58288

Did not enjoy. The book was too slow and long. ( )

Yep, I’m reviewing another Susan May Warren book. Maybe I should make a fill-in template for her books:

it had to be you[Blank] is another winner from Susan May Warren! Deep plot, real characters, stellar writing. I loved [blank] and can’t wait for the next one.

Seriously though, It Had To Be You is a very good book. Entry number two in Warren’s Christianson Family series is Eden Christianson’s story. We met her older brother, Darek, in Take a Chance on Me.

Eden is a writer. She longs to be a reporter, breaking real news stories and covering events. Instead, she’s at the obits desk of the Minneapolis paper where she works. She’s spent her life on the sidelines, watching and cheering for her accomplished siblings. Especially Owen. Now she fills her days at the paper and her evenings are for watching her brother in his ice hockey games or dragging him out of bars to keep him safe.

Jace (J-Hammer) Jacobsen is the team captain and Owen’s inspiration. His reputation as a violent enforcer has preceded him and Eden meets him feeling that she already knows him.

When Owen has an accident on the ice, Eden is surprised to find that Jace is not quite the brute she’d believed him to be.

It Had to Be You is a lovely story of how God takes our failures and mistakes and redeems them.

Jace’s violent past is a part of who he is. Eden believes her gift is cheering on the others in her family. It’s thanks to Jace and a stranger in a coma that she discovers she’s so much more than a cheerleader to others’ accomplishments.

The complexity of the characters and the interwoven plots are just part of what made this such a great book. Warren knows her characters on a cellular level. They never act in a way that rings untrue. The secondary plots are strong on their own and only add to the richness of the main storyline.

Click here for some photos of how Susie sees the characters. I kept seeing Kristen Bell as Eden though, not Grace. And I totally see Tom Selleck as John and Bonnie Hunt as Ingrid.

I loved It Had to Be You and I highly recommend it!

————

I’m honored to be part of Susan May Warren’s launch team! I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Title: It Had to Be You
Author: Susan May Warren
Pages: 480
Year: 2014
Publisher: Tyndale Publishers
Susan May Warren really nails the heart with love and grace when characters in the novel begin to understand how they are viewing themselves, and when what they do in their lives becomes the standard to which they measure their hopes, fears, triumphs or failures is the dawning of a new day. Jace is known as the NHL Blue Ox team’s bad boy. The more he fights instead of scoring, the happier the fans. Eden thought writing obits was a meaningless job when all she has ever wanted to be was an honest reporter.
In reality, our lives tend to mesh and we gather our identity through another person’s life or whomever we tend to idolize. The Christiansen family isn’t depicted as perfect Christians, but has its own problems, hopes, dreams, failures and triumphs. With each page, readers will be able to identify with various characters with different life situations. Sounds like reality does it not?
When parents watch their children become adults, they learn to let go and pray hard for their offspring to be the people God has called them to become. It is never easy for a parent to let go in the hope and knowledge that God their Father is right there with them. While I read, I learned it takes faith and grace to let go with one hand and hold onto the Father’s hand with both. One child in the novel needs a heart transplant; her father is a single parent, having lost his wife to the same heart condition years ago. As time passes without seeing any hope, the father on his knees hands over his daughter’s care and life into God’s hands because he realizes he cannot carry the burden alone any longer.
Susan May Warren draws the audience into the adventure of the Christiansen family and friends as they live very active lives in Minneapolis in a story that is written with a mother’s heart and life experience. Each page speaks about an individual’s choices in faith and how God can redeem what looks to be a life wasted. I appreciated the reality that is reflected in some parts of the story when a character hears words of wisdom with their ears, but God brings it to a rock solid truth in their heart. I cannot imagine the pressure that professional athletes are under to perform, meet certain criteria or even take on a persona that is not who they really are. In one scene, readers will read a tender moment where a hockey player is reading his Bible looking for answers, understanding and peace. Our times with God can sometimes be like this, during trials when we are on our knees handing a hard situation into God’s hands. For me, meeting with God in His Word is not a ritual to perform or something to mark off a “to do” list, it is a relationship. A relationship He initiated, keeps and grows for which I am immensely thankful for each new dawn. I have learned that I have a part in the relationship also by coming to Him just as I am. How about you?
My rating is 5 stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/ . Also follow me on Twitter @lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457 ( )

It's no wonder Susan May Warren is a bestselling and award winning author. This is a fabulous look at a very complex cast of characters. There's more to each than meets the eye.

I laughed, I cried, I cried some more, and I cheered for the characters. The only one I didn't really care for was Eden's brother Owen - but that was a necessary evil. My short review? Highly, highly recommend. Read on for my long review.

Eden Christiansen thinks the purpose of her life is to be the cheerleader for everyone else. She has a mediocre job in the obits department, a slew of siblings who each has their own awesome talent, and a superstar hockey brother she feels she has to serve and protect at all costs. Even if it's to her own detriment. Always comparing herself to their accomplishments, she feels that somehow, no matter how hard she tries, she'll never be as good as them. Yet she wants to do something spectacular - she just doesn't see it happening in the obituary department.

Jace Jacobsen has his own demons to destroy. He, a hockey superstar, has a less than desirable name and past. He knows better than anyone his own faults - and wishes he could change things.

As the story unfolds, both main characters see the other for what they are - hurting people who need someone to care for them. To see that they're worth something. To look past the exterior and see the potential.

Supported by a stellar cast of characters, this isn't just a story about how two people meet and how they learn to like each other. This is a story about heart conditions, desperation, despair, losing everything important, new beginnings, old hurts, and finally, forgiveness. Love. Mending. Growing.

Each person has their own story, and no one lives to themselves. I loved the main plot, the secondary plot, and the emerging plot that I'm pretty sure is going to be the focus of another Christiansen family book. And I can't wait to read it.

*My thanks to the publisher and author for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions. I was not required they be positive.* ( )