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A full-length standalone novel that also introduces you to Val, whose story is is in Jack's Heart. "I fell in love with Cahill. He's handsome, smart, strong, and had an Irish brogue to die for. Eleanor is a real woman, with real curves, a sense of humor and intelligence

Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

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102 people want to read

About the author

Patricia McLinn

130 books314 followers
USA Today bestselling author Patricia McLinn’s novels—cited by reviewers for warmth, wit and vivid characterization – have won numerous regional and national awards and been on national bestseller lists.

In addition to her romance and women’s fiction books, Patricia is the author of the Caught Dead in Wyoming mystery series, which adds a touch of humor and romance to figuring out whodunit.

Patricia received BA and MSJ degrees from Northwestern University. She was a sports writer (Rockford, Ill.), assistant sports editor (Charlotte, N.C.) and—for 20-plus years—an editor at the Washington Post.

She has spoken about writing from Melbourne, Australia to Washington, D.C., including being a guest-speaker at the Smithsonian Institution. She is now living in Northern Kentucky, and writing full-time. Patricia loves to hear from readers through her website, Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.

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5 stars
59 (32%)
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50 (27%)
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62 (33%)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Mireille Duval.
1,702 reviews107 followers
July 28, 2015
This poor book (and all the others I'm currently reading) suffered from me finding a new TV fandom right in the middle of it, which meant that I only wanted to watch more episodes / read some more fanfiction. (Watch Leverage, you guys!) It was perfectly fine - I love marriage of convenience stories, though I prefer when the attraction isn't as obvious as it was here pre-marriage. The characters were interesting, although I could have done without all the "tragic past" thing, and without the "lying to my wife to protect her!" at the end (thankfully, that last part was dispatched quickly). I liked the inn setting, too, and Val was a fun sidekick. But otherwise, I took too long reading it to have a coherent opinion!
Profile Image for Frankiejohnny.
147 reviews3 followers
October 15, 2011
The always practical Eleanor Thatcher has been disappointed by Dreamers her whole life. She does everything she can to avoid her growing attraction to the hunky dreamer Cahill McCrea who is saving her restaurant one Irish song at a time. When the INS is about to send Cahill back to Ireland, Eleanor comes up with a practical solution to keep him in the USA. Propose marriage?!

I fell in love with the ballad singing Cahill. He's handsome, smart, strong, and had an Irish Brogue to die for. Eleanor is a real woman, with real curves, a sense of humor and intelligence making her extremely likable. I was sad when I finished, because I wanted more.
Profile Image for Mackenzie.
239 reviews1 follower
September 5, 2013
In order to bring more business into their restaurant, ever practical Eleanor listens to her cousin and hires Irish ballad singer, Cahill McCrea. Cahill has been battling to keep his visa so he can stay in America. When immigration tells him they can't give him any more extensions, Eleanor proposes to marry him. He gets his visa and she keeps her profits coming.

However, the more time they spend together, the more the attraction between them grows.

I don't know why, but I just couldn't get in to this story! I really wanted to, but the story just seemed too generic and never had that "awesome" moment that made it stand out from all the others out there.

Profile Image for Nydia Salas.
23 reviews
August 20, 2013
Can this hot irish man get any hotter? Wow I loved hiw he never gave up on his dream and live for Noreen! i couldnt put this book down because i wanted to find out if he could break down that wall Eleanore put up for years.
Profile Image for Akina.
560 reviews12 followers
May 15, 2014
A decent book. But parts of it felt a bit rushed. And I truly could not get past the Irish accent.
Profile Image for Leyns.
3,056 reviews
September 18, 2015
Not her best.

I really enjoy Patricia McLinn's books but wouldn't recommend this one. It's okay but not as good as her others.
281 reviews5 followers
May 31, 2017
Eleanor is a very practical woman in her early thirties who owns a bar/pub with her cousin Valerie. They aren't making much money, so Val spots a hot Irish bar singer named Cahill McCrea and suggests that he come sing at their bar. McCrea has a Tortured Past and is planning on managing a hotel in Rhode Island, but the construction has been delayed and his immigration visa is about to expire.
Eleanor REALLY wants to be practical ALL the time because her mother and stepfather were shiftless dreamers who never followed through on anything, and she lumps McCrea in with them. McCrea doesn't trust Eleanor enough to tell her about his plans. And then his visa runs out and he's about to be deported, and Eleanor's like, "he's bringing a lot of business in to the bar, and if we get married he can stay here..." so she suggests that they get married. (After all, this is part of a "marriage of convenience" boxed set.)
Eleanor and McCrea are super attracted to each other, even before the marriage, and the wedding itself takes place in a Catholic church like everything's actually legit, and he wants to have a real marriage and babies and all of it. But their agreement was to just do it for business, and then they start having sex, and... yeah. She falls for him and he had already fallen for her but of course they have crossed signals.
Plot B: someone's sabotaging the pub. McCrea figures that out, but Eleanor doesn't tell him, because she wants to handle it herself. You'd think she'd learn. This is definitely one of those books where THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS SHOULD JUST HAVE AN HONEST CONVERSATION.
Anyway. McCrea manages to defeat the bad guy by becoming a spy at his competing bar, and he and Eleanor reunite, and they're in love. They go to Ireland and she's pregnant and they have a real marriage and hooray.
McCrea: is hot but he has an anger problem (which he's trying to work on, to his benefit, but anyway). He tends to stomp out instead of talking about what's upsetting him. And, again, he doesn't really trust people. Eleanor accuses him of just teasing her when he's putting the moves on her, because she believes he's a total horn dog, and McCrea doesn't correct her (??!?!??).
Eleanor: SO STUBBORN. Just so damn stubborn and refuses to let anyone help her ever pretty much. Which, I mean, I get that. Ahh well.
Profile Image for Marcia  Haskell.
632 reviews11 followers
June 16, 2019
This story examines the conflict between people who are dreamers and practical, organized down-to-earth people who know better than to trust any possibilities that aren’t backed up by practical plans and hard work.

Eleanor grew up with parents who jumped from one opportunity to the next, but none ever came to fruition. She needed stability and turned herself into a practical planner who spent her days working to ensure everything was completed before she could rest. When she meets and hires an Irish musician to draw customers to her restaurant, she feels an attraction but is determined to ignore it. She has had enough of living with dreamers whose dreams always failed. Cahill wants to live in America, but needs a route to citizenship. The attraction is strong, but each is afraid of personal history repeating itself. Can they overcome their past? Will they be hurt? Can you trust the future if you can’t trust your past not to be repeated?

A fun read with characters you can like and wish were friends.
2,538 reviews6 followers
March 23, 2024
A NEW WORLD is a lovely, sweet romance between a dreamer and a practical woman who simply cannot imagine any dream coming true. Will stubborn disbelief cause her to lose out on her happy ending?
I enjoyed this book.
Profile Image for Joan.
2,800 reviews101 followers
May 16, 2019
McLinn always gives the reader her best. She refines her storyline, revises for clarity, produces well-developed characters, and presents us with a polished and interesting story.
Profile Image for pinK.
479 reviews8 followers
August 21, 2013
Okay, the blurb for this book is really pathetic and does NOTHING to tell about the story, so of course, I went in fairly blind. This is the story of Eleanor and Cahill and how their marriage of convenience turned into something much, much more.

Cahill is a Scottish immigrant that is about to be deported as his visa is expiring. He's been singing in Eleanor and her cousin's pub, and completely turning around their business, so of course she doesn't want him to leave! When she goes and talks to the man in charge of the extension for his visa, she finds that the only way that Cahill will be allowed to stay in the country is if he marries a US citizen. Ever the practical woman, Eleanor decides that it's in the best interest of Cahill and her pub to bite the bullet and marry the Scottish bloke.
The marriage turns into something more as the two work hard to fight off their feelings and remain neutral.

This was a lovely story, and I have to admit, I love Scottish men! The characters were well developed and the love was well written, and slow to build. Trust me, although this blurb needs some help, the book itself is a fantastic read!
Profile Image for Kbee.
1,532 reviews4 followers
September 1, 2013
Cahill is from Ireland and wants to stay in America but his visa as expired and can't be renewed so the only thing that can keep him here is to wed an American girl. Eleonore volunteers so he can keep bringning in costumers in her in with his signing. Liked the story didn't like Eleonore's character. The plot was ok.
Profile Image for Jane Geltzer.
104 reviews6 followers
November 20, 2013
Great story. Characters are well written and fully conceived. The romantic relationship between Cahill and Eleanor is sweet and real.
Profile Image for Mjtraggis.
66 reviews
September 2, 2013
Kindle/Amazon had a deal on a collection of 4 Summit Author books called Marriage Of Convenience: Cry Uncle, Falcon's Fire, A New World, and Of One Heart.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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