So for the most part I steer clear of the New Adult genre. There have been very few authors that I have read that I actually like that write in that genre. Some of them are Rachel Hollis, Rachel Schruig, and wait a second. Do I only like books written by authors named Rachel?


That's going to be an internal discussion for myself later.

Anyway, I as a general rule don't care for much New Adult fiction. I was hoping though based on the positive reviews I scouted out the reviews ( I tend to read the most positive/critical and then just three star reviews) and I realized after the fact that if I had read the one star reviews that I would have received advanced warning over the storyline and passed on this book. Totally my own fault. I was jonesing for a series romance read since I have finished up so many others lately.

The main characters in book 1 of The English Brothers (there are six English brothers) are Barrett 'the Shark' English and Emily Edwards. Raised together on the English family estate in Philadelphia, PA, Barrett has been in love with Emily since she was a baby and he was 8 years old.

No I am not joking. This is a major plot point and gets mentioned ad naseum throughout the book. This is not romantic to me at all.

Deciding that he wants to pursue a relationship with Emily and apparently being raised by wolves he thought the best way to do this is to pay her to be his pretend fiancee.

I so love it when men and women don't just speak to each other like human beings in romance novels. Wait what's the opposite of love?

And though he pretty much doesn't talk to her and interact with her at all besides acting robotic in all manners and buying her clothes to wear and a fake engagement ring, Emily is in love with Barrett.

In real life Emily would not be in love with Barrett because most women don't fall for a guy that acts indifferent around you and also pays you for your time. Unless you are Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

Anyway the book gets it's title from when Emily 'breaks up' with Barrett after making out when Emily needs to be distracted from her mother who is injured and ends up in the hospital.

As one does when one's parent is sick. Oh wait. I forgot. Emily and Barrett both have the emotions of those who have not been around other human beings before.

And there is a lot of back and forth about the feelings the other one has for each other. Barrett's love gave me the creeps throughout this entire book. Besides doing his best to control aspects of Emily's life in order to get her to keep using him for cash he then gives a long soliloquy about how much he has loved her to Emily. And Emily instead of saying, hmm this is a bit too much and also creepy is like I am going to totally give you my virginity even though we have at this point only made out twice.

FYI, I told a coworker about this book last night on the way home (we commute together sometimes) and besides her fits of laughter said wow this is like a mash-up of Twilight and Sabrina. I had to mention that Barrett also loses it when Emily bites her lip and she started cracking up and said oh hello there 50 Shades and then we both laughed for about 10 minutes. So I am pretty much saying there is unintentional hilarity in this book which is why I did finish it. Is this a good book in my opinion? No. But sometimes books that are not good still end up being fascinating reads and I was fascinated throughout this book, so win?

There really is no plot besides what is described above. One of Barrett's former flings makes an appearance but isn't really a villain in this story. The book continues on and on and love, everyone is in love and then it ends.

And it wasn't just the plot that caused me to give this book a 1 star rating. Besides the plot I also thought it was very weird that this family that is born and raised in Philly acts as if they are British. There are references to Boxing Day and sometimes the way Barrett "talks" seems very British. It makes absolutely no sense and it was odd. Maybe it would have been better to have this take place in London.

The other big problem that I had is that as someone that has been to Philly constantly throughout my life (was just there last Thursday) I wish that the author had actually incorporated parts of Philly into this story. I mean beside there being the Liberty Bell and the steps Rocky runs up into there are restaurants galore that are fantastic. There are outdoor markets, cobblestone streets, and a lot of nice bars and nightclubs. There are also colleges like Drexel University and Temple. There is very little description that made me believe that the story took place in Philadelphia and that the author had ever been there. That is one of my pet peeves in romance novels that take place in cities like San Francisco or L.A. besides sometimes mentioning the Golden Gate Bridge (SF) or the Hollywood sign (LA) these stories don't feel like they are taking place in those cities. This is one of the many reasons why I love Rosalind Jame's New Zealand series. She incorporates that country and the Maori into her romance novels so well that I feel like I have been there. ( )

Review Pending
4.5 out of 5 stars

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Breaking Up with Barrett By Katy Regnery (Audio Edition)
Narrated by Lauren Sweet
The English Brothers #1 - The Blueberry Lane Series

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I found this to be a sweet and simple kind of story. I love the plot of always being in love or attracted to the person, and deciding finally to do something about it, only to realise the other feels the same way! I also liked that there was potential for the “grand misunderstanding” which, I thought for sure was going to happen and didn't, thankfully, as just the thought that it might, had me rolling my eyes.

Barrett was a caring, sweet guy, a bit on the over doing it side.. but I still enjoyed his character. Emily was nice and somewhat level headed I thought. Even though my review of these characters sounds kinda super sweet and mushy.. it wasn't so sweet that it will give you a cavity!

The narrator was clear and decent. I plan on reading the others in this series as well.

Original review at: http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/

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I really enjoyed this. It's like a bit of a cross between the story lines of Sabrina and some other old school movie I can't put my finger on. I'm not usually one for the "since they first clapped eyes on each other" sort of love story, but this was really sweet. I think bits and pieces of the plot could have been fleshed out a little more, but what was there was enough to make you believe in their love story. I'll be reading the next book in the series. ( )

I will start off by saying that I love Katy Regnery, really I do. I love how she writes. She brings you right into her work, and I just love that about her.
Barrett English and Emily Edwards are from different worlds. They have always grown up together since Emily was the gardener and housekeeper’s daughter, Emily is also a doctoral student at Uni, living with her best friend Val.. Barrett is the CEO of the family business. So, as you can see, his feelings for her couldn’t happen at any time, but at the right time, just for them.
One of the things that caught me off guard, that I really didn’t connect with was
He gasped softly, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I have always loved you. You were a tiny baby and I was a little boy and you reached into my chest and stole my heart and it’s been yours ever since.
I don’t know why this bothered me, maybe it being something of the fact that it was just weird. Sure, we all can fall in love, but he knew while she was still a baby, with him being 8 years older.. like he was stalking her the whole time, but she didn’t turn him “on” til years later. It took me back, maybe because I wasn’t expecting it. 4 years is usually where the comfort is, but hey.. this is new to me, and of course Katy pulled all this together.
When the story grew, I loved them both.. I just had to erase that part of the story and in my mind changed it to he fell in love with her as a “pre-twenty” lady, but always loved her as a childhood friend. Ha!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I will continue to read the series of books, because I want to know more! I want to know how everything turns out, and how all the English Brothers grow throughout the books. Can not wait to get to the rest of the series, and of course I will always keep you posted with my reviews.

She felt him gasp quietly, then shudder, and he pulled her tightly against him, as if to let his heart speak to her heart, and tell it, You belong to me, and I belong to you. Always. – 85% Kindle

Loved this! You could feel their connection, and I am so glad she has saved herself for when the time was right. There is not a lot of stories about losing your V Card, but Katy pulled it off! Their emotional connection is absolutely amazing, and it reminds me so much of my own marriage. I am glad she saw “stars” when she went stargazing, who doesn’t love that? Bring on Fitz!! ( )