Blog Book Tour | returning to The Bradford Sisters Romance series by Becky Wade within the third novel “Sweet On You”!

Posted Wednesday, 29 May, 2019 by jorielov , , , , 1 Comment

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By:  I’ve been hosting for Prism Book Tours since September of 2017 – having noticed the badge on Tressa’s blog (Wishful Endings) as we would partake in the same blog tours and/or book blogosphere memes. As I enquired about hosting for Prism, I found I liked the niche of authors and stories they were featuring regularly. Oft-times you’ll find Prism Book Tours alighting on my blog through the series of guest features and spotlights with notes I’ll be hosting on behalf of their authors when I’m not showcasing book reviews on behalf of Harlequin Heartwarming which has become my second favourite imprint of Harlequin next to my beloved #LoveINSPIRED Suspense. I am also keenly happy PRISM hosts a variety of Indie Authors and INSPY Fiction novelists.

I received a complimentary copy of “Sweet On You” direct from the publisher Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On the joy of re-visiting an INSPY Contemporary novelist I love reading,

within the Bradford Sisters Romance series – which reminds me dearly of a new series I am loving to watch via #HMNow which is “Chesapeake Shores” inspired by the book series from Sherryl Woods (an author I knew from the *Sweet Magnolias* series)…

You could say I have shared quite a heap about this series when I first hosted the blog tour for the second novel in the series – I simply took to the series quite immediately and I came to *love!* the ways in which Ms Wade was crafting the journey her characters were taking within the fuller breadth of where the Bradford Sisters were taking us all as we tucked close to their lives. The interesting bit is during May of 2019 I was able to finally see the first & second season of Chesapeake Shores (a tv series on Hallmark Channel) – wherein, I realised that the series on tv and this book series have a heap in common!

I have the tendency to seek out similar stories which are both familiar and dynamically drawn to give you a full glimpse into the life of a family. Whether the dynamic is made of three sisters like the Bradford’s or have a five sibling unit like the O’ Brien’s – one thing is for certain, if you look at my more recent readings of the Rocky Mountain Cowboys & Blackwell Brothers – you’ll notice how much I love soaking into sibling series! The same can be said of the Seasons of Alaska series, too! When it comes to family, small townes and siblings – I simply cannot get enough of the writers who are giving us heartwarming characters to fall in love with reading about – I am blessed I could continue where I left off with the Bradford’s as I was dearly curious what was going to happen with Britt!!

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I’m unsure how I would have reacted if the roles had been reversed – faux hostage situations to help those who needed to know how to handle these situations at the ready was not exactly something I’d see myself signing on to tackle. Then, again – if truth be told, I seriously doubt Nora would have fashioned herself a willing player in this game either if it hadn’t been for Britt. As we re-enter the Bradford family, we are finding the girls are well into their twenties, not the young girls of the novella Then Came You. The interesting thing to note is the order of the stories – Nora is the middle sister, Britt the youngest and Willow is the eldest – yet we were happily sorting out Nora’s story first!

She’s a girl after my own heart – she loves being enraptured by the written word, jaunting through time, travelling into history and aligning her mind and heart with the characters’ she’s reading about with every story she picks up to read. She’s also passionately invested into genealogical research (as she’s a historian and genealogist) but where she falls a bit short is handling faux extreme stress presentations! One thing is for sure, you never quite know what to expect when your beginning a Becky Wade novel – which is quite refreshing, as her Contemporary stories are clued into a reality we can all recognise with stories which seek to find the truth of our own world and intermix life lessons, strong characters and a captivating narrative to draw our attention into the messages her stories are attempting to convey to us. I was honestly hooked as soon as I started the first chapter – how can you not get caught up in the drama unfolding between the two sisters – one wants to take flight and ‘win’ the game whilst the other is thinking of every which way to Sunday her day could have gone if she had only made better plans with her hours!

Mind you, I haven’t seen someone this loss for words since I first watched All of my Heart: Inn Love this past Mother’s Day weekend! (FYI: there is a blogger in the film who is researching B&B’s and it’s her insta-attraction to the General Store owner who provides a lot of comedic relief!) In this instance, Nora was taken for a loop when John Lawson decided to carry her out of the building and thus ending her tenure in this particular exercise – a spontaneous act which rendered her without the ability to articulate anything other than a brief conversation once she was reunited with her sister, Britt.

When Nora is around her sisters, you get to see their different dynamics come into play – especially as I remember how this family began through the origin story Then Came You. Britt has a beau-in-the-wings named Zander who happily took me by surprise, as generally speaking men with tattoo sleeves (on their arms) are not known for their inclusivity to INSPY Romance (although they ought to be – some of the most artistic and kind gentleman wear tatt’s!). This was another nod towards my heart growing aflutter in appreciation for Ms Wade’s writing style – she is part of the changing tides of realistic characterisations and story-lines for the INSPY market; for which, she has my hat of gratitude. By the time we reside inside Britt’s story (next in line), I do hope we get to see a larger portion of Zander’s past and current life explored; not to mention, seeing these two find themselves falling in love rather than Zander consistently being the one who knows the will of his heart.

Seeing the sisters’ admiration and affection towards Valentina (their housekeeping nanny from years ago) was heart-warming, as it proved their father (Garner) knew exactly what he was doing in hiring her to watch over his darling girls; though in theory, he at first only meant to give Willow a chance at having a bit more normalcy in her life. These are the kind of details where you can easily see the flow of continuity within the series – even from the prequel novella – as you tuck closer to the girls’ and follow where their footsteps lead.

I can dearly relate to Nora – my soul was literally crushed in half when Matthew died (ie. Downton Abbey and never fully recovered; I left the series after Anna was brutally attacked) – I definitely know her anguish over cross-comparing Rochester’s as I have a penchant for Little Women, A Christmas Carol and other classical adaptations where you do find yourself talking about which actor or actress best brought the character forward! I haven’t seen too many adaptations of Jane Eyre – as my favourite is the first one I found (1996) whilst knowing full well Keira Knightley’s Pride and Prejudice was my celebration film for finally finishing reading the novel – it will be (most likely!) Colin Firth’s adaptation which will feel organically tied to Austen’s vision (methinks!). I even love the Bollywood version of Pride which is Bride and Prejudice. *le sigh* Yes, I can dearly relate to Nora,… what grieved me dearly, dear hearts, is realising ‘Northamptonshire’ is not rooted in our reality but is a fictional tv series in Nora’s world. I seriously would have requested it at my library!

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Being this story was published in 2017, it is interesting how current it is written as I am hoping one day we can look back on this decade and realise we’ve come a long way from it – as a society and as a country. The work John does for emergency training shouldn’t have to be in such high demand in other words but the way in which he has hardened a bit through life – due to the many unknowns in his origin story, prove how hard it is for adopted children to understand who they are if they have too little to fall back in regards to personal memory (especially if like John, they were adopted as infants or young children). I appreciated the candor of the story-line delving into the hurdles adoptees face as it is an important part of their journey; finding peace from the past but also, finding ways to move forward in the present.

I believe what I loved most about True to You, were the conveyances of how it was articulated through the slow narrative wisely chosen by Ms Wade to draw out the rounded edges of two people on the brink of finding each other. The kind of narrative where you don’t have to forsake not understanding what happens between conversations because the details are pulled forward, knitting together an image of where Nora and John find comfortable consistency in their hours. The pattern of this story reminded me a lot of a Jane Austen novel – for it tucks into those hidden moments very well whilst eclipsing a character’s journey through all the different pieces of her experience – leaving everything open to be seen, examined and understood. You can breathe into a rhythm following Ms Wade’s muse – so much so, you have to brace yourself for the ending, as it truly becomes such a comfortable world in which to reside.

There is a point towards the end, where your heart and your emotions start to spill over – where all the anguish this family has gone through over the years hits you stock and centre. It is a very well- conceived plot, to the point where your not even sure if your prepared for what is coming next – I know I wasn’t, as it could go so many different ways to Sunday, how to do you brace yourself for what is now being revealled!? Charlotte bless her, was the one who inspired everyone to take action but sometimes, between action and restitution for what is once lost is a fine line to walk – where the soul and the heart have a longer path towards reconciliation and healing. I give full credit to Ms Wade for curating such an incredibly layered suspenseful plot thickening in the background whilst addressing the relationships of the Bradford sisters.

I missed seeing the progression of Nora and John’s relationship in the back-folds of the narrative – as there were serious things happening in their lives which I felt begged to be explored in Falling for You. I am unsure if those threads will be re-explored in Britt’s novel or if there will be a conclusionary novella after the third novel releases – but this is one error in the continuity I’ve loved so dearly for remaining inclusively intact with the characters.

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Despite my grievances with the leading beau for Willow, there is so much heart writ into the tapestry of this series, the emotions simply pull you forward, eager to see how the sisters’ lives will continue to evolve, to feel what their feeling in the moments of their lives where destiny and conviction interconnect. I am blessed to have started this journey into their stories – I am itching to read the next stories, to gleam more of what is yet to come and to feel as if I’ve travelled miles of hours beside them until the very last story is published. It’s hard to ‘let go’ of series you feel so dearly attached too – this one definitely touched a special place in my heart and will not ‘let go’ anytime soon! I hope, my words will inspire my readers to pick up one of the stories in this series – if only to meet Nora, Britt and Willow for themselves! Even if I am rather partial to Garner, without whom the sisters would not be here!

By the time I concluded reading Falling for You, I understood the reasons why the novel was written the way in which it was but on a personal level of honesty, I just didn’t feel connected to Corbin. I believed he had a lot of personal growth which was showcased in this novel to prove change is possible even in the most stubborn of individuals but in regards to feeling an attachment to his person? I honestly never felt it. For me, this story was a happy thread of insight into the sisters’ lives with an incredible slice of suspense in the back-threads – giving us an exhilarating read and a heap of emotions to shift through to boot!

I *love!* how realistically real this series feels to our own world – it’s a wonderful composite both in setting and tone whilst it hones in our contemporary awareness of technology and certain socially conscience recognition’s which seek to either make us smile or laugh! For instance, Ms Wade has definitely taken a leaf out of my own journal for how to knit out a laugh from an analogy of a contemporary New Age car (ie. Tesla) and make it cross-relate to how relationships can be short-lasting! (as observed in True to You) She fuses wit with humour in such a layered approach as to make you nearly forget this isn’t a story based on real persons who lived but rather it’s a fictional series created in such a way to grant you the illusion her characters *could!* live if only they could step straight through the threshold of their fictional existence. This is also why I sent out that tweet of joy celebrating the #booklove of the authors I am finding in Contemporary INSPY Romance to be of the variety I love most to be #amreading: Dee Henderson (see also Review); Brenda S. Anderson (see also Archive) and Kellie Coates Gilbert (see also Review).

I especially enjoy watching characters have true growth during our time spent with them – or even, to observe them in full confidence within their chosen fields, but still have a few things they need to work through – where everything isn’t quite ‘neat and tidy’. I love this aspect of character development because it eludes to how evolving all our lives become – it is also a benefit to grounding a story in the realism of real-life and the ways in which despite our best intentions, we cannot always foresee everything which will come onto our path. This is a gift Ms Wade share swith the other authors I’ve mentioned – she digs in deep into the human condition, into the ways in which relating to another person isn’t just about romantic overtures – but of listening, in-tuning what is being said against what is inferred (including through body language) and of finding a middle ground. In essence, my favourite stories are full of flawed characters doing their best to embetter their lives for the good.

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Ms Wade has eloquent overtures of living histories ebbing into her narrative – such as how Bradfordwood was properly shipped in pieces from its origins in England and reassembled into what is now known as the estate of the Bradford family (200 acres strong). She gives you this sense of familial pride, of the hard work behind the legacies still in evidence today in the lives of the sisters’ and humbles the family through their good deeds, their personal growth exploits and how having a strong sense of business mindfulness can continue to lead for generations (as their assets are diversified).

felt Ms Wade’s styling within True to You was classically eloquent (foresaid) and her entire Bradford Sisters Romance series is refreshingly lovely to have discovered – for she’s another Contemporary INSPY author who is providing me with the kind of Contemporaries I am most appreciative of reading! So much so, it is another confirmation the number of Contemporaries which will be winning over my heart outside of INSPY are quite limited (at least for now) – as I have a select number of authors I am enjoying reading now. I used to love Contemporaries as much as I loved Historical Romance – what I never linked together though is the reason I had such a paradigm shift in my reading habits is due to innate frustration stemming out of what I was finding inclusive to mainstream Contemporaries vs INSPY. Clearly, sometimes being a book blogger has it’s advantages as whilst your journalling your reading life, you understand yourself better as a reader!

Her continued appreciation for inserting popular cultural references takes an all-star glimpse into social media life today – as if I hadn’t been a joyful tweeter, I’d never have known I already know the *name!* of a highly beloved K-Pop band: BTS! This is important to know a) if you love discovering new music and b) if you want to better understand Charlotte in Falling for You. I love when writers go a bit further than necessary to make their novels relevant to our times – they have a way of knitting out the best of what is ‘happening in the moment’, adding those bits to their stories and re-grounding us in a quasi-reality such a strong composite to our own – we nearly have to pinch ourselves as reminders we’re reading a fictional story! I love how this is achieved!

Yet, what truly captured my heart about Ms Wade’s Contemporary style is the authentic nature of her style – you can tell she has had experience outside of INSPY, as her style feels mainstream but has an INSPY core of heart. I think this is why I like the authors I am finding lately for Contemporary INSPY – their writing the cutting edge INSPY Contemporaries I am hungry for as a reader with enough of the content I’m seeking out of the mainstream but cannot find. For this, I feel truly blessed I was given the opportunity to start reading her stories!

Secondly, what warmed my bookish heart is her instinctive nature of threading continuity into her stories – from novella to novel, her intentional connections between her characters and her story-lines are some of the best I’ve come across – irregardless of which genre I am writing! Continuity sometimes is overlooked in serial fiction (by some) but it is something I hail as being the mark of a superhero writer, because to knit into an on-going series the organic inclusions of previous stories, is rather impressive! If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know the authors I’ve mentioned previously who ‘wow’ me over with this technique but if your a new visitor or reader, the short-list includes Julie E. Czerneda (for Science Fiction, I am just now reading her Fantasy), Brenda S. Anderson, Julie Lessman (will be blogging about her stories!), Anna Lee Huber, L.M. Montgomery, Jennifer Lamont Leo, Jackie Gamber, Larry D. Sweazy, Susan Spann, Sue Hallgarth, Margaret James, Lucinda Riley, Linda Mitchelmore, AshleyRose Sullivan, Renee Patrick and Rachel Amphlett.

-quoted from my reviews and ruminative thoughts on behalf of the following stories
within this series “Then Came You”, “True to You” and “Falling For You”

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Blog Book Tour | returning to The Bradford Sisters Romance series by Becky Wade within the third novel “Sweet On You”!Sweet on You
Subtitle: A Bradford Sisters Romance
by Becky Wade
Source: Publisher via Prism Book Tours

Britt Bradford and Zander Ford have been the best of friends since they met thirteen years ago. Unbeknown to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long.

Independent and adventurous Britt channels her talent into creating chocolates at her hometown shop. Zander is a bestselling author who's spent the past 18 months traveling the world. He's achieved a great deal but still lacks the only thing that ever truly mattered to him--Britt's heart.

When Zander's uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Merryweather, Washington, to investigate, and Britt is immediately there to help. Although this throws them into close proximity, both understand that an attempt at romance could jeopardize their once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But while Britt is determined to resist any change in their relationship, Zander finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden.

As they work together to uncover his uncle's tangled past, will the truth of what lies between them also, finally, come to light?

Genres: INSPY Realistic Fiction, Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Contemporary Romance



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9780764219382

Also by this author: Falling for You (Spotlight w/ Notes), Then Came You, True to You, Falling for You, Stay with Me

Also in this series: Then Came You, True to You, Falling for You


Published by Bethany House Publishers

on 30th April, 2019

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 368

Published by: Bethany House Publishers (@bethany_house)

an imprint of Baker Publishing Group

Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback

The Bradford Sisters Romance series:

Then Came You (prequel novella)

True to You (Book One)

Falling for You (Book Two)
you can read my thoughts on these previous stories

Sweet on You (Book Three)

The Christmas Heirloom : Because of You
(holiday novella)*the one I didn’t get to read yet

Converse via: #Contemporary #INSPYRomance +
#INSPY or #INSPYBooks and #BradfordSistersRomance

The only difficulty I had in reading this novel – a year later from my last readings of the series is I found the font to be set at a level of size a bit lower than my eyes can tolerate. I didn’t strain to read the novel but I had to take extra care to focus on the words because I swear the font felt ten times smaller than I remember the last two novels in print had read.

About Becky Wade

Becky Wade

Becky’s a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children.

When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. She loves writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance! She’s the Christy Award and Carol Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, and the Bradford Sisters Romance series.

Photo Credit: Creative Photography

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my review of sweet on you:

How can your heart not rejoice when you first see Britt and Zander reunited outside Sweet Art? Honestly, it was the quintessential reunion for me – he sweeps her into his arms and she joyfully gives back the love of that moment – the connection only two old friends can share between them. I was dearly curious how their reunion would pan out – if Britt would have recognised something in herself and in Zander her heart hadn’t been willing to see previously… if Zander had grown as much as Britt or if by any chance they had grown closer together despite the distance? In that singular exchange – of where two hearts run into each other on a collision course not of their own making (as it was as if they were drawn by magnetic force) than who is to say truly what will be?

They have such an ease of convenience with each other – even if Britt is hiding a bit of herself from Zander, as soon as you see them toying with each other – finding the lightness of laughter and the heartful passion they mutually share for wicked good chocolate, you can see how they work together. He’s stepping back into their friendship as if nothing had traversed between them – as if the hours hadn’t cast a path to separate them nor if any ill will had befallen Britt. There was something hovering in the air between them though – you could sense it even without the details being disclosed. It was almost as if they were both putting on appearances for each other; not wanting to fall short in each other’s eyes nor in their impressions on how they might be accepted or rejected by each other’s opinion. The irony of course is that their friendship was such a rock solid foundation – it is hard to imagine anything pushing them apart.

Time waits for no man – never more apparent than for Zander, as soon as it is known about his recent loss of his Uncle, the police start to intervene on behalf of the case they feel isn’t quite as cut and dry as his Aunt would prefer it to be. For that matter, it isn’t kosher for Zander either nor for myself – because it had all the hallmarks of being the kind of death you’d take a more critical look at sourcing what exactly had befallen your loved one. Whenever someone breaks their patterns such as his Uncle Frank, it leads you to wander over the plausibilities – the curious way a mind can knit out an alternative demise is cautionary in of itself.

Nora has a job I personally love – she’s a historian who researches genealogies for people and it is this talent she has for getting to the truth about identities and ancestral lineage which proves to be quite handy when Zander starts to dig into his Uncle’s life. The curious bit though is how much people try to shroud from their families and how much truth lets out after they’ve passed. It is never good practice to withhold the secrets which can be undone in death. A poignant point I believed Wade was making as we delved into why Uncle Frank might have wished to hide himself in plain sight or to put another way – why would someone want to inflict any anguish in death on a nephew who felt as close to him as a son? Especially how the nephew needed such a strong impression about a good-hearted man such as Frank?

I was thankful to see the inclusions peppering back into the background of the narrative’s arc – where we are privy to journals and phone call transcripts and all the other little bits of minute details you might not have in other novels but you can find in Ms Wade’s! I like how it re-establishes the time-line but also it takes you into those smaller moments which can offer revelations of their own which other authors might overlook to include.

You truly love following in the footsteps of Britt and Zander – as their undertaking solving the mystery behind Frank’s life and death. They even show you how you can dig into a person’s back-histories if you know which searches to run on the internet and how to keep a keen eye out on the articles which went to press which might be of better use than the run of the mill varieties you can sometimes feel bogged down in whilst doing ancestral research. In many regards, the techniques Wade was highlighting in this novel are not unlike the kind you do for ancestry. The only main difference of course is how soon the dead would be investigated and how fresh the trail would be on their behalf.

I can’t help finding wicked sweet fodder of joy in Sweet on You – not only from the fact Britt is completely clueless about Zander’s feelings for her but how Wade is placing them together! If they weren’t as enthused about hunting down Uncle Frank’s lost history and the reasons why he took up residence with a family in Washington State when he was from the Mid-West – wells, let’s just say their might never had started to work on building that bridge between them! The irony of course is how they each tap danced round the obvious – how Britt jokingly would yoke Zander with the considerations of a friend who only wanted the best for her BFF but did so in such a way that gave more grief than levity to the situation!

Erstwhile in the background of their tongue-in-cheek escapades, their teasing and their intensive research – there lies a more intriguing circumstance in how to trace someone who made it an art to be left unknown! This novel has a lot of different developments inside it – especially being one half Thriller and one half Sweet Romance!! You can’t help but desire to know more than what can be readily found and hunger after knowing will two seemingly star-crossed lovers find each other? Will they even notice how well they are fitting together despite the concerns they have to the contrary!? It is almost as if both Zander and Britt wanted to outdo each other in finding ways to distract themselves from a budding attraction because of how futile that felt to two besties who didn’t want to interfere with their own history of connection. And, there’s the rub – because it is too often IRL where best friends do not realise their own worth to each other and then when they lose their chance to pursue it, whose to say a whole lifetime can’t be swallowed through the lost hours?

Nora and Willow walked back into my life as if they hadn’t been on a sabbatical awaiting Britt to reunite with Zander. In so many ways, per my recent viewings of Chesapeake Shores – this whole dynamic felt wickedly familiar – especially if you factor in how Trace and Abbey were dealing with their own mutually exclusive attraction and feelings! Why some people struggle to relate their feelings to each other is unknown but even in Signed Sealed and Delivered if Norman hadn’t finally confessed to Rita his own heart’s yearnings for her they might not ever have walked down the aisle in To the Alter. Whilst the same is equally true of Oliver and Shane – there is only so much that can be deduced by body language and the selective words you choose to describe your internal thoughts. You have to take that leap of faith step outside your comfort zone in order to risk the fact your heart could find its equal. I just wasn’t sure when Britt and Zander were going to wake up and realise this themselves! They were a bit stubborn in that regard!! Always putting everyone and everything first – never themselves and they were pros at talking themselves out of what they wanted most in their lives.

And, of course, how can I not mention my love of Britt’s special talent for making chocolate a temptation of palette with the spirit of a spice maven? The more she discussed her thoughts for new combinations of chocolate or tried to get Zander to engage with her at her chocolate shoppe – the more I hungered for a shoppe of this kind in my own community! Not that anyone needs that much chocolate on a regular basis but I do know the higher the yield when it comes to your cacao the better it is for your health (or something of that nature!). I love how you can combine the spice profiles with the concoctions involving chocolate but I also know from visiting chocolatiers that it is an art of its own to create them!

Dear heavens! When you reach that crucial point where the tides are turning, where things are not as they always had been between Zander and Britt; there is a part of you that is nearly on the edge of your seat because you dearly want this so badly for them to work out! You’ve practically took up residence in their houses and have walked alongside them to the brink that you’re either one of their siblings and/or simply the unsuspecting house guest who never left and must learn how their lives become resolved! Yet, your also on nervous pins… will they or won’t they? Whose going to break the blockage of secreting their feelings in a box? Whose going to admit it first and what will happen after they speak the words their hearts dare not reveal?

Like most wicked good romances what makes this one enjoyable is the questioning of your ideals and the choices you’re making in your life. In order to be a partner in a relationship based on equality you have to find the pacing between you and your partner; to find where you don’t feel like your losing something by being with them but the fact you’re gaining. You’re gaining the chance to walk through life with someone who loves you with the whole of their heart and of whom shares the same values you have yourself in their own life. If they share your spirituality you’re ahead of the game – a fact I think Britt overlooked but one that her sisters’ did not! (nor did I)

Wade broaches all those curious doubts and thoughts noodling away at Zander and Britt; the key problem for them is that they are old hat to each other. They have known each other so long that it has almost become a hindrance! They don’t trust their instincts round each other and they can barely see past the beauty of their friendship because they never were ones who wanted to shake up the status quo and again, that is partially what became the root of their issue.

What a nail biter! Even though I was eagerly awaiting this slow burning romance to knit together between Britt and Zander; as she’s the sister I was rooting for the most next to Nora (as they both had blokes I loved seeing matched to them!) – there was this secondary story-line which was fuelled with such high octane drama and thrilling segues of intrigue that you could barely breathe during most of the ensuing chapters of the novel once you reached the midway point! I truly loved everything Wade put into this story – except maybe the Epilogue? I felt the ending was a bit rushed – similar to the Hallmark movies I love most? You have this heart attachment to the whole affair and then, in the end, everything just feels hurried against the clock? Despite that though — seeing what becomes of Zander and Britt was well worth the wait! And, the rattled nerves!!

Realistic Fiction Overlays within Hard-hitting subjects:

→ Humbled journal entries of a tortured soul

→ Adoption, Birth Origins and Self-Identity

→ Suspicious death

I decided to have a bit of fun with the first heading of reference – mostly as I know Zander fits the bill for it but also because despite the fact he’s been tortured internally over his affection for Britt (something you couldn’t deny at any point he’s made an entrance in the series) – he has remained humbled and brutally honest (to a fault at times). He understands what his limitations are but it is how he has viewed his relationship (or lack thereof) and friendship (something he cherishes above all else) with Britt is what has defined him to me. He really is one of those rare souls who has fallen for a woman who hasn’t yet allowed herself to understand what true love is and what it represents to her in her life.

I already knew I appreciated Wade’s capacity to write realistic Contemporary stories and she continues to deliver with this installment. You immediately get caught up in the tides of where she’s leading you to traverse – to question what is known on the surface and to seek out something deeper than what can superficially be explained. This of course is implying what is motivated to become known behind the (supposed) suspicious death.

The original thread of adoption, birth origins and self-identity is re-explored through Sweet on You – carrying forward the discussion points but also expounding on them as well. That is one thing I like most about this series – how Wade can re-address something previously revealled in the series and bring everything back front to centre.

on the contemporary INSPy writing styling of becky wade:

Ms Wade places us back inside this series with such an effortless ease it feels like it hasn’t been a year since I last spent time inside this world! I first read this series last June – not that I would have recollect that fact without referring to my review on the series, as there are a few things I do not keep to mind – such as the dates I first read a story as I’d rather remember the characters and their lives if I can’t save the reading dates directly! Re-soaking into this series felt like the best timing for me to re-enter into the Bradford Romance series – my only regret, I had forgotten to borrow the novella from my library as I dearly wanted to read it before this installment. Sometimes, one’s memory can be rather wonky – especially when you factor in how many migraines I’ve had this year (6x) and consider (4x) of those were this May.

One of the treasures for me to be reading Wade’s stories is how she uses her turns of phrase – such as how a rotary phone has gravity to draw a highlight towards a particular observation early-on in the novel. She has great instincts for making her stories rooted in a contemporary world we can immediately identify by using connective observational expressions most people will recognise and see as a piece of their own lives being reflected through the Bradford Sisters Romance series. I know I have and I am dearly thankful for how she carried the continuity of this styling throughout each of the installments. You can readily identify her style as if you could hear her voicing the words aloud and through the recognition of her voice in how she says the words.

Ms Wade has charmed me dear hearts! I simply have a heart gladdened by the presence of one of her stories in my life! She knows how to tuck you into a world you never want to disappear away from and to give you that cosy comforting feeling you’re hoping to find whenever your about to reattach into a series you simply find #unputdownable due to how the heart of its characters resonates so well with your readerly sensibility.

Epistolary narratives:

Ms Wade has found the right balance between her epistolary inclusions and her streamlined dialogue – in the print edition of her books, these moments are a bit easier to unravel as we’re not listening to everything out of context, which is where the audiobook falters slightly when I first listened to Then Came You. In her print editions, I am in LOVE with these additional glimpses of insight into her characters’ lives!!

→ Text Messages

→ Phone call transcripts

→ Notes and messages from when Zander & Britt were school-aged

→ The journalled notes at the end of the chapters from Zander

What I loved most about the journalled notes were the keen insight it gave to Zander – the present and the past rolled into the mindset he once knew about himself colliding together. As you see the growth he’s undertaken personally through his travels and the success he had as a writer, you start to see the threads below the surface which are seeking to undo his resolve because at the heart of Zander is a boy he never quite believed he was meant to be loved unconditionally.

There are a lot of hidden extras threading through the texture of the novel – you can’t wait to reach them because they are insightful in of their own. Granting you a bit more information here or there, pointing you towards something you might want to know of sooner and overall, it keeps you grounded in how realistic these characters’ lives really are in comparison to our own IRL realities!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This blog tour is courtesy of: Prism Book Tours

Prism Book Tours

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Sweet On You blog tour banner provided by Prism Book ToursEnd of the Blog Tour badged provided by Prism Book ToursBy clicking this badge you can find out about the giveaway associated with the tour;
my particular tour stop doesn’t host the giveaway as I’m a review stop, however,
you’ll find many other bloggers who are hosting the information!

This book review is cross-posted to LibraryThing.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: Cover art of “Then Came You”, “The Christmas Heirloom”, “Falling for You”, “True to You” & “Sweet On You”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Becky Wade and the Prism Book Tours badge were all provided by Prism Book Tours and used with permission. The Q&A from Becky Wade was provided by the author via her Press Kit and is used with permission (per the permission given on her website). Post dividers and My Thoughts badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2019.

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Wednesday, 29 May, 2019 by jorielov in 21st Century, Adoption, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Clever Turns of Phrase, Contemporary Romance, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Family Drama, Family Life, Humour & Satire in Fiction / Non Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, INSPY Realistic Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Modern Day, Passionate Researcher, Prism Book Tours, Realistic Fiction, Romance Fiction, Siblings, Sisters & the Bond Between Them, Small Towne USA, Sweet Romance, The Writers Life, Washington, West Coast USA, Women's Fiction, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, Writing Style & Voice




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