Rocky Road

Sons of Scandal, Book 2

By: Becky Wade

Narrated by: Reba Buhr, Ryan Hudson

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Christy Award Hall of Fame Author

FBI Agent Jude Camden handles every aspect of his job with by-the-book professionalism. There's no reason why his latest assignment—which calls for him to pose as the boyfriend of perfumer Gemma Clare—should be any different.

Except Gemma is different. She's creative, bold, and feisty. And as soon as she meets Jude, she wants to loosen him up, wrinkle his perfect shirts, and test every ounce of his towering self-control.

The FBI has an iron-clad rule against romances between those working together on operations. Jude's never met a rule he didn't respect. But adhering to this one is going to be tough because, as time goes by, he finds Gemma more and more irresistible.

Buckle up! It's going to be a rocky road.

Escape to Maine for this swoon-worthy "fake romance"! Banter, humor, perfume, and a mystery from the past intertwine in this sweet Sons of Scandal love story.

©2024 Rebecca Wade (P)2024 Rebecca Wade

Wholesome

Loved it beginning to end! I hope more books are coming in this series. Will definitely reread this series.

Much Better!!!

4.5 STARS

I enjoyed Rocky Road a lot more than I did Memory Lane. Wade infused this one with a lot more inspirational and Christian content, which was pleasing and much appreciated. She always plots a great narrative, has engaging dialogue, and these characters had some good growth occur. I'm really looking forward to Max's story. Again, the narrators were excellent and that added to the enjoyment of the story greatly. I purchased an audio copy and was not required to write a review.

A True & Worthy Hero

Wow! To be honest, I have loved every book written by Becky Wade, but this one is right up there in the favorites pile!

Everything about Jude speaks to me - his honor, his bravery, his tender heart, his unwillingness to compromise the truth. I love how, in spite of his absolute reserve, he accepted and played along with Gemma’s crazy stories about him to her family!

Gemma is a delightful contradiction to him in so many ways. I love how, in spite of her initial aversion to working with an FBI agent, she also chose wisdom and courage in the face of hard decisions. I love her intensity and forthrightness.

I love how each of them found stronger faith in times of trouble.

I love their families who, in spite of a multitude of imperfections, are 100% committed to love and support one another (much like my own family)!

I also was listening to the Audible version in between reading on my kindle, and it truly was delightful — so very well narrated and the characterizations so well portrayed.

I very highly recommend this book, this series, and everything written by Becky Wade.

Good to hear Jude’s story

I loved getting to know more of the family back story of the Camdens. Seeing Jude come to know that he must humble himself before the King of Heaven. This is another of Becky’s great stories!

Sizzling, opposites attract, inspirational romance

“Turned out that the intimate, fleeting seconds of their kiss had been stellar seconds. Like the seconds when you’re chewing a chocolate truffle or breathing in the perfect fragrance or sinking into a bubble bath.”

This quote is the perfect description of Becky Wade’s Rocky Road. It’s a delicious comfort read on a cold winter day. I devoured this book and loved every minute of Jude’s & Gemma’s story. It’s an opposites attract, fake relationship, sensory delight with Jude’s love of chocolate and butterflies and Gemma’s gift for creating perfumes even “the nose” loves. Not only is their love story a swoon worthy, sizzling just under the surface delight, but there’s a hint of suspense as well as the mystery of Gemma’s great grandma’s love story.

Jude’s a handsome, strait laced, serious FBI agent who’s after an international criminal. To nab the would be perfume formula thief, he calls on the thief’s cousin Gemma who’s a perfumer and owns her own shop. He wants to pose as Gemma’s boyfriend in order to get close to her cousin Cedric. Their meet cute is hilarious. From there, the chemistry between the two opposites only grows stronger with the energetic, spontaneous, impetuous Gemma and the neat and tidy, rule following Jude. I secretly loved the part where Gemma rumples his shirt or persuades him to eat rocky road ice cream beyond his one serving of chocolate a day.

I loved the progression of their relationship and the depth to each character. Gemma loves big and not only desires to help Jude, but is invested in helping her great grandmother with Alzheimer’s remember her love story. Jude is a care taker who cared for his mother when her world fell apart. Behind that quiet reserve, there’s a passionate heart just waiting to be unfurled. I love the way Gemma got under his skin and helped him embrace life more fully. I also enjoyed the touch of faith woven throughout the story.

One of the joys of this series is the rich side characters. It was so fun seeing Remy & Jeremiah again as well as Wendell & Marisol. I’m also hopelessly invested in Fiona and Burke, and Max finding true love. I also loved getting to know Gemma’s family and her great grandmother’s WWII epic romance.

It’s a delightful slow burn romance enhanced by the complex, well drawn characters. Even though this could be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading Memory Lane first to really get a feel for and understanding of all the characters. I also highly recommend the audiobook version. The narrators were absolutely fantastic. I loved the dual narration and the way both narrators brought these characters to life. I received an advanced complimentary copy of the ebook from the author but also purchased the audiobook. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.

worth the credit

Rocky Road is second in Sons of Scandal series. I liked the main characters in this book much more than the character from Memory Lane. I found it worth the credit.

So much fun!

I laughed (that meet-cute!!), I swooned (Jude!!), I cried (Fiona!!)
And I had So.Much.Fun. reading this book! I cannot get enough of heroines who ruffle the hero's feathers. It's SO endearing! (iykyk!) I found myself laughing throughout the story and, honestly, that's one of my favorite parts of reading - when the author makes me laugh. I enjoyed Gracie's love story and was delighted with one detail in particular in her history. I am incredibly invested in Fiona reconciling with her sister and so that storyline continues to touch my heart. The faith elements in this one were spot on and I think will speak to many readers. There is so much to love about this story and I cannot recommend it enough!

Wonderful!

I’ve known for awhile that readers can’t miss with a Becky Wade romance, but this one is the very best of all. The characters were so fun, the situation intriguing, and the ending was exhilarating. And the narrators were sublime! Five stars!