Review of “Granting Katelyn” by S.E. Reichert

Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)

Granting Katelyn is a charming and steamy country romance novel by S.E. Reichert!

If you love Jane Austen mixed with a little bit of E.L James with a side of Hallmark movies sprinkled in, this might be the book and series for you!

The novel follows a beautiful, brilliant, and strong-minded horse therapist from Wyoming named Katelyn Sullivan, a 25-year-old country firecracker—a “true cowgirl.” Spurred by her mentor from the previous book, Jim Parsons, she takes on the daunting task of working with an injured and emotionally-challenged prized horse named Hugh at the wealthy Tennyson Stables Estate.

No one seems to be able to bring Hugh back to his previous mental, emotional, and physical health. He fears riding, particularly with his former rider with whom he seems to share a damaged trust.

Katelyn finds herself faced with the even more arduous task of working with Hugh's handsome yet hardened owner and rider, Grant Tennyson, the bastard heir to the estate. Grant, who is 40-years-old and still unmarried with few close friends, is said to have a “wall 20 feet high.” He is standoffish, coarse, rude, and seemingly antisocial.

Like a prisoner, Grant lives under the oppressive and controlling thumb of his father, Ian, who views him similar to the prized horses in the stable: as expendable and a commodity with which to breed and sell off to the highest bidder via an arranged marriage. In fact, Katelyn even stands up to Ian by saying, “I didn't realize that [Grant] was part of your breeding program.” Ian threatens to leave Grant's assets frozen and to leave him jobless and desolate if he doesn't comply to his every wish, including who to have relationships and associations with.

In the middle of all this is Katelyn, now the lowly “help” as a stable girl, who catches Grant's eye with her fiery personality, honey brown hair, stout yet beautiful body, and her affinity for his beloved horse (Hugh). He also sees Katelyn as one of the few people to ever stand up to him and his father as well as someone with the adventurous, free spirit that he has been denied his whole life.

The sexual tension in this book is off the charts!

And this book definitely rewards you for sticking it out with some of the best sex scenes to ever come our way! Some of them involve the kinkiness of things you'd expect to find in a horse stable—really adding a layer of uniqueness to these scenes.

Yeah, this definitely isn't a teen or YA book, though it appeared to be heading that way initially.
The second we read “it was erotic” we had a laugh, then realized this appeals to an older, more adult demographic. That's confirmed by some of the coarse language that rears its head from time to time.

With that out of the way, this is really a tale as old as time: Beauty and the Beast or a variation of that classic tale. It's the story of a brilliant girl who sees the prince—the man—behind the beast, locked away in a palace where his wealth is little more than a number and his title is little more than some words.

With that comparison also comes the same Stockholm-syndrome accusations you could probably throw at Beauty and the Beast. There are times when Grant (and Ian) just aren't kind or considerate to Katelyn. There are times when they can be downright nasty to her. But Katelyn sticks around feeling that she is still able to fix Grant and improve the situation, viewing him as a tragic victim of circumstance, as the audience is also led to believe. You're either going to jive with that or you're not.

What can't be denied is that the relationship is compelling. The tension is there. The chemistry is there (for the most part). And it's not sudden or abrupt, its very patient and gradual. It builds.

We get hints to the way that Grant feels about her with lines like “...he felt the warmth of her joy” or the aforementioned “it was erotic” when she massages Hugh.

He thanks her for dinner. He spends time with her working with Hugh and in the fields.

The author did a great job of not rushing into things. They made things feel earned and deserved, at least more so than other romance books we've read.

Grant is betrothed to be married to the manipulative, mechanical, and calculated Cecilia in a farce arranged marriage aimed only to guarantee future wealth. It is said that Cecilia was “bred” and “manufactured” for that very purpose. She is a clear foil for Katelyn, who is free spirited and unapologetically herself, and Grant, who—despite being raised just like Cecilia—is also opposed to that way of thinking and living. Per the fairy tale motif, he believes in being yourself and loving for love's sake rather than for money, treasures, or property. Unfortunately, he's haunted by his past and events that involve a girl named Jane and his villainous father, Ian.

If you haven't caught on by now, Ian and Cecilia really aren't good people. They are effectively the villains of this novel.

Not only is the romance and sex in this book great, and not only are the villains compelling, but Katelyn really stands out as a protagonist. There's something very appealing about her.

She's a country girl who was literally born in a barn and has a pedigree that goes back four generations!
We gathered from this book that she's on the shorter or stouter side. Blake even calls her “short-stack.” However, that only seems to increase her attractiveness as it makes her butt and breasts appear more prominent. She's one of those people who carries her weight well, in other words.

Another thing that's very attractive about her is that she isn't afraid to get down and dirty, either at work or in bed. She's frequently covered in hay, dirt, and mud. She's often sweaty or wet. She sometimes smells like the animals she works with or like someone who has been out in the sun for a while. This just makes her more human and more relatable rather than being a makeup-covered, overdressed doll like Cecilia.

Check it out on Amazon!