Turn to Me (By: Becky Wade)

Turn to Me
By: Becky Wade

Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 4 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars

Turn to Me is the final book in the Misty River Romance series and it finished with a bang!
We were very eager to read Luke's story. If you have read the other books, you know about the Miracle Five, the five children who survived an earthquake disaster and are now all grown up. Four of them have remained close and have longed to have the fifth join them again in friendship and in life. However, Luke will never consider it a miracle that he survived the earthquake all those years ago - because that same earthquake took his brother's life. Luke has been ridden with guilt ever since and made some poor choices in life that landed in prison. Now a free man, he has one final job to do before he can get on with his life and leave Misty River for good. Luke made a promise to his friend and fellow inmate on his deathbed to help protect his daughter as she unravels a treasure hunt he has set up for her. How hard can it be? Well, Luke has yet to meet Finley! 

Finley Sutherland is a down to earth girl who loves animals. She owns an animal rescue center and is excited to go on one final treasure hunt her dad set up. Luke Dempsey, who insists he must help her as her father requested, intrigues Finley and she is destined to help him learn what forgiveness really means. Finley has overcome her fair share of pain and trials as well and longs to see Luke "restored," but little does she know just how much he will teach her! 

We fell in love with these characters. Honestly, it took a little bit to get used to Luke in his raw state, but we were incredibly impressed with how real he was. He quickly grew on us and kept us laughing! Luke and Finley grow together and it's a beautiful story. We were also thrilled to see Ben have his own sub story in this book as well. We are sad to see this series come to an end, but we sure did enjoy the friends we met along the way.

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

Stay with Me (By: Becky Wade)

Stay with Me
By: Becky Wade

Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 5 Stars
Faith: 5 Stars
Love Story: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars

It is always such a joy to bring you yet another new book to add to our Golden List! The first novel in Becky Wade's newest Misty River series is a true winner through and through, and knocked it out of the park in every category. 

Genevieve Woodward, by all appearances, has it all together. As one of the "Miracle Five" who survived a devastating earthquake in her teen years, and now, at thirty years old, a best-selling Bible study author, teacher and speaker, life is pretty good. From the outside she appears to be perfect. But she is hiding a devastating secret: her addiction to opioid painkillers. On top of this, she has begun receiving threatening notes hinting to secrets in her family's background. 

One morning she wakes up in a strange cottage with the owner staring down at her, with no memory of how she got there or where she is. When she realizes she needs to get clean, the man who found her - Sam Turner - agrees to rent this cottage to her, knowing she will need much support and help in the coming days. As Gen works to break her dependence on prescription drugs, she also sets about researching and uncovering any scandals in her family's history with Sam and her sister Natasha. 

The storyline, weaving together mystery, the very real struggle of addiction recovery and a some little memories from the earthquake she was rescued from, blend flawlessly together so the reader is kept on their toes. But the faith and love story are what really shine in this novel!!! God reveals himself to characters in faithful ways and shows us the reality of His unconditional love and grace. The love story between Sam and Gen zings with electricity but is also intensely real as they learn how to navigate addiction recovery, trust, and risking safety for love. 

Be sure to pick this novel up as soon as you can, and stay up a few late nights reading! Note: 



We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

Sweet on You (By: Becky Wade)

Sweet on You
By: Becky Wade

Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 3 Stars
Faith: 2 Stars
Love Story: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars

Sweet on You is the final book in the Bradford Sisters Series and we were highly anticipating it being a great finale, but these two chicks were disappointed. 

Sweet on You is the story of Britt, the youngest Bradford sister, and her best friend Zander, who has been in love with Britt for years and desperately wishes she felt the same for him. Britt dates different guys casually but always ends things before they get too serious. Zander is her rock and steady place, but as he is her best friend, she never even considers falling in love with him as it may ruin everything they have. However, as the two of them embark on a journey to uncover a mystery, her feelings suddenly begin to change. Will they give love a chance, and will Britt actually open heart to the thought of forever? 

The story line was well done and we wanted to enjoy it, but it fell short in a few different areas for us. Zander's character was our favorite - loyal, strong, quiet and a hopeless romantic in all things dealing with Britt. Britt, however, was a disappointment to us as the growth she experienced was too little too late. We are all for flawed characters in need of learning some hard lessons and love to see redemption, but the characters struggled showing this which made the faith aspect come up short for us. Although the faith tried to wrap everything up nicely as the end, it was too little throughout the book. Again, this isn't the usual trend we see in Becky's writing and we hope to write a glowing review on her next book.

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

Falling For You (by: Becky Wade)

Falling for You
By: Becky Wade

Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 5 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars

In this second book of the Bradford Sisters Trilogy, we get a solid look into oldest daughter Willow's life. A famous and successful model, she is currently taking a little time off from her busy career to run her family's B&B in her hometown of Merryweather, Washington. For Willow, it feels good to help out the family and take a step back from her hectic life. But she never expected her old flame Corbin Stewart to be back in town as well, much less for them to be thrown together in solving a missing persons case that went cold many years ago. As Corbin and Willow work together, they must confront the mistakes they made four years ago and learn the true meaning of forgiveness and redemption. 

As usual, author Becky Wade writes an incredible story, drawing the reader in right from the very beginning and keeping us interested with every page! Her characters are well developed and realistic but lovable, her mystery storyline is well developed and paced, and one of these two chicks' favorite things - the romance! - sizzles with chemistry! But the faith aspect is where this story really shines. Author Becky drives home the importance of purity, she explains the gospel beautifully and brings about much redemption in several characters' lives, including some incredible forgiveness. 

We cannot wait for the final book in this trilogy to conclude youngest sister Britt's story. Thank you to Becky Wade for giving us a good, solid read!

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

True to You (By: Becky Wade)

True to You

By: Becky Wade

True to You is the first book in the Bradford Sisters Romance Series. Becky is one of our long-time favorite authors; we love her writing and were eager to dive into her new series!

But, before you begin, it is a good idea to read the prequel: Then Came You. While not essential to this new series, it provides very helpful background.

Storyline
In the story, we find three Bradford sisters; Willow the oldest, Nora in the middle and finally Britt, the youngest.

Nora has struggled to find her place in this world. 
Willow is a model and turns heads wherever she goes. 
Britt, the youngest, is incredibly talented. 

As a result, Nora long ago decided she would be the smart one! Becoming a geologist and historical village owner, she fills her home with books, books and more books. Three years ago, she was left heartbroken and now is content living in her fictional world, a world much safer than what the real world has to offer.

John Lawson, former Navy Seal, has all the qualities of a strong and focused man. But he's been dealt a blow from his doctor that has left him shaken. Learning he has an inherited condition - but having been adopted - he now must seek out his birth mom to learn any information he can.

John is convinced Nora can offer him the assistance he needs to find his birth mom, so the two of them start the search and find themselves in each others company quite often. Nora is enamored by this striking man whom she can only dream of dating - far better to stay focused on her fictional characters as they won't break her heart! Besides, he has a girlfriend. John and Nora are extreme opposites, but they may both soon see that opposites do indeed attract.

Depth

This particular story of Becky's seems to take the reader on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The book actually starts off at a slower pace, picks up with excitement, slows down again and then ends with a pop! Becky deals with some heavy issues that both characters have had to deal with in the past, are still dealing with presently and will likely continue to deal with in the future. She also adds lighthearted, funny moments to the story as well.

Faith

Throughout the book we see that God is part of both characters' lives. However, near the end of the book, they both come to rely heavily upon who they are in Christ. They must rely on their faith and trust God is who he says he is. His plans may not always make sense, but ultimately it is best when we surrender our lives fully to Him. 

Love Story

Sometimes we find it hard to root for our two main characters to fall in love when one is already dating someone else. As the story begins, John is dating Allie and we really did not want to see sparks fly between him and Nora just yet. However, Becky dealt with this issue quite remarkably and realistically. Yes, John started to feel something for Nora but then felt very guilty for feeling so. He didn't race to break up with Allie, yet he gave it time to see what his heart longed for. Once these two are free to have feelings for each other (sorry for the spoiler) we were happy to cheer them on. They have some speed bumps to overcome and we enjoyed the theme that Becky presented: The past can be hard, and the future unsure, but all we have now is the present to fully live in!

Overall

This book took us on a journey of peaks and valleys. It was not our favorite book of Becky's, but we enjoyed getting to know all three sisters and are eager to read more about Britt and Willow's stories in future books.

Find it on Amazon: True to You

Note: We were given this book free in exchange for our honest review.

2016 Year in Review - Our Favorite Reads

Celebrating 2016 Top Ten Favorites

Wow, we cannot believe it's the end of the year already and time for our annual countdown! You may have noticed our blog was a little quiet this year as we dealt with some unusual circumstances like moving and health issues. But we still found time to read some delightful books and here's hoping we can read even more next year.

So without further delay, here are our top ten favorite books of 2016! 

#10 - Like Never Like Before by Melissa Tagg
#9 - Forever Safe by Jody Hedlund
#8 - So Rare a Gift by Amber Lynn Perry
#7 - Reluctant Duchess by Roseanna M. White

#6 - The Goodbye Bride by Denise Hunter
#5 - Her One and Only by Becky Wade
#4 - The Silent Order by Melanie Dobson (re-released this year)
#3 - Wild Montana Skies by Susan May Warren
#2 - You're the One that I Want by Susan May Warren
#1 - The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck
  

Let us know, were these your favorites as well? Do you have a different #1?

Here's to more happy reading in 2017!!!!

Her One and Only (By: Becky Wade)

Her One and Only

By: Becky Wade

The conclusion to the Porter Family Series is finally here and it's a winner! We finally witness the story of Dru, the youngest Porter sibling and the only girl. Her three older brothers - Bo, Ty and Jake - all got their own stories in the first three books. Dru's story is a perfect conclusion!

Storyline

Wowza! This book grips the reader from the first sentence and doesn't let up until the last. Suspense, mystery and romance clip along at an excellent pace and the reader gets lost in the story, making it hard to put down. Dru Porter has always been trying to catch up with her three older brothers in life. A former marine, she is now a bodyguard - and has just been assigned to protect an NFL player, Gray Fowler, who has been receiving death threats from a stalker. Gray is not happy when he finds out that a girl half his size will be protecting him. He is also not happy that Dru is immune to the charm that thousands of other women fall for. As these two reluctantly work together, they slowly learn to trust one another with their hearts and lives.

Depth

At first glance, this book doesn't appear to be terribly deep - it could even be considered a lighthearted read. However, author Becky isn't content to just let the mystery and romance play out. She expertly weaves in real relationship problems and the deeper issues behind them needing to be worked out. The issues are hard, but necessary for deeper relationships and intimacy with other people. She visits the effects of child abuse, the emptiness of wealth and fame, and the purposes of life.

Faith

Forgiveness is a central theme in this book, and makes us realize we are never truly free until we forgive - and are forgiven. There is a big difference between being a Christian in name versus being a Christian in action  as a result of true, real faith.  Author Becky uses the characters' growth to shine a light on what it looks like to have a disconnect between you and God.

Love Story

Grey and Dru really don't like each other at first, which, in our humble opinion, always makes for a good love story just around the corner. This one doesn't disappoint! Their relationship is full of chemistry on the surface, but gets deep and authentic as it turns into love. Many swoon worthy moments in this story!

Overall

Very satisfying conclusion to this great series!!! We are sad to say good-bye to the Porter family, but just might have to start the series all over again to keep visiting them.

Find it on Amazon: Her One and Only

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review 

Novella - Love in the Details (By: Becky Wade)

Love in the Details
By:Becky Wade




We already know Becky Wade can write a fabulous novel; now it was time to see what she could do with her first novella. Well, Becky, you officially are a talented author no matter how short your story is! Love in the Details was a delightful novella from the beginning to the end.

Holly and Josh were high school sweethearts with a rare kind of bond and love. Because of decisions to attend separate universities and believing she is doing what is best for Josh's future, Holly abruptly breaks up with him in their first year of college. Both heartbroken and alone, they must face the world without each other and move on with life. But will they ever get over the love they shared?

Fast forward eight years: Holly still lives in her hometown and is the wedding coordinator at her local church. Josh, now a successful tech guru living in Paris, is back in town to be best man in a friend's wedding. But little did he know he would be working with the wedding coordinator/ex-girlfriend. As these two face each other, old feelings that never really died begin to surface again. Will either be brave enough to tell the other how they feel? Will Josh learn the truth about their breakup?

You'll love these two characters and will enjoy getting swept away into a story filled with faith, forgiveness, second chances and sweet romance. Becky, thank you for writing such a great novella. It's always a pleasure to read your stories!

Find it on Amazon: Love in the Details

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

A Love Like Ours (By: Becky Wade)

A Love Like Ours
By: Becky Wade

A Love Like Ours is the third book in the Porter Family Series and it is exceptional! This story has all of the components needed to make it a favorite read for us; it hands down earns a spot on our Golden List.

Storyline

Jake Porter, the youngest son in the family and former Marine, suffers from outward scars and deeper inward scars from his time in Iraq. Now home and living with PTSD, Jake keeps to himself and his horses, and is destined to live a lonely life. Lyndie James, his childhood best friend who moved away, has now returned to Holley, Texas. Full of sunshine, she is determined, compassionate and fearless. We could not help but love her! Jake and Lyndie are different people as adults but both still feel the bond of friendship they once shared. When she manages to get a job exercising his horses, they wind up spending many days together. However, Jake - aka tall, dark and brooding, according to Lyndie - has 12 foot walls around his heart. She yearns to help tear those down piece by piece, but he is determined to protect Lyndie - even if that means from himself. Will Jake ever be able to open up his heart to her? Becky Wade takes us on a fabulous journey with these two characters. The storyline is pieced together beautifully!

Depth

The author does a great job bringing depth into this story. She powerfully writes about the true pain of living with PTSD that Jake suffers from every day after the haunting memories of war. He will always live with it to an extent, and Becky does not cover that up. Lyndie has her own story, in that her younger sister has cerebral palsy and has been blind since birth. Lyndie, so compassionate and loving towards her sister and others, readily learns to love Jake even with his hardened heart and inward turmoil.

Faith

Jake has fallen away from the Lord and lives with guilt, anger and confusion about the injustices in life. He is ignorant to the fact that what he truly needs for healing is his Savior. Lyndie loves the Lord and it shows in who she is and how she lives. A learning point for her is when she starts falling for Jake...is it her will, or God's? Will she be enough for him? No, Jake needs the Lord and she prays he will be led back to Him! There is much redemption, healing and love in this book and we love that Becky chose to write with a passionate faith woven throughout the story.

Squeal Factor

Jake and Lyndie are childhood friends, but goodness gracious don't think that they stay within the friends boundaries for long! The chemistry between the two of them is so satisfying. It takes awhile to get these two comfortable and admitting attraction, but when they do you will want to melt! We loved their relationship. Not easy or painted perfectly, rather covered in real love and grace. This couple will win you over!

Overall

After reading, this book will stick with you for days. Now that is a clear sign of a great read! Don't miss this fantastic series. Well done Becky Wade on an engaging, romantic, redemptive story that had us enjoying each moment!

Find it on Amazon: A Love Like Ours 


We were given this book from the publisher in exchange for our honest review.