Julie Garwood's "A Girl Named Summer," was an interesting book. This novel of hers is all going towards teenagers. It's the first time I read a book of hers and I think that she has interesting way of writting. It talks about a Senior(David) and a Sophomore (Summer) falling in love. But when Summer starts to lie to David her problems increase. She has to run in a six-mile race. Who would of thought that lying could get into a lot of trouble? As she works to win the race, she learns alot about herself. She learns that she doesn't need to be like other girls and she learns that you don't need to lie to get a guy.

I am absolutley obsessed with Julie Garwood's books, and it did not phase he at all tht this book was aimed toward younger readers. Infact, it just displayed Ms. Garwood's talent for writing. She really knows how to write any knid of book, and I am not at all dissapointed with this offering. It was actually nice for me to read a book that was directed at my own age. My mom was telling me "Finally, a book for your own age!" (I'm only thirteen). There are many reasons why I loved this book. 1) I really identified with Summer. She is really a normal teen, and it is nice to read about people like yourself. Unlike Julie's historical characters, you know what Summer is going through because you have experienced it firsthand in your own time. 2) She really explained the joys of running well. I myself am a runner, and she really depicted it well. 3) I was glued to my seat from the first page on. Like I have said before, I knew what the characters were going through.

So, if you are a dedicated Garwood fan, or a young adult, this is a great, quick read.

I have read alot of Julie Garwood's adult romance novels but while shoping at a book fair I came across "A Girl Named Summer." It's plot was something any girl Summers age could have gone through. Thats what I liked about it, Julie made it seem real enough that you weren't left thinking "This could never happen!" Julie used great characters, making them funny, and serious but care free all at the same time. I recomened reading "A Girl Named Summer" ASAP because it's right up there with Julie Garwoods other great novels.

I thoroughly enjoyed For The Roses- and went straight to the library to find these 3 smaller books. Their length did not bother me. But they seemed a little shallow. I did enjoy the story for One White Rose the best out of the 3. The others were silly and unrealistic, especially One Red Rose. The story for Adam- a black African American but the 1800's was too unrealistic for me to enjoy. I do think the idea of the 3 smaller books was a great idea, though!

Adam Clayborne is a loner who likes his life just the way it is. However, he does not got a prayer of keeping it that way when he crosses paths with the beautiful Genevieve Perry, who he finds lying in his bed. She is his mother's choice to become Adam's bride, but when she makes it plain to Adam that she cannot marry him, Adam goes berserk. When Genevieve sneaks off in the middle of the night, Adam hunts her down, only to discover that she is running away from three men who want to hurt her. .....The Clayborne protective nature is aroused in Adam with a ferocity that astounds even him. He vows no harm will come to his lovely lady, even if it means fighting the vermin who are after her by himself. It is when Adam sees Genevieve in a situation that could leave her dead,that he realize how deep his feelings for her truly go. .....This is the last of the three novellas starring the Clayborne siblings and just like the two previous tales (ONE PINK ROSE AND ONE WHITE ROSE), ONE RED ROSE is an exquisite treat for the senses. Julie Garwood delivers an entertaining and fun filled tale that will satisfy her myriad of fans. She also brilliantly sets the stage for her next full length novel (due out in December), starring the last Clayborne brother Cole and this relationship with the mysterious Marshall that has starred in the three novellas. ....Harriet Klausner

Her books are awsome! She is one of the top romance writter in my book I have read 17 of Julie Garwood's novels and she astounds me every time I read a new one. I suggest if you want to read this book start with the book "For the Roses" then go onto read "One Pink Rose", "One white Rose", and "One Red Rose" and then read "Come the Spring" These books are all about the Claybourne family and how they strived to survive raising an abandoned baby that they found in New York and turning her into a lady. After their little Mary Rose is grown up and Married to a highland Lawyer named Harrison each brother is tempted by women into settling down will the brothers run or face the destiny that MAMA Rose tricks them into.

I have read and loved most of Ms. Garwood's books and this is the first that I've read that disappointed me. This is not one of her best and if it is the first Garwood romance you are reading, don't give up on her. Julie Garwood writes romance like no one can, but "Gentle Warrior" is missing all those wonderful elements we've come to love--a fiercely independent, intelligent and strong heroine, a brave, strong and loving hero, love scenes that are beautifully written and can get you all hot and bothered, and a fast-paced story that highlights the core love story wonderfully.

Elizabeth is an irritating heroine and even by the end of the book you don't feel like you know her enough. Geoffrey is too hard, too strict, too traditional, and too awkward a hero. The story is weak and the two characters lack chemistry. The love scenes make me cringe. ("Let me drink your nectar.") It's a mediocre read and does nothing to set the book apart from others in the genre. Considering Ms. Garwood's talent for romance, this book falls short. Not a must-read, even for Garwood fans.

I am a great fan of Ms. Garwood's books and this book is no exception. I am a little bothered that one of the previous reviewer 'snoopy1025' impacted the rating twice. I believe everyone is entitled to her opinion, however, the review lacked any content to describe why she thought the book was a waste of time and boring.

Never mind that... This book again is in the tradition Julie Garwood style with strong, big hero and petite heroine. I enjoyed it every bit as much as Honor's Splendor, The Bride, The Prize, and Ransom. The most interesting thing about this story is that Elizabeth and Geoffrey actually yell opening at each all through out the book. It is refreshing to see a couple who are willing to fight publically and shout if they wanted to. The hero had all these rules since he did not understanding nor experience any loving relationship from his past, while Elizabeth had an untraditional upbring by her parents and specially her grandfather.

There were lots of teasing and humor in the book which is another of Ms. Garwood's talent. Of course let's not forget the great love scenes between the two hot-blooded characters. Well, enough said about the story which I think you will all enjoy. I have read almost all of Ms. Garwood's books and the only one so far that I would not highly recommend is 'the Gift' which I wanted to strangle Sarah. Enjoy!

I've read all of Julie Garwood's historical romance novels and I think she's awesome. She is one of my top 3 favs authors and reading Gentle Warrior reminded me of why. Her characters are always three-dimensional, well portrayed and well represented. Her plots are often complex, exciting and well executed. Her Dialogues are witty and humorous. The hero/heroine's relationship development are always full of heart warming trial and errors and yet full of love. Her twisters are hearty and even wretching at times. But the best part of all is her conclusions. They are always climatic! Her endings are always a grand relief and very satisfying. In short, Julie Garwood always delivers!

Elizabeth and Geoffrey's story here in Gentle Warrior is no exception to the above attributes. In addition to that, I agree that this book is definitely tummer fluttery (Iluvstrawberries) and have magical chemistry (Jody Austin). It is indeed sad to hear some reviewers didn't find this book as I saw it. Oh well, people are entitled to that. However, all I ask for those who haven't read it yet is to give this book a chance. Don't be discourage by the negative reviews. Who knows, you might agree with most reviewers who have enjoy this one as thoroughly I have.

I love Julie Garwood, and adored For the Roses. I even liked the 3 Clayborne Brides books and was ecstatic when I learned that Cole (my favourite) would be the brother to get the full-lengthed novel. I was very disappointed with the novel when I read it, though.

What happened to the rest of the Claybornes? I was so looking forward to seeing all the Claybornes together again for the grand finale but instead we got 2 pages, and only Mama Rose got to really say anyting. Jessica seemed a lame match for Cole, and I didn't think they should have gotten together at all. And why was there so much of Daniel Ryan? While he was interesting, I think he could have been left out of the story and been replaced by the rest of the Claybornes and Mama Rose.

Some others have mentioned that this was too violent. That part didn't bother me, I just found the story uncompelling, and not nearly as rich as the rest of the series. Ms. Garwood, can you rewrite this book?

This book was one of the most engrossing books I have read in a long time. It really kept me guessing, and that's pretty tough for me to do (when there's a mystery involved, I can usually guess the solution before its revelation). I had not read the previous books in this series (though I am doing so now, thanks to this book), but it was easy to follow and very enjoyable despite that.

What's most intriguing about this book is that there are three female leads! You might think that would be confusing, but I did not find it to be. The book begins with a bank robbery and brutal massacre, and our two main heroes are trying to determine which of the three female leads is the star witness (and thus in terrible danger). I can honestly say I did NOT guess correctly, and I definitely was not expecting the plot twists and turns. I literally could not stand to be away from this book for three days, and it got so bad that I was reading it at stop lights in my car! (Shame on me!)

This was my first Julie Garwood book, and it was worth reading. I enjoyed all of the characters, and found that she did a good job of balancing the three different story lines, and bringing them together. My only regret is that, because there were three different "plots", she was not able to develop all the characters as much as I would have liked. For that reason, I probably would give it 4 1/2 instead of five stars. However, that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. I highly recommend this.

To help you determine if YOU might like this book as much as I did, my tastes are such that my favorite authors are Jude Devereaux and Catherine Coulter.

I love For The Roses. I cherish The Claybourne Brides. I absolutely adore Come The Spring! Cole was always by favorite Claybourne, and I am glad that he got a whole book dedicated to him (although the other brothers would have been fabulous in their own books also). The three women who were thought to be witnesses were each unique, and it is thoroughly puzzling as to who the real witness is and who the bad apple is. And, we finally get to meet Daniel Ryan, the man haunting the Claubournes ever since the Bride Trilogy. He was certinly a match for Cole. The characters were three dimensional, so much so that it seemed like you were watching a movie rather then reading a book. Julie Garwood is wonderful at writing suspense, and I hope she goes back to it sometime in the future. As always, the romance was dazzeling. If you've read any of the books in the series, you'll miss out on a real treat if you don't read this one.

Like many other reviewers on here, I've been a long time fan of Ms. Garwood. Her historical romances are fun, warm, and loving. Once you read "The Secret" or "The Bride," you don't forget the characters.

Over the past three years, Ms. Garwood has gone away from this genre, and into suspence-romance. At first, I was excited. One of my favorite authors was branching out to find a larger audience. However, I bought her first novel "Heartbreaker" and was greatly disappointed. I wasn't going to give up on her though. I bought "Mercy" and thought, this was a little better. Finally, there's "Killjoy."

"Killjoy" is really a story about the heroine's mother, Jilly. This book should have been titled "Jilly's Revenge." The time and effort spent to her was vast, compared to that of the hero in the book. John Paul, who we first met in "Mercy," was not given fair justice in this book. His military background was not explained fully. We understand what initially drove him to move back home, but we don't understand why it took that last assignment to do so. Also, it is unclear how this individual "loner" guy falls in love with someone very opposite of himself.

Overall, "Killjoy" is an okay novel. It isn't the great Ms. Garwood we've had in the past. If you are just getting into Ms. Garwood, I would recommend her earlier work first. Start with "The Secret" and skip these contemporary novels.

In Julie Garwood's newest suspense filled romance novel, we find ourselves introduced to some new and interesting characters along with some old familiar ones. We start out with Avery Delaney who is an Analyst for the FBI. She is what you might call a problem solver. She was raised by her aunt Carrie and her grandmother who died when she was eleven. Her mother (I should use the term loosely), is a sociopath who abandoned her at birth. Her aunt Carrie made sure she new how to protect herself and also, more importantly, that she new the truth about her mother.

Now years later, she finds herself on a rollercoster ride trying to save her aunt from a hired killer named Monk, who we have met before in Ms. Garwood's previous book Mercy. Avery isn't alone in her frantic search. John Paul Renard joins her quest. We were introduced to him in Mercy as well. John Paul has been searching for Monk every since Monk tried to kill his sister, Michelle (aka Mike). Now he has tracked him down to a spa called Utopia in Colorado where Monk has kidnapped three women, one of whom is Avery's aunt Carrie. They are joined later by one of my favorite characters from both Heartbreaker and Mercy, Noah Clayborne. (As a side note, I really can't wait until she features him in a novel!!)

Anyway, I only gave the book four stars because it did start out a bit slow, but as always, when I finish a Julie Garwood book, I'm begging for more!

If you haven't read any of Ms. Garwood's books before, I recommend at least trying Heartbreaker and Mercy. I pretty confident you won't be heartbroken!

Ms. Garwood first hooked me with her charming historical novels such as the Secret, and Saving Grace. She has since moved on to pen the Romantic Suspense and Killjoy is the third in a series that began with Heartbreaker, and then was followed by Mercy.

Killjoy is the story of Dr. Mike's (heroine in Mercy) bother John Paul. In this story the killer for hire Monk plays a large part in the story. You will remember him from Mercy as well. If you have not read the previous two books that is ok this story still manages to stand alone. This story is fast paced but it is more supsense and on the edge of your seat reading with a little romance on the side. This seems to be more of a mainstream novel then romance so fans of Ms. Garwood may be a little disappointed by this. I found that the lack of romance was not a bad thing and made the romance between John Paul and Avery more believable since they were not falling into bed right away. The story is well plotted and the character development is also well done. The secondary story and characters add to the telling of the story instead of detracting from it. All in all this is a very strong novel and worth the time it takes to read.