Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade
Bethany House Publishers, April 29, 2014

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 seems to feel 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 her husband. He’s a professional bull rider, he lives on the road, and he’s long planned to settle down with the hometown girl he’s known since childhood.

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 eyes of the woman he couldn’t forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.

How much will Ty sacrifice to win back Celia’s trust and prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime?

So I became a Becky Wade fan after reading first Undeniably Yours and then My Stubborn Heart. I loved both books, so I have been looking forward to reading her latest one. In this book we meet Ty Porter, the brother of  Bo Porter from Undeniably Yours. Ty’s leading lady is Celia Park, a girl who’s had a thing for him since high school. When they reconnect after college resulting in a Vegas marriage, Ty realizing he’s done something really dumb, leaves a heartbroken Celia.

Celia, as the heroine has a real personality, she’s quick witted, sarcastic, loyal (almost to a fault), she loves fiercely and is determined to make a life for herself and her little girl. She loves baking, colour and nicks knacks around the house. She has held a torch for Ty since high school and when he thought she finally got the guy he trampled all over her heart. So she took her manged heart and made a life for herself and her little girl, put up walls and made sure she kept her promise of never seeing Ty again. Until Ty walked back into her life, after realizing he had much to apologize for. Begrudgingly she lets him into her daughter’s life and slowly into her own still attracted heart.

When Ty works out that Celia still hates him, he can understand. When he works out that he has a daughter, he gets really mad. He then spends most of his time getting to know his little girl and trying to ignore his still there attraction to Celia. Ty is a charming and yes, I’ll say it – a sexy hero. He uses his charm, wit and good looks to his best advantage. In short he knows Celia returns the attraction he feels, so he pushes her buttons and he does a great job of it. The banter between these two characters is great to see. They have chemistry, but Ty is still (at least at the start of the novel) trying to win back Tawny, his high school sweetheart and the girl everyone in Holley, Texas thinks Ty will end up with.

Why is it the women the guys in books often want to settle down with first, don’t seem to have much personality? They seem bland, pretty, but bland. This is what Tawny is. Intimidatingly pretty to Celia, but there appears to be not hint of a real personality underneath the good looks. Celia may not be the poster girl kind of knockout that Tawny is, but her own good looks and ripper of a personality more than make up for her insecurities around Tawny.

There will be readers out there who won’t like this book. It’s Christian fiction and Ty and Celia find themselves growing more dependent and closer to God, but there is stuff in here that will put some readers off. The beginning features alcohol and lust (nothing described) and it gets sorted after the first chapter. There is a lot of kissing in this book and some scenes involving medication abuse. For those who have read Becky Wade before, her pushing the Christian boundaries is something she does well. I for one love it and I can’t wait to read more from her!

Well done Becky!

Jess

Jess is a mum of two children and married to the calmest man alive. She loves to bake and go for walks. A writer of contemporary romance, Jess write stories about the heart and where love is worth the journey.