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Gallant Waif

Winner - National Readers Choice Award 2001
(RWAmerica)

RITA 2000 Finalist - (RWAmerica)
Best First Book

Gallant Waif

Kate Farleigh was absolutely stunned when her refusal to accept Lady Cahill's offer of "charity" resulted in her being swept away in her sumptuous carriage. But the real reason behind the older woman's antics became stunningly clear upon meeting Lady Cahill's enigmatic grandson, Jack Carstairs.

Wounded in the Peninsular War, disowned by his father and dumped by his fiancée, Jack had shut himself up in his country estate, but Kate had no patience with such behaviour. Suddenly Jack found himself with a purpose, trying to steer clear of Miss Farleigh's attempts to interfere with his chosen lifestyle. Why, if he wasn't careful, Kate just might succeed in her attempts to make him want to rejoin the human race!

Reviewers Comments

"Ms Gracie has a knack for delving into people's souls and tickling their funny bone."

Rendezvous

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The Romance Reader gave GALLANT WAIF a 5 heart "keepers" rating.

"...Kate is a great heroine. She is brave and competent and charming and lovely, She has borne more pain and sorrow than anyone should have to bear, but she is not defeated. Jack is a wounded hero... ...This is as polished a piece of romance writing as anyone could want. I certainly hope that Gracie's books get the readership they deserve. I want more stories by this extremely talented author..."

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All About Romance gave GALLANT WAIF Desert Island Keeper status -- their highest rating.

"I loved everything about it and had not one single, solitary quibble. Gallant Waif was as good a book as I have read in a long time... ...I loved the characters, each and every one of them. Jack was so hurt, so prone to bluster and command, yet so fundamentally kind and loving. And Kate was strong, yet vulnerable, quick tempered and intelligent... Whatever you do, please stop by the local bookstore, grocery store or wherever you buy your books and get this... I have no qualms in saying that Gallant Waif is going to rank very, very high on my list of the Best Romances for 2001..."

Read an extract

Read some more reviews.

Read about how I came to write this book.

Readers Comments

I stood in the middle of my bedroom whenI was supposed to be heading to Easter dinner with my in-laws and devoured the end, tears streaming down my face, mascara everywhere. My husband kept yelling, "Come on!" and I ignored him, unwilling to stop... Katy

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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. 5 STARS (Reader, Amazon.com.)

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I reread "Gallant Waif" the other night (for the fourth time since I acquired it in May) and still got chills during the romantic scenes and cried through the
sad scenes. You really have a gift for engaging your readers' emotions.
Brooke

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Gallant Waif took my breath away! The historical detail was eye-opening, the pace kept me on the edge of my seat, and the characters were wonderfully three-dimensional.
Most of all though, the way you dealt with the emotional aspects of the book kept me endlessly surprised and enthralled.
Learning Kate's secret, and then seeing it through so many different eyes was fascinating. I don't remember the last time I cried reading a novel, but I was sobbing during the revelation scene. That scene, in and of itself, was a stroke of genius, but combined with the rest of the novel, it was a work of art.
Thank you so much, Ms. Gracie, for your exquisite novel. Please write many many more books, so that I may buy them all.
Zarrin.

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Run, drive or fly to the nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of GALLANT WAIF by Anne Gracie. ... This book lives up to every rave review I've heard about it. Definitely a keeper, IMO. Enjoy!!
Leanne, a reader.

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Anne Gracie has spun a beautiful and poignant story about two people who have been marked by war and how they have learned to deal with it. 5 STARS (roseweb. Top 500 Reviewer, Amazon.com.)

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The ultimate compliment from the tea-leaf element.. (tea leaf is rhyming slang for thief)

A US reader was shopping for a whole pile of paperbacks and when he came to the counter to pay, the clerk told him that while he was browsing, someone tried to nick his copy of Gallant Waif from his stack -- it was the last one left in the store. The clerk saved the day.

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And finally, my shortest favourite review...

Enjoyed your story. Lots of angst. Everything fit. See you later. David