Will Bake for Books

“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” -C.S. Lewis

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipe Index
  • Book Reviews
  • Giveaways
  • Random
  • Connect
You are here: Home / Book Reviews / REVIEW: When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren

REVIEW: When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren

September 2, 2014 by Bekah 2 Comments

When I Fall in Love (Christiansen Family #3)
By Susan May Warren
More Info
About the Author
Author’s Website
Buy on Amazon
Excerpt
Description:
Hawaii was the last place Grace Christiansen ever imagined she’d vacation, much less fall in love.

But when her family surprises her with a cooking retreat in paradise, she is pulled—or maybe yanked—away from her predictable, safe life and thrown headfirst into the adventure of a lifetime.
Max Sharpe may make his living on the ice as a pro hockey player, but he feels most at home in the kitchen. Which is why he lives for the three-week culinary vacation he takes each year in Hawaii. Upon being paired with Grace for a cooking competition, Max finds himself drawn to her passion, confidence, and perseverance. But just when Grace dares to dream of a future beyond her hometown, Max pulls away.
Wrestling with personal demons, Max fights against opening his heart to a love he knows he should never hope for. And as his secrets unfold, Grace is torn between the safe path in front of her and what her heart truly desires. If love means sacrificing her ideal happily ever after, Grace’s faith will face its toughest test yet.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Thoughts:
Grace Christiansen feels stuck. A homebody whose dreams of going to culinary school have just been dashed, Grace isn’t sure what her next step should be. The adventure of a lifetime begins when Grace’s family buys her a trip to Hawaii to attend a cooking class. Enter, Max. Her brother Owen’s fellow hockey teammate, Max is asked to look out for Grace during her trip. Far from the crazy fangirl he was expecting, Max finds himself drawn to her passion and heart. When the opportunity presents to compete in a local cooking competition Grace and Max jump right in. But Max has a secret that prevents the two from growing closer. Will Max share what’s holding him back so he and Grace can have a future together? And can Grace trust that God will transform her life into something amazing? 

I read Take a Chance on Me when I was judging for the INSPY awards and it was one of my favorites of the year. Actually, it was one of my favorite christian fiction reads ever. I was really excited but a little wary starting When I Fall in Love because I thought it might be a disappointment compared to the first. Boy, oh boy was I wrong. This book gave me the same amount of feels, tears, and laughs as the first… if not more!

I love Deep Haven but the change of scenery from Minnesota to Hawaii was thrilling! I could almost see the ocean, smell the flowers, and taste the food– that’s how lively the dialogue and descriptions were. I also love baking and cooking, so reading the cooking competition parts were so much fun and inspirational. There was a subplot from the viewpoint of Raina and Casper and while I don’t usually like diversions from the main story, Susan May Warren made it work beautifully just as in her previous books. Grace is perhaps the one member of the Christiansen family I can really relate with which made this book all the more special to me. Each emotion and struggle portrayed in this book struck me right on the heart, especially when Grace dealt with her fear of venturing out and trusting that God would catch her if she fell. It was real, it was deep, and it was the perfect combination of fun, sweet, uplifting, serious, thought-provoking, and funny!

The Christiansen Family series is slowly but surely making its way to the top of my all-time favorites. When I Fall in Love is the perfect definition of christian romantic fiction and I cannot wait to read what happens next with Casper, Raina, and the whole Christiansen gang next in Always on My Mind, coming in February! (February is way too far away, don’t you think?) 

**I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own. My sincerest apologies to the publisher and author for my delay in reviewing.

Have you read any good contemporary romances lately? Please share your recommendations in the comment section below!

Related posts:

REVIEW: MindWar by Andrew Klavan
REVIEW: A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears
REVIEW: Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter
REVIEW: Destined for Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Christian Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance Fiction

« REVIEW: Revelation by Jennifer Hartz
Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting »

Comments

  1. Rissi says

    September 2, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    I. So. Agree. Moving the location to Hawaii was brilliant and I adore the fact that each book in this series seems to get better and better. Glad to know you’re enjoying these, Bekah – they are worth being some of the best in Christian fiction. 🙂

    Reply
    • Bekah M. says

      September 2, 2014 at 8:02 pm

      Definitely! For me this series is right up there with the Alaskan Courage books. And by the way, I loved your review for this one! Why oh why does #4 not come out until February? 😉

      Thanks for commenting, Rissi! 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

logo
Food Advertisements by

I'm Bekah. Welcome to Will Bake for Books! Recipes and book reviews can be found here. Read More…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Newsletter

subscribe here for email updates!

Recent Recipes

See More Recipes

Recent Reviews

See More Reviews

logo
Food Advertisements by

Popular Recipes

RSS Will Bake for Books

  • Chocolate Chip Caramel Brownies
  • Easter M&M Blondies
  • Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies
  • Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
  • 5 Ingredient Banana Pudding Trifle
  • REVIEW: Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
  • Kit Kat Cookies
  • REVIEW: The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
  • Plum Rum Pie
  • Month in Review: August 2017

Let’s Connect On Instagram!

Follow on Instagram

Categories

Archives

Pages

  • Privacy Policy

Popular Recipes

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress