Guardian Angel (Crown's Spies Book 2)

I found this novel initially thrilling, different and engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. Caine and Jades relationship was on fire and I just loved Caine. The storyline was interesting and not too predictable. I honestly thought it was brilliant. My only disappointment is that it struggled slightly to keep up with the brilliance of the first half of the book, the middle and end were "ok" meaning when I had to go to work and come back to the story I couldn't be bothered that much. I pushed myself through it and it wasn't bad just not as good as the start. Hmmm... I'll definitely be reading more from Julie as her character interaction is fantastic.

Good condition

Good read.

Lovely book, I love Julie Garwood work.

WIFE LIKES IT

I received the book well wrapped and in good condition. The book was as advertised and I was happy with it.

Another story by a great historical romance writer. It didn't disappoint. Definitely one of my favourites within the series. Highly recommended.

good read

This is one of this author's best works, both funny and fascinating. Sweet faced Jade visits a tavern of ruffians to hire a contract killer. She begs the head ruffian (the undercover Marquess of Cainewood) to kill her before her assassins subject her to a gruesome death. He leaps to her defence but nothing is as it appears in this beautifully plotted tale. I won't give any more away as unravelling the plot is the most enjoyable thing about this story, followed closely by buckets of laughs and a tender romance.

I have read this novel out of sequence, having read " The Gift " and " Castles " before. I liked Jade and Caine more in the other novels more than their own story. Their characters seemed to be under - developed, especially Jade who did not seem to be life like but more childish. Perhapsbecause in the rest of the series they are totally differently portrayed. And there was a few chapters that were utterly confusing - because of thelies Jade was telling - it was hard to keep up to what was going on anymore.

I enjoyed this story, it was fun to read. The characters were entertaining and the storyline was fantastic. Can't wait for more.

Out of all books by Julie Garwood, this one is one of my favourites. It's so romantic, so cleverly written. Once the good part starts, you don't want to stop. It's not about solving the mysteries in the book and getting to know the ending (you can just read the plot for that). It's about the enjoyment you get from reading it, even if you know or guessed the ending. You're going to fall in love with the protagonists. I can promise you that.

A great series that rocks along at a good pace. Each one makes you want to read about another one of the characters.

Julie Garwood is one of my favorite authors. I have read all her books and more than once. Love them all.

I love read Julia Garwood works. They are in training imaginative and exciting series of books . Hope you enjoy them too

I have read this book many times and still enjoy it I always tell people when I do re-read my books I'm just visiting friends that's how I think of them

Love this author

Brilliant. I loved the humour - very entertaining read.

This is the second book in the Crown's Spies series by Julie Garwood that focuses on the men (and in a few cases, women) who served as British spies in the early 1800's. This book focuses on the man known in his files as "The Hunter:" The Marquess of Cainewood.Caine is out for revenge, and he will stop at nothing to get it. His younger brother, also in the employ of the crown (unbeknownst to Caine until recently) was killed, and the pirate Pagan is responsible. To gain his retribution, Caine has doubled the price on Pagan's head, sought out any former associates that might be able to tell him where to find this notorious pirate, and has used the very persuasive techniques he learned as a spy to try to gain information as to where he can find this vigilante... but so far, he has come up empty. Thus, he has decided to employ a new tactic: pretend to be Pagan to draw him out of hiding. Caine believes his plan will succeed, and he is awaiting the arrival of the real Pagan when a young woman stumbles into the seedy tavern frequented by sailors and general riff raff and asks "Pagan" to help her. She is prepared to pay him, and she shows him the coins she has, but wants his assurance that he will carry out her requested service. She wants him to kill her.Caine is floored when the beautiful woman who calls herself "Jade" asks him to kill her. When he inquires as to why, she tells him that she is being sought by villains as she witnessed the murder of a gentleman, and those who perpetrated the crime will not be kind in disposing of her. As taking her own life is a sin, she decided that the best way to deal with her problem is to hire a pirate to end it for her. Obviously, Caine does not agree to fulfill her request and instead insists that he can protect her from those who seek to do her harm... which is exactly what Jade knew he would do. In fact, she was counting on it as she read his file with the war department and learned that he is a protector by nature who always employs a methodical process to carry out his orders. While there really is someone after Jade, there is also someone after Caine, and Jade has promised to protect him. Fully aware that Caine would never accept protection from anyone, much less a woman, she pretends to be scatterbrained, helpless, and quick to tears to gain his sympathies and his "assistance" which gives her the opportunity to stay near him and keep him safe from traitors to the crown who want to keep him from finding out the truth about his brother's killer.In order to keep Jade safe, Caine must use all of his skills as a hunter to find those responsible, and while he isn't buying her damsel in distress act, he can't control the feelings that drive him to want to keep her safe and with him... always. But there are secrets Caine doesn't know about and people who want to keep it that way bent on silencing him and Jade. Can Caine truly keep her safe from harm? Will Jade be able to trust him to keep his word not to leave her as every man in her life has from as far back as she can recall? And if so, when Caine learns the truth, will it all be for naught?What I liked:--- Caine was the kind of H you want to protect you - definitely swoon-worthy (and thankfully the "rake" angle wasn't overplayed)--- The ancillary characters were fun and definitely created interest in the reader to hear their stories in the upcoming series installments--- Opportunity to revisit the mcs from book 1--- STEAMY goodness!What I didn't like as much:--- While I enjoy a strong female (meaning one who doesn't cower in the corner or faint at the earliest sign of trouble), Jade was a little over-the-top at times for me - she could have dialed that back a little and not been as stubborn, imo--- A couple of plot points seemed extraneous (especially about the relationship with Caine and his stepmother) - didn't seem to really add to the storyOverall, a solid read with all of the elements I most enjoy: likeable characters, mystery/intrigue/action, a fast-moving story line, and a satisfying HEA.Plot --- 4.25/5Main Characters --- 4/5Supporting Cast --- 4.5/5Steam Level* --- 4/5Violence --- nothing graphicLanguage --- not egregiousPOV --- 3rd*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! ; 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all

This is my favorite Julie Garwood book to this day.********CAUTION POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD> PLEASE STOP NOW IF YOU DON"T WANT READ ANY SPOILERS>THANKS**********Highly recommend this book. This hero is very dominant, sexual, possessive and alpha. Personally I feel he has been the most sexually aggressive heroes from all her books. The love scenes were scorching and he was very aggressive in his claiming. The heroine is supposed to be this hard core, independent female. However, throughout the book you realize she was hiding her fears and insecurities. She had to grow up fast and has been burdened to care for needs of others over her own. She suffered in silence and only with hero's love did she begin to unburden herself. Since she lost her parents she found herself doing her best to keep her remaining loved ones safe and please them, but realized that with hero she could trust him to keep her safe and didn’t have to please him except just being herself. He had to show her that he would be there for her and would never abandoned her. He recognized her fears without her having to put them into words, and you realize towards end that the plans put into action to resolve the conflict actually include him incorporating solutions to her personal problems. Pretty genius of him. It was not a light read, but well worth it and entertaining.The time line of this book from beginning to end is fast. It appears to have occurred in span of 2-4 weeks. It is very well written and you have many actions scenes. Their love was not instant but it was pretty quick from when they meet until they get together as couple, because hero was smart enough to recognize he had fallen in love with heroine and not fight it. He was good about accepting her how she was and he was very forgiving of all the trickery she did. I have read other books were such trickery is dragged out or handled pretty badly. No worry of that in this book.The whole reason they even meet was due to some government cover ups that were uncovered when heroine had to save her brother and his bff from danger. She is attacked by those seeking information that was in the possession of the heroine and she goes to the hero to try and protect him from inadvertently putting himself in danger from these same villains. On his part, hero is misinformed and just trying to seek revenge. Things come to light after about 2 weeks of hero and heroine being together, but man a lot of things happened in those two weeks. The scene when brother comes back into his family’s life was very emotional and well written. The truth is revealed at this reconciliation period. Again, hero didn't drag out the drama on the trickery that was revealed drive heroine away. He was upset yes but firm about the fact that he considered heroine's his. At this point of the story heroine became desperate and does make attempts to leave hero. I however understood the fears that were driving her and understand that when you are in fear you don't make rational decisions. The best thing was this hero was not going to let heroine get away from him, so I really enjoyed the scenes where the hero just brings her back. The plan is finalized and put into action to force corrupt government officials out. Inbtw all this hero manages to win the heroine over and make his final claim. I loved the ending. I loved the characters. I loved the secondary characters. I loved the story. You also get to see how Lyon and his wife are doing from the previous book, and you are introduced to the heroes in the coming books in the series.I can't emphasized how much this book was a great read.

The Hero and Heroine were very likeable, but the personalities were a bit of a stretch. Not what I'm used to, but I love to read historical romance for the "happily ever after" so I pushed through. I felt the same about book 1 in this series. In my opinion this was much better than book 1. I liked Caine more than Lyon. His character was much more developed. Julie Garwood brings fun to her story telling but certain things are just a bit far fetched. I might continue the series only because it's a completed series and I'm waiting for the next Lisa Kleypos book to come out. I guess you could say I'm only reading Julie Garwood because I'm bored and they help pass the time- kind of.

I love this series. Love all books by Julie Garwood. Jade is not what Cain believes she is. She has lots of secrets and insecurities. Cain is on the hunt for the pirate he believes killed his brother. When he finds Jade, he finds a whole lot of trouble. But he also finds a whole lot of love. I loved how these two were together. Cain helps Jade through all her insecurities and helps her discover true love. This story has it all. Sexy scenes, lots of mystery as well as some humor. Another fantastic read.

This work introduces and serves as the story of the Marquess of Cainewood "Caine" and Jade, the sister of Nathan, the Marquess of St. James. Caine is a good friend and "co-conspirator" of the Duke of Lyons from Book 1. Lyons and Christina, along with Richards, play a significant part in this book. The book also continues the theme of destiny and Jade's unorthodox upbringing mirror's that of Christina's while becoming more and more an issue with them both. In this volume is introduced Caine's brother Colin and Nathan-Its hard to explain the relationships without out giving away the plot and that is the best part. It is a fast pace book, with little twists and turns that has your mind going "wow" as you try to figure out which sentences are important and which ones are descriptive. When you read the book, pay attention to every detail, for they are all important. The end is really unexpected and is only visable in the last chapter. A first rate who-did-what-to-who!