Breaking Up with Barrett (The English Brothers, #1) by Katy Regnery

Breaking Up with Barrett by Katy Regnery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Breaking Up with Barrett is the first of five books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on the look-out for love.

(Except Alex. He's a womanizing manwhore. And maybe Stratton, because he's wicked hot, but super awkward around girls.)

Barrett English, aka "the Shark," is the fair-haired, first-born of the English brothers, and the CEO of the oldest, most prestigious investment banking firm in Philadelphia. He rules the boardroom with an iron fist, refusing to take no for an answer and always getting his way.

Emily Edwards, a first-year doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, grew up in the gatehouse on the outskirts of Barrett's childhood estate. The daughter of his family's gardener and housekeeper, she was always looking through the window of privilege, but forced to remember her place at the very periphery of the kingdom.

When business partners suggest that a fiancee might soften Barrett's image over business dinners, he approaches Emily for the "job" of fiancee. And while love wasn't necessarily on Barrett's radar, he begins to realize that Emily always has been. But will his take-no-prisoners boardroom tactics work on the heart of the woman he loves?

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Barrett and Emily have had strong feelings for each other since they can remember (she actually has a photo of an eight year old Barrett holding her as a newborn) but neither of them were brave enough to do anything about it. As the story starts, Emily's been working as Barrett's fiancée for appearance purposes but realizing that she's fallen in love with him, she decides it's best to call things off before she ends up getting hurt. On their last date together, she has nothing to lose by stirring the pot... and it changes everything!

I was worried about what would happen when the truth behind their professional arrangement came out but fortunately, Emily and Barrett dealt with the fallout like mature adults. There's something extraordinary about the idea of a life-long love and honestly, Katy is the only author I know could do justice to a tale like theirs. Were they fated to be? Yes, I believe so.

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