Review: Sweet, Heartwarming and Romantic
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 15, 2013
As those of us who are asked to read and review books know, some stories can be more difficult to get through in order to write a review.  That is definitely not the case with By Proxy. This is a very sweet and romantic love story with characters that are easy to like right from the beginning and continuing on through the last page.Jenny Lindstrom is a beautiful, sweet and innocent country girl who was born, raised and lives in a small town in Montana.  Despite her simple upbringing, Jenny is a strong woman.  She is a high school science teacher and would pretty much do anything asked of her, especially if it was for her family or her best friend, Ingrid.  But when she is asked by Ingrid to act as her proxy to say her wedding vows, she reluctantly agrees because she feels very uncomfortable saying vows with a complete stranger.  However, when the proxy for Ingrid's fiancé, Sam, steps into Jenny's life, what she finds is the "handsomest man she has ever seen."Sam Kelley was raised and lives in Chicago working for a financial investment firm.  He is very successful in business, but he lives a somewhat shallow personal life, although he doesn't realize it.  When he is asked by his cousin and best friend, Kristian, to act as proxy on his behalf, Sam decides he can quickly make the trip to Montana, say the vows and return to his life in Chicago where he prefers to be.  But when unforeseen weather delays his plans, Sam's only alternative is to remain in Montana to fulfill his promise.  What he doesn't expect is how quickly he is swept into Jenny's world, and he begins to discover a striking and special young woman so different from the shallow and self-centered women with whom he has been acquainted in Chicago.When Jenny realizes the deep love she feels for Sam, she is left with making the decision of whether to let that love go or to make changes in her life.  Sam must also rethink his life and decide whether he should continue trying to convince Jenny to leave Montana or whether he can live in a small town to forever be with the woman who has captured his heart.As I read By Proxy I found myself wanting to turn to the last page just so I would know how it ends.  I loved Jenny and Sam as well as the surrounding characters and also loved the writing style of Katy Regnery, getting to enjoy the story from both character's points of view.  There was such magic and chemistry between them that I really didn't want the book to end.  I hope Ms. Regnery considers the possibility of a sequel so we may enjoy more of these characters in the future.