A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

BY HIS MAJESTY'S GRACE

Author: Jennifer Blake ISBN: 9780778312437 7/2011 HISTORICAL Publisher: MIRA
Time Period: 1486 England

By His Majesty's Grace by Jennifer Blake
Much to her chagrin, Lady Isabel Milton has been given to Earl Rand Braesford—a reward from the Tudor king for his loyalty to the throne. The lusty nobleman quickly claims his husbandly rights, an experience Isabel scarcely hoped to enjoy so much. But youth and strength may not save Braesford from his bride's infamous curse…

Accused of a heinous crime with implications that reach all the way to King Henry himself, Braesford is imprisoned in the Tower, and Isabel is offered her salvation—but for a price. She has the power to seal his fate, have him sent to the executioner and be freed from her marriage bonds. Yet the more Isabel learns of Rand, the less convinced she is of his guilt, and she commits to discover the truth about the enigmatic husband she never expected to love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: Top Pick

Jennifer Blake enters the realm of Tudor England with BY HIS MAJESTY'S GRACE, the first book in the Three Graces trilogy. With wonderful characters and a strong sense of place and history, this novel is an excellent read.

In August 1486, Lady Isabel Milton is forced to marry a baseborn knight who is in the favor of the uneasily crowned Henry VII. To make matters even worse, Sir Rand Braesford, despite a long history with the king, is under a cloud for the possible murder of the king’s former mistress and illegitimate child.

Still, Isabel is happy to escape the abusive step-brother who controls her estates, even as she worries about her two younger sisters and her own future as a married person. She’s gone so far as to make up a curse about herself and her sisters to keep suitors away, but it doesn’t work this time!

Rand is a man of his era, a bit brutal but so heroic that any reader will grow to love him. Isabel fights her love, though they find a rare passion together. A strong woman, she takes an active role in trying to save him from the noose. The royal family of the time is active in the book, along with fascinating secondary characters who aren’t historical personages.

If you are interested in how this story came to be, check out Blake’s blog at: http://jenniferblakejournal.blogspot.com/

Heather Hiestand

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