Take a Chance on Me (Christiansen Family #1) by Susan May Warren

Title: Take a Chance on Me (Christiansen Family #1)

Author: Susan May Warren

Pages: 393

Year: 2013

Publisher: Tyndale House

     This is a great story of what forgiveness can do.

     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.

     Ivy Madison has moved to Deep Haven to take the job as assistant county attorney. Living in a small town and being a part of the community has been her dream. Suddenly her life has become more complicated. She simply doesn’t know any better when she bids on Darek at the charite auction held the first day she is in town. 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.

     I love the small town of Deep Haven that Susan May Warren has created. I would love to be able to live in a community like it where everyone knows each other. This is the first book of a new series set in the same community. I quickly fell in love with the Christiansen family. It would be so cool to be neighbors with a tight knit family like this.

     This particular book is the story of the oldest son Darek. As with most people he has a lot of baggage to deal with from past decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed finding out how his parents helped him to work through some of that baggage without ever judging him for those decisions. There are many other characters whose stories intertwine with Darek’s that are also working through past baggage. The gentle nudges that they all get to look to God for help is incredible. They all have a journey to take to find forgiveness for themselves and others. The paths are so intricately woven that it was a joy to follow along with these wonderful characters.

     I give this book a 5 star rating and highly recommend it. I’m looking forward to finding out the stories of the rest of the Christiansen children in future books in this series.