Into the Fire

Uneasy Street by Becky Wade is the conclusion to A Sons of Scandal Romance trilogy.

Becky Wade fans know that if you want sparks-flying romance, you pick up any one of her novels. I've said it before, and I'm saying it again, Becky knows romance. She's one of the few romance novelists I read because she doesn't pull punches when it comes to the feel of romance.

Max Cirillo is the scandalous/illegitimate son of a famous football player (Felix Camden) via his liaison with his housekeeper who had become friends with his wife Fiona. Fiona was the wife of Felix at the time and the mother of their two sons Jeremiah (Book 1) and Jude (Book 2). The three boys became true friends in spite of it all. 

Max is all man and gained his ridiculously good looks from his dad and mom with her Greek heritage.

Sloane and Max met in college and eventually started a company they called Libris. Their friendship propelled them to devote themselves to it through hard work, hard times, and sheer determination. When a critical meeting came up, Sloane was supposed to address the attendees but had to cancel at the very last minute. Max filled in but wasn't prepared because he trusted Sloane to be the best. That singular event caused a terrible rift that led to Sloane's moving from her residence in Maine to California where she was able to re-establish herself as an etiquette expert while Max regrouped to make the company and himself fabulously wealthy. 

Sloane had a sister (Harper) who relinquished her daughter (Ivy) through adoption, and "Auntie Sloane" was able to keep a close relationship with the child and her adoptive parents. Ivy is now a young teenager and is able to spend time with Sloane while her parents are away overseas on business. Ivy has known Max most of her life, but neither she nor Sloane know that the cozy apartment above a garage next to a beautiful mansion Sloane remembers from her childhood that she and Harper called the "Prince House" is owned by none other than her now "enemy" Max Cirillo. 

Needless to say, there are lots of fireworks – and not the good kind – from the start of their "reunion."

There are several subplots in this final story which all come together in unique ways and finally lead to a depth of understanding that neither Sloane nor Max realized was necessary to change their perceptions of each other and themselves from the inside out.

A few readers didn't care for Max. I loved him. Underneath that rakish exterior was a man who was empty and lost. I was more inclined not to care for Sloane. She grew on me as she grew to understand herself. I could forgive her when she'd calm down and look deep to see how she was scarred and why she still carried them like a shield. There's something very beautiful about a man who finally succumbs to loving a woman. Becky captures the process perfectly. 

It's a good conclusion to the trilogy and probably my favorite. Low-key Christianity surfaces toward the end. 

Father, you know all things about what Becky needs for her writing. Please supply them in abundance and bless her and her family in their lifeworks. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.