Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

Welcome to my tour stop for A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade (one of my favorite authors - if you didn't already know)! You can check out two excerpts previously posted here and here. Check out all of the info below, including my 5-star review and the fabulous giveaway...

Purchases made by May 17th will have a portion of proceeds donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

A Love Like Ours

(Porter Family #3)
by Becky Wade

Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback, 368 Pages
May 5th 2015 by Bethany House Publishers

Summary

Deeply scarred from a day he wishes he could forget during his military service, Thoroughbred trainer Jake Porter has given up on love. He struggles against symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.

When Lyndie James, Jake's childhood best friend, returns to their hometown of Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake trusts her with his prized racehorse, Silver Leaf, then battles his hopes for his horse against his increasing fear for Lyndie's safety.

Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake's will, Lyndie's sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he's built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he'd thought he'd lost returns. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

   

My Review

I've been wondering about the third Porter sibling for some time. He made appearances in the first two books in this series and I knew he had a troubled past, but I never knew exactly what that past was and what he was dealing with. Finally, in A Love Like Ours, I got to find out what Jake's story was. I found it to be a lot of things. Violence, duty, desperation, guilt, pain, family, horses, his best friend Lyndie, among other things. Then there was the happiness that was his childhood and the hope, peace, and happiness that starts to open up to him as he begins to heal. It was a heartbreaking story, but one that was full of sweet moments, nuggets of wisdom, family, sacrifice, love, and hope for a better and fuller future.

I loved both Jake and Lyndie pretty much from the start. Jake is tormented and broody, but he is also fiercely protective, hard-working, and gentle. Lyndie was attracted right from the start even though she doesn't normally fall for the brooding type. Obviously Jake is her type and only him. Their relationship is rocky, at best, for some time. However, they so perfectly compliment each other and they have a deep bond from the time they were children and best friends.

There was also a secondary romance between Lyndie's neighbor, Amber, and a local firefighter that I found fun and humorous. I loved how slowly things developed with them and how realistic their feelings and situation felt to me. It was fun too because I remember Amber and her son from the first book in this series, Undeniably Yours.

I also loved both Jake's and Lyndie's families. They are involved in each others' lives. Lyndie's family have had a tougher road than most. Jake's is tight knit and it was fun to see former main characters from the prior books.

I also loved that the characters were honest and non-preachy about their beliefs. There was just the quiet sure faith that Lyndie and her family portrayed and Jake's unbelief because of what he had been through. There were moments that were inspirational and they felt consistent with the characters and true to this story.

There were several sweet moments in this story, but here are a few that stood out to me:

     God is good had become their family mantra. During their happiest moments they used it, like now, in celebration. God is good! But they used it in their worst times, too, when the faith required to believe those three words felt like hanging off the ledge of a tall building by their fingertips.

(p. 47)

     She didn't lose her courage. Her hands remained, holding his profile tilted down to hers so that she could read his face, so that there was no place for either of them to hide. "I want to help you if you'll let me," she said. "You're the best friend I ever had."
     "I'm no longer that kid."
     "No. You were a boy then and now you're a man. But you're still Jake porter. I'd know this face anywhere."

(p. 178-179)

     "So it's sort of a daily thing I have to work through, handing the situation over to God, trusting Him with it again and again. . ."

(p. 186)

     "You see, the more you try to your memories, the more power you try not to give them, the more power you end up handing them. . ."

(p. 188)

I loved reading A Love Like Ours! I loved these characters, how well the author showed Jake's struggles, the family support, the small-town community, and of course the sweet inspirational and romantic moments. If you've enjoyed Becky's other books or enjoy reading Christian contemporary romance then I would definitely recommend picking this one up!

Content: Clean. There was some innuendo and some violent remembrances from one of the characters, but both were appropriate for the genre and handled well.
Source: I would like to thank Bethany House for my eARC through NetGalley and also Becky Wade for the copy she sent me (Thank you!), which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author

During her childhood in California, Becky Wade frequently produced homemade plays starring her sisters, friends, and cousins. These plays almost always featured a heroine, a prince, and a love story with a happy ending. She's been a fan of all things romantic ever since.

Becky and her husband lived overseas in the Caribbean and Australia before settling in Dallas, Texas. It was during her years abroad that Becky's passion for reading turned into a passion for writing. She published three historical romances for the general market, put her career on hold for many years to care for her kids, and eventually returned to writing sheerly for the love of it. She’s delighted to be penning warm, wry, and heartwarming contemporary romances for the Christian market. She's the Carol Award and Inspirational Reader's Choice Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, Undeniably Yours, and Meant to Be Mine.

These days Becky can be found failing but trying to keep up with her housework, sweating at the gym, carting her kids around town, playing tennis, hunched over her computer, eating chocolate, or collapsed on the sofa watching TV with her husband.

Website - Goodreads - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest

Other Books by the Author

  

Links for My Stubborn Heart

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Christian Book - Book Depository

Links for Undeniably Yours (Porter Family #1)

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Christian Book - Book Depository

Links for Meant to Be Mine (Porter Family #2)

Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Christian Book - Book Depository

Tour-Wide Giveaway

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!

 

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

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.