Book Review: When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren

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.

I believe it hasn’t been since Karen Kingsbury’s Redemption series with the Baxter family have I become so enamored with a fictional family. Once again Susan May Warren paints a realistic family with flaws and issues to overcome, but also with a bond so tight I want to be a Christiansen, too. I really was rooting for Grace and understood Max and his choices.

I loved the Hawaii setting and the cooking competition backdrop. There was great chemistry between Grace and Max. It made for fast reading to see what was going to happen next.

If you’re looking for a great read to wind down your summer, although this is a stand-alone, do yourself a favor and get the series. When I Fall in Love is a perfect summer romance.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/z5Ijj

About the author: 

Susan May Warren is the bestselling, RITA Award-winning author of more than forty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. She served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before she and her family returned home to the States. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. She and her family enjoy hiking, canoeing, and being involved in their local church. Several of her critically acclaimed novels have been ECPA and CBA bestsellers, were chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times, and have won the RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice contest and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year award. Five of her books have been Christy Award finalists. In addition to her writing, Susan loves to teach and speak at women’s events about God’s amazing grace in our lives. She also runs a writing community for authors. 

Find Susan online: website, My Book Therapy, Twitter, Facebook

I received a copy of When I Fall in Love from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.