Katy Regnery
Marrying Mr. English: The English Brothers #7
December 18, 2015
Blurb
You've all met the children and Eleanora and Tom English…but how exactly did down-on-her luck waitress, Eleanora Watters, meet trust fund hottie, Tom English?
You won't want to miss this Christmas novel that tells the story of how Eleanora met Tom, while he was visiting Vail in the 1980s.
Excerpt:
Eleanora and Tom walked back up the driveway toward Tom's car, their hands bound together as gleaming white gravel crunched under their feet. Eleanora's mind was spinning from the decision they'd just made together: Tom had turned down fifteen million dollars—an almost unfathomable sum of money—so that he could give their two-day marriage a chance.
It felt foolish and reckless, and his impetuousness frightened her.
It also made her heart swell with tenderness and her body tremble with longing.
Eleanora had never been anyone's first choice for anything. How in the world did she find herself here—with a man who had, literally, chosen her over diamonds and gold?
Looking up at the austere exterior of Haverford Park, she gulped, counting the sparkling windows nervously as she wondered if Grandfather English was watching them and hoping he wasn't. He was a hateful, hurtful old man who'd
judged her before knowing her, and she couldn't wait to get back into Tom's car and leave Haverford for good.
She'd just asked him, What about the money? How can you do this? How can you turn it down for me? And he'd sweetly—and resolutely—answered, I want you more.
Clutching his hand more tightly as they approached the car, she made him stop and face her, ignoring the tears that blurred her vision.
"Are you sure, Tom?"
He glanced up at the old house, narrowing his eyes and tightening his jaw before looking down at her upturned face with such gentleness, she couldn't keep the tears from spilling over the edges of her eyes.
He nodded, using his thumbs to swipe at the wetness before it could wind down her face.
"Positive."
A quiet surge of pure joy lifted her heels from the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss her. His arms— so strong and so certain, it twisted her heart—pulled her against his solid body, her thrift shop coat colliding with his carmel-colored cashmere.
The kiss lasted only a moment before Tom rested his cold cheek against hers, still clutching her tightly.
"We'll be okay, sunshine. I promise."
"You don't know what it's like," she said softly, looking over his shoulder at a tennis court and a swimming pool in the distance, "to be poor."
"We won't be poor," he said. "I have some savings, and as soon as I get a job, we'll have a decent income too."
"You don't know what it's like to be alone," she pressed on, fearful for him, "without family."
"Believe me, a crotchety grandfather, an ineffective father, and a kid brother I barely know don't constitute a family. Somehow I think I'll get by." He leaned back, grinning at her. "Plus, I have you, baby. You're my family now."
She clenched her eyes shut against the welcome sweetness of his words, rubbing her cheek against his soft shoulder as tears ran over the bridge of her nose and plopped onto his expensive coat.
"Let's go," he rumbled near her ear. "I want to be alone with my family."
Buy Links-now available as a complete story!
My Review
If someone were to ask me what I thought of Marrying Mr. English, my answer would be prefaced with a truly satisfied sigh and a smile, before I would say that it was a perfectly sweet and heartwarming story that showed exactly why Katy Regnery is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. We finally get to hear the tale of the parents behind all of the amazing English Brothers, and it's no surprise that it is just as emotionally fulfilling as the rest of the series.
Eleanora is one heck of a spunky young woman, smart and sweet, looking out for herself and her cousin as best as she can. Tom is her polar opposite in terms of upbringing, though certainly not in other areas of personality and interests. On the snooty, standing-centered paper of Tom's family's life-they would never work. But in the real world of feelings, emotions and everyday life? One of them would never work without the other.
Both Eleanora and Tom's characters grow as the story progresses, and both know that love-even just the chance at it-is worth just about anything. Seeing how they persevere together, determined to make their relationship as a married couple work is moving and made me fall in love with the two of them.
The writing is outstanding (at this point I expect nothing less from this author), and the story wraps you up right from the beginning all the way through the sweet, present-day epilogue. Another solid win in The English Brothers/Blueberry Lane series, Marrying Mr. English is a clear 5-star read and a must-have for those already enjoying the series--or anyone who just loves a wonderfully sweet romance with a hint of spice. Recommended for 18+ for some adult language and sexual content.
Oh, and just an aside to the author...you've got my interest piqued for Van and Evie's story if you wouldn't mind getting around to telling it ;-)
About the Author
Katy Regnery, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author, started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract for a winter romance entitled By Proxy. Now a hybrid author who publishes both independently and traditionally, Katy claims authorship of the six-book Heart of Montana series, the six-book English Brothers series, and a Kindle Worlds novella entitled “Four Weddings and a Fiasco: The Wedding Date,” in addition to the standalone novels, Playing for Love at Deep Haven and Amazon bestseller, The Vixen and the Vet. The Vixen and the Vet is included in the charity anthology Hometown Heroes: Hotter Ever After, and Katy’s novella “Frosted” will appear in the upcoming (Jan ’15) anthology, Snowy Days Steamy Nights. Additionally, Katy’s short story, “The Long Way Home” will appear in the first RWA anthology (Feb ’15), Premiere. Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
