Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

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Is it healthy to love a fictional family so much?: Review of A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

I don’t know if it’s good or bad that I love Becky Wade’s Porter family so much. Or that I inevitably start reading one of her books when I have a house full of housework to do.

a love like oursBut whatever. I’m not sorry. At least not sorry enough to give up reading Wade’s books or immersing myself in the Porter family world. The latest in the series, A Love Like Ours, is a heartwarming (and heartbreaking) story of childhood friends who rediscover each other as adults. Lyndie is a spunky sprite of a girl with a love for horses and a dream of jockeying. Jake Porter is an emotionally wounded, physically scarred Marine veteran who excels at shutting people out. (Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of the book through Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my review.)

The story is a testament of love and determination, of the power of relationships to bring healing, of sacrificial love and risking friendship for something more. I loved Lyndie’s spirit and how her life drew life out of Jake. I felt compassion for Jake’s struggles, and I cheered for his steps toward wholeness.

I think my favorite parts, though, were scenes where the Porter siblings–Bo, Ty, Jake and sister Dru–appeared together, especially one where the other three are confronting Jake about some things. It felt like a familiar family gathering with joking amidst serious talk, and the personalities of each character really shined. (Ty Porter is still my favorite, but don’t tell the others.)

Whenever I pick up a Becky Wade novel, I can count on her to deliver humor, romance and serious setbacks for the couple in question. She does it with such seamless storytelling that I’m almost sorry when I finish the book too quickly. (Also, the covers are all adorable. Check out Becky’s blog for the inside scoop on the making of these covers. I love this!)

If you like a fun romance for your summer reading, check out A Love Like Ours. (Or the other books in the Porter family series: Undeniably Yours and Meant to Be Mine.

And read on for more news about how you can help Becky celebrate this new book!

Fall in love with Becky Wade‘s new book, A Love Like Ours, a story of healing, romance, and cowboys. A glimmer of the hope Jake thought he’d lost returns when Lyndie lands back in Texas, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

To celebrate the release of her new book, Becky is giving away a $100 cash card and a book-inspired prize pack!

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One grand prize winner will receive:

  • A $100 cash card
  • A copy of A Love Like Ours
  • A copy of the Secretariat DVD
  • A scarf
  • A dog-tag/cross keychain
  • A pair of earrings
  • A Scarf
  • A Texas-shaped cutting board
  • A Jake Porter mug
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Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 26th. Winner will be announced May 27th on Becky’s site.

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When it's hard to move on: Review of The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart

With some authors I love, I’m reluctant to pick up their newest book and read it because I’m afraid this will be the one book they write I don’t like, or I’m afraid I’ll like it so much I won’t want the story to end. That’s the case with anything Nicole Baart writes. Two years ago, she wrote a book that was my favorite of the whole year before the year had even started. Sleeping in Eden is still on my list of all-time favorites.

the beautiful daughtersSo, when this beauty, The Beautiful Daughters, arrived a few months ago, I set it aside. For later, I said. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a review.) Its release date was set for April, so I had some time.

Well, now it’s April, so I had to take a deep breath and dive in.

As usual, I had nothing to worry about.

Nicole Baart writes some of my favorite words and sentences. She plumbs the depths of human emotions. Her characters are haunted by a decision or a circumstance, and the drama that plays out as a result of their choices is riveting.

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So it is with The Beautiful Daughters.

Adrienne, daughter of an Iowa dairy farmer and Harper, the stunning girl from who-knows-where, formed an unlikely friendship in college. With Adri’s brother Will, his friend Jackson and the aloof heir to the Galloway fortune, David, they become The Five, a makeshift family. When a post-graduation trip to British Columbia ends in tragedy, Adri and Harper run from each other and the memories–Adri to West Africa as a nurse for a non-profit and Harper to a hellish existence she thinks she deserves. Five years later, they both return to Blackhawk, Iowa, where memories haunt them and the truth is revealed.

I’ve been reading Baart’s books for a few years, and her stories are better each time. While she used to write for the Christian market, her last couple of books have been in the general market, and her writing is the better for it. Her stories are grittier and more real and peppered with appropriate language for dark circumstances without being gratuitous. Yet, they’re still filled with hope.

The Beautiful Daughters is a story of darkness and light, of identity lost and found, of friendship and love and how choices can change the course of our lives, for worse and for better.

Nicole Baart releasing a new book is good news.

Want more good news? I have a copy to give away!

Leave me a comment here on the blog and I’ll enter you for a chance to win The Beautiful Daughters. (U.S. residents only.) Contest is open until Sunday, May 3, when I’ll pick a winner using random.org.

Have you read any of Nicole Baart’s books before? Check out her website and let me know which of her books sounds most interesting to you. (I wish I could give you your pick of books!)