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Thursday 22 May 2014

Book Review: Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

Review by Andrea Grigg


Amazon Blurb:


Ty Porter has always been irresistible to Celia Park. All through high school--irresistible. When their paths cross again after college--still irresistible. This time, though, Ty seems to feel exactly the same way about Celia. Their whirlwind romance deposits them at a street-corner Las Vegas wedding chapel.

The next morning they wake to a marriage certificate and a dose of cold reality. Celia's ready to be Ty's wife, but Ty's not ready to be her husband. He's a professional bull rider, he lives on the road, and he's long planned to settle down with the hometown girl he's known since childhood.

Five and a half years pass. Celia's buried her dreams so that she can afford to raise her daughter. Ty's achieved all of his goals. Or thought he had, until he looks again into the eyes of the woman he couldn't forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.

How much will Ty sacrifice to win back Celia's trust and prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime?

My Thoughts:

I’ve read Becky Wade’s two previous novels (My Stubborn Heart, Undeniably Yours) and given them four stars. Not this one. This one gets five.

I’m a romance reader through and through and Meant to Be Mine ticked every romantic box for me. The heroine is cute, the hero is hunky, the Secret Baby plot always does it for me (a little throat clearing going on here) and while I don’t always love being plunked in cowboy country, this time I found myself in the middle of Holley, Texas, like I belonged there.

So why a five-star story rather than a four? Because of the chemistry.

Ty is a rodeo star, used to getting what he wants with his charm and quick tongue, but he’s met his match in Celia. She’s sassy and feisty, and determined to do what’s best for her daughter, Addie. The attraction between Celia and Ty fairly sizzles off the page, and the banter between them is memorable. I laughed out loud several times.

I liked how Addie’s happiness is paramount for the pair of them. I liked when Ty found out about his child, his first thought was to get to know her rather than flounce off in a permanent huff, as often happens in this type of plot. I also liked how Ty and Celia both battle their way through forgiveness issues and come to a new and honest place not only with each other but in their relationships with God.

Meant to Be Mine is the second in the Porter family series, and it was also nice catch up with Meg and Bo after getting to know them in Undeniably Yours. Becky Wade’s next novel is about the third brother, Jake: ‘the one with the burning hazel stare and the scar across his face’ (quote taken from Becky’s author Facebook page).

I for one will be buying it.

13 comments:

  1. An excellent review, Andrea. Thanks. You told just enough to make a possible reader want to know more. I like your description of the dialogue between these two. And the way each of them battle toward forgiveness issues. That is what marriage is all about after all.

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    1. Thanks Rita. Yes, the dialogue sure reeled me in! And the forgiveness issues were truly important after what they'd done to each other. No way their relationship would work without it, despite the chemistry. I agree - a vital key to a good marriage. No doubt that's a theme Becky is aiming to get across.

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  2. Marvellous review, Andrea. This one has sure got lots of readers talking and all seem to be in the 5 star category.

    Thanks for sharing your review with us.

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  3. Thanks Ian. When you love a book as much as I did this one the review pretty much writes itself :)

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  4. Andrea, great review! You have me intrigued by the story premise, despite the fact I'm not a big fan of secret baby plots. My problem is I start the book disliking the heroine for keeping the baby a secret. The motivation for the secret needs to be exceptional for me to engage with the story, and empathise with both the hero and heroine. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

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    1. I'd be interested in your take on this one, Narelle. I have a feeling it's quite 'edgy' for the American market but you'd be more of an authority on that than I am. Let me know if you get around to reading it won't you?

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    2. I'm not always a fan of the Secret Baby, but I like it better that the Other Woman ... and this had both. I thought it was a good book, but didn't need both tropes.

      I remember reading one Secret Baby book which made me laugh. As soon as she found out she was pregnant she started writing and emailing him, but they'd parted under a cloud so he ignored them.

      When she finally forced a face-to-face showdown, he asked the inevitable "why didn't you tell me?". And she plunked down two binders full of the copies of her emails. Yes!

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    3. Andrea, I have the first book in the series in my Kindle tbr pile. I'm way behind on my reading this year. I'll be sure to let you know my thoughts after I read this book.

      Iola, I don't mind the 'Other Woman' trope as long as she has a bigger role and purpose in the story than just attempting to derail the romance through a misunderstanding. I read too many category romances in my youth where the ex-flame turns up to create fake conflict that could have been resolved in a two minute conversation. Again, it comes down to excellent character motivation that creates strong and compelling conflict.

      I once read a secret baby story where the hero nearly asks the heroine at least half a dozen times if he is the father of her son, who is the spitting image of him. Obviously he wasn't smart enough to do the math and work out that it was a possibility... It was a book I borrowed from the library, which was the only thing that saved it from being thrown at a wall across the room. I only read to the end to see if the weak misunderstanding was the core conflict for the whole story. It was also the last book I ever read from that particular author.

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  5. I saw a couple of other reviews of this book today, all 5 stars. I might have to take the hint and grab it. Thanks, Andrea.

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    1. Hi Paula - yes, I'd be interested to see what you think. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  6. Great review, Andrea. I'm a sucker for well written witty banter between hero and heroine. Thanks for the recommendation. I may come out of the 1800s for this one. ;)

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  7. Good one, Dotti. Hope you enjoy it!

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  8. Thank you very much, Andrea, for taking the time to read and review Meant to Be Mine. My husband and I lived in Perth for a year (and loved our time there) so I have a special place in my heart for Australia.
    As you mentioned in the comments, my books are on the edgy side for the American Christian market. I've noticed over the years that Aussie readers seem to 'get' my writing and aren't bothered by the edgier aspects, which I really appreciate.
    Maybe this California-girl-turned-Texan is an Aussie at heart! :)

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