A review by bellesmoma2021
Rocky Road by Becky Wade

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rocky Road by Becky Wade is my new favorite book. I adored every single second of this delightful read. What I enjoyed the most is the humor. Gemma is one of the funniest heroines I’ve read in a long time. She is so smart and intelligent and witty. I fully enjoyed her verbal sparring with Jude, and loved how quickly she could come up with the most outlandish stories. It really made the undercover/fake-dating scenarios some of the best scenes in the book. All of the characters in this story are super endearing, and I wanted to give most all of them a great big hug. The women in Gemma’s family are the BEST. Gracie, Gemma’s 102-year old great-grandmother, has a poignant and sweet, but very relatable, side story that added beautiful depth to the storyline. I enjoyed going on the journey with Gemma to solve Gracie’s romance mystery. Collette, Gemma’s feisty, bossy, and boozy grandmother is superb. What a spitfire! I loved her character so much. Then there is Simone, Gemma’s sweet but cowed-by-life mother. My heart hurt for Gemma’s mommy. What I loved so much about Gemma’s family is how supportive and accepting and loving they are of one another. They are always there for each other no matter what. Next up, Jude…best hero ever! He is so put together and smart and calm. He is the perfect cool-as-a-cucumber to Gemma’s bright-and-bubbly-but-slightly-spastic personality. What I love the best about Jude is his innate need to take care of others. Jude is a selfless protector who would literally jump in front of a bullet if it meant saving someone’s life. Jude is my favorite kind of swoony hero! In addition to the awesome humor and the great characters, I also really loved Wade’s discussion on fear. Fear stinks. It gets inside of you and tries to take over. It’s insidious. But fear is nothing. Sure, we need to be smart and thoughtful and cautious, but we shouldn’t let fear rule our lives. When it does, fear robs us of all the great and good things God has in store for us — friendships, romances, and memorable life experiences. My favorite moment in this story is when Gemma makes the decision to not let fear rule her life. It’s such a great moment!

Rocky Road is going down as one of my top-ten reads of 2024. I love this story so much, and highly, highly recommend it. If you’re a fan of excellently-written Contemporary Romances with heart and depth then this is the book for you!

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on February 13, 2024, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.