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    The Prize
    The Prize
    The Prize
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Prize

    Written by Julie Garwood

    Narrated by Anne Flosnik

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A warrior and a Saxon woman find an unexpected love in this riveting historical romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood.

    In the resplendence of William the Conqueror’s London court, the lovely Saxon captive, Nicholaa is forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chooses Royce, a baron warrior whose fierce demeanor can not conceal his chivalrous and tender heart. Resourceful, rebellious and utterly naive, Nicholaa vows to bend Royce to her will, despite the whirlwind of feelings he arouses in her. Ferocious in battle, seasoned in passion, Royce is surprised by the depth of his emotions whenever he caresses his charming bride.

    In a climate of utmost treachery, Royce and Nicholaa revel in their precious new love—a fervent bond soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin and country....

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateDec 27, 2009
    ISBN9781441812087
    The Prize
    Author

    Julie Garwood

    Julie Garwood (1944--2023) was the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Fire and Ice, Shadow Music, Shadow Dance, Murder List, Killjoy, Mercy, Heartbreaker, Ransom, and Come the Spring. There are more than thirty-six million copies of her books in print.

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    Reviews for The Prize

    4/5

    564 ratings25 reviews

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    • 3/5
      love the book but the narrator is very difficult to listen to. She makes the characters sound dumb even when the dialogue is clever.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Loved the story, one of my favorite Julie Garwood books. I disliked the narrator and had to listen to it at 1.5 speed to be able to tolerate her affected pronunciations.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Audiobook: Narrator - Anne Flosnik

      I did not enjoy this narration, at all. There were several times I almost stopped it completely. Her performance was very flat, monotone and rarely gave even a lilt to the character’s voice for any reason whatsoever. I’m a pretty lenient listener and can usually adapt but this time I found myself absolutely bored and my mind wondering constantly. The fact that this is one of my favorite books by this author and one I’ve reread several times leads me to believe I would not enjoy this narrator’s performance in the future.


      Another of my favorite books by this author. But really, I don’t think there are any of her historical romances that I don’t love. I never reviewed this back in the years that I read and reread so I was excited to be able to do so now. Unfortunately, the performance of this audio made it where I barely paid attention and didn’t care. That led to me not really noting anything that I liked about the story.

      However, I do remember loving the following things about this book:

      The heroine was feisty, knew how to work a wicked slingshot, and tended to ignore her husband’s lectures - not that he would know she was ignoring him

      The hero had a set of rules that he demanded his wife follow but hated it when she did. Love when a hero teaches himself a lesson about the woman he loves. He also was amazing with the heroine’s brother and her nephew. Sigh. Hard, rough warrior asleep with a baby on his chest. Swoon.

      Audiobooks are suggestive regarding the narration. While I did not enjoy this one, that’s not to say someone else will love it. The book is more than worth it!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I have listened to this novel and other historical novels of Julie Garwood over and over and I cannot get enough. No other author has captured my interest like this. I love how romantic the stories are, how the author describes the scenes and the fact that her stories truly begin after marriage where most stories about people getting married.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Boring !!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
    • 5/5
      Very appealing characters. Drawn into the story immediately. Well worth listening.
    • 5/5
      The characters were delightful and I laughed and at moments tears welled up in my eyes
    • 5/5
      Good story. Very sweet, and great characters. Enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this story for it contained an equal amount of humor, action, strength, romance, friendship, deception. Its a story that has you captivated from the very beginning and leads you on an adventure you will not regret. I just wished there would have been more, I would have like to know how things played out for them, Justin, her rebel brother, so I'm hoping there's a continuation.
    • 2/5
      It started great, the premise was really good and half of the book was good, but then... like someone else finished it! Boring, repetitive, too long, to man unnecessary details... And the narrator was not good, interpretation of the male voice was bad!
    • 5/5
      I have read this about ten times over the past 20 years. I love this book. Royce is a Dream! He’s an alpha male but still romantic and thoughtful. Nicholaa is a strong heroine but not annoying or foolish. I love their romance and this story! It has family struggles, War themes, romance, humor, and suspense. It is one of my favorite historical romance novels.
    • 5/5
      I loved listening to this wonderful story. What a great book. The author can write any subject and it would be a winner with me. It was exciting so much that I could not put it down.
    • 5/5
      Oh my word! Did I love this book even though I had read it some years ago.
      Nicola was a study in contradictions, so soft and yet so strong. So loyal and so loving. Royce was a true legend. He was an epitome of patience and control until he realized there is no control in love. I also admired his vassals especially Lawrence. Justin made me extremely proud by not only living but starting his journey to being a legendary warrior himself. This book is a perfect 10 over 10 for me! Loved it!
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite historical romances. I wish Julie Garwood would return to the genre.
    • 1/5
      Wow i hated this. Dnf at 70% ish, the hero is insufferable and exactly the kind of man i hate most in general. And the heroine isn't much better though there isn't much you could do with a woman who is supposed to like that ahole.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this book. It made me laugh.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      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 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.
    • 4/5
      After Lori's review, I had to re-read this book. Especially since I didn't during our Garwood Spotlight.

      I love Royce and Nicholaa. The story holds up well and the characters are just as wonderful as always. I love the humor in the story, as well as the depth.
    • 4/5
      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 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.
    • 5/5
      Lately I've been branching out a bit more into the romance genre trying to broaden my horizons and all that. When it comes to romances I find that I am more drawn to historicals than the contemporaries. I think it might have something to do with the pagentry of an era long gone. A way to escape into a different world and so I recently picked up Julie Garwood's The Prize which takes place in medieval England. The story takes place not long after the defeat of Harold at Hastings and William is trying to bring order to the kingdom. Part of how he is doing this is to arrange marriages between the local Saxon nobility with the Norman invaders. The main characters are Nicolaa a Saxon lady and Royce, the norman knight who is sent to fetch her from her holding. Something that several other knights that were previously sent were unable to do.I really enjoyed this book because Nicolaa was such a strong female lead. She is spunky and smart and more handy with a sling shot then I ever thought a person could be. I enjoyed the banter between both her and Royce and the plot moved along quickly. What I don't seem to understand is the use of "head jumping" in romances. That is when the point of view randomly switches within the chapter from one character to another as a way to move the plot along. Yes its nice to hear what others are thinking but I like a bit of structure to POV switches. The Prize is one of those romances that uses "head jumping" as a plot tool but it didn't happen very often and not as distracting as other books that I have read. If you like romances, or are new to the genre, then you might want to consider giving The Prize a change. The world building is solid and you get a feel for medieval life....well the nobility side of it any way. Although not being a history major it could be riddled with hundreds of inaccuracies and I would never know. All in all though this was an enjoyable read with fun characters and witty banter that really absorbed me into the story.As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere
    • 5/5
      another great garwood medieval romance; witty and poignant story never disappoints; love the emphasis on loyalty, pride and passion. timeless read
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite book in the entire world and the book that really got me into the romance genre. It's fantastic and the main characters are so well written, you fall in love with them yourself.
    • 5/5
      It's about time I reviewed one of JG's titles here. I haven't only because I read them so long ago and my reviews tend to be of recently read books. I admit to re-reading many of JG's books several times - mostly the medievals, and THE PRIZE is my all time favorite.FROM THE PUBLISHERIn the resplendence of William the Conqueror's London court, the lovely Saxon captive, Nicholaa was forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chose Royce, a baron warrior whose fierce demeanor could not conceal his chivalrous and tender heart. Resourceful, rebellious and utterly naive, Nicholaa vowed to bend Royce to her will, despite the whirlwind of feelings he aroused in her. Ferocious in battle, seasoned in passion, Royce was surprised by the depth of his emotion whenever he caressed his charming bride.In a climate of utmost treachery, where Saxons still intrigued against their Norman invaders, Royce and Nicholaa revelled in their precious new love...a fervent bond soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin and country!There is a scene involving Royce and a broken chess piece that gets me every time. I think it might be the most romantic scene in a novel I've ever read. The Prize also has a bang up opening, and it's one of those books you just can't put down until it's done. If you've never read a JG book before, I recommend you start with this one.