This book had me hooked in no time! I was hesitant about it, but my doubts were quickly corrected. The main characters are all super loveable. Obviously, Gemma and Jude take the cake. Gemma's family will have you wishing they were yours. I feel like there were so many fun elements of the story: family drama/secrets celebrity drama, FBI cases, fake dating, forbidden romance, Maine life, NYC life...and more! I definitely do recommend this one if you're looking for a fun, swoony read!

#BookReview : ROCKY ROAD by Becky Wade

While I enjoyed Memory Lane, I love this book more. The grumpy-sunshine trope is not new but Jude and Gemma did it so well! I can just imagine Jude in his crisp clothing and Gemma with her eyes sparkling in mischief at Jude. They just made me laugh and cry with them. Oh, it would have been better if I could just smell the scents through Gemma’s words! They sounded so good.

I have truly enjoyed all the characters in this book. Gemma’s family is different but they care for each other deeply. I enjoyed Jude’s interactions with Jeremiah and Max.

This book had a little bit of everything I could ask for in a book. It was a delightful blend of heartwarming romance, faith, family drama, and a dash of mystery and suspense.It kept me guessing and engaged. I can’t wait to read Max’s story next.

Rating: 5 ⭐
Series: Sons of Scandal Series, Book 2
Pub date: 14 Feb 2024

Thank you to the author and #netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

When I first met FBI Agent Jude Camden in Memory Lane, I could not wait for his story! Jude displays the utmost integrity and follows all the rules as he prepares for his upcoming assignment as “fake boyfriend” to perfume designer Gemma Clare. From the very beginning we see these 2 definitely have chemistry. I love how their friendly banter draws them together, and also makes it harder for them to differentiate their “fake dating” from the underlying feelings they develop for one another.

I also enjoyed the background story of Gemma helping her great grandmother uncover her lost memories of her own love story years ago. Rocky Road is an enjoyable sequel in the story of the Sons of Scandal.

I received an ARC from the author for early review. The opinion expressed is my own.

Such a fun, sweet story! If you're looking for a clean, light, romantic read with a hint of mystery, look no further. Becky Wade has done it again with the second book in her Sons of Scandal series.
Even before the title of this book was announced, I was eagerly anticipating it. Jude grabbed my attention in book one, and he sure didn't let me down. While a lot of readers will probably fall for him, I just appreciated having a character I could relate to (uptight, organized, workaholic . . . LOL). He's a Darcy-style character in all the best ways.
And Gemma was such a fun character! She wasn't who I expected after reading the blurb-she was better. All of the characters in this novel sparkled. And I'm particularly interested in Max's upcoming story now.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Clean! Plenty of sweet romance, a little bit of tension/violence (due to the MMC's job in the FBI). Mentions of affairs, scandals, etc. (I mean, it's in the series title), but all handled tactfully and from a Christian perspective.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this novel. A positive review was not required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This was super sweet! If you like the fake dating trope, I highly recommend checking this one out!

Even though it’s the second book in the series, it doesn’t give any spoilers (aside from knowing who ends up together) from the first book: Memory Lane.

Rocky Road is set in coastal Maine but you do a little traveling to NYC and there are French influences as well. Along the way you encounter FBI agents, perfume makers (I forgot the correct word), family secrets (I won’t say it here and spoil it, but it’s a good one), and a whole family of eccentric redheads!

Huge Thank You to Becky Wade, NetGalley, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Another fun one from Becky Wade. I always look forward to her new releases, and this one did not disappoint! Good story, great character development, and excellent banter. You just can't go wrong with a Becky Wade book.

Throughout the story, there were several separate storylines. I found myself dying to find out how all the storylines came together which kept me reading. I enjoyed Jude and thought he was a great character. I enjoyed Gemma’s storyline of drying to discover her grandparents love story. However, I was disappointed how the storylines didn’t come all together like I was hoping.

Rocky Road was my first book of the rom-com mystery genre and I’m not sure if I will be returning anytime soon. 🫣

Rocky Road by Becky Wade is like watching a romantic comedy in book form. The characters are endearing and the plot is light and fun. It is an enjoyable read for any mood.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Rocky Road by Becky Wade

Rocky Road is the second installment in the Sons of Scandal series.
I truly enjoyed this christian romance. I literally laughed out loud at some of the things Gemma got herself into. I loved the fake dating trope. The story was a bit slow in the beginning, the actual 'meat' of the story not really beginning until around 1/3 of the way in. However there was still the humor that I love about Becky Wade. I also want to touch on the family dynamics in this book. I loved how that was portrayed. Even though there was scandal, it was written, then the story moved beyond that showing forgiveness and love. Great book, I'll continue to read this series as it is published.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Becky Wade for providing this book in exchange for my opinion.

Rocky Road ice cream with a dollop of chemistry between two opposites? Yes, please!

Gemma and Jude are both passionate about their careers. Gemma is the creator of perfumes and is pure sunshine. Jude is serious and focused on his role as an FBI agent. They are asked to fake-date each other in pursuit of catching a "bad guy." This tasteful story will keep you turning pages until you reach the end.

Becky Wade penned a delicious, yet clean, rom com in the second book in her "Sons of Scandal" series. I highly recommend!

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Rocky Road is a cute, fake dating clean, Christian romance featuring FBI agent Jude Camden and perfume maker Gemma Clare. Jude approaches Gemma in an effort to take down her criminal cousin from France who is selling her family perfume secrets. They go undercover and have a fake dating romance but as they start to catch real feelings - things get complicated since Gemma has a current long distance boyfriend and Jude isn't allowed to date those he works with on cases. As genuine emotions surface, Gemma realizes her current relationship lacks true love, prompting her to move on and explore a deeper connection with Jude. We also see a side story about Gemma's great grandmother who has dementia and has forgotten her love story. Gemma sets out to help her great grandmother remember her love story as she pieces everything together for her all about her past.

I loved the first chapter, it had me laughing out loud from the first scene of Gemma and Jude together! I'd say after that I started to get truly invested with our characters and story around the 30-40% mark, when the fake dating began. I honestly didn't connect with our characters until this point, and was not crazy that Gemma had a boyfriend throughout the first part of this book. I personally do not like that "trope" where someone has a boyfriend while they start to get interested in someone else, however, I thought if you have to have the main girl have a boyfriend in the story to start off, Becky handled the break up well and early on.

I did enjoy seeing them get to know one another and how different they were as Jude is very serious and business like and Gemma is bubbly and very outgoing. I loved Jude quoting poetry to Gemma - it felt like a Mr. Darcy moment haha!

I also loved seeing the family elements in this book - this series has been fun to see the brothers interacting as they are hilarious! The faith elements in the book were great to see, specifically in the ending. I loved those intense scenes in the end!

I did listen to the audiobook and the narration was great! Overall, a good continuation to the series and I am looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to Becky for providing a copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was looking forward to Rocky road, because I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Memory lane.

The books look like romcoms, but they are deeper. I really liked getting to know Jude, the second son of scandal. His steady personality and good heart endeared me to him in the first book.

Jude likes to live without people recognizing him for his well known family. In part because he prefers a quiet life and also because of the scandal his family went through. While working as an FBI agent he tries to keep things shallow and professional with Gemma, but things get blurry when he spends time getting to know her as her fake boyfriend.

I really enjoyed the light natural faith elements of the book, the mystery to figure out, and the slow burn major chemistry romance.

If you like something with more of a serious plot (less serious than the first book), a mystery to solve and lovable characters, this one is for you.

I know the series is only 2 books, however I kind of hope we get a 3rd for the other brother.

4 Stars

this was such a cute little rom-com! this follow FBI agent Jude and small business owner Gemma. Gemma's relative, Cedric, is being looked at by the FBI and Jude asks Gemma to pretend to be in a relationship with him to investigate and catch Cedric in the act. This has tropes such as fake dating and forbidden love (which is one of my faves)! While I did thoroughly enjoy this the writing style was a bit different then what I am used to and at some points felt like it was more telling then showing which is why I gave it 4 stars, but overall great read! I thought Gemma was a strong willed character and held herself together very well. While I did not read the first book I don't find it necessary that you have to read the series in order as these are more stand alones.

thank y0u to the author and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review! I just reviewed Rocky Road by Becky Wade. #RockyRoad #NetGalley

This is an engaging and suspenseful clean romance with multiple POVs. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, I recommend reading the first book to get to know the recurring characters...

Jude Camden is the younger brother of the famous Camden family. Unlike his siblings, he chose to work for the FBI to make a difference. During an undercover operation, Jude is asked to pretend to be in a relationship with Gemma Clare, an enthusiastic and outgoing woman. As expected, the situation leads to some hilarious moments. However, despite their attempts to resist their feelings, Jude and Gemma find themselves falling for each other in real life. Sparks fly amidst all the comedy.

Fake dating and Grumpy/sunshine tropes, with a very hilarious meet and cute.

I enjoy the witty exchanges and slow-building romance between Gemma and Jude. However, I prefer a bit more mystery surrounding Max, though I'm still excited to read about his story.

Overall, the story is well written and I enjoyed the romance scenes, family dynamics, the humor, and knowing about perfumes. However, I found the mystery-catch-villain plot a little boring.


Thank you to NetGalley and Becky Wade for providing me with an eARC.

First of all, Thank You Netgalley for the ARC granted and secondly... It took me a little while to get immersed in the story but as it flews by I could enjoy pretty much the narrative.

One of my most anticipated reads of the year, Rocky Road was everything I could was hoping for and more, and is definitely the absolute perfect romance to pick up this Valentine's Day.

Readers first met Jude Camden in book one of the Sons of Scandal, and I've been waiting for him to get his own happily ever after ever since. A story of fake dating, FBI investigations, family secrets, and rom com type romance galore, Rocky Road is a story I never wanted to have to put down.

I knew it was going to take a special gal to steal agent Camden's heart, and Gemma Clare is definitely the one for the job. While her part in the investigation involving her criminal cousin doesn't require actually dating Jude, soon the lines seem to blur between what's fake and not. Jude and Gemma were an adorable couple that was easy to root for, and I loved how they both had such big hearts for the world around them. While both have had to overcome traumatic events in their past, it was beautiful how the author used these situations to showcase God's presence, and the importance of faith no matter what we're going through.

Becky Wade has delivered another wonderful contemporary romance that will keep every reader reading way past their bedtime. Definitely another of my favorite fictional couples of all time, Gemma and Jude's story was pretty much perfection, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.

I also have to add that I enjoyed the few chapters that were from different POV's, as it not only added something extra to the story, but also gave readers some insight into the third and final book coming in the trilogy.

I can't possibly recommend this hilarious, swoon worthy romance enough, and I'll be over here anxiously awaiting the release of book three.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Before I conclude, I do want to quickly mention that there was one slight issue I had with this book overall. Gemma shares a wonderful relationship with her mom, grandmother and great grandmother, and they quite often get together for meals out. They go out for brunch to a restaurant in one of the earlier chapters that's housed in an old church. Certain parts of this scene rubbed me the wrong way, as jokes are made about "the man upstairs" when referring to the head chef and whatnot, and it almost came across as blasphemous to me personally. This was an amazing book overall, but I do wish that scene hadn't been included, and just wanted to put it out there that it may bother other readers like myself.

Thanks so much to Becky Wade for allowing me to read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the author via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

The banter in this book was amazing! Fiona may be my ride or die these days … I love her and Burke so much. The conversations between the brothers were my absolute favorite! I wish there had been more banter and less descriptions at times, but still a fun read and I highlighted so many funny and/or meaningful quotes! Another successful Becky Wade read…can’t wait for Max’s story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I love getting lost in a Becky Wade book! Ever since Memory Lane, I've been highly anticipating Jude's book. I just knew he was my man. He and Gemma did not disappoint, and I would be happy to go another round with them. I just loved their personalities and I definitely laughed out loud throughout.
Jude has been distant from God since the church let him down as a young teenager. Gemma is a devout Christian who takes the opportunity to talk to Jude about the Lord. They are in a dating relationship before Jude turns back to God. In their lowest points in the story, they both look to the Lord, and Jude realizes where he went wrong. So although it's not central to the story, there was more faith here than in Memory Lane.
I wasn't impressed by the side story about Gemma's grandmother. It felt just like that - an inserted side story - and was pretty run-of-the-mill.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of Rocky Road so I could write an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rocky Road is the second book in the Sons of Scandal series. We see some familiar characters from that previous book and you might get a better feel for the Camden family dynamic, but I think this could still be enjoyed just fine as a standalone without any confusion as well.

I absolutely adored Memory Lane (book one in the series)- truly, a favorite Becky Wade book- so, I was definitely very much looking forward to this one and seeing Jude's story. It absolutely did NOT disappoint. This one was absolutely just as wonderful... and maybe even more so! First of all, that meet cute! Awkward and funny meet cutes are my favorite, and this one was most certainly that... I won't give anything away, but this one definitely had me laughing out loud and had me excited for the rest of the story. Jude and Gemma were complete opposites, but that lead to some great banter... and I found myself enjoying how well they balanced one another out. I really enjoyed their love story very much.

Dealing with an undercover FBI investigation, there was definitely a little suspense as well... but I found the bigger mystery in this one had to do with the family secrets Gemma was uncovering as she sought answers to her great grandmother's love story. That was a really interesting piece of the story and I found I enjoyed that a lot.

If you enjoy Christian romance with just the right blend of humor, swoon-worthy moments, mystery and faith, this is absolutely one you won't want to miss. I cannot wait for the next one!


**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Another wonderful romantic suspense book by Becky Wade. In this one Gemma and Jude meet because Gemma's cousin Cedric plans on selling an old family perfume recipe worth millions - the catch is the sale of the recipe is a violation to everything Gemma's family holds dear in their family business that has been around for 100's of years. Cedric swore an oath to God and family that he would never write it down or sell it.

Through the book Becky Wade slowly weaves the story of Gemma and Jude, along with their crazy relatives. Will they end up together? Will Jude and the FBI catch Cedric?

I liked how Wade brought characters from the first book of this series "Memory Lane" and also introduced the next character in what looks to be a trilogy. It's good to read these books in order like I did since the first one definitely builds on for this one. I don't recommend it as a stand alone. The story is slow in spots but definitely picks up at the end bringing a lot of excitement at the conclusion.

Definitely check out this story coming out just in time for Valentine's Day if you are a fan of Becky Wade's books and the romantic suspense genre.