Book Review: Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren

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.

Darek is wounded and for good reason. He made choices full of regret, and he can’t let it go. Ivy melts those ice walls, but learns she played a part in his past. If she confesses, she stands losing the one thing she’s always wanted–family. I loved their story because it could be any of us. We’ve all made mistakes and fall for the lie that we deserve to live in shame. Each chapter, every scene has raw emotion and conflict that draw them together, but keep them apart. That’s a well-crafted romance.