MY REVIEW:
“Take a Chance On Me” may just be the best of the Deep Haven novels yet. Warren takes the reader beyond the typical romantic plot as she plumbs the depths of several of the characters’ emotions. Although Darek and Ivy are the primary characters in “Take a Chance on Me”, Jensen and Claire also play major roles.
Darek Christiansen, a widower with a small son carries around so much anger and possibly some guilt since his wife’s death that townspeople tend to keep their distance from him. Jensen Atwood, Darek’s former best friend feels like a pariah in the town where he is forced to perform community service due to the fact that he was driving the car that killed Darek’s wife. He mistakenly thinks that if he works hard enough he can redeem himself in the eyes of Deep Haven residents. Then there is Claire Gibson, daughter of missionary doctors, who loves her life in Deep Haven – or she would if she did not feel like such a failure and disappointment to her parents. Finally we have Ivy Madison, newcomer in town as the assistant county attorney who wants nothing more than a permanent home and maybe a family of her own. It doesn’t take Ivy long to realize that she is already connected to Deep Haven in ways she had not imagined and the secret she holds could destroy her hopes for the future.
Although the development of a relationship between Darek and Ivy is of prime importance to the plot, each character’s struggles with forgiveness and their own faith lays the foundation for “Take a Chance on Me”. I can truthfully say that I gleaned plenty of truth in the narrative that can (and hopefully will) be applied to my own life. This novel is a wonderful example of true forgiveness and reconciliation.
Plenty of drama, action, danger, and romance kept me turning the pages. I loved the characters and enjoyed reading about many I met in earlier Deep Haven novels. I think this books probably has one of the most unique romantic scenes ever and the reader even gets two for the price of one! I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed “Take a Chance on Me” and encourage everyone to pick up a copy as soon as possible.
This book was provided for review by The Tyndale Blog Network.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
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 the charity 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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award–winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church.
Susan holds a BA in mass communications from the University of Minnesota. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women’s events about God’s amazing grace in our lives.
For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
