Review: The perfect read for the Holidays!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 24, 2013
Light, sweet, and beautifully romantic. By Proxy is the perfect read for the Holidays! It made me want to curl up on my couch with a warm blanket, surround myself with a bunch of soft pillows, and drink hot chocolate while reading. And I did! Well, minus the hot cocoa since I'm a bit lazy and once I started reading this book, I didn't want to stop. I found myself smiling throughout the entire story line. My heart was happy. To me, this is what a true romance novel with a touch of sexy looks like."...a double proxy marriage actually existed. It sounded like the implausible plot of a bad movie: two people who couldn't be at the same place at the same time could be married legally if they designated two other people -- proxies -- to take their vows for them. (...) Apparently it was a completely legitimate, little-known legal loophole that exists only in Montana, almost exclusively utilized by servicemen and women -- like Kristian and his fiancé Ingrid -- deployed in two different parts of the world."Jenny was the type of girl that always put everyone's needs before hers. She loved her family dearly, so when her mother passed away, she moved back home to be with her brothers and father. She created a new life for herself there and she was with her family, so what more could a small-town, country girl want, right? Wrong. Jenny was also the type of girl that kept her promises. When Ingrid, who was working in a Military hospital in Germany, asked her to be her proxy, Jenny didn't think twice about it. It was her best friend, after all, who was asking.Sam, a very handsome, hard working finance big-shot and city boy, loved his cousin like a brother. When Kristian, a soldier deployed in Afghanistan, asked him to be his proxy, Sam booked a flight and made plans to go to Montana. Chicago was Sam's life -- the parties, expensive suits, and rubbing elbows with big time millionaires. But a trip to a small town, to take vows for his cousin, was not a problem for Sam. He would do just about anything for Kristian.The courthouse -- what brought a city boy and a country girl together, in more ways than one. Jenny and Sam got off on the wrong foot. They both expected someone else (physically) and simply put, they misjudged each other. But that quickly changed. What they thought was a one-day favor, turned into an entire weekend."The heart wants what the heart wants. Beyond common sense. Beyond higher reason. Beyond all material and emotional considerations that should make the heart give up its longing."Throughout the weekend, feelings emerged. What started off as a crush turned into something more. Two completely different worlds coming together. Two very stubborn people that needed to work through their own little issues, started opening up to the possibility of love.The way Katy Regnery wrote this story line, which flowed flawlessly, allowed me as a reader to feel everything these characters felt. The setting description was amazing, too! I felt like I was literally there in Gardiner, Montana, walking alongside Sam and Jenny... falling in love during the best time of the year. Christmas time. The secondary characters, Jenny's protective brothers, were very well developed and I'm honestly looking forward to reading their books.I swear, this book was beautifully written. Like I mentioned earlier, my heart was happy, it really was. I had a permanent smile on my face from beginning to end. If you're looking for a heartwarming romance, "By Proxy" is the book for you!***A copy of "By Proxy" was provided by Author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!