The Southern Bride (Driftwood Bay, #3) by Lenora Worth

The Southern Bride (Driftwood Bay, #3) Reviews

• 
  Marsha Keeper Bookshelf

  
  Reviewed at Keeper Bookshelf
  
  The Southern Bride (formerly Driftwood Bride) is very much another chance romance. I can’t really say second chance because this couple have been together and broken up and gotten back together numerous times in their lives. They belong together, but neither is really ready for that forever kind of commitment until now. Call it fear or stubbornness, call it not old enough to realize what you’re tossing away when you break up so many times. Or simply call it becoming adults who finally see the reality of their lives. There are issues to be faced, decisions that might be painful to make and the certain knowledge that there really is no one else for either – so this time they simply have to make it work, forever.
  
  I enjoyed Judson and Melissa separately and together. There are definitely emotions to be felt in this story as convincing someone that you’ve changed and really mean what you say this time isn’t always an easy thing to accomplish. They’ve both grown, and wised up. This time around they could find their happy ever after and make it stick. Now Melissa has to make that final decision of risking everything for one more try. There may be heartache or there may be love forever lasting. That’s a choice only she can make.
  
  I had purchased this title as Driftwood Bride last year and without realizing that it had a title change picked it up on NetGalley. So I've both purchased and gotten this one through NetGalley.
  
  *I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
• 
  Maria

  "Received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review"
  (The Southern Bride)
  A sweet romance about childhood sweethearts with a pattern of breaking up and getting back together that finally learn with their mistakes and try a fresh new start. This was very well done, showing the growth in both characters and also the familiarity and ease that comes from being with someone who knows you well and makes you happy.
  I really liked the hero, all the feelings of inadequacy, unworthy and loneliness that make him hold back and hold the heroine away. And on top of that, the end of his rodeo career and a debilitating injury.
  Lenora Worth crafts a consistent wounded hero with a painful childhood and experiences that slowly learns to change his negative and resentful attitude towards life.
  I also liked the depiction of the family relationships and meeting characters that I already knew from previous books.
  I'm grateful to the publisher, Tule Publishing, the author, Lenora Worth, and NetGalley for providing a free copy.
• 
  Charity Bradford

  This one's been sitting in my kindle for a long time. It was a short read, and I think that hurt the storyline for me. I wanted more from the characters and their journey to their happy ever after. It felt too much like a summary. There were missed opportunities to build on this painful history that the Melissa and Judson shared. It would have been really good to see them working harder to build trust and love but they just decided to do it and then months have passed and they're engaged again.
  
  I really wanted to like this and give it a higher rating. The writing was good, but I didn't feel the emotional payoff at the end.
  
  I give it a 3.5.
  
  1-5 scale and what it means:
  1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
  2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
  3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
  3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
  4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
  4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
  5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
  
  Movie Ratings in relation to my review:
  Clean--Hallmark movies, some kissing, no nudity, no sex on or off "screen"
  PG--Some innuendo but nothing kids don't hear every day, sex is all closed door
  PG-13--some language (swear words not related to sex), more talk about sex, heavy petting, removal of clothing on screen, but sex is closed door.
  PG-14—somewhere between PG-13 and R. Not erotica, but at least a paragraph of on screen sex
  R--swearing (F bomb, on “screen” sex, sometimes feels like the whole story is about the sex and not the relationship or some other plot, but not always
• 
  Cindy Cooke

  Sweet loving story
  
  Sometimes it takes time apart to get things right. Dreams of being a rodeo star were shattered when that big bull stepped on his leg, making a compound fracture. Seeiing how her big family took care of each other when his own had nearly torn him apart was difficult at best. Walking (or running) away when things between them got difficult made it harderto come back together. But somehow, Judson and Melissa knew they were meant to be together, even when they had to fight each other to make it happen. Going slowly and building a strong and unbreakable bond takes time...there was plenty of that, just as there was plenty of healthy love all around them to show the way.
  
  I reallyenjoyed reading this story. So many things clicked at just the right time for this family to be. It was sweet without being sappy, strong and tender. Ms Worth put together a great book. Her writing talents are obvious, and the lack of grammatical errors made reading this book a treat for tnis old English teacher. Thanks for a great goodread!
• 
  Denise Vasak

  This book was just not very good. It really should have been about 50-75 pages long for all the repeated phrases/thoughts about their relationship. Ugh... it was SOOOOO repetitive. I didn't feel the connection between the main characters. They kept telling us how they're going to do it different this time and the talk about the past, but we never really get to feel it.
  
  This book really was a let down as I really enjoyed Michelle and Sam's story.
• 
  Carol

  The Southern Bride
  
  The third and final daughter, Melissa, finally gets her HEA with Judson her on and off boyfriend. Judson arrived in Florida at the end of Maddie's wedding causing the family a great deal of concern. He swears he has changed and will prove it. Judson was quite changed but kept falling backward. A near tragedy brings him to his senses and their life is set to begin as life long partners.
• 
  Sylvia Joseph

  Nice story took a bit to get the idea of what happened before and was a nice sweet ending I recommend the book for a light read .
  
  Nice well written story of sorrow Nd regaining yourself learning to live again.,interesting characters and description of land,and getting to learn take life slow and learn others feelings
• 
  Pip Snort

  Un-original
  
  I really found nothing to like about this book. The story was unrealistic, I didn't care about the characters at all and the writing wasn't terribly good. The romantic pair had issues but they were addressed obliquely and then apparently resolved which increased the unreality of the narrative.
• 
  Lupe Guzman

  Old love
  
  This is one of those books that unlike other series you need to read before, you cant cut and read the last like i did because there is a back story, enjoyed the book now im going to start from the beginning.
• 
  Sara Jo

  I got realllllly sick and tired of the constant back and forth, rehashing old wounds. I never really understood why they were trying. I get the whole healing thing, but I didn't see them as a match. I kept waiting for a different guy to come into the picture.
• 
  Ree Adams doherty

  Good
  
  I like this series, but this one seemed rushed...A lot of typos. Kind of disappointing when you have to figure around misspelled/incorrect words​.
  
• 
  Cynthia

  Great 3rd Book
  
  I love how each book carried over the chat and brought each of the sisters happiness. Melissa is finally going to get her true love.
• 
  Sue

  It was okay, it felt like it was lacking something. I like the second chance romance aspect. Not much chemistry or steaminess.
• 
  Cecly Ann

  A little like the Longest Ride without Ida and Ruth. But a good enjoyable story all the same.
• 
  Becky Hedge

  The Southern Bride
  
  Excellent book. Highly recommend this book to everyone. Excellent story line kept your interest and attention making it hard to put down.
• 
  Jenn

  Mediocre writing, not that interesting of a story. But it was clean.
• 
  Sania

  DNF
• 
  Victoria

  It is a great book to read
• 
  Nancy Williamson

  Sweet read
  
  Very nice little love story. Easy reading, entertaining. I will enjoy reading more from this Author. This looks like a nice series.