Falling for You

For lack of a better way to keep my ratings consistent, I've decided to focus on three things - 1) Was I invested in the characters? 2) Did I get excited/emotional about the story in any way? 3) When I finished, was I thinking, "wow--what a great read!"

You can probably tell by my star ranking how Wade's book rated, but here's the skinny:

Was I invested in the characters? Absolutely. These two hated each other so much in the beginning, I needed to a) find out what had happened between them in the past and b) see how they overcame such animosity. I couldn't put the book down until I knew. And I'll be honest with you--it wasn't easy for me to get attached to Corbin. He was a smidge too cocky for my personal tastes, but I'll also say this: I honest-to-goodness appreciate how Wade stayed true to his character throughout the book. He didn't fall in love with the heroine and all of a sudden his cockiness went away, as so often happens in romances. This guy was cocky from start to finish and that's how it should be--I mean, after all, isn't a part of falling in love coming to accept someone for who they are and not expecting them to change? That may not be what always happens, but that's what we want to read, right? So... kudos, Becky Wade. I noticed that one minor thing and it stuck out.

P.S.... I eventually grew to like Corbin--every adorably pompous bit of him.

Did I get excited and/or emotional about the story in any way? Heck yes, I did. There were a couple of tense moments in there where I needed to read faster because "no way did he just ask that" or "please tell me she's not going to..." or "for crying out loud, just kiss her already!" Folks--there was a lot of romantic tension in this story and it kept me invested, interested, and intrigued from page one to done.

There's also a nice little mystery subplot going on the background of Corbin & Willow's love story--and just as Wade did in the first book in this series, True to You, you get these neat little snippets at the end of each chapter that either pertain to the romance, the mystery, or how the two overlap. I enjoyed how she skillfully wove the two stories together, without letting the subplot detract from the main story.

And finally, did I end the book thinking it was a great read? Well, I appear to be writing a rave review, but in the interest of full disclosure, I'm a huge Becky Wade fan. So when I started the Bradford Sisters series, I already expected to like it. About 25% of the way into this book, however, any bias I had just went right out the window because it wasn't about enjoying another Becky Wade novel, it was about reading a book that had captured my attention, robbed me of slumber, and dished out a happily ever after I could rally behind. So did I finish this book excited to have finished something enjoyable? Yes. Yes, I did.

But if she could hurry up and serve up Britt & Zander's story (the next in the series), I'd be a much happier gal. Bring it on, Becky Wade! I'm ready.

Sisters Romance Novels. It follows Willow, the oldest of the three Bradford Sisters and Corbin Stewart, her ex-boyfriend, who she still holds a lot of resentment and anger towards. Willow and Corbin find themselves searching for a missing person who disappeared years and years ago. The case along with other occurrences in their lives draws them closer together against the wishes of some and to the delight of others.
I read the first Bradford Sisters book, True to you, almost two years ago as well as the novella that served as a prequel to the series. Despite the long space of time between books the writer does a good job of recalling important events that happened in previous books so the reader does not feel like they need to go read the previous books before reading this. While the beginning of the book and the obvious disdain the characters had for each other led to me not getting into the book for a while, the mystery of the missing person drew me in bit by bit. I was also interested to know what had happened between the two characters that led to their breakup.
Like the previous book in the series the lessons the characters learn lead me to reflect on my own life and my relationship with God, making the characters more relatable. This book was no different. I was reminded that God does not love us because of our worthiness, even when we mess up He still loves us with His perfect, all encompassing love and with that knowledge we should be able to come boldly before Him to ask for forgiveness if/when we mess up, He is faithful to forgive and forget and we should too…forgive ourselves. I was also reminded of the faithfulness of God and how everyday He proves Himself trustworthy and desires for us to trust Him. These profound truths were enough to help me forget the less engrossing start of the book. Parts of the book also focus on Brit, the youngest of the Bradford Sisters, who has to come to terms with her Best Friend leaving for a while, setting us up for the next book in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As much as I related to Nora in True To You with her nerdy bookish self and the adoption themes, in a lot of ways I relate more to Willow. I will never be model material and only consider myself beautiful on good days, but Willow struggles with two big things that I have as well: shame from a past relationship, and growing up, the feeling that I had to be the perfect child.

These two themes are threaded throughout Willow motivations and decisions her whole life. She struggles to take risks and have fun, but has a kind compassionate heart. She spends a lot of time arguing with herself and talking herself out of her feelings. Girl, I so get that. At one point Becky puts into words what Willow feels and it's perfect. Willow goes through all the people in her life who never gave her a reason to doubt their love then goes on to say. "God had never given her a reason to doubt His love. Even so, her internal drive to be good...had never relented."

Corbin is determined to draw her out. Since I have my own real life Corbin to draw me out of my safe shell, I understand Willow's love/hate relationship with that aspect. We want to be safe, but also want to venture out...safely. These men God puts in our lives do that; I can't hide under my rock too long. My favorite quote is from Corbin's internal processing, "He needed her to love him And so he was going to make sure that she did." Way to take the initiative, Corbin! But, he also had to learn how to be humble and surrender their future to God. A humbled man is a mighty thing to behold.

And now we get a sneak peak at Britt beginning to soften and Zander being brave enough to step past his self-protective boundaries and get out there. I can't wait for their story!

I received a complementary copy of this story. I was not required to post a positive review and all opinions are my own!

This is such a delightful series. Book two was every bit as good as book one. I am not reviewing this book for my blog but we are adding it to the church library. Looking forward to reading book three.