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Title: Gallant Waif (Harlequin Historical Series, No 557) by Anne Gracie ISBN: 0-373-29157-4 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: April, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.69 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Touching Regency Tale
Comment: Having read many great Regency-era novels, I can tell you that "Gallant Waif" by Anne Gracie is about as good as it comes. It has all the ingrediants of a wonderful historical romance: jilted fiances, lost inheritances, war heros, stuck-up society butterflies, and hard-headed heroines. Once you add all of these together you get a humorous, romantic story that keeps you wanting more.
The jilted fiance/war hero here is Jack Carstairs. Having returned from the Peninsular War with a mangled leg and a disfigured face, he finds himself jilted by his fiance Elizabeth. On top of that he is also very broke, you see his father disinherited him before his death because Jack refused to break his engagement with Elizabeth. All his father left him was the deed to a run-down hunting lodge. There Jack confines himself, refusing to see family and drinking his sorrows away.
The other jilted fiance/hard-headed heroine of the story is Kate Farleigh. Having recently lost her two brothers and father in the war she returns home penniless and a broken woman. She also brings back with her a painful secret that caused her fiance to break his engagement and force Society to turn it's back on her. One day Lady Cahill, Kate's mother's godmother and Jack's grandmother, visits offering to sponsor her if she will come live with her. This seems to be the solution to Kate's problems, but she foolishly turns down the proposal. Lady Cahill, feeling that this is her only option, "kidnaps" Kate and takes her to Jack's country home. Once there she offers Kate another proposal, stay at Jack's home for six months and take care of him and then she'll bring her to London and sponsor her into Society. Kate agrees knowing that Jack's home needs cleaning and that she needs a roof over her head and food in her belly.
The interaction between Jack and Kate is nothing short of TNT. It seems that they only know how to argue with each other and throw things. Jack doesn't want Kate cleaning and taking care of him and Kate doesn't want Jack telling her what to do. Eventually, these heated altercations turn into stollen kisses and intimate moments that make each begin to care for the other. But Jack believes that Kate is only trying to "worm" her way into what she believes to be a wealthy estate and Kate believes that Jack is just using her for his own needs. Can each find the truth in one another before Kate leaves for London and begins searching for a husband?
I highly suggest "Gallant Waif" if you're looking for a story with substance and romance. You'll find yourself enthralled with the characters and the situations they find themselves in. The setting and the world events surrounding that era only add to it's appeal. The story will have you laughing, crying, heartbroken, and proud. I'm positive that you'll enjoy this book as much as I did.
Gennie Bailey-Rogers
Rating: 5
Summary: A Most Welcome New Author
Comment: Every now and then one picks up a book by an unfamiliar author and it like coming home - everything fits and is comfortable and all expectations are fulfilled. I had that experience with Carla Kelly's books and now with Anne Gracie. I first read her second book, Tallie's Knight, and was so impressed that I sought out her first book, Gallant Waif. I was enchanted.
The story of Major Jack Carstairs, recently returned from the Peninsular campaign badly wounded in body and spirit, and Kate Farleigh, who is hiding a shameful secret, is exceptionally well told. Anne Gracie writes with excellent knowledge of the period and draws her characters exceedingly well. It is very clear that she has done her research and the quality of her prose is excellent. Some of the peripheral characters in the story (particularly Jack and Kate's friends from the Peninsula) are briefly but memorably portrayed.
This is a story of high emotion, courage and heroism but never slips into sentimentality. There is sexual tension without sex scenes and the growing relationship between Jack and Kate is believable and moving. The scene at the ball near the end of the book is one of the most highly charged, emotional and poignant scenes I have ever read in a book of this type - it moved me to tears.
I hope that Anne Gracie's books are soon available in the USA in paperback for I think she will attract a wide and devoted following if she keeps up the level of her future efforts to the standards she has already achieved. I was delighted to note that she had been nominated for a RITA for Gallant Waif and I am also delighted to write the first review for this book for amazon.com. I look forward to more from her in future.
Rating: 4
Summary: A few quirks, but a great book
Comment: I'm fast becoming a regency fan, and this book is partially the reason why! :)
"Mad Jack" Carstairs is a bitter, angry man. After returning from the Peninsula Campaign with a scarred face and a pronounced limp, he is jilted by his shallow fiancee because he was ugly and nearly destitute, as his father had left him practically nothing. Jack retreats to the home his father left him, content to drink away his life in the country.
His grandmother, however, is not content to see her grandson waste away his life in such a manner. A feisty older lady, she learns that her godmother's daughter, Kate, is destitute and is nearly about the enter "service" as a maid. She "kidnaps" Kate on the way to visit her grandson, and soon discovers that Kate is able to bring Jack out of his black mood because she has a temper that rivals Jack's! Kate, who is determined to become a housekeeper because she believes she has no prospects of a respectable marriage because of an incident that happened during the war, becomes Jack's housekeeper (although Jack insists that she is NOT his housekeeper).
Jack and Kate are hilarious, especially since they were always at each other's throats and are constantly bickering. There was little substance behind their relationship, however, in my opinion - there was a good deal of lust, and anger, and anger that led to lust, but little else (so if you're looking for a tender romance, you may want to pass on this book). On the other hand, if you enjoy a good laugh, this book is excellent! I could certainly identify with Kate, especially since I have a similar temper problem! :) I also liked the fact that the heroine was not a virgin, although the circumstances surrounding that were a little unrealistic.
The ending of the book was also unrealistic, from what I know of the era (and I must admit, that's not much), it would be highly unlikely for such a course of events to take place. In the end, however, I think this book was a good one, and I especially loved the sparring that occurred among Jack, his grandmother, and Kate. It's going on the keeper shelf!
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Title: Tallie's Knight by Anne Gracie ISBN: 037351137X Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: March, 2001 List Price(USD): $4.50 |
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Title: An Inconvenient Heir by Martha Kirkland ISBN: 0451207718 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: An Honorable Thief (Harlequin Historical, No. 616) by Anne Gracie ISBN: 0373292163 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.25 |
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Title: Tangled by Mary Balogh ISBN: 0451404521 Publisher: Topaz Pub. Date: March, 1994 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: A Marriage to Fight for (Harlequin Intimate Moments, No 804) by Raina Lynn ISBN: 0373078048 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: August, 1997 List Price(USD): $3.99 |
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