“Miss Mad Rousseau, I love you so. From now to the end of time.”
Swoooon!!!! Katy Regnery has done it again. She has spun a beautiful, timeless tale about two childhood friends turned forever soulmates who are torn apart by happenstance and/or bad timing, but reunited by fate and destiny. This time around, in MARRY ME MAD (The Rousseaus, book 2) we have Cortlandt Ambler, the broodingly sexy, edgy musician with the sensitive soul still carrying a secret torch for Madeleine Rousseau, the sweet, sassy librarian he has secretly loved since the tender age of 13. And when these two neighbors, who grew up together on Blueberry Lane, cross paths again the end result is a combustible, heart throbbing tale that left this besotted reader in a state of starry eyed bliss!
What I love about the long-running Blueberry Lane series is that the author often brings our couples together in the most magical and enchanting ways. Last time, in JONQUILS FOR JAX, we had the majestic backdrop of a Moonlit Garden, and in this book, the classical notes of an aching melody reunites our lovelorn duo together.
Mad Rousseau hadn't seen her teenage crush, Cort, in 10 long years, but she’d never forgotten him. Now, as luck would have it, on the worst night of her life, when she’d finally gotten stone cold proof of her philandering, high-browed boyfriend's betrayal, she found herself in front of Voulez-Vous, a Point Breeze dive bar. All it took was one soul-shattering phone call for her cherished fantasy of a grand home in the suburbs and a gaggle of happy children to go up in smoke. Now choking back angry tears and emotionally distraught, she is wandering aimlessly through the Philadelphia streets and finds herself inexplicably drawn in by the beautiful, haunting melody “Le Cygne" and back in the orbit of the one boy she'd never stopped pining for.
“Exposed and vulnerable, she had also never felt so alive, as though she was placed on earth for the sole purpose of finding herself here, now, with him. ”
Next thing she knows, she finds herself sidling up to the bar to drown her sorrows. After kicking back multiple shots of tequila, she is mortified to come face to face with Cort, the musician playing a gig that night , who swoops to the rescue when she upchucks all over the bar! Once the alcohol-induced haze lifts, Mad can't help but feel all her wistful teenage fantasies about Cord coming flooding back. And to say he's a sight for sore eyes is putting it mildly! Teenage Cort had been a brooding and intense young musician, but now...SWEET HEAVENS... he had transformed into a big, hard bodied hunk with arms covered in tattoos and a flare of hot desire gleaming in his eyes that made her quake inside. Before she knows it he’s walking her home and they find themselves dancing in the rain as if time stood still.
“They were like super magnets, destined for each other since the moment they’d reconnected, and she felt utterly helpless to stop the forward motion that would lead to love.”
Only problem was he’d briefly dated her twin sister, Jax, during their senior year of high school--which made him the most off-limits man on the planet. The odds were stacked against them and Cort didn’t realize the landmine he’d been walking into the day Mad Rousseau suddenly reappeared in his life. Back then, he’d been too young and stupid to love Mad right, and always ached with regret over his foolish choices that cost him the girl he truly adored, but finally, FINALLY he had his chance to claim the girl he was always meant to be with. For Mad was music and he couldn’t imagine spending another day without her.
“He was a romantic and a firm believer in fate—in signs and luck and taking chances. In the depths of his heart, he felt—no, he knew—that the universe had preordained their reunion: that Madeleine Rousseau was meant for him, and he was meant for her, and tonight was just the beginning, the first page of their love story.”
What ensues is a hot, tempestuous, forbidden romance that burns so bright it made this reader quiver in delight! IMO, this book is by far the most sizzling hot in the series! So torrid in fact you may need a fan to cool off! (especially during that off the charts HARP SCENE!) The chemistry between Mad and Cort is electrifying, their scenes are fueled with fiery discord and smoldering tension, and their erotic encounters are combustible!!!! But as is this author's MO, the love scenes are always churning with searing emotion, and the romance and sensuality flow perfectly in tandem like chords of a beautiful melody.
Once again, the romantic development between the couple is masterfully layered, poignant and bristling with raw intensity. Cort had always had a quiet adoration and fascination for Mad and now he was elated at the thought of unraveling all her beautiful mysteries.
“She was proper yet provocative. Angelic but arousing. Sophisticated and sexy” and he was determined to get to know the sexy, hot, passionate woman under the cool, polished veneer. Meanwhile, Cort not only proved to be a true gentleman but a hot, passionate lover who lavished Mad with love and affection beyond her wildest dreams. After being in an unhappy relationship with an unfaithful jerk, she she’d forgotten this feeling of falling for someone—of feeling admired. Alive. Electric. Aroused.
All of Ms. Regnery’s heroes are ultra-dreamy, but Cort gives new definition to the term swoonworthy! He has that “BAD BOY” musician vibe going for him and is the perfect combo of hot tempered alpha and gentle, doting lover. I adored his “caveman-style protective instincts” and his single-minded desire to make her his…but at the same time I cherished his sweet, endearingly tender side as well. Even though Mad's waffling back and forth and indecision DID frustrate me at times, I reveled in their romantic chemistry, and I got where she was coming from. Mad was a woman very much divided between sisterly loyalty and forever love and she would ultimately have to decide whether she was “willing to accept a half-full life when the promise of a full-to-bursting life awaited.”
I won’t say how it all works out but the romantic reunion was a CLASSIC one that gave me delicious goose bumps! Ultimately, MARRY ME MAD is a heady Blueberry Lane confection overflowing with breathtaking romance, soulful music, fiery lust, a touch of angst, and spirited family drama involving the feisty Rousseaus and “black sheep” Amblers! Kudos to Katy Regnery for striking gold yet again with this feel-good romance that left me positively giddy!