the first trainer of men. His duty had been determined years before when William recognised his talent. (…) Nicholaa decided not to interfere with her husband’s primary duties. She’d stay out of his way while he turned ordinary men into invincible warriors.
She had only just decided upon her duty, however. She wasn’t sure how to begin. Only one thing was certain: she and Royce were going to live together in peace and harmony even if it killed him. Yes, she thought to herself, Royce would train his men.
And she would train him.”

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: the conflicts between Norman and Saxon’s traditions, the insurgency growing in the North and even the description of King William’s relationship with his wife Matilda which seems to have been one of genuine respect and love. 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. And I am definitely going to carry on reading Julie Garwood’s historicals.

Notable quotes/parts: The Chess allusions. Both Royce and Nicholaa were excellent players (although I am not too certain that Saxons played the game at all – Normans did for sure). There are many many parts that are awworthy and heartwarming in the book but I think my favorite is the one when Royce surprises Nicholaa with the new Queen.

Additional Thoughts: The Norman conquest of England began one afternoon in October 1066 when the troops led by Duke William of Normandy decimated the English forces, led by the Saxon King, Harold, who fell to his death in that battleground. It was the Battle of Hastings and every year, in those very same grounds, there is a battle re-enactment: people dress up in period clothes and spend the whole weekend camping as if they were back in time. The event is open to the public and last year we drove to join the festivities. It was an awesome weekend. Nearby there are the ruins of an Abbey built by William as penitence for the lost lives and where there is a plaque that points where King Harold fell – I was very surprised to see flowers and messages to the king and took a picture of the most heartbreaking one.

Full Review at:
http://thebooksmugglers.blogspot.com/2008/01/book-review-prize.html show less

"The Prize" takes place during William the Conqueror's time. We have the Saxon and Normans at each others throats. When Lady Nicholaa is captured by Royce Melborn, she finally is forced to pick a husband out of the Normans. She ends up choosing Royce and from there, these two have what I consider one of my favorite romances.

Seriously you guys, when Nicholaa comes across Royce, she ends up taking his ass out during a battle with a slingshot. I kind of fell in love. Nicholaa does what she can to protect her home and family, and tricks Royce (dude I laughed through most of this book) but eventually is outmaneuvered by Royce.

Nicholaa is everything you want in a heroine. Smart, loyal, and when she realizes she loves Royce, decides she will show more be the kind of wife he keeps lecturing her she should be. Royce's constant lectures pop up throughout this book and will make you laugh. I loved Royce cause he treats Nicholaa with respect throughout the book and realizes how smart his wife is. When one of Nicholaa's brothers (Justin) is found, missing a hand, Royce trains him along with the rest of his men and won't let Justin go off and die somewhere.

I have to say that I loved Royce, no more than when he realizes that when Nicholaa decides to be the kind of wife he says he wants, he realizes he was an idiot, and wants his bossy wife back again.

There are wonderful love scenes in this one and some great palace intrigue as well.

I found myself loving Justin as much as Nicholaa and wished that Garwoord had written a sequel telling his story, since there is still the loose end of one of Nicholaa's brothers who is hell-bent on killing William the Conqueror and the rest of the Normans. show less

Compared to other Garwoods, this was just all right; of course it was still well above other historicals I’ve read. This was a good read with some interesting history, but I think that there was too much going on with not the best resolution.

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 Nichola 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.

William the Conqueror has taken over England from the Saxons. One holdout was Lady Nicholaa who had bested 3 knights sent to take her castle. However, she does not fool Royce and is taken to London to be given as “The Prize” to the champion of a tournament. But by saving the Queen's niece, Nicholaa is given the right to choose her own knight husband. She chooses Royce since she has seen how kind he is to his men and how he was to her on the trip to London. Once they are married it is not all smooth sailing. Royce is a trainer of warriors and some of the incidents portrayed of the ineptitude of the young warriors in training are hilarious. Nicholaa's brother Justin is one of them. He lost his hand in battle and is fighting depression show more and low self-esteem. I really enjoyed this old romantic tale. show less

The Prize, by Julie Garwood, is yet another battle between nations made through a battle of lovebirds type of story (for more on this subject see A Kingdom of Dreams), and this time it all happens during the Norman invasion of England in 1066. The girl, Nicholaa, a fair and stunning Saxon, in charge of her household, land, kin, and who can use a sling like no other; and the man, Royce, a dark and huge Norman Baron, warrior, trainer of men, and who can open a hole in the wall by throwing a bastard at it, will pretty much experience love at first sight when Nicholaa’s home is taken over by the Normans with Royce leading the conquest. But that’s not all, for he must also bring the woman herself to his King so she can be married off to show more a Norman knight -this being the exact meaning of a prize. Nicholaa manages to deceive him at first and actually escape, but since apparently she can not run without tripping and ending at the bottom of a ravine (and because Royce runs faster anyway), soon they are on their way to the King’s court in London. Terrified to meet her fate, Nicholaa unexpectedly does something the King and Queen will be so thankful for, they reverse the choosing process, granting her the liberty to pick who she wants for a husband, instead of making her The Prize for a bunch of men to fight over. And in a supposed act of revenge for taking her there against her will and ultimately making her go through it all, she picks Royce.

Contrary to what it must sound like, there’s not a lot of drama envolving the couple’s relationship. I say this because, very often medieval historical romances like to drive the reader mad making him think there’s no way the couple can get together, either because they’re severely proud, hate each other to an extreme, or simply because there’s one or more evil characters in the way. In this book, neither of these is a big deal. Are they proud? Yes and no, they obviously are, but put their pride aside when together. Do they hate each other? Yes and no, as Nicholaa says “I don’t hate you Royce, but I do dislike you sometimes” . Are there evil characters interfering? Yes and no, because there are a few, but you barely notice.

So, in a way, this lack of drama and conflict was a good thing – a nice change from the usual let’s-fight-over-every-single-stupid-event, pout for a day or two, and then forget it all with wild, steamy, angry sex (I’m not complaining, just saying), however, for me, this also decreased a bit of the fun that comes with it – watching a stubborn couple going over each other’s throats is one of the perks, if not The Perk, of reading historical romances. Other downside to this, was having a sometimes overly submissive and weeping (therefore, annoying) Nicholaa, it’s shocking how she doesn’t throw breakable things at Royce in a few occasions, as I most certainly would, if I was her. Despite this, I loved her unaffected and trusting nature, Royce’s patience and unexpected calmness (even if he’s a control FREAK who needs a beating), their many, many, many lovely dialogues, and mostly, the complicity they share almost from the beginning without noticing.

In the end, this book reminded me a lot of Susan King’s The Swan Maiden, and yes, of Judith’s McNaught’s A Kingdom of Dreams -there, I said it- which is always a good sign, nevertheless, for me, the romance doesn’t have the emotional depth, or memorable lead roles of the first two, neither the crave-for-more wittiness of the second, even if the scene where Nicholaa tries to get Royce drunk, ending up drunk herself instead, is 100% epic. show less