✰ Bianca ✰ Janeane ✰ 
• standalone
(but two characters from the book will get their own story!☺)
• Cover Models: Sandra Hortelano & Mario Zabal
★★★★★
5 Stars
5 Stars
Greyson East left his mark on me.
As the young girl who first fell for him, I didn’t know much about life. I did know about his smiles, though, and his laughs, and the strange way my stomach flipped when he was near.
Life was perfect…until it wasn’t, and when we were forced to go our separate ways, I held on to our memories, let go of my first crush, and wished for the day I’d find him again.
When my wish came true, it was nothing like I imagined.
I couldn’t have known when I took the nanny position that it would be his children I looked after, that my new boss would be that boy I used to know, that boy who was now a man—a cold, lonely, detached man.
The smile and laugh I had loved so much were gone, now distant memories. Every part of him was covered in a fresh pain.
When he realized who I was, he made me promise to do my job and my job only.
He made me promise not to try to get to know him, not to recall the memories I’d treasured all this time.
But, sometimes, I saw the boy I’d once known in his stormy eyes. I saw the Greyson who smiled and laughed, who had stolen a young girl’s heart, and there was no doubt in my mind that this boy was worth fighting for.
I was given a second chance with the one who’d left his mark on me. All I hoped was that somehow I’d leave a mark on his soul, too.
OY!
Brittainy! Jeez!
Such a beautiful book.
Non-stop heartbreak. I think I never cried as much as I did with this book!
Part one of the book (the first 33%) takes us back to 2003.
It starts as this super-sweet young adult romance. The nerdy bookworm and the hot guy every girl at school wants.
First love and Harry Potter and smiles and dragonflies and red licorice and kung-fu movies and just showing up.
But then there are also the sad parts about their home lives that they can forget for a few hours whenever they're together.
Ellie has the best parents ever - but her mom is sick. And poor Grey - his parents are the worst.
Ellie and Grey are everything for each other for a short while - but then life gets in the way with a lot of heartbreak and then more life/time/College gets in the way. They lose touch.
Fast forward 15 years and we're in present time Chicago where Ellie is looking for a new job as a full-time nanny.
And she finds this position with Greyson.
His wife died ten months ago and he needs someone to take care of his two daughters.
But of course it's not easy. The girls are missing their mom and Greyson... he's so different. Cold. Sad. So sad and heartbroken. The happy boy with this beautiful laugh isn't there anymore.
Ellie doesn't know how to get through to him - or if she should even try.
Ugh - now I need to stop talking about the story. I think I didn't spoil much - most of it is already said in the blurb.
Just read it please!!!
It's beautiful and heartbreaking. But also so full of love and hope and happiness and second chances.
I just wanted to jump into the book and stop life from happening - I wanted them to get their HEA 15 years ago and not waste so much time ... but life did happen. And now we need to fight for that second chance!
I loved every single word of this book!
I wouldn't have minded if the book would've been just this adorable and heartbreaking young adult thing. Maybe they could've met again just a few years later in or after college for their second chance - but then we wouldn't have those two beautiful kids. Ugh. It's all so heartbreaking!!!!!
Brittainy knows just how to get our eyes peeing, doesn't she?! Crazy woman! ☺
ELEANOR & GREY was such a beautiful second-chance love story. Full of heartbreak and loss and pain. But also so full of love and hope and sweet and happy moments. I adored every single word in this book!
Wow, just wow.
That is all I can say about this book. Buy it and read it, that is all!
As with all of Ms Cherry's books, it is an emotional, 2-box-of-tissues read. I know every time I start a Brittany C Cherry book that this is what I should expect, and every time I am blown away with how emotional the story is.
Now, I adored Eleanor from the start, however her love of all things Harry Potter moved her up a few steps from adored to absolutely freaking loved her. From this Gryffindor to that wonderful Hufflepuff - you rock!
This is a beautiful, heartbreaking second chance story that will have you riding that emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
Our lovelies are both flawed and emotionally destroyed, however it was wonderful to see them find each other, hold each other, repair each other.
Gah, seriously, I just loved this book.
♥ Excerpt ♥
Eleanor
Thirty-two years old
Greyson’s assistant, Allison, finished giving me a tour of
the house. “Okay, I think that’s everything. I’m going to head out now, but go
ahead and make yourself comfortable. Get used to the property. Mr. East knows
you’re here today, so don’t feel like you aren’t allowed to wander around a
bit. If you need anything, my cell number is on the contact list in the book,
or you can email me. If nothing comes up, I hope your first day goes well.
Claire will be with you Monday to make sure the transition goes smoothly.”
I must have looked terrified because as Allison grabbed her
coat and purse to leave, she gave me a light squeeze on the shoulder.
“You’re going to be fine, Eleanor. Mind over matter. You got
this. Let’s touch base later in the week so I can check in on how things are
going.”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Allison.”
After she left, I took a deep breath and flipped through a
few pages in the binder. Then, I did a once-through of the house, familiarizing
myself with whose room was where. There was something so unsettling about the
quietness of Greyson’s home. It was so dark with an odd gloomy feeling attached
to it, haunting almost. I didn’t mean dark as in the lighting situation, rather
it was the energy level. There was such a heaviness in the space.
The place felt like a house, not a home.
If I hadn’t known any better, I wouldn’t have believed a
family lived there at all.
It felt so abandoned, almost like a memory frozen in time.
That might’ve just been my own thoughts, thought, due to
knowing about the tragedy that had taken place in the lives of the individuals
who lived there. With the number of books I’d read, it wasn’t inaccurate to say
my mind wandered toward the dramatics.
I walked back into the kitchen, flipping through the binder,
completely taken aback by the girls’ schedules. Between school, swim lessons,
karate, piano lessons, physical therapy, and grief counseling, I wasn’t sure
how they found the time to live a little.
“Eleanor.”
I leaped out of my skin at the sound of my name and turned
to see Greyson standing behind me with an empty glass in his hand. He was
dressed in a suit and tie, which was so strange to me.
Who wore a suit and tie in their own home?
I hardly wore pants when I was home alone.
“Oh, Greyson, hi. Sorry I’m still here. Allison was just
giving me a tour, and she said it was okay to look around a bit more.”
“She made me aware.”
Wow. He had responded immediately, unlike the first time I
saw him. I called that progress.
I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back, and that felt
like the oddest thing in the world. The old Greyson had been full of smiles.
“It’s a beautiful home,” I stated, unsure what else to talk
about. “It’s massive. I swear, it’s like ten times the size of my place.” He
blankly stared my way as I shifted from foot to foot. “I love the décor,” I
blurted out, and I hated myself the second the words left my lips. Just walk
away, Eleanor. Don’t be awkward. “Those throw pillows in your living room are
to die for. Where did you get them?”
“The interior designer chose everything,” he replied dryly.
“Oh, right, of course. My interior designer is normally the
clearance section at T.J. Maxx,” I joked. “Or on special occasions, Target.”
He didn’t laugh, probably because I wasn’t funny.
I wondered when was the last time he’d laughed.
Did he ever find anything funny anymore?
We kept staring at one another in the most uncomfortable
silence, though I didn’t feel as if I could pull myself away from it. I
probably stared at him too long, but how could I not? I’d gone fifteen-some
years without looking at him. It was understandable that I wouldn’t be able to
turn away quickly.
The awkwardness of it all finally came to a halt when
Greyson cleared his throat.
“Eleanor?”
“Yes?”
“I came for water.”
“Oh?” I stared at him like an idiot, wide-eyed like a deer
in headlights, waiting for his next words. I stood still as if he were going to
expand on his interest in water. Was he offering me a drink? Were we going to
sip water and catch up on things? Was I finally going to be able to ask him how
he’d become the CEO of his father’s company at such a young age? What had
happened to his father?
His stare narrowed, and his lips turned down in a displeased
fashion. He nodded once.
“Hmm?” I asked.
He nodded more aggressively this time, gesturing past me.
I glanced behind me and realized I was standing right in
front of the refrigerator, blocking the water dispenser. I stepped to the side,
mentally beating myself up.
Idiot.
“Oh, right, of course. Well, I think I’m done here, so I’ll
see myself out,” I stated, scrambling to grab my binder. “Have a good
afternoon.”
He didn’t
reply, but that wasn’t shocking. I was quickly learning that this new Greyson
didn’t have nearly as much to say as the old one.
↓ Links to the Book & Author ↓
...if you haven't read Brittainy's ELEMENTS series yet ...
DO IT NOW ! Standalones!
Book #1
Book #2
Book #4
Disgrace - standalone
DO IT NOW ! Standalones!
Book #1
Book #2
Book #3
Book #4
Book #1 in the Music Street series - Complete Standalone!
Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing--poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family. When she's not running a million errands and crafting stories, she's probably playing with her adorable pets.
