A review by reneesmith
Sweet on You by Becky Wade

5.0

I love all of Becky Wade’s books & Sweet On You is no exception. This novel focuses on the enduring friendship of Zander, who has loved candy-maker Britt since elementary school, and Britt, who has been Zander’s champion, companion, and protector over the years.

Their story is charming, sweetly romantic, inspirational, and real. The plot touches lightly on the wrongs and heartbreaks of this world—adults ruined by addictions, greed, and crime, and the neglected children who pay the price into adulthood. But the answers provided are simple and true:

“The God I’ve come to lean on understands me better than I understand myself. Ultimately, His timing was perfect.”

“I survived because I let God carry me through it . . . Here’s what I know for sure: You can rely on Him in the hard as well as in the easy. If He leads you into something hard, then He’ll provide the grace you need to bear up under it.”

I enjoyed the interactions of all the characters in Zander & Britt’s world. Though flawed, they are also big-hearted, loyal, wise, and funny. I wish my visit with them could have been even longer!

I can’t wait to add a copy to my classroom library, because my student readers value Becky Wade books as much as I do!

Entertaining, uplifting & satisfying! Don’t miss this great read!

Thanks so much to NetGalley & Bethany House for the opportunity to read this book.

Quotes I like . . .

“He had been unfaithful, and if God operated on human rules of fairness, then he would have no right to ask God anything. God would have every right to turn away and shut His ears to his pleas. But against all odds and all comprehension, God didn’t operate on human rules. He’d trampled fairness when He’d sanctioned the most unfair act of history—the crucifixion. Because of that, he had been made right with God. He was God’s son. A son full of mistakes. But a son, nonetheless.”

“His unfaithfulness couldn’t negate God’s faithfulness. Faithfulness was inseparable from God’s character.”

“Joy—deep, simple joy—pulled his mouth into a grin. He opened his arms and caught her with an oomph. Then he spun her around in the air twice. Carefully, he set her back on her feet, steadying her the way he always had emotionally. She hugged him tight, pressing the side of her face against his chest for several long moments.”

“And just like that, standing in the middle of Merryweather Historical Village and looking into her face without continents separating them, the biggest part of his soul—the part that had been missing for a year and a half—locked back into place.”

“Zander had a romantic, slightly heartbreaking, usually serious face. He could pass as either an nineteenth-century poet or one of those harshly handsome vampires from Twilight.”

“When you prayed for something every day and heard nothing but silence for more than a decade, it ground down your hope like corn into cornmeal. Zander had begun to wonder if God could still be good while denying him the one thing he’d prayed for most. Could he depend on a God who refused to give him what he’d waited years for? The right answer was yes. God was still good. God was still dependable. However, disillusionment had driven a wedge into his relationship with God. What had once been simple was now complicated.”

“I’ve traveled all over the world searching for things. Freedom. Experiences I can collect like shells from a beach. Culture. History. Learning. Writing inspiration. The more I search the world, the more certain I am that the person I love the most is right where I began. Everything I truly want can be found in my own hometown.”

“The love he’d extended to her was a sacred trust. She needed to handle it with extreme care. His parents’ love hadn’t proven trustworthy. He’d just lost his uncle. She absolutely had to prove herself dependable in this situation. In fact, she wanted to prove herself to be better than dependable. She wanted to make up for the pain she’d caused him in the past.”