Entwined

Jamie Mcleod stole from Lord Oriel. Nathan Oriel demands in return, his daughter Isobel Mcleod. So she becomes Nathan's secretary, and his eyes - for Isobel knows the secret - Nathan is blind. Every night Nathan asks Isobel to marry him for she has become more than his eyes. She has become his life. How he comes to love her and how she accepts and loves him is a wonderful tale. There is some intrigue in this novel also. A select group of men (ten) who were spies for England during the Napoleonic war are being killed off one by one. Nathan lost his best friend when he lost his sight and being one of the ten men, his days are numbered. How he is able to hide his infirmity and flush out the traitor is very interesting! The side characters are well fleshed out and sometimes annoying. I felt sorry for Isobel who was saddled with such a horrible selfish family! Her brothers and father appeared to be worthless drunkards. I loved it when Nathan tells her (regarding her father) "I will not tolerate his deliberate idiocy, and you will no longer take responsibility for it." Not the last time we are exposed to them but... A wonderful story in all aspects. On the spicy side at times - loved it!

Yet again, I find that the summary posted above doesn't really represent the book adequately. This put me off buying this book for some time, and yet when I started to read it I was unable to put it down.Emma Jensen is a very talented writer, and her knowledge not just of the Regency period in England, but of Scottish and Irish culture, history, language and mores, is very impressive. I loved Isobel, and Nathan was a delight as a hero. I love brooding, tortured men! Isobel, despite being caught very much at a disadvantage the first time she encounters the Marquess of Oriel (she's returning the purse her father stole, with coins missing), doesn't allow him to intimidate her. She gives him as good as she gets, and is equally strong-willed when she meets him again the following day... and guesses the secret he's tried so hard to hide from everyone. And because of that, he insists that she come to work for him, and later persuades her to marry him. He claims that it's a business arrangement, but he's wanted her since he first grabbed hold of her in his study. She, on the other hand, quickly comes to be very fond of him - later falls in love with him - but has no idea of his feelings for her. (As I am Irish, and Scots Gaelic isn't too dissimilar to Irish, I was highly amused by Isobel telling Nathan 'ta grath agam ort' and his musings as to what particular curse this represented, since I knew what it meant all along!)The backdrop to this story - apart from the comic secondary characters, Nathan's and Isobel's respective families - is a plot against the lives of Nathan and his former spy colleagues. This was a well-worked plot, only spoiled for me by the fact that I'd recently read a Regency by another author with a similar plot and the same ultimate 'bad guy', so I wasn't at all surprised when I discovered who was behind the murder attempts. But that wasn't Jensen's fault: had I read this first, she would have fooled me! (Oh, and there's a *very* nice twist at the end.)The motif Jensen uses in the book, symbolism involving the entwined white and the red roses at Nathan's country home, works extremely well; I had a lump in my throat when Nathan left red and white roses awkwardly entwined on his pillow the night after they'd made love.This is another wonderful Emma Jensen book. I still prefer His Grace Endures - an even greater angst-wallow - but love this one.

I agree with other reviewers that "Entwined" is Jensen's best work, though by reading some of her other Regencies it's pretty clear that she uses the same elements in each novel. Oh, the circumstances vary slightly, but anyone who's read enough of Jensen's works can say that there's always: 1) the not-too-pretty, unappreciated, tomboyish, very intelligent heroine, labeled an Original by London society, often with Scottish or Irish roots; 2) the staid, reserved hero who holds logic and reason very dear; 3) the intially-disapproving parents (hero's) that includes the grand, fashionable mother and the slightly buffoonish, crisply English father (who learns to appreciate the heroine through a mutual like for fishing); 4) the cute party-going playboy of a younger brother (hero's) who takes a brotherly liking to the heroine and helps her out; 5) the pretty, innocent teenager of a younger sister (hero's) who, despite being shy, takes steps to befriend the heroine. Oh, and 6) hero has a past in the army, doing various intrigues.But these things aren't important. Jensen's still better than most. But I digress; back to "Entwined." Aside from the basic, um, foundation above, Isobel is a fun, spirited, sympathetic character. Jensen *shows* us that she's intelligent and strong, instead of just *telling* us. Nathan is by far the best hero I've ever come across in romance and transcends his earlier Jensen clones: he may appear staid and controlled on the outside, but Jensen does a great job of clearly painting his internal pains and struggles, not to mention his feelings for Isobel. Their relationship is strong and colorful, full of emotion and intelligence, not to mention excitement (including the sex, which was hot, but still pretty classy). This book is not static, and for any romance reader, or even those who don't usually read these things--including myself--it's something fun and interesting to read.

Far superior to her ordinary Regencies - much more complex characters and plot. She has taken her writing to a new level; let's hope she continues to produce such well-crafted stories.

Isobel MacLeod is a caring, sensitive, intelligent heroine, trying to keep her family together despite their, generally unthinking, attempts to the contrary. Nathan Paget, Marquis of Oriel, is a deliciously dark, brooding hero. He has been an intelligence officer, a member of an elite -- and highly secret -- group known as "The Ten". Nathan and Isobel meet when Isobel attempts to return the money her drunken father stole from Lord Oriel while working as his secretary. She agrees to work for Nathan in her father's place, and soon realizes that he has a secret -- a secret he tries very hard to conceal. Nathen needs her help her for many reasons, especially in keeping his secret. When Nathan offers to marry Isobel, she agrees, not realizing what she is getting into. Someone is trying to kill all the members of "the Ten", and Nathan is committed to finding the person responsible, even though it means he must leave his home, travel to London, and resume his place in Society. Isobel loves Nathan, but circumstances cause her to leave him for a short time. Sensing that he needs her, she quickly returns to London, only to learn that Nathan has disappeared. She finds him, with some assistance, but has she arrived in time to save him? This is a great story, fast paced and intensely suspenseful, with terrific characters. The dramatic contrast between the dark, brooding, reclusive Nathan and the outgoing, sensitive Isobel and the sparkling, witty conversations demonstrate Emma Jensen's gifts for characterization and dialogue. With ENTWINED, Emma Jensen has shown that she can write wonderful historical romances as well as delightful Regency romances!