Take a Chance on Me Book Review

A Christiansen Family Novel

SUMMARY:  Come home to the Christiansens', where faith and family meet real life.

     Darek Christiansen is almost a dream bachelor - oldest son in the large Christiansen clan, heir to their historic Evergreen Lake resort, and doting father.  But he's also wounded and angry since the tragic death of his wife, Felicity.  No woman in Deep Haven dares come near.

      New assistant county attorney Ivy Madison simply doesn't know any better when she bids on Darek at a charity bachelor auction.  Nor does she know that when she crafted a plea bargain three years ago to keep Jensen Atwood out of jail and in Deep Haven fulfilling community service, she was releasing the man responsible for Felicity's death.  All Ivy knows is that the Christiansens feel like the family she's always longed for.  And once she gets past Darek's tough exterior, she finds a man she could spend the rest of her life with ... which scares her almost as much as Darek learning of her involvement in his wife's case.

     Caught between new love and old grudges, Darek must decide if he can set aside the past for a future with Ivy - a future more and more at risk as an approaching wildfire threatens to wipe out the Christiansen resort and Deep Haven itself.

REVIEW:  In typical style, Susan May Warren brings to live the fictional town of Deep Haven and its residents in a way that makes it all seem real.  So many times I wanted to throttle both Darek and Jensen for their stubbornness and inability to forgive.  As I read, I thought of friends that live in Minnesota and caught myself wondering if they ever visited this place.  :-)

     The theme of the book was trust and forgiveness - trusting God in the changes that have occurred, that He knows what is best, and that even when things look like they are going the wrong way and all you see is disaster, God is in control and will work everything out according to His will in your life.  The forgiveness part can be found in many different relationships:  Darek and Jensen, Darek and Felicity, Darek and Felicity's parents, Jensen and Felicity, Claire and Felicity, Claire and Jensen, Darek and Ivy.  Even though Felicity had been gone about three years, her life and death affects many people.

     This is a wonderful book.  If you are familiar with the Deep Haven series of books, you will see some familiar faces and places.  If you have not read any of them, you will not be lost.  Each book is separate but does use other characters in very minor roles.  Check out Take a Chance on Me if you are looking for some great summer or vacation reading.

This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review without compensation.

 

Susan May Warren is the RITA Award-winning author of more than thirty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She spent eight years as a missionary in Russia with her husband and four children before returning to Minnesota's north shore to write full-time.  Visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.