I have become a big fan of Susan May Warren and her "Christiansen Family" series. I just finished the third book in the series, When I Fall in Love, and I loved it! The first book, Take a Chance on Me, is on my Kindle waiting to be read, and the second book in the series is It Had to Be You (read my review here). There are quite a few family members so I'm sure we will be presented with several more books in the series in the future.
When I Fall in Love is the story of Grace Christiansen, a natural chef, and Maxwell Sharpe, a hockey player for the St. Paul Blue Ox. Grace is a homebody who would rather live with her parents and make magnificent meals while waiting to be accepted into culinary school and Max is a man who has a secret and chooses to stay to himself so he doesn't have to divulge it.
This is a story of hope, faith, trust and forgiveness. The characters seemed as real as everyday people and as each one graced the pages of this wonderful book they reached out their hands and drew the reader into the story. The plot was very much character driven.
The subplot is about Raina Beaumont and two of the Christiansen men, Owen, a man with a wounded past and his brother Casper, who is searching for his future. If I had to guess, these characters just might be the subject of a future novel in this series.
I truly love books that are clean reads but I must say that something happened in the early part of the book that made me think about closing the book and not continuing. But because it was written by Ms. Warren I thought she deserved for me to continue on to see what she made of it. I am so glad I didn't close the book as I would have missed out on so very, very much. There are lessons to be learned within the cover of When I Fall in Love and I hope you all pick up a copy and enjoy the read.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good contemporary romance novel. You'll be whisked away from Minnesota to Hawaii and back again and I am sure you will enjoy the journey.
On a 5-star scale = 5 HUGE stars!!!!!
I would like to thank Litfuse Publicity and Tyndale House Publishers for my review copy of When I Fall in Love. I received my copy for free in order to read it and give my honest review, which I have done.
Smiles & Blessings,
I have to admit that while I have always heard wonderful things about Susan May Warren's work I had never read any of her books. So when I was given the opportunity to read and review It Had to Be You I jumped at the chance. Let me tell you, it was a wise choice and now I am a fan.
It Had to Be You is the second book in Ms. Warren's Christiansen Family series and while I believe it reads well as a stand alone, I plan on going back to read the first book in the series, Take a Chance on Me. Also, at the end of It Had to Be You they have included the prequel novella, I Really Do Miss Your Smile.
I am a huge hockey fan and I loved the fact that It Had to Be You centered around the world of hockey in the NHL. The male lead, Jace Jacobsen is a star hockey player and Eden Christiansen, the female lead has a younger brother who is a rising star in the NHL. Eden has always put her life on hold while making sure her brother Owen made his dream of playing in the NHL a reality. However, Eden tends to hover over Owen making sure he keeps out of trouble. She isn't a fan of Owen's team captain, Jace Jacobsen, as he is known as the team's "bad boy" enforcer. She believes Jace is nothing but trouble and is out to get whatever he wants no matter what it may cost others. When Owen suffers a possibly career ending injury, Jace and Eden team up and go to Eden's family's home to try to cheer Owen up. What they encounter there is, well, I don't give out spoilers so you will need to read the book to find out what happens there.
Eden dreams of becoming a true reporter but finds herself relegated to the role of Obits writer at her local newspaper. She feels if she can just get that one story she'll be moved up to reporter. While visiting her brother in the hospital she comes across a young comatose patient known only as John Doe. She decides to try to find out who he is so she can find his family and write her job winning story.
There were several story lines woven within the covers of this book and I found each of them pulling me into the story and holding me there until I finished the last page.
Ms. Warren captured the world of hockey very well and she created well balanced, believable characters that won over my heart from the moment I met them on the written page.
I would highly recommend picking up a copy of It Had to Be You. The Christian thread was beautifully woven throughout and I guarantee you will find a wonderful story that shows the reader that we shouldn't judge others as they may not really be who or what they appear to be.
On a 5-Star Scale = 5 HUGE stars!!!!!
I would like to thank Litfuse Publishing and Tyndale House Publishers for my review copy of It Had to Be You. I received my copy for free in order to read it and give my honest review, which I have done.
Smiles & Blessings,
