My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks her to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.

Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man hired to renovate the house. Kate can’t help being attracted to him, drawn by both his good looks and something else she can’t quite put her finger on. He’s clearly wounded—hiding from people, from God, and from his past. Yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light…whether he likes it or not.

When the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

 

My Stubborn Heart is a stand-alone novel by Becky Wade, and was the only book I hadn’t yet read by her, so when I had some time to just pick out random books I wanted to read from the library, I immediately went to this one. And, I’m SO glad I did, because this book is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!! I was hooked from the very first page and it was so extremely difficult to put it down because I absolutely had to know what was going to happen! And I have to say, I definitely didn’t see things unfolding the way that they did! It was a good surprise, but I was surprised nonetheless.

Kate Donovan is such a sweet character. I loved her from the very beginning of this book, and I loved her even more by the time I made it to the end. She is so kind and adorable and works so hard to help Matt through his pain, and I couldn’t help admiring her for that because he could be a pain sometimes. But through it all she continued to want what was best for him and to listen to God’s leading through the whole situation, which was also very admirable. I don’t want to tell you what she did near the end so that I don’t spoil the story, but it took serious guts and I can’t believe she was able to obey the Lord rather than follow what her heart was feeling. If I hadn’t already been crazy proud of her by that point, her actions near the end would have sealed the deal.

Matt Jarreau is AMAZING!!! Let me just say, some of the girls in this novel had major crushes on this handsome, brooding, ex-I’m-not-going-to-tell-you-what-he-did-but-it’s-pretty-cool guy, and I could completely understand why they were feeling that way. Even though he doesn’t seem to be the sweetest man at the beginning of this novel, he proves himself to be beyond wonderful as you get to know him better, and I can’t imagine a better hero for this story.

All in all, I love, Love, LOVED this book, and I’m already dying to read it again. Becky did a fantastic job of pulling this story together, and I can’t get enough of the unexpected, yet perfect, way she wrote the ending. I can’t imagine giving this novel anything other than all five bookshelves, especially since it’s already on my all-time favorites list, and let me just say, I can’t even tell you how ready I am for Becky to come out with another book.

Happy reading!

To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party page.

All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Becky Wade and Bethany House Publishers.