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Book 3 of the Christiansen family series and I loved it, but now I want to read the next one and can't find it at my Library. This one is about their daughter Grace and their sons Casper and Owen. It leaves off with a cliff hanger. ( )

More Christiansen magic.

This is the first book by Susan May Warren that I've read; frankly, it won't be my last!

When I saw, in the description, two words: Hawaii, and cooking, well, I knew I wanted to read this book. (My youngest son plans to take me to Hawaii some day!) I have enjoyed cooking for a good many years now, and have recently begun enjoying watching cooking competition shows.

The characters are well developed, rather complex, each facing his/her own struggles and fears. As you read, you'll want to learn some of the lessons they learned: Focus on life. Choose to accept the more that God wants to give you. And turn your fears over to Him, because He's got this!

This is definitely a book I plan to share with my daughter. ( )

It's my opinion that Ms. Warren doesn't write nonsense. She writes characters so real that you fall in love with them, you dislike them because they annoy the snot out of you, you cheer for them when they're winning, and you cry when they're crying. You hurt when they hurt, and when you finally come up from the book to do some mundane thing like cook dinner, you find yourself continually thinking of them. And you have to remind yourself that they're not real people. That this was a fictional story. It may have helped you in some way deal with the sins of others or even yourself, it may have helped you realize people are flawed, just like you. It may have helped you come closer to God because He loves flawed people so much that He sent His Son to die for them. And that's what the best books do. They remind you of a broken people and of a loving Savior who will forgive if we just ask.
This is the kind of book you're getting. Not just a whimsical, nonsensical book of random thoughts and happenings, but a fictional story that could have been taken from the lives of a hundred different people.
As always, Ms. Warren's writing was excellent, the timing impeccable, and the characters perfectly flawed. If you weren't supposed to like them, she made sure you wouldn't. If you were supposed to love them and cheer, then you find yourself doing just that. Not because the author told you to, but because they were that delightfully real.

I have read several of Ms. Warren's books, and they just keep getting better. She hasn't let me down yet with tired-out storylines and overused cliches and I look forward to reading more of her work. ( )