Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

Description:

 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 feels 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 anybody's husband. As a professional bull rider, he lives on the road and can't bring himself to settle down.

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 face of the one woman he couldn't forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.

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

My Opinion:

 Sometimes I just need to read a modern day book to clean out my system, and boy did this one do the job! Many of the books that I have been reading have been extremely serious lately, I loved them, but sometimes I just need a little comic relief. 

The over all plot of this book was a serious issue that many people face today. It's sad and overwhelming how many people quickly turn to divorce these days. So the over all situation was a heart breaker, but I loved how Becky put two headbutting personalities against each other to add some comedy to the story. 

Ty Porter consistently had me cracking up! Addie was adorable! Celia was hilariously odd! Not to mention the rest of their families mentioned in the story. Ty had a funny way of trying to get Celia to warm up to him, and I thought it was the cutest thing. 

Some things that I did not like were: 1) Ty's wealth. It seems to me that in almost any modern day story one of the main characters are rich! Can we have a story about two normal middle class people? 2) Celia's descriptions of Ty. Celia was always thinking about Ty's physical appearance. I know that is an important part to a relationship, but it turns into lust when mentioned to much. 3) Addie was to smart and intuitive for a 5 year old. I honestly think over half the time she was smarter than her own parents. 4) Uncle Danny. I liked the idea of him and having a caring Uncle like that. But how many surfer dude hippie 50 year old men who say the word "righteous" do we come across in the real world?

Overall, if you are looking for some laughter with and serious underlining conflict then this would be a really good pick, but be ready for some unrealistic people and situations.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

How cute is this?? Author Becky Wade and friend author Katie Ganshert had a contest to see who could do a better cover of Meant to be Mine. I personally think Katie's on the right is a slight bit better, but they both are great shots! What do you think?

Love's Awakening by Laura Frantz

Description:

The path to true love lies somewhere between two feuding families
In the spring of 1822, Ellie Ballantyne leaves finishing school and returns to the family home in Pittsburg only to find that her parents are away on a long journey and her siblings don't seem to want her to stay. Determined to stand her ground and find her place in the world, Ellie fills her time by opening a day school for young ladies.
But when one of her students turns out to be an incorrigible young member of the Turlock family, Ellie knows she must walk a fine line. Slaveholders and whiskey magnates, the Turlocks are envious of the powerful Ballantynes and suspicious of their abolitionist leanings. As Ellie becomes increasingly entangled with the rival clan--particularly the handsome Jack Turlock--she finds herself falling in love with an impossible future. Will she betray her family and side with the enemy?

My Opinion:

This book was good but not as great as I thought it would be. I liked many things about it, but on the other hand I was also annoyed by other aspects.

I felt like the "misunderstood" younger daughter and "rude" older sister roles were repeated from the first book in the series. I expected a little more diversity in the personalities of the characters. I also thought it was odd how the Ballantynes and Turlocks were "mortal enemies", but yet it was so easy for the Ballantynes to lay disagreements and differences aside so quickly. Ellie and Jack basically HATE each other for most of the book, but then unannounced they both have a change of heart and are confessing each others love for one another. I was a little lost, wondering if I might have by accident skipped a part in the book where they actually became close, but I didn't.

I did however like how Laura brought Jack's good qualities to light in the book. The Turlocks' were known to be heartless human beings, including Jack, and for a little bit I actually believed it. As I read I realized that those assumptions were completely farce. He had a soft side for his little sister and though he acted like he didn't like helping out runaway slaves, you realize that that is also an act. Jack had such a kind heart, it had just been abused by his parents and so he felt nonredeemable.

Altogether, this book was good, but it's not one that I would jump up and down for.

Rating: 3 Stars