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kanejim57's review
5.0
"'Love keeps no record of wrong,' Jade, if I recall Scripture accurately."
"And 'Thou shall not commit adultery,' if I recall Scripture accurately," Jade shot back.
With an unforgettable opening scene of shocking betrayal, Sara Evans along with Rachel Hauck, bring us back to Whisper Hollow, Tennessee and the life and times of Jade Fitzgerald Benson, whose tumultous story Evans and Hauck sketched for us in the first novel of this series, The Sweet By and By.
Softy and Tenderly picks up the now married Jade and, along with her husband, Max, father-in-law Reb and mother-in-law June, and Jade's dying mother, Beryl, and toss them, and us, into a maelstrom of pain, betrayal, and faith as they navigate a series of personal revelations that drive Jade and June to Iowa as a way of gaining distance and perspective as well as taking Beryl home to die.
Well written, emotionally powerful, and fast paced in theme and style, and published by Thomas Nelson, Softly and Tenderly takes the reader into the heart of relationships, the choices we make, the things we hide, and the fallout that is sometimes made public and their cumulative effect on our level and ability to trust in our most imtimate of all relationships - marriage.
What I appreciate about this book is the simple honesty with which faith is brought into the story as a way of successfully coping and overcoming the heartache of infidelity as well as mistrust and personal disappointment without it appearing "preachy." And the memorable scenes and characters of the book are another delight and I think that Sara has done a great job with deepening them in this second book.
If you enjoyed The Sweet By and By you will love Softly and Tenderly.
And I am very much looking forward to Love Lifted Me as well!
This book, and I think this series, would make a great reading club selection and I think that late High School and early adult women would enjoy it as well.
On my unofficial offical rating scale of 1 (poor) through 5 (great) I rate this as a 5. It is a great read!
Note: I received a free copy of this book to review as part of Thomas Nelson's blogger review program, Booksneeze in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.
"And 'Thou shall not commit adultery,' if I recall Scripture accurately," Jade shot back.
With an unforgettable opening scene of shocking betrayal, Sara Evans along with Rachel Hauck, bring us back to Whisper Hollow, Tennessee and the life and times of Jade Fitzgerald Benson, whose tumultous story Evans and Hauck sketched for us in the first novel of this series, The Sweet By and By.
Softy and Tenderly picks up the now married Jade and, along with her husband, Max, father-in-law Reb and mother-in-law June, and Jade's dying mother, Beryl, and toss them, and us, into a maelstrom of pain, betrayal, and faith as they navigate a series of personal revelations that drive Jade and June to Iowa as a way of gaining distance and perspective as well as taking Beryl home to die.
Well written, emotionally powerful, and fast paced in theme and style, and published by Thomas Nelson, Softly and Tenderly takes the reader into the heart of relationships, the choices we make, the things we hide, and the fallout that is sometimes made public and their cumulative effect on our level and ability to trust in our most imtimate of all relationships - marriage.
What I appreciate about this book is the simple honesty with which faith is brought into the story as a way of successfully coping and overcoming the heartache of infidelity as well as mistrust and personal disappointment without it appearing "preachy." And the memorable scenes and characters of the book are another delight and I think that Sara has done a great job with deepening them in this second book.
If you enjoyed The Sweet By and By you will love Softly and Tenderly.
And I am very much looking forward to Love Lifted Me as well!
This book, and I think this series, would make a great reading club selection and I think that late High School and early adult women would enjoy it as well.
On my unofficial offical rating scale of 1 (poor) through 5 (great) I rate this as a 5. It is a great read!
Note: I received a free copy of this book to review as part of Thomas Nelson's blogger review program, Booksneeze in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.
crimk's review
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kdurham2's review
5.0
A wonderful sequel that lives up to the first book and even more! After reading the first book, I was hestitant because I loved it in so many ways - can the second live up to how much I loved the first. It did and even more, it made me excited that there are rumored to be two more books in this series.
As the first book centers solely around Jade, the main character, I think the strong suit for this book was to share the central focus on Jade, her mother and her mother-in-law. Each of these three women had a journey in this book and there were similarities in each of their struggles. The reader was able to get to go both mother figures in a deeper way - some of the story was even told from their perspective.
A wonderfully heartfelt book that made me cry as I journeyed through the days with all three women. I am calling this the perfect series to curl up with this winter. The third book will be arriving early after the new year, I will definitely be looking for it.
As the first book centers solely around Jade, the main character, I think the strong suit for this book was to share the central focus on Jade, her mother and her mother-in-law. Each of these three women had a journey in this book and there were similarities in each of their struggles. The reader was able to get to go both mother figures in a deeper way - some of the story was even told from their perspective.
A wonderfully heartfelt book that made me cry as I journeyed through the days with all three women. I am calling this the perfect series to curl up with this winter. The third book will be arriving early after the new year, I will definitely be looking for it.
reneesmith's review
5.0
In this second installment of the Evans/Hauck collaboration, Jade’s troubles increase. Now she must deal with a dying mother, hurting mother-in-law, unfaithful husband, and temptation in the form of an old love from her past. This book was a page-turner. However, I would’ve liked to see a more joyful outcome, but I’m not ready to give up on Jade yet! I know I’ll be checking out whatever comes next in her world. I just can’t help but want healing and happiness for her!
beachbookbabe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
plettr's review
2.0
The more I think about this book, the sadder I get. I think that it had a lot of potential to show how much strength can be gained by walking with Christ, how some things are morally wrong and that there are consequences to actions.
Everyone in this book was a cheater (Max sleeps with an ex a week before his wedding, but that's no biggie because they weren't married yet.... (Uh, NO! That's not how that works.) Jade's mother-in-law cheated on her husband 9 months before Max was born, and Jade's father-in-law is a serial cheater. Even Jade is caught kissing her ex-husband.
Fine, have that in the book, but then please explain that cheating is wrong in every situation. That everyone is hurt by cheating (both partners). And have genuine repentance for the wrongs.
I wished this book had a statisfying conclusion. Perhaps the 3rd book in the series will provide that. Fingers Crossed!
akgantz's review
3.0
I enjoyed the story and I like the meaning and thought behind it but it was missing details. It wasn't as discriptive as I would have liked. The character's could have used more depth to make them more life-like. I'm not sure if I will read another book by this author.
pixieauthoress's review
4.0
I'm not entirely sure how to rate this book. While the characters were very believable, there was so much drama that this book almost felt like a soap opera. Despite that, I was constantly wondering how I would react if I were in Jade or June's situation and I felt like I was making decisions right along with the characters. 7/10
hezann73's review
3.0
This one didn't grab me as much as the first. It was much more preachy and Jade was much less likeable. The last bit of the book really got to me though, I cried and immediately reserved the next title from the library.