And Then Came You: Sam's Story

Marconi Brides #1

by Maureen Child

Nine years ago, Samantha Marconi was swept away in a whirlwind wedding...even though she'd only known her new husband for a month. When Jeff left her just weeks after the wedding-she found out she was pregnant and had nowhere to turn. So Sam did the only thing she thought she could do. She placed her daughter up for adoption and tried to forget the past-until her past came knocking on her door...

Jeff never received Sam's letters, nor did he know she had their child-until after the little girl was put up for adoption. Jeff managed to find their daughter, Emma, and lovingly raised her on his own. He's about to remarry-but his divorce from Sam never went through. Jeff needs Sam's help to get "unmarried," and quick. Yet when Jeff shows up on Sam's doorstep, he's shocked to find the sparks that once flew between them are still burning strong. Can he let Sam go again? Especially when the truth about what really happened nine years ago is finally revealed...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult Fiction

335 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 11, 2004

About the author

USA Today best selling author Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas. Maureen is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America.
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.

Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.

Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings

Reviews

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay ended reading it again. He walked out, she got divorce papers, she was pregnant and she gave the child up for adoption. No idea why. She gave a myriad of reasons but they didn't really hold water to me. She has a great family and they would have helped raise her but that's the story. So freaking jerk of a hero with a quality name of Jeff(how boring for a non-hero), comes back 9 years later because he is getting married to a blonde golddigger and their divorce never went through so he needs a divorce. The fiance acted so sweet and nice but she is really a snake. Sam of course is headstrong and regrets giving up her baby but hated her Ex, but he has one thing she wants; their daughter. Yes there are twists and turns aplenty and both of them had been duped. I really hated the hero though and he totally annoyed me. He cheated on his fiance with his wife and he was actually a cheater because he had been sleeping with his fiance even though he's not really divorced. He didn't know that but if either one of them had picked up a phone and called each other nine years ago, the whole thing could have been avoided. I think that's what annoyed me the most. And then the fiance tries to throw a spanner in the works but they finally talked to each other and total disaster was avoided. The ending was sweet and I liked how he fought for her and it was wonderful. The little girl Emma is very sweet too and I loved her. The two sisters were great, the Father and Grace, the goats, everything was good but I just never warmed up to the hero. At the ending I came close. And this is probably a three stars read but I just didn't like what he did in the past. He left her behind. Yes someone vile and evil interfered but he should have fought for her back then. And it had triggers for me. I would not call it safe. Even though they were apart nine years. And they thought they were divorced I still get a stomach ache. But that is just me. Maureen Child seems to like this plot device and that is why she is no longer one of my favorite authors. But there is no doubt she writes very well. Just write better heroes.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I'd been holding out reading the Marconi Sisters trilogy until all three books were released--now that they are, I picked up AND THEN CAME YOU yesterday and finished it today.

Samantha "Sam" Marconi is the middle child, the sensible one, the "good one." Not as take-charge as her older sister Jo, or as quick-tempered as her younger sister Mike, Sam is the one to stay in line. That was always true, until she married her first love, Jeff Hendricks, at the age of eighteen. That was nine years ago, but Sam hasn't forgotten a thing--falling in love, watching her young husband leave, getting pregnant, giving up the baby for adoption, coming home to face her divorce alone.

But then Jeff shows up, with a few surprises. They're not divorced. The daughter Sam gave up was raised by him. His mother plotted not only their divorce and the fact that Emma, their child, grew up with only one parent, but the truth that Sam has no idea that Jeff never wanted divorced all those years ago--that he does, in fact, think Sam divorced him.

AND THEN CAME YOU is a wonderful contemporary romance. Two great main characters who never truly got over their first loves, a daughter who wants only to see those around her happy, and a supporting cast that will totally delight you.

Mike's and Jo's stories will be next for me--the only thing I worry about is how I'll feel once this trilogy is over!

[Penny]

I don't know how to rate this I've read much worse, but I had serious problems with it:

This is the story of Sam and Jeff, but mustly just Sam, there are many points of views in this but Jeff is as secondary as any of the other characters, they met 9 years ago and their love lust was so big that they married after a moth, look I don't know we don't see any of this, he goes away for a semester abroad she believes its over and that he left her, then she finds out she is pregnant, but her mom is dying and she doesn't want to be an extra burden for her family, she decides to put the child up for adoption, I would have preferred that she would have just said I don't want this child and I think is best for her is to be with a family, but no, that would requirer development and depth and this book has neither, and then she could not play the hurt mother.

The book begins with Jeff coming back to her family house to inform her he needs a divorce, the person responsible for filling their papers never did so they are still married, because dahhh this is a thing.
Jeff has had their child, Emma, the whole time because his mother, that apparently was a bitch that manipulated everything so they would divorce or something, she sends them both divorce papers saying is from the other, this is another ridiculous explanation not worth going into.

After Sam finds out that he has Emma she demands share custody, I don't know about the laws in the US but I don't think this is something you can get just cause, but in this world you can, and this poor child that has never met this woman is aloud to go stay at her house because she is her mother and she has "rights". This is all out of the goodness of Jeff's heart, he needs a divorce and it's being blackmailed about the custody, but it's Sam so it doesn't matter.

Just like it doesn't matter that he is engage to be married in less than 2 moths, but their feelings are so strong that the slights touches brings the world to a stop, so of course they end up having sex but they are in loveee, and the fiancee that was introduce as a nice women has to end up a conniving harpy trying to force him into marriage.

Just like it doesn't matter that there is domestic abuse, they are married so lets call it that, but it's Sam the one that punches, throws things and goes into a rage, so who cares.

"Still smiling to himself, Jeff opened the door- and took a solid punch to his abdomen"
"Come any closer and I swear I'll hit you again"
--------
"Then she kicked him,
'That hurt, dammit.'
'Meant to'"
-------
"I'm plenty calm. If I wasn't calm you'd be on the way to the hospital!"

Aww but what is a little abuse between lovers, all of this is in the same chapter but their are many colorful examples in the book.

This confrontation is just 2 chapters from the end, how does this all get resolve you wonder, oh it's quite easy he dumps his fiancee because he cannot live a day more without Sam, I wonder how he survived all this years. Sam is sooo mad and can't stand him so he comes back to beg for forgiveness, (I'm not quite sure for what, she is angry that he was playing her, there is no logic to this she knows he is engage and has said that she wants nothing to do with him, and she had to make him share Emma, there is no legal anything in this book so let's skip it) in the end it's all fix by a "big" gesture and an I love you.

Isn't love great.

The other character are just there, Jo and Mike are the 2 sister, they all have male nicknames and are threatening people all the time, that is their quirky thing of the fiery redhead Marconi sisters. :eyeroll:

"We can find a hit man" Mike said [...]
We don't need a hit man' Jo told her, [...] we can break his legs and it won't cost us anything."

Everyone is flat, there is no growth no development and very little enjoyment to ignore it.

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I added this book to my TBR pile after reading a review on a blog somewhere, sadly I can't find it anymore but I am happy to report that I really enjoyed it. The plot intrigued me - someone gives her baby for adoption after being abandoned by her husband and 9 years later meets the ex-husband again and discovers that he is the one who raised their daughter. How much pain must have happened between these two people and how can they work things out between them?


The story was not as poignant as I feared, there are mistakes made in the past on both sides but the main thing for Sam is to move on and get to know her daughter. I had some problems with her reason for giving up her baby, first because she seems to have such a great solid family behind her, and then because the villain that started it all seemed a bit too bad and conveniently out of the way. But I really liked the dynamic between the characters and was more than willing to overlook that.


Sam and Jeff, after meeting again, realise that they still have strong feelings for each other. But, the reason that brought Jeff to Sam's doorstep is the need for a divorce so he can marry again... I was a bit worried, for a while, about whether they would have their happy ending and I thought that was appropriate doing to the circumstances... but we are soon steered into the right direction...


I must say I found the Marconi's a bit loud and physical but in the end I felt that that was part of their charm and now I am very curious about the other two sisters...


Grade: 4/5

[Lori1035 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like the characters in this book. I agree with other reviews that I couldn't figure out why Sam and Jeff split up 9 years earlier. I guess I just can't imagine anyone being so immature that they wouldn't see each other face to face before divorcing. That whole part of the story was unbelievable. It was very entertaining other than that.

[BrownAyez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was 3.5 stars rounded up. Author writes well. Liked the interaction between the heroine and her family. The Hero was likable and charming but also weak. Don’t think he could have stood up to his mother even at the end had she been around.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

We meet the Marconi sisters, and this story focuses on the youngest, Sam. She's surprised to open the door and find her ex-husband, Jeff, the man who abandoned her and divorced her without speaking a word to her and whom she hasn't seen in 9 years. And he claims they're still married and that he wants that divorce. She's even more surprised to learn that the baby she was left with and had to give up for adoption is now with her ex-husband. Sam leaps on the opportunity to get to know the daughter she thought she'd lost and uses the divorce to blackmail Jeff into allowing it. Jeff is reluctant, but the more time he spends with Sam the more he realizes he never should have left her.

I always pick up second chance romances hoping they'll do it to my very exacting standards and sadly, they usually fall short. This one does. I did like the Marconi family and I like the added, if not slightly strange element of the secret-child...only in reverse. Instead of the father not knowing the mother had a baby, Sam gave birth in secret and then Jeff raised the child in secret. So you had a mother fighting for her rights to know her child. Only the one little detail that kept nagging at me...Sam signed away her rights as a parent - so Jeff had every right to be as difficult as he wanted. I didn't like how Sam walked around demanding to be in her daughter's life and more or less not being down-on-her-knees grateful to Jeff for allowing it. Legally he could have prevented it. But, I did like the extra dimension to the relationship that the child, Emma, added in.

I also didn't really care for the fiancee and what that basically meant. Jeff is engaged to be married when he meets up with Sam...and when he's kissing her and when he makes love to her. He feels twinges of guilt for basically being unfaithful to his girlfriend, but does he talk to her about it or end things before things get out of hand? No. Jeff is totally and outright unfaithful to his fiancee, using the excuse that he's technically still married to Sam so if he was unfaithful to anyone it was Sam all this time. I don't buy that - he's basically a cheater and I don't like that. So, without that or maybe with some behavior that was a bit more respectful to the fiancee (even if she was a bitch... he didn't know that), I probably would have liked him a bit more. I did like that he had to suffer and fight to get Sam back though...that made me feel better.

[The Babbling Book Lover · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are hitting another cold snap here in Minnesota. The Super Bowl is approaching and the festivities are well underway. Of course, most of us Minnesotans are avoiding “The Cities” like the plague, preferring more to remain oblivious to the hustle and bustle. I am not the exception.
When the thermometer starts to bottom out, I find myself longing for a warm quilt, coffee and a good book. I found all three this weekend much to my excitement. It’s the simple things right? I finished up a book that I have been housing on my bookshelf for god knows how long and was so disappointed. Disappointed that I had let it sit and gather dust so long! Geeze!
And Then Came You by Maureen Child is by no means a new book, and truth be told I very rarely have a new release in my hands. Always behind the times. As part of a series that follows the Marconi sisters, Sam in this particular book, as they navigate through their rocky love lives.
Filled with strong (both physically and emotionally) Italian women, And Then Came You explores reuniting with a lost but not forgotten love and a child, thought to never be reunited with her mother. The descriptors are fantastic. You can immerse yourself in the small town feel of the book, the fiery ribbing between hot headed sisters, and the transcending love that time and distance cannot change. While, this book does not fair differently from many other romance novels out there, it is charming and the characters are likeable and it is a cozy little read.
So grab a quilt and some coffee and curl up with this one between Super Bowl commercials! Happy Reading!

[Linda Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old love revisited

Nine years ago Sam tried to get ahold of Jeff to let him know she was pregnant. Instead she got divorce papers Only 18 she gave up their daughter. Nine years later he found out t!hey? Sorrento divorced because a lazy clerk didn't file the papers. Jeff goes to see her to have the papers signed because he is engaged. To her shock he has their daughter.

[BURMA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uninteresting and unbelievable.
The Marconi way of doing things was simply brutal and after some chapters I was fed up of the Marconi sisters and their "originality".
DNF.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good romance story

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Sarahsbookshelf.com:

Maureen Child has been on my radar of late and I’ve been really enjoying her backlist. This book was the first book in her Marconi series, following the three Marconi sisters.

One of the things that I really like about Child’s books, especially the books within the series, is that she really flips any preconceived notions you might have about gender roles, stereotypes, or typical plot lines. It’ll be a little tough to talk about some of these things without spoiling anything from the plot, but I’ll do my best.

We meet Samantha “Sam” Marconi, the middle sister in the Marconi family. We find out early that she’s given up her daughter for adoption when she was pregnant at 18-19. She was married to the father at the time, Jeff Hendricks. Jeff comes from some serious money, so when his family gets wind of him marrying basically a nobody, and someone so young (although they were age-appropriate for each other), they do everything they can to break them up. They decide to get a divorce, and we find out early that Sam has never mentioned the baby to Jeff. They end up seeing each other again nine years later because Jeff is engaged to another women, but the divorce papers were never filed, so they are technically still married. That’s all I’m going to say about the plot–and that’s really all I can say without spoiling anything.

The twists and turns in this book were excellent. As I said earlier, Child does a great job of taking a typical plot line of need-to-file-the-paperwork-for-a-divorce-so-I-can-marry-someone-else plot and turn it on its ear. Her characters are deep, funny, and have a bond that she does such an excellent job of describing through excellent dialogue. I really felt like a fly on the wall when the sisters were talking, which is what I consider excellent writing.

If you haven’t read Child before, you are in for a treat. These books don’t really have any technology in them to make them feel dated, so give them a shot. Excellent writing, interesting plot, fun characters–you cannot lose.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been in a reading slump, but I had a hard time focusing on this book. There were some tender moments, there were moments that made me cry and there were some funny moments. I enjoyed Emma (the daughter) she was cute and never stopped talking! I didn’t quite understand Sam and Jeff’s relationship or why they broke up in the first place. My understanding was that they had a passionate love affair and they fought all the time. One day he left and never came back. But I never really understood why. I’d say this was Okay ~ not something I’d read again, but since it’s part of a series I’m not sure if I’ll get rid of it yet or not.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam's story...I am currently reading this one, and another one, I sometimes wonder if other people do that. Okay this girl Samantha gets married young gets pregnant and then gets divorced, only he didn't know about the baby. Years later he shows up in her life to ask for the divorce that never went through...to her surprise. His mother intervened years before knowing she put the child up for adoption, adopted the child without Sam knowing, and now I am not done reading...but it has shaken things up with his return. I will let you know if it was worth the wait.

[Kace | The Booknerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was really hesitant to continue; I thought I wouldn't like it. I'm not really a fan of this kind of storyline. But this book surprised me. It got me hooked from the first page up to the last.

I don't want to give away the story so that I won't go into detail. You have to read it, really.

And Then Came You was a wonderful book. Full of laughter, tears, anger, and smiles. I enjoyed reading it. I loved both main characters; I was glad to see how much they had grown over the years and how they tried to overcome the past. I loved little Emma, and she's a sweetheart.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chick-lit-ish? I don't know how I feel about this book. I was iffy about reading it, but then it was written with better taste than I had hoped, but then you kinda know how it is all going to work out. I don't know! AGHHHH.
The writing was nice, the story-line a bit different than most and it was entertaining to read. I'm not rushing out to buy the two other books about the other sisters, but if I stumble across them, I'm not saying that I won't pick them up.

[Ayvah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book. was about to chuck it in my tbr pile but I ended up looking it up on goodreads.. liked the description.. went to nosey in the first couple chapters and never put the book back down. I loved this book! I'm glad I randomly came across it. its heaps wordy had to skim read a lot but meh so what I enjoyed the book and thought 5 stars it totally deserved:) now I'm trying to find the other sisters books. 2005 was a very long time ago lol

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

Intrigue basique, personnages sans plus, et manque de créativité. Lecture pas franchement déplaisante, mais pas non plus passionnante dans la mesure où je suis restée détachée du début à la fin. Les personnages principaux paraissent futiles, leur histoire trop nébuleuse, et les raisons qui la poussent à faire adopter leur fille sont complétement absurdes. Cela méritait d'être mieux travaillé ou plus creusé.

[Cha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rule 1: You never forget your first love.
Rule 2: You never forget your first heartbreak.
Rule 3: Rules are meant to be broken.

From the back cover: "Maureen Child has written an unforgettable tale of a woman who loses everything she holds dear only to discover she's been given a second chance. This is Sam's story..."

I really loved it! Love is sweeter the second time around. :)

[Aneews]

This is an amazing book that moves you to the depth of your soul.The author has written it in a wonderful way and has kept all itz ingredients of humour, passion and love in its correct proportions. It is a must-read book. Don’t miss out on it..

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story and all of the characters - it ties in nicely with the other trilogy about the Candellano Brothers (Knowing YOu, Finding You, Loving You). I look forward to moving right on to the next one in this series.

[TJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I immensely enjoyed this that I decided to go for the whole trilogy. I love second-chance love stories, they give me that warm, fuzzy feeling. It makes me hopeful that, like Sam and Jeff, we can also have a redo.
Rating: fluffy and sweet as a cotton candy.

[Sharon L Boughner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful plot. Terrific characters. Really enjoyed this book. I hope she has plans for the rest of the Marconi family

Wonderful plot. Terrific characters. I really enjoyed this book. I hope she has plans for the rest of the Marconi family

[Norhayati · Rating 4 out of 5]

simply wonderful..

[Mary Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the Marconi sisters and the story was a quick read. The sisters take no sh-- from anybody and protect each other as big Italian families do.

[Nancy Houston Fields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, not too heavy.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. Maureen Child's books are never a disappointment.

[Irma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read.

[Jasbell76]

I HATE the heroines that gave up their babies for adoption (U.U)*

[Nina SanMiguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching

A heartwarming rollercoaster ride of love and passion. Leaves the reader wondering what happened to Hank and the old lady.