A Woman Entangled

November 25, 2013
Grant's third Blackshear Regency romance (after A Gentleman Undone) leaves no doubt of her talent. Kate Westbrook feels robbed of her social standing due to her blue-blood father's scandalous marriage to her mother, an actress, and is determined to make a better match for herself. She takes a bumpy path through high society using her brains and her beauty, but her heart has other plans. Family friend and barrister Nicholas Blackshear has carried a torch for Kate for several years. Knowing of her plan to marry up, and believing himself to be a poor match for her, he reluctantly agrees to introduce her around at society functions. Their feelings for each other soon become more passionate than passive, shocking them both. Grant has successfully given screwball romantic comedy a decidedly Regency flair. Her witty dialogue, flawed but relatable characters, and precise attention to detail make her an author to watch.

June 15, 2013
Beautiful Kate Westbrook is bound and determined to find the perfect mate who will usher her back into her rightful place in the haut ton; she is absolutely not interested in handsome, honorable Nick Blackshear--no matter how much her heart may tell her otherwise. As the daughter of the estranged second son of an earl, Kate wants nothing more than to find her way back into the highest echelons of society, a position out of her reach since her father married her mother, an actress, and was shunned by his family. When a door of opportunity opens a crack, she intends to make the most of it but is stunned when she is continually thrown into contact with Nick Blackshear, a handsome barrister whose suit she shut down firmly but kindly in the past. The more time she spends with him, the more attractive he becomes, which is problematic, given that he can in no way further her social goals. In fact, Nick's family has a juicy scandal more recent than hers, so she should be spending less rather than more time with him, but she can't bring herself to deprive herself of his company--a decision that threatens to send them both down the dangerous, irreversible path of passion. For his part, Nick has been in love with Kate since the first time he set eyes on her, and he once thought to spend his life with her, until he received the message loud and clear that he wasn't good enough. Now, with his family's scandal hanging over him and negatively impacting his career, he knows he has nothing to offer her. But when circumstances throw them together and attraction flares, he's too intrigued to walk away. And while their odd dance of attraction and denial is the initial impetus for their covert romance, and their blazing chemistry is extraordinary, ultimately, Kate and Nick must decide to honestly open their hearts to love--for each other, their families and their true selves--before they can ever be whole and happy. An emotionally rich, sensually lush romance.

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Starred review from June 1, 2013
Kate Westbrook has one goal and one goal only: to reclaim her rightful place in society and restore her family's good name. In order to achieve this feat, Kate is more than willing to use her beauty, her brains, and a recently revived connection with the aristocratic side of her father's family to land a titled husband. However, just as Kate launches her campaign to find a suitable nobleman to wed, she encounters an unexpected stumbling block in the person of barrister Nicholas Blackshear. Despite the fact that she crushed his romantic hopes three years earlier, Kate considers Nick a friend, yet for some reason, her friend Nick seems bound and determined to keep Kate from achieving her goal. Wielding a deliciously sharp wit that even Jane Austen would envy, Grant delivers yet another cleverly conceived and deftly choreographed Regency historical that is both lushly sensual and thoroughly romantic. Readers who have yet to discover Grant's impeccably written romances are in for a rare treat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)