My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

This book caught me by surprise.

I really liked My Stubborn Heart, and I was quite drawn to the story with in the first few pages. Becky Wade created a wonderful balance of romance woven with real life, tragedy, and growth. Kate is a social worker in Dallas, Texas. She comes with her Grandmother up North to Pennsylvania to help restore and renovate the family estate, in order to get away from what her life and her job has become. Kate loves antiques, and this looks like a wonderful way to spend three months time.

Upon arriving and falling for the charming family property, Kate soon finds herself in middle of several other projects. As she works to give the old "mansion" a new life and a new look, she winds up with more than just a house to work on. Some of these "projects" are people. People who need help or friendship, or something a lot more, like to get things right with God again. At the top of that list is Matt. A former famous hockey player, Matt walked from it all when his wife Beth died. Now he is in Redbud, hired to help restore the house and chapel, and unable to escape God's plan for his life. Even though Matt is hard to reach, wounded and angry, Kate has to follow what she hears God saying and help where she can even if it cost her everything - including her heart.

I do read romance novels time to time, and I think many of us can write about romance. However it isn't often that I read a book where the "leading lady" suffers in ways that I have been able to relate to.  I also find it a little more uncommon that the author of the book also writes in that same romance enough real life details, true pain and real struggles with God. In this book all that is able to come out of the pages and into the hearts of the reader(s). This book did that for me. If you are listing romance novels to read you would do well to place My Stubborn Heart on your reading list.

Carol

This week theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingMy Stubborn Heart Bethany House Publishers; Original edition (May 1, 2012)byBecky Wade 
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.






ABOUT THE BOOK

A Sensational CBA Debut in Contemporary Romance!
This summer author Becky Wade makes her CBA debut with a fun -- and funny -- contemporary romance. Amidst the light-hearted banter and laugh-out-loud moments is a compelling spiritual journey of one woman's choice to listen to God and wait on him.  Filled with humor and authentic romance, My Stubborn Heart is shaping up to be the hit of the summer.

Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When Kate's grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.

Yet, she discovers a different kind of project upon meeting the man hired to renovate the house. Matt Jarreau is attractive and clearly wounded -- hiding from people, from God, and from his past.  Kate can't help but set her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light... whether he likes it or not.

If you would like to read the first chapter of My Stubborn Heart, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764209744