I love the Bronte, but I have one pair of Emus that is not waterproof - just going out in the garden in the morning with the dog leaves my socks soaked.
I stay with my usual size 8 and that works for me, having said that with some shoes I have to go up to a 9 so that's probably why it works for me. I ended up buying the Alba yesterday, but I paid half the QVC price so I'm pleased, I couldn't really spend that much on boots!
BTW, I'd always recommend the lovely and cheaper Bearpaws. Nature Shop has them and you can often find them in TKMaxx as well.