Cecilia Grant Books in Order: The Blackshear Family
If you love a Regency romance that treats its characters like real, complicated people — the kind of slow burn that earns every ounce of its happy ending — Cecilia Grant is a name to remember. Her output is small, just one perfect family series, but it's beloved by readers who want emotional depth with their dukes and dance cards. Here's the complete Blackshear Family reading order and exactly where to begin.
Cecilia Grant published a single, tightly connected series between 2011 and 2014: the Blackshear Family. It follows the grown children of a fallen gentry family, each carrying the weight of a scandal that has knocked the Blackshears down a rung in society. What makes these books special is their honesty — the romances are sensual and deeply felt, but they're also about money, reputation, ambition, and second chances. They're standalones you can technically read in any order, but the family threads reward reading them front to back.
The Blackshear Family in order
- A Lady Awakened (2011) — Widow Martha Russell strikes a scandalous bargain with her neighbour Theo Mirkwood to secure her late husband's estate. A quiet, unusual, and quietly devastating opener.
- A Gentleman Undone (2012) — Martha's brother Will, home from the war and haunted by it, falls for a gambler's mistress with secrets of her own. Grant's angstiest, most intense book.
- A Woman Entangled (2013) — Nick Blackshear, focused on rebuilding the family name, is pulled off course by Kate Westbrook, who is chasing respectability of her own. A sharp, tender comedy of ambition.
- A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong (2013) — a connected novella featuring Andrew, the starchy eldest Blackshear brother. A short, satisfying holiday coda to the trilogy.
That's the whole series — three novels and a novella. Grant hasn't published widely beyond the Blackshears, which is part of why readers hold these books so close: there's no filler, just four carefully made romances.
Love an emotional slow-burn Regency? Here are ten more.
The Margot St. James collection bundles ten full-length Regency romances — second chances, forced proximity, brooding heroes and clever heroines — into a single instant download. Less than $1 a book.
$79.90 $9.99 for all 10
Instant download • EPUB & PDF • DRM-free
Why readers love the Blackshears
Cecilia Grant is often recommended to readers who find some Regency romance too frothy. Her heroines are prickly, practical, and fully realised; her heroes are flawed in ways that actually matter to the plot. The heat is present but never gratuitous, and the emotional payoffs land because the obstacles feel real — social ruin, poverty, grief. If you've worn out your Courtney Milan or your Sherry Thomas backlist, the Blackshears are the natural next stop.
Where to start
Start with A Lady Awakened. It's the first book, it introduces the family, and its unusual central premise — a marriage-of-convenience-adjacent bargain that has no business working and somehow does — is a perfect showcase for Grant's style. From there, read straight through in publication order; by the time you reach the novella, you'll be sorry there isn't more.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to read Cecilia Grant's books in order?
Each Blackshear Family book is a standalone romance, so you can read them in any order. But they follow siblings of the same family, so publication order is the most rewarding way through.
How many books did Cecilia Grant write?
Three full-length Blackshear Family novels and one connected Christmas novella, published between 2011 and 2014.
Where should I start with Cecilia Grant?
Start with A Lady Awakened, the first Blackshear Family novel and the best introduction to her slow-burn, emotionally rich style.