By His Majesty's Grace

June 20, 2011
Prolific author Blake (Fierce Eden) launches the Three Graces trilogy with an enjoyable Tudor-era romance. Lady Isabel Milton and her sisters are the Three Graces of Graydon, said to bear a curse that dooms any man betrothed to them without love. After the deaths of four suitors, Isabel manages to avoid any further betrothals until King Henry VII promises her to Sir Rand Braesford. When Rand is arrested and charged with murder, Isabel sees a chance to be free of him, but the more she learns about him, the more she doubts that he could commit such a heinous crime. Can the curse be defeated? Blake's flamboyant prose immerses readers in the period, with likable characters and a well-constructed plot. Though Isabel and Rand are flaw-free and polished to a high gloss, readers will enjoy watching them find their footing and become a team.

July 1, 2011
If one or even two of your fianc's die, people assume it is just plain bad luck. When four of your future husbands bite the dust, people talk about the curse of the Three Graces of Graydon as if it's the real deal. Which is exactly what Lady Isabel Milton wants, since she has no intention of ever marrying. Randall Braesford, however, doesn't seem to have gotten the memo about death and disaster overcoming any man who attempts a loveless union with Isabel, and he insists on claiming her as his wife. When he is thrown into the Tower of London, Isabel sees a way out of her connubial conundrum. All she has to do is keep quiet, and Rand will soon be missing his head. But much to her surprise, Isabel discovers that might not be what she really wants. Blake is known best for her sultry southern-set romances. She proves equally adept at evoking the dangerous politics of late medieval England in her latest vividly detailed, marvelously captivating historical.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)