While I liked the book, it seemed to move way too fast with the characters falling in love so fast, as if magically overcoming their trauma. I will not disclose the plot but can say that each character, Jane and Mike, had suffered tragedy and loss in their lives. WARNING: There were several triggers in the book that may upset some readers. While the author did not delve into gory details, there was definitely mention of some disturbing themes. There are lovely twin girls in the story that provide light into their otherwise dark lives. Abby, Jane's sister, was a man-hating social worker. Abby's intense dislike for males was never explained. Jane's parents were loving towards her and wanted her to be happy. The characters reach their HEA after some angst, provided via Jane. One aspect that I enjoyed, was how Mike, once he decided that he loved Jane, never wavered in his feelings for her. He was a solid character that loved Jane and his family. I would read other books from this author and would recommend her to other romance readers.

This was a super read while it started a little slow once I got into it I was hooked.Mike and Jane are both damaged by life and have let it run them down and it is not until they meet and start to get to know each other that they decide its time to pull their lives together.While I did like these two Mike irritated me but I think that's the parent in me I truly wanted his girl to be the reason to sort himself out and get his life back on track and I would have liked to have Jane's story earlier in the book but other than that I really did like this book

This is my first book by Sheila Seabrook.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Rocky Mountain
First trust, then love
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

I wanted to like this book so much – there’s nothing more heartwarming than a man who loses the love of his life but gets a second chance at happiness when he falls in love again. Unfortunately, not much about this book worked for me.
Jane has endured a terrible ordeal (although we never know exactly what it was – we only get a vague description at the end of the book) and has spent the past five months holed up in her parents’ home. Mike has also endured a terrible ordeal – having lost his beloved wife to cancer, and then losing custody of his twin girls because of something that happened while he was drunk.

Jane’s parents have decided that enough is enough, and kill two birds with one stone: Jane needs to get out of the house and feel useful, and Mike needs someone to help him get his act back together. So Jane’s mother takes Jane over to stage an intervention with Mike. As Mike and Jane spend more time together over the course of several weeks, they grow closer and fall in love.

There were two main things I didn’t appreciate about this story. First, holding out on the big secret/mystery about what happened to the heroine for a majority of the book (we finally get somewhat of an idea at 92%). It doesn’t keep me interested to find out what happened, it just irritates me that it keeps being referenced without telling me what happened. If you tell me the heroine has so much guilt about what she had to do to survive – to the point that she thinks no one will want anything to do with her if they find out – then I need be given more information about what happened. And second, this is clearly a sequel, which I didn’t know going into it. That’s not a problem. The problem is that no background or context was given for either any of the characters (or their story) or what happened to the hero for this book. I don’t need a total retelling of what happened, but a brief synopsis would have been appreciated.

Another thing: this book does a terrible disservice to social workers. First off, even if there is only one social worker in a town, you would think she’d recuse herself from this situation because of the close ties she has to the family. But having the social worker have such an obvious bias against the hero puts social workers in a bad light. Also, asking a couple of five year olds what they want – and in front of their dad – isn’t something that would happen. Five year olds aren’t capable of making a decision about what’s best for them, and doing so makes them think they have that power. Any author who is interested in writing a book that is as factual as possible would do some research first. Unless you’re really trying to make a person a villain, you don’t malign an otherwise honorable profession.

Also, I’m a fan of the grand gesture, but this one had me rolling my eyes. I just couldn’t feel that the hero and heroine had such strong feelings for each other – or that emotionally either of them were ready to make such a big step. Mike had only been a widower for about six months, is recently sober (like DAYS…not weeks or months), and was still getting reconnected with his children, and Jane had a lot of healing to do after the ordeal she had endured. I am able to suspend a certain amount of disbelief in my romance stories, but there has to be at least a little bit of realism in the story, and I just didn’t believe that either Mike or Jane would move into a relationship as quickly as they did. None of their relationship rang true for me.

This book could have really been touching and heartwarming, but it never went deep enough to accomplish that. Instead, I never felt a connection to the characters or their story, and was left wanting more.

* thank you to NetGalley and SMS Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is one of the easiest rate I've ever given. I originally planned of giving this one a four-star, but what the heck, it was a good, heartwarming story that really surprised me, reminding me of a realistic love story should be.

Jane and Mike , aside from having the most common name, the blurb made me think they were also just another couple who have pasts and upon meeting would change and try to move on for the sake of each other. You know the cliche. But that's not exactly what happened with Jane and Mike. Though they've changed and moved on and the change start when they met but no, they didn't do it for each other but for themselves and because of that, the building of the Romance turned so amazing and realistic. It wasn't slow nor was it instant. It was just the right pace which is very realistic. I actually suddenly realized that it's been a long time since I read a clean romance. You know, most of the romance in my shelf now were those who have almost naked dudes or base on the cover. hehe.

Anyway, the story opens with both of them clearly carrying burdens (regret and losses) from their pasts and both seemed no plan of moving on. But then, sometimes you only have to get out of the room to realize you need the change. Darn it, if it didn't toss me home. :) :)

Two sad people trying not to make each other sadder. That's our couple here. They were just helping each other, or at least Jane was helping him while she won't even tell him a thing but she was honest enough to tell him she just don't want to talk about it. Throughout the story, the reader was informed what happened to Mike while Jane's ghosts weren't really explained. And it was okay. I think the author did amazing on balancing the points she would keep and reveal before the ending, making the tension even better between Jane and Mike.

I love the characters. I actually missed living in a small town where everyone knows everyone and people care about each other. The family vibe of the characters though they were just neighbours was amazing.

Overall, I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a fluffy, heartwarming and realistic love story, This will surely crawl right into the reader's heart. This can be heartbreaking too, not as a love story but Jane and Mike's individual stories were heartbreaking for me.

A time to be Tender is a great romance. The plot and characters are well crafted. I enjoyed this author’s writing style. I highly recommend this book.

This story was surprisingly good, if a little slow and quite heavy at times, but A Time to be Tender didn’t suffer for it. This is the story about two people, Jane and Mike, who needed each other more than they realized. Both have been dragged through hell, and only with the help of each other, will they find their way back to a life in the light.
Mike lost the love of his life, his wife, and he just completely fell apart. Spectacularly fell apart to the point where a social worker came in and took his twin girls from him. Instead of working hard to get it all back, Mike went in the other direction, drinking and fighting, oh and bull riding. Because you know, that’s safe.
Jane, well Jane has been through even more and the stubborn woman refuses to talk about it. With anyone. I won’t give away her secrets because they are a really big part of A Time to be Tender, but it is a doozy. But thanks to her meddling mama, she and Mike start spending time together and they both begin to feel better.
The thing I liked about this story was that it didn’t read like your traditional romance. The build was slow, as it should be between two broken people, but even though it was rarely mentioned, you could see the affection building. The trust and eventually, the love.
Jane was a real treat because her insecurities were very real and once you find out why, completely understandable. It wasn’t some perceived problem that makes the reader roll her eyes and skim ahead. If I had any complaint it would be that I had to wait until the end of the story to find out what happened to Jane. I just felt like if that reveal had come sooner, it would have been more satisfying.

She was raped and/or kidnapped.

Poor guy.

Container? Months?

I hate Abby. Isn't she supposed to be impartial?