"My Stubborn Heart" by Becky Wade - an inspiring romance

Becky Wade's debut novel pits a bubbly, persistent Texan against a reclusive ex-hockey player. Kate Donovan needs a break from her joyless job and tiring life as a single woman, so she joins her grandmother in renovating the old family home in Pennsylvania. Helping with renovations is Matt Jarreau, a man who lost his career and sweet, beautiful, Miss America wife in one fell swoop. Kate is determined to help him, no matter how stubborn he is, but the trouble with being his friend is that she wants to be so much more to him. While God has sanctioned her helping him heal, she's very afraid he has not sanctioned a romantic relationship . . .

My Stubborn Heart will speak to any woman who has grown up knowing that out there somewhere God has been preparing The One - the man they're going to marry. But it will really speak to those who have known it and are waiting . . . and waiting . . . and losing hope that they will ever marry and raise a family, because the years are passing and he just isn't showing up. 

For all the serious pain and hurt in this book, there is a lot of humor. Kate's view of life tends toward optimism, quirkiness, and seeing things a little differently than most people, and thus her viewpoint tends to be be pretty funny. She describes the garage sale as "the day one man's trash would become another man's trash." (So true. But it feels like treasure for a while anyway.)


Right away in the beginning of the novel, the author wrote a line that hit me hard. "The hardest and the truest thing was the supremacy of God's will, which meant that no matter how hard she prayed for a husband and a family, she wasn't guaranteed that she'd ever receive what she asked for." (39). Keep knocking, keep asking, don't give up--we hear those words all the time. It's all over the bible--the woman pestering the judge for justice until he grants it, the man bugging his friend in the night for food, ask and it shall be given. But God still won't necessarily grant it. His plans are not our plans. It's hard. And it's really hard to have hope in those situations, especially the longer they drag on without change.

Both humorous and covering some tough subjects, My Stubborn Heart is an encouragement in hope, healing, and God's perfect timing - a novel to inspire both laughter and tears. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars!