"When Meg Cole’s father dies unexpectedly, she’s forced to return home to Texas and to Whispering Creek Ranch to take up the reins of his empire. The last thing she has the patience or the sanity to deal with? Her father’s Thoroughbred racehorse farm. She gives its manager, Bo Porter, six months to close the place down.
Bo knows he ought to resent the woman who’s determined to take from him the only job he ever wanted. But instead of anger, Meg evokes within him a profound desire to protect. The more time he spends with her, the more he longs to overcome every obstacle that separates them and earn her love.
Just when Meg realizes she can no longer deny the depth of her feelings for Bo, their fragile bond is broken by a force from Meg’s past. Can their relationship–and their belief that God can work through every circumstance–survive?"
My Rating
Spring
My Review
The beginning of Undeniably Yours swept me away - the warm embrace of a sweet romance with a partly grand, partly down-home setting and great characters to populate it. I loved all of the dichotomies and how they added conflict to the story, as well as urging character growth. The book has a great premise that can hook a romance fan, and the overall plot doesn't disappoint.
The romance is really what made and broke the book for me. Meg's struggles and fears trigger Bo's protective instinct, and a fictional hero who wants to protect the heroine definitely makes this romance fan happy! I love pretty much all my fiction with a good dose of romance, so I think it's rather hard for a book to overdo it for me. And I hesitate to say that the romance in this book is overdone... I think it's more that it's sometimes portrayed in a way that comes across as too obsessive.
This was actually my issue with Wade's first book, really. I think it stood out to me more at the end of My Stubborn Heart, but it was still lingering in Undeniably Yours - this feeling that the main characters (in this story, particularly Bo) are too consumed with their romance. The sacrificial nature of Bo's love is admirable, certainly - no question! But it appears that, at times, his life becomes completely centered on Meg and their budding relationship. It's not necessarily in words, as there are references to his faith in God and his desire to put God first, but it's more in how his thoughts and actions are portrayed. Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive, but the romances in Wade's first two books do strike me as unhealthy in parts.
While those comments may suggest that I didn't care for this book, I really did enjoy it, in general. I enjoyed getting to meet some interesting characters. I enjoyed getting to witness Meg mature. I enjoyed the subtle suspense thrown into the mix on occasion, eventually leading up to a romantic-suspense-type ending. And I enjoyed the romance for the most part. This is a well-rounded book with some really sweet moments and revelations, and I'm curious to see what Wade will write next in this series!
*With thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion, to be shared during the Litfuse Publicity blog tour.*
Book Trailer
About the Author"Becky Wade is a graduate of Baylor University. As a newlywed, she lived for three years in a home overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, as well as in Australia, before returning to the States. A mom of three young children, Becky and her family now live in Dallas, Texas. Visit her website at www.beckywade.com."
To Buy the Book: click HERE
Blog Tour: Check out the reviews from other blog tour participants HERE.
Litfuse Contest
Becky Wade is celebrating her latest swoon-worthy novel, Undeniably Yours (Bethany House), with a Kindle Fire giveaway and hosting an Author Chat party on Facebook {5/29}!
One winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire
- Undeniably Yours and My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade
So grab your copy of Undeniably Yours and join Becky on the evening of May 29th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)
Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!
6 comments:
Great review, Amber. I love reading reviews in which you can tell the person really thought about the book she was reading. :) And doesn't Undeniably Yours have one of the prettiest covers ever?!
Great review and honesty here, Amber. Really appreciate you sharing this - sorry everything wasn't to your liking but am glad you enjoyed it nonetheless. :)
Super anxious for book two and Ty's story to arrive.
Melissa,
Thank you - that's such a sweet compliment! :) I sometimes fear that I end up being too critical at times, latching onto things and making them seem to be bigger problems than they are. But I guess I just try to work through my thoughts on a book when composing my reviews, and I do try to use the "compliment sandwich." ;) Seriously, though, I hope that my reviews are helpful. :)
And yes!! The cover for Undeniably Yours is so cute! Loved the story behind the cover, too. :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review and leave a comment!
~Amber
Rissi,
Thank you, my friend! I definitely did enjoy the book. :) Like I noted in the review, perhaps I'm being overly sensitive... There are certainly many other books I've read where the romance is the main element, and I love that! I suppose it's just how it's balanced in this book with references to the characters' faith. I just felt like things seemed a little unbalanced, and the romance sometimes more of an obsession than a blessing, you know? But I still found it to be a great read, overall. :)
And yes, I'm definitely curious to learn more about Bo's family!
~Amber
I loved her first book and was really looking forward to this one. Now it's been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks and I have yet to pick it up. No, that does not make sense at all. One of these days! Hopefully. ;)
Nice review. I hadn't really thought about it, but thinking back to her first book now, I can totally see your point. Makes me curious what I'll think of this one.
Kara,
I hear ya!! I get so excited to buy books or request them for review... And then they sit on my desk or on my floor or in a box for far too long! We shall remedy this problem one book at a time, right? :) Of course, then we'll probably get more books before we ever have the chance to even make a good dent in our piles, LOL!
I do hope you get to read Undeniably Yours soon, though! Glad to hear you enjoyed her first book. :) Lots of great romantic tension in her stories!
Thank you for your kind words about my review! It's always nice to know your thoughts are actually understood by some readers, even if you're not sure you properly conveyed what you are thinking. :) I will be curious to know what you think of this one, too!
~Amber
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