"Softly and Tenderly" by SaraEvans (with Rachel Hauck)

4 1/2 STARS!!!

About the book - 

Jade has moved from her past toward a bright future. But then the man she loves most destroys her trust.

Jade Fitzgerald's hope for a perfect marriage shatters when her husband confesses he has an illegitimate son. What’s more, he wants to raise the boy in their home.

Hurting and confused, Jade embarks on a road trip to Iowa to take her sick mother to her childhood home. In the comfort of the old homeplace, Jade struggles with her fears and the tug of her first love. With the help of her family and her faith, she comes to understand her future doesn't rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's mercy.

My Review - 
I loved this book! Its that simple. I liked the first one - "The Sweet By and By" but I thought this one was even better.
This book was really 3 stories that all comes together in the end. It is about Jade, young, newly married, and finds out her husband has a child (which he kept a secret for 2 yrs!!!). Beryl is Jade's mother, she is dieing of cancer and just wants to go home to live out her remaining days. June, Jade's Mom-in-law (whom I love) knew her husband had been cheating on her all these years, but when she literally catches him in the act, that is all she can take. The three of them decide to go on a "road trip" in Junes pink Cadillac. While taking Beryl home they all do some soul searching, and decision making, and bonding.
This book was great! If you think it sounds over the edge, well it is, but as Jade says "I married into a southern soap opera." It all just seems to fit and it all makes sense in the end, as crazy as it all sounds, I wouldn't change a thing. I am really looking forward to the third book coming out in 2012.

I read the first book - "The Sweet by and by" because I am a HUUUUUGE fan of Sara Evans' music and I was curious about her as a writer. I read the second book - "Softly and Tenderly" because the first one was pretty good. I will read the third one because I now love Sara Evans as a writer!

Thanks you Thomas Nelson Group for sending me this book to review. One of the best ones yet!