Softly & Tenderly - Sara Evans & RAchel Hauck

Maybe in the wide-open country she can 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

In Softly and Tenderly, Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck had me from the first sentence to the unexpected end! The story starts in spring in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, with Jade and her mother-in-law in a favorite old pickup along a rough road. This sets the scene for a turbulent, fast-paced novel. It seems most novels I read these days are about women and relationships, and I am not sure if it is what's out there, or what I am attracted to. Having said that, this one stands out from the rest. Many issues are covered, from barreness, to infidelity, illigemate child(ren?) to big business ethics, but all interconnected in the way life is, and through it all God's mercy is underlying and sure.

These ladies have a way of drawing in the reader with words, and I could feel the jostling of the vehicle, the anger, the pain of a loved one suffering from cancer, the hopelessness, but also the peace. The scenes came alive and when the doe and her babies jump out in front of the truck, your heart about stops together with the women in the truck. When baby Asa calls for his Mom, the heart contracts with sympathy.

The reader will be anxiously waiting for the sequel, and not all issues are resolved in this first of a series.

I received this ebook free from ThomasNelson Publishers through their Booksneeze program for the sole purpose of writing an honest review. I was not required or asked for a positive one. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.