For as long as Madeleine “Mad” Rousseau can remember, she’s been the “sweet” twin to her sister Jax’s “sassy.” But after an especially painful break-up, Mad decides she’s had enough of being sweet. Children’s librarian during the day, she begins visiting Philly’s seedier nightspots on a quest for adventure and experience.

When Cortlandt “Cort” Ambler, the ex-boyfriend of Mad’s sister, Jax, saves her from disaster on one such evening, an unlikely friendship is born between the rebellious librarian and the moonlighting pianist…and two broken hearts begin a journey toward being whole again.


Madeline “Mad” Rousseau’s not having a good night, and the dive bar she finds seems as good a place as any to drown her sorrows. Running into her former neighbor and childhood crush was not what she expected when she heard the French music from the street. But it doesn’t matter how nice Cort makes her feel, he is absolutely off limits. As her twin sister’s boyfriend in high school, there are lines that cannot be crossed in Mad’s mind. She can never have Cort, or Jax would be heartbroken.

They have an immediate chemistry and Cort is absolutely swoon-y. But Madeline refuses to cross any lines with Cort because of the relationship he had with her sister in high school, and their ugly breakup only makes Mad more determined to keep things from escalating with Cort. These two just get each other. They have so many similarities as they get to know each other as adults. But Cort and Jax in high school continues to to get in the way, despite Cort’s assertions that Jax wouldn’t mind, that Mad really needs to talk to Jax, because there is more to their breakup than Cort is willing to share, secrets he keeps for Jax.

There were times I wished she could have talked with Jax to sort out what Cort was protecting, but at the same time, the tension created because of that secret was a perfect driving force for a lot of the drama in the story. I’m not a big fan of drama caused by miscommunication, but this wasn’t a miscommunication, this was Cort being loyal to a promise he had made, no matter the repercussions.

So much of this story felt dreamy and romantic as they navigated their relationship. The pull between them defied logic, tempted fate. Their shared love of music played a large role in some of my favorite scenes from the book.

Marry Me Mad takes place during the same time period as Jonquils for Jax, and sheds light on what Mad was doing in the background. The side characters are those readers have come to love throughout this extended series with the most input from the Rousseau siblings. It doesn’t take long and I am back in the Blueberry Lane world. All these characters are so unique and their stories are as different as each of them.

This was a sweet, fun return to Blueberry Lane. I love the way I quickly sink back into the world and don’t want to leave with each new book that I read. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

She stood on the sidewalk facing him, a sweet smile on her lips.
Cort gestured to his front door with a flick of his chin. “Want to come in?”
“Yes. But we have to talk first.”
“What happened to ‘Take me to bed’?”
She sighed. “Fresh air cleared my head.”
He glanced down at his swollen cock, all but bursting against the zipper of his jeans. “I’m dying a little here, baby.”
Her eyes followed his, dancing with mirth when she looked back up at him. “So I see.”
“I’m not alone either,” he said, dropping his eyes to her nipples, which strained against her thin, billowy blouse.
“No,” she said, her voice slightly lower, her smile giving way to a hotter, more needy look. “You’re not.”
“So let’s talk inside.”
She shook her head no. “Here.”
Cort sighed, hitching her flowered bag a little higher on his shoulder, waiting for her to continue.
“No talking about Jax or Thatcher,” she said. “If you talk about Jax, I won’t be able to stay. I’ll feel too guilty. And if you talk about Thatcher, I’ll feel too angry. Promise?”
“I promise.”
She took a step closer to him. “And this one’s big…No falling in love with each other. We’re just about impossible, you and me, so we can’t—you know—bring that sort of emotion into this. We can enjoy each other, but that’s all, Cort. Promise.”
He flinched as she finished. He could feel the involuntary muscle reaction that narrowed his eyes and told him that it was too late. It was a lifetime too late to tell him not to love her, because he’d loved her for most of his life. Her gentleness, her quiet grace, the peace he’d always found in her presence now combined with the scorching chemistry between them that couldn’t be denied. Over and over again throughout his life, he’d looked for her, tried to find someone like her, but his heart had fixed on hers so long ago, it was all but impossible for him not to love her. The only way he could promise her was to promise not to “fall” this weekend, only because he’d already fallen years before.
“I promise not to fall.”
She smiled at him, though the smile had lost a bit of the lightheartedness it had held minutes earlier. “Do you need any promises from me?”
He nodded, closing the distance between them. “Yeah, I do.”
Her eyes widened, flaring with heat, the black of her pupils obliterating the green of her irises as she pressed her breasts against his chest.
“Promise to leave nothing on the table, Mad. Give me everything you’ve got for twenty-four hours.”
“Except…” Her voice broke. “Except my love. I promise.”
His heart clenched at her omission, and it made him want to push her out of her comfort zone a little. “Promise to touch me everywhere with your hot little mouth.”
“I promise,” she murmured, her throat moving as she swallowed.
His eyes narrowed. “Promise to open your legs so I can slide inside of you as if I’ve been doing it all my life.”
“Cort,” she whimpered, her eyes fluttering closed as she looked down at where her chest heaved into his. “I need you.”