Anyone can play along, just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title and the author, too, so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR List if they like your teaser!
My teaser: What was she doing here? Run. But she kept her feet planted and concentrated on Dustin's voice. (page 211)
Summary:
Maybe out there in the country she could catch her breath, learn to breathe again.
Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son—who he wants her to help raise—Jade’s life is turned upside down.
She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There—while her mother’s health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger—Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn’t rest on the power of her past but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.
My review: I received Softly and Tenderly from Book Sneeze in exchange for a free review. This has in no way altered view of the novel and all opinions are my own, true and true. SPOILERS!
Jade longs to begin a family with her husband, Max. But after 3 miscarriages, she is beginning to doubt. Maybe God doesn't want her to have a family. Maybe God is still punishing her. She struggles to run her two shops, help her mother-in-law, and care for her mother who is dying from cancer. When she finds out her husband has a son with another woman, she takes her mother home to die in Iowa. Will Jade ever return home?
June has had enough. When she catches her unfaithful husband in bed--in their house--with her best friend--she moves out, and heads to Iowa with Jade. June learns that maybe she doesn't understand her husband, and struggles with her life--and the past.
Reb thinks June lied to him. He loves her, but he's trying to punish her. For the one time she was unfaithful. IS Max Reb's son? He doesn't think so. He meant to hurt her, but he didn't want her to leave. Until she did. Now he has to get her back.
Max never meant to cheat before his wedding. But he did. When the woman he loved dies, he becomes a father again. Only, Jade doesn't know. And the grandparents sue for custody, Max has been dished up a lot to deal with. He must learn how to be a father and a husband. Can he get Jade to be a mother to his son?\
Ultimately, Softly and Tenderly, is about letting go of the past and not letting it define you. It's a unique story about faith, family, death, love, and life. The Bensons have a lot to learn within a year--about themselves--and each other.
