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| Saving Grace | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Garwood
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
New (36) Used (158) Collectible (3) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 20297
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0671870114
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780671870119
ASIN: 0671870114
Publication Date: March 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Charming Story November 18, 2008
I almost didn't read this book as I have disliked almost every historical romances I've read where the heroin is a widower, however I'm immensely grateful that I didn't put this book aside!
This is a charming story, the characters are delightful and refreshingly honest, and the story is simple and enjoyable!
I have had mixed feelings bout Garwood's Historical romances but this one is defiantly one that is going on the keep shelf!
Still fresh after 14 reads... October 9, 2008
I have owned this book for the past 10 years. In that time, I've read it a total of 14 times and am soon to embark on my 15th reading of it. "Saving Grace" is sweet and funny. I never grow tired of the characters' interactions.
Garwood's a "Sure Thing"! October 1, 2008
Julie Garwood's style of writing humorous yet emotionally deep romances puts her in an elite group of writers that I would say are "sure things". Saving Grace is in the same league as all her stories are and I recommend it highly.
Johanna is unlike many of Garwood's heroines in that she was married before and was abused by her husband and also by her priest. She is afraid, of nearly everything, which is unlike Garwood's normally self sufficient strong women. You can tolerate this, as the treatment she endured at the hands of her husband was horrific at best.
Gabriel is another one of Garwood's "gems" of a man/warrior. He is as tough as they come, but he loves his Johanna. It's not that he tells her...because he really doesn't until the end.....he SHOWS her. His concern for her well-being is incredible and he is constantly worrying about her and defending her.
Slowly Johanna begins to flourish in the safety and security of Gabriel's love. She really "comes into her own" and finds herself as well as the love of her life. This is another Garwood "masterpiece">
I also highly recommend The Bride and The Wedding.
A truly marvelous work of fiction! August 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I won't bother the reader with a detailed synopsis of the book, since there seem to be enough of those, so I'll go straight to my opinion about 'Saving Grace'.
To start with, I would have to say that this is one of the best romances I have read so far, and as an avid reader, I've read a LOT of those. Julie Garwood's best works are her historicals, especially her Highland romances (The Bride, The Secret, etc.), and she surpasses herself here. The characters are beautifully portrayed, the author's style of writing so intricate and whimsical that almost every character (except the villians, of course) endears himself / herself to the reader. I have read reviews which are less than complimentary about the heroine Johanna's behavior, claiming that she is too timid to find sympathy with the reader. While I do not want to comment on them, I would like to point out here that considering the trauma she had undergone for years, her behavior was perfectly justified. If a woman who was married off when she was in her teens had spent years being abused physically and emotionally by her husband, chances are that she would naturally be extremely wary, or even frightened, for many years later till the scars of that abuse had faded. And when she does get her courage back, she manages to hold her own beatifully, and in many cases, with amusing results. Again, it would be very narrow-minded if one were to expect her to become aggressive, given the period in which this story is set.
To move on to the hero, Gabriel is one of the best - perhaps THE best - male protagonist I have come across. Not only is he extremely protective and possessive of Johanna, he also turns out to have such an endearing character under all that tough, gruff exterior that it is impossible not to fall in love with him. And as a delightful departure from the regular romance novel, he is the first to acknowledge that he is in love. Most romances follow the trend where the hero admits his love only in the last five pages of the book. Such being the case, it is wonderful to encounter a hero who is honest enough to at least acknowledge to himself that he is in love with the heroine.
All in all, we have a lovely heroine, a hero who manages to be both overwhelmingly masculine and just plain adorable at the same time, and a storyline that, while not exactly action packed, is fascinating in its own way, and manages to draw you in and enagage your emotions completely. If you love romances and like historicals, I could recommend no better book. In fact, give it a try even if you don't care much for historicals. The romance in it is more than enough to hold your attention and engage your emotions long after you've finished the book.
Totally riviting! June 3, 2008
I absolutely LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down, which only means that I was extremely annoyed when I had to do mundane things like feeding cats and cleaning house. The whole time I was doing chores my thoughts were with Johanna and Gabriel.
I loved both Garwood's characters and loved how Johanna became self assured toward the end of the book. I hate giving away endings so I won't do so now, suffice it to say that Gabriel was good for her. I also liked her secondary characters of Nicolas and Clare.
Aside from The Bride and Ransom, this is the best Garwood I've read to date. I have all her medievals except Shadow Music which I have coming and look foward to reading.
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