Sara Evans (2) (1971–)

Jade Benson is happily married to Max and runs two upscale 'thrift' type stores. She longs to begin a family of her own but has only been faced with miscarriages. Max seems to be very supportive and continues to encourage Jade about how much he wants a son of his own. Jade's world is turned upside down when the truth comes out that he already has a son by his ex-fiance. A secret that he and his mother have kept from her for the last 18 months. She has dealt with Max's addiction, the guilt of show more an abortion and the impending death of her mother and now this. So Jade decides to give her mother her dying wish. To take her home to her farmhouse in Iowa. Max's mother comes along and they make it a girls road trip in a pink caddy. Jade feels like some space between her and max will give her some room to breath. The problem is her first love and ex-husband, Dustin is there and is willing to supply all the comfort she needs. But as the end of her mother's days draw near, Jade questions her new found faith and tries to deal with the guilt of hating her mother for so many years. Is Jesus really who he says he is? Is He truly strong enough to help her through this mass of issues?

WOW! This was not at all what I was expecting when I picked up Softly and Tenderly. I guess I was thinking it would be a sweet southern type story but what a grand surprise I had! This is a story loaded with human emotion. Jade was a such complex character who was dealing with lots of baggage not only from her growing up years but because she was married before and had had an abortion. Max was a great guy who I think truly loves Jade but he also deals with baggage of his own. His own family's problems, his addiction to pain killers and a secret he's keeping from his wife. I reeled with emotion as these characters dealt with very difficult issues. I cringed when Jade and her mother-in-law caught her father-in-law in an 'indiscretion'. I felt my heart wrenching as Jade finds out that her husband has a son already by someone she also counted as a friend. I was afraid was I saw Jade leaning her heart toward her first love. I wept as Jade slowly said goodbye to her mother. I hoped as I saw that maybe something hopeful would come out of all this trauma. If you like an emotionally charged story where the characters are truly flawed and realistic, then this is the story for you. My only complaint was when I got to the back of the book and it said that the next installment isn't due out until winter of 2012. That's a long time to wait because the story did leave you hanging! A thank you goes to Booksneeze for providing this complimentary review copy. show less

This was a cute, heart wrenching, and mildly predictable but still enjoyable christian romance. Country singer, Sara Evans, and Rachel Hauck team up to write this sappy, endearing novel about redemption, heart break, and true love. Jade has an ugly past. Her parents all but abandoned her and her brother and sister and let their grandmother raise them while she was off living vicariously from man to man. When Jade turns sixteen she secretly marries her high school sweetheart only to have her show more heart broken. Now in her thirties and engaged, Jade begins to have doubts. Can she ever leave the past in the past? Confide in her fiance? Forgive her hippie mother? Find Jesus?

For a Christian romance I was impressed. It wasn't overly Godly and the characters had real, relatable flaws. show less

First off, let me say I am a huge fan of Sara Evans and recall seeing her in concert while she was pregnant with one of her daughters, I'm pretty sure it was when she was opening for Brad Paisley.
The first half of the book was excellent, and I felt a deeper connection with her as I am an Illinois farmer's daughter myself and I married a farmer from a county over where I grew up. This book further strengthened my belief she is very sweet and very down to earth and the proof is provided in the show more pages of this book.
Honestly though, I could have done without the whole second half of this book. When I read a memoir, I am not interested in someone's input on how to live life and she gave a bunch of advice, and quite often repetitive.
It also stopped going in chronological order at one point, jumping from getting married to her second husband to having babies with her first husband, making it a whole jumbled up mess of her life.
Overall, it was enjoyable enough. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to give an honest review. show less

I am having a bit of trouble with this one. Oh, no, it's nothing bad with the book. In fact, I loved the book. Just like I love The Sweet By and By. What I'm having a hard time with is this: is it better than The Sweet By and By or just as good??? I am leaning toward better. Sara and Rachel just have a bond that blends perfectly when it comes to writing the novels for the Songbird series. Their talent screams for the Lord and flows through their words.

Jade and Max are back and happily show more married. Or so Jade thought. But what happens when Max throws a twist in her life: a son that he wants her to help raise. Wow. She wanted a family but I don't think she wanted it quite THAT way. It was really an interesting twist to the story. It captured me and held me til the end, that much is for certain! I loved the roller coaster ride that it took me on, as Jade dealt with that struggle, along with many more struggles along the way.

The moral of this story was similar to the message in The Sweet By and By, but it spoke volumes to me, just the same. This is a chick lit novel that really captures, not just the hearts of the readers but the souls, too. The souls are pulled in and twisted and turned along with Jade, Max and all the other amazing characters along the way. The message of God's love and trusting in Him completely to lead the way is amazing. When Jade had to think long and hard on raising a child that wasn't hers biologically, it really wrenched my heart. But, God's love for is always tender and He speaks so softly to our souls and hearts, that I had came to love the child like Jade did: Softly and Tenderly.

This was an absolutely amazing book. It is one that is a fast, capturing read, and worthy of recommendations. I give this read 5 stars and can't wait for book 3!!

*This book was provided for review through NetGalley and Thomas Nelson* show less