Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

    • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Shadow Music: A Novel
    Shadow Music: A Novel
    Shadow Music: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Shadow Music: A Novel

    Written by Julie Garwood

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “Action, drama, desire, revenge: Shadow Music includes all the necessary ingredients for romantics to plunge into the moors, mountains and magical myth of medieval Scotland.”—The Roanoke Times

    Prized for her exquisite beauty, Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel, the daughter of one of England’s most influential barons, is a perfect bargaining chip for a king who needs peace in the Highlands: King John has arranged Gabrielle’s marriage to a good and gentle laird. But this marriage will never take place. 

    Upon her arrival in Scotland, Gabrielle is immediately entangled in Highland intrigue, as a battle royal flares between enemies old and new. For two sadistic noblemen, underestimating Gabrielle’s bravery and prowess may prove fatal. Colm MacHugh, the most feared man in Scotland, makes no such mistakes about the captivating princess. Under his penetrating gaze, neither Gabrielle’s body nor her heart is safe.

    “No one does historical romance better than Garwood. . . . Gabrielle is an enchanting heroine.”—The State (Columbia, S.C.)

    “A compelling historical romance.”—Publishers Weekly
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateDec 26, 2007
    ISBN9780739357576
    Shadow Music: A Novel
    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.

    More audiobooks from Julie Garwood

    Related to Shadow Music

    Related audiobooks

    Suspense Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Something About Bill

      Jun 25, 2020

      Something About Bill
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      CHRIS & ELSA HANGING BY A THREAD!

      Oct 11, 2020

      CHRIS & ELSA HANGING BY A THREAD!
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Break For The BORDER

      Sep 29, 2020

      Break For The BORDER
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Carningli

      Mar 22, 2024

      Carningli
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      As the World Collapses

      Jul 27, 2017

      As the World Collapses
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Trent Dalton

      Jun 5, 2022

      Wildly ambitious and wholly brilliant with a zinger you could laugh at for half an hour on every page if you weren’t crying over something on the page after that. In 1787, the British government sends a fleet of officers, soldiers, thieves, women an

      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Wimblestone

      Oct 1, 2023

      The Wimblestone
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy

      Oct 6, 2022

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Arthur’s Seat

      Jan 19, 2021

      Arthur’s Seat
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Magnets: Carried through time, lovers seek their purpose.

      Feb 6, 2014

      Moon Colony B, 2213 Former Ponzi-schemer Mary Pillar digs through a trashcan. It smells like rotten eggs and milk. She is elderly and homeless, living in an alley between two eco-efficient skyscrapers. Dust particles dance around her. She has lost ev

      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy

      Oct 6, 2022

      Weird World Folklore Frenzy
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Camilla The Down To Earth Duchess

      Jul 13, 2022

      Camilla The Down To Earth Duchess
      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      On Country

      Nov 9, 2016

      On Country
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      This New Religion

      Jun 2, 2020

      He introduced himself as Captain Jack Lash Lannigan, and he said that he was an Irish pirate. “You don’t sound very Irish,” I told him, and he laughed. We—Maia, Gustav and I—had met Captain Jack outside the Nocturnem Draft Haus, a bar on Main Street

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Folklore Rising

      Sep 5, 2024

      Folklore Rising
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Camilla The Down To Earth Duchess

      Jul 13, 2022

      Camilla The Down To Earth Duchess
      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Drifting Into Antiquity

      Aug 20, 2019

      Drifting Into Antiquity
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Please Bring Rollmop Herrings, Fine For Loo Roll

      Apr 8, 2020

      NOT like you to sound panicky.’ A text from my cabaret partner pings breezily from the piste. He’s flying back for next week’s gig at the Crazy Coqs in Piccadilly. ‘They’ve reported a case of the virus in Italy. I hope we’ll get an audience.’ ‘Why wo

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      MESSAGE In A BOTTLE

      Mar 1, 2023

      FOR HUNDREDS OF years scores of Boston-bound ships have foundered on the rocky ledges that lurk just beneath the waves all along the coast of Massachusetts Bay. The wreck of the brig St. John must surely be the most tragic of all. She was a “famine s

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      MESSAGE In A BOTTLE

      Mar 1, 2023

      FOR HUNDREDS OF years scores of Boston-bound ships have foundered on the rocky ledges that lurk just beneath the waves all along the coast of Massachusetts Bay. The wreck of the brig St. John must surely be the most tragic of all. She was a “famine s

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Peace Comes With A Smile

      Nov 11, 2019

      Peace Comes With A Smile
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Ursula K. Le Guin

      Jun 15, 2018

      He was thinking of Lookfar, abandoned long ago, beached on the sands of Selidor. Little of her would be left by now, a plank or two down in the sand maybe, a bit of driftwood on the western sea. As he drifted near sleep he began to remember sailing t

      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Once On This Island

      Aug 17, 2022

      Once On This Island
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Myths And Monsters

      Dec 22, 2020

      Myths And Monsters
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Shadow Music

    3.5/5

    210 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Many fans of Julie Garwood are probably overjoyed that she has returned to historical romance - no one does it better. Described as "exquisitely beautiful." Princess Gabrielle is certainly worth more than a trade, but that's what King John uses her for in an attempt to make peace in the Highlands. He offers her in marriage to a Scottish laird.

      The journey to meet her laird is not an easy one as she and her escorts come upon a dreadful sight - some thieves are attempting to bury a man alive. Gabrielle to the rescue! She saves the man's life and chases off the despicable brutes. A short while later r husband-to-be is murdered, and she is banished.

      Banishment is not so bad after all when she is taken in by Colm MacHugh. As is said, "the path of true love never runs smooth," so it's a rocky road rutted with considerable danger for Gabrielle and Colm.
    • 4/5
      Again, another great story by Julie Garwood.

      Princess Gabrielle of Saint Biel, daughter of one powerful English baron and cousin by marriage of Brodick Buchanan (see book II), is the perfect "coin" to establish peace between England and Scotland but her beauty turns some heads, especially two English barons that stopped at nothing to have her and the treasure she carries with her.
      Pledge to an old laird, Gabrielle comes to Scotland to wed but on the journey she kills a man, protects another and finds herself outcast and without a home. All this is witnessed by Colm MacHugh and Brodick that decided that Gabrielle should marry Colm, not only for her protection but also to pay a debt but soon they found out that Gabrielle is not what she appears to be. Opinionated, free, smart and sassy, Gabrielle turns Colm head and life upside down, making him attracted to her.
      Together they need to clean her name and replace the truth.

      Colm is a warrior: brave, strong, smart and hardheaded. He doesn't want to like Gabrielle because he thinks she has the power to make him vulnerable. Still, the way she carries herself, strong and confident, is what draws him to her. I loved the way they circled each other and how they behaved together.
      I like the way Julie Garwood mingles romance with action and humor. It's definitely a book that I recommend to everyone who likes Highlanders.
    • 2/5
      I can't say I really liked the story, but I didn't exactly hate it either. I really liked the prologue and thought there was great potential. However, after the prologue the plot is slow to develop. It never really picked up.

      The heroine was okay. Garwood's heroines are usually headstrong. It seems like Garwood wanted Gabrielle to come off as headstrong and independent, but she fell short. In the beginning she is a strong character and then she starts running away to daddy. It was a disappointment since I liked Garwood's other heroines.

      The hero, Colm MacHugh, was another disappointment. At times he came off as an ox and then other times he was a coward. He stayed away from Gabrielle for a good chunk of the story for fear of showing his true feelings. When he did finally show his feelings he came off as a brute. He was not endearing or warm at all. This was a big disappointment for me considering that this is a romance novel and there was barely any romance.

    • 3/5
      Garwood has a beautiful touch for the historical romance. Enjoyable, quick-paced, and a perfect way to relax the mind.
    • 2/5
      I enjoy Garwood's many books, but this one was a weak effort.
    • 2/5
      I have been a Julie Garwood fan for many years and found this book lacking. None of the characters really stood out at me and that disappoints me because I love highlander stories. It is a tried storyline where the beautiful princess is bequeathed to marry a stranger, the stranger dies and a tough but sensitive highlander hero steps in to save her from evil men.
    • 1/5
      In this sequel of sorts to Garwood's Ransom, Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel, a daughter of an English Baron, is sent by King John to marry an older highland Laird to keep peace between the borders (??!! more on this later). Two of John's scheming Barons with their nefarious (and ridiculous) schemes get involved and Gabrielle's intended is murdered, she is disgraced as a wanton woman and disinherited and banned from England (this from one woman accusing her of entering a wounded man's bedroom??). She meets up with Laird Brodick Buchanan who is her cousin by marriage, as Brodick is married to Gillian a distant cousin of Gabrielle's father. Accompanying Brodick is the fearsome Laird MacHugh who takes her into protection after her banishment. There is also a big mystery about the search for some missing gold that is all too predictable, I figured where that was at the first mention of.... well I won't be a spoiler but trust me you'll spot that one a mile away.

      Sound exciting? No, it's not, it's actually quite awful and I'm having a hard time believing Garwood wrote this. Although her older historicals are not high fiction, the healthy dose of humor she throws in along with the romance usually makes for an entertaining read. Unfortunately, along with an embarrassingly bad plot Garwood forgot to throw in the humor that might have saved a story that's predictable from the first page to the last. Even worse, there is little description of the sights, sounds, clothes, etc. to give the reader a good sense of the time period. I don't think I heard mention of any Scott wearing a kilt until well towards the end of the book, Gabrielle's clothing was only noted by the color of the dress she was wearing, etc. I won't even get started on the way Brodick was ruined -- without the banter between he, Gillian, Ramsey and Ian what was an awesome hero in Ransom is reduced to nothing but mush. We don't even get a glimpse of Gillian, only occasional mentions of her being home and pregnant. And worst of all, there is absolutely no chemistry between our two main protagonists, an absolute death knell for any romance book.

      And finally, although I don't expect an historical romance to be historically accurate, I appreciate it when an author makes some effort to have knowledge of the period they're writing in. I wish I'd taken notes, because I'm not able to remember all the boners in this book to recount them here. Examples, and since I'm not a history major anyone may correct me if I'm wrong:

      * Gabrielle's native country St Biel (somewhere in Europe where the crusaders passed through), is invaded and occupied by King John !!??? John Lackland who couldn't even hold on to Normandy?
      * What is it with the women running around with their long hair flowing loose? No woman in medieval times, especially a noblewoman would be seen in public without a proper head covering.
      * Gabrielle's original marriage was to settle the border disputes between England and Scotland. Hellooooo, if I recall correctly John was too busy trying to subdue the Welsh to be bothered with Scotland. And what help does a marriage to a highland Laird have to do with any border wars? The borders are in the lowlands - you'd think a marriage to someone with closer ties to the border would make more political sense.

      All in all, this is pretty close to one of the worst books I've ever read - not quite but almost. Boring, predictable and downright silly. Garwood would have done much better by making her sequel to Ransom writing about the Buchanans, Ramsey and Sinclairs and putting those people together into her story. Better yet, put their grown children together into a tightly woven story with that sadly missing dose of humor and she might have had something here. As it is, this is a bad way to spend $18 on a hardback and a serious waste of a tree. If you are dead set on reading it, get it from the library (as I did) or wait for the mass market paperback.

      Last complaint - what the heck is with the book cover? The man and woman in the bottom corner are in evening dress and the building with the onion dome looks like something out of the Far East, and certainly not a castle that one would find in Scotland. It's all just stupid, stupid, stupid and doesn't even deserve one star.
    • 4/5
      This book was not one of Garwood's best. That being said it was still enjoyable, a bit slow to start but enjoyable. I had a sense of deja vu reading it as it is very similar to the Bride; however, the characters are not as well developed.
    • 3/5
      Princess Gabrielle of St. Biel, a remarkably independent young woman with four staunch bodyguards, a quick wit, sharp tongue, and fair talent with a bow, comes crossways (through no fault of her own) with Highland laird Colm McHugh. And of course, she has to marry him. Plotting counter-suitors, murder, hidden treasure and, of course, Highland pride complicate things, but true love conquers all.

      It's a nice enough book. The plot is a bit heavy on historical detail and evil characters, and if you haven't read the rest of Garwood's Highland novels, you're probably wondering just who Brodick and a few of the others are and why they're important. My problem? This felt like a watered-down retelling of The Secret, Saving Graceor one of Garwood's other, earlier Highland novels. Not bad, exactly, just re-hashed.
    • 4/5
      not one of her best but still worth reading; not as strong chemistry between the 2 main characters; good storyline
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! To me it was the perfect blend of romance, suspense, with a delightful sense of humor thrown in. Princess Gabrielle is a feisty, very likable heroine, and Colm is a great hero. While I've enjoyed Julie Garwood's contemporary suspense, this historical far surpassed them.