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Susan May WarrenTyndale House / 2015 / Trade PaperbackOur Price$13.494.8 out of 5 stars for The Wonder of You. View reviews of this product. 40 Reviews
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KavRCanadaGender: female5 Stars Out Of 5Rich in drama and laughter and wickedly good dialogueJanuary 6, 2017KavRCanadaGender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 0Double the romance and double the angst makes for a tummy churning read packed with lots of emotion. Not only do we get Amelia and Roark's tumultuous romance but a continuation of Max and Grace's love story carried over from When I Fall in Love. And once again I came away from the read with a bruised heart that still feels tender. And I might currently be hiccupping shuddering sighs after a biblio-induced crying jag. There was one sub-plot that just pushed all my buttons. Sniffle.
Oddly enough, that leaves me feeling replete. Saturated in the euphoria of true love that comes in many forms -- including from on high. Because one of the things I enjoy the most about Susan May Warren's books is the way she embeds faith into every nuance of the story. It's never overdone, but she doesn't mince words either. Early on in the story, Amelia's mother gives her some sage advice: to center her heart on Jesus and once she does that everything else will come into focus. Ingrid (mom) rocks! I love how she handles her brood of unruly adult children and is quick to provide council when necessary (even when it's unwanted.) And she doesn't pull any punches.
Roark is...fainting couch worthy. Tall, dark and handsome with the extra thrill of a James Bond accent. Is it any wonder I fell for him? Or that Amelia did? Twice actually -- once abroad and then all over again when he high tails it to her small town in hot pursuit of the love that got away. Be. Still. My. Heart. Purposeful. Deliberate...Desperate! And wounded. Can we all utter a collective sigh over the deep attraction we feel for a wounded hero? I was cheering from the sidelines the whole read.
Amelia is perfectly portrayed as the baby of the family. With all those protective older siblings barely giving her room to breathe, she's had a hard time striking out on her own and lacks in confidence. Except when she's with Roark. But she's conflicted and I'll warn you right now, there's a love triangle that about drove me crazy! Can you say triple angst pile up? I don't think my heart or my pulse will ever be the same.
This is as much a family saga as it is a love story. Rich in drama and laughter and wickedly good dialogue. And once you reach the end you'll be wondering how to survive until the next Christiansen Family novel makes it way onto your TBR pile. -
CherylAge: 45-54Gender: Female5 Stars Out Of 5Great!August 10, 2016CherylAge: 45-54Gender: FemaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5I enjoyed Amelias dilemma of what to do with her life, how to do it, and with whom. Oftentimes others map out a youngest siblings life, but Amelia has a strong inner spirit and wants to blaze her own pathgo big, or go home.
Although Im not the youngest of my siblings, I relate to Amelias predicament. I was the youngest for ten years and found myself trying to please my older siblings and do what they wanted for my life. I know the fear, the failures, and the triumphs of making that turn and going another route. God instills something within us that gives us the strength and willpower to do so. Its His plan, after all, that we must follow.
The characters and the overall feel of this story make me want to visit Deep Haven, Minnesota. The setting is a beautiful backdrop for this story centering on love, faith, family, following Gods plan.
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BeckySW MIAge: 55-65Gender: female5 Stars Out Of 5Characters Wrapped Themselves Around My Heart...August 23, 2015BeckySW MIAge: 55-65Gender: femaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Susan Mae Warren has amazed me again. Every time I pick up one of her books in the Christiansen family series,in this case The Wonder of You, I am positive I will be bored with this extended family. Yet every time, Warren introduces her characters and makes them so realistic that their lives are tentacles, inexplicably entwined around my heart.
Who wouldn't thrill and agonize with Amelia as she sorts through her feelings for Seth, the high school boyfriend, and Rourk, the European sophisticate? Amelia bounces back and forth until she finds her true center in neither...which then allows her to see clearly which path to follow.
I loved the "side story" of Amelia's sister,Grace, and her husband Max and their struggles for normalcy amidst heartache. How fun to watch little orphaned Yulia, as she slowly but surely opens up to the least likely of the clan.
While the book has its moments of straight-out faith and truth, they are in small sound bites and natural in the contexts of conversations. At one point, John, the father, says to Rourk, "God wants you to obey Him not because of what you get in exchange, but simply because he asked. To give up everything simply for the wonder of knowing Him, experiencing Him, believing in Him. The Wonder of chasing after Him and abandoning all for Him." Interestingly enough, God used Rourk's own pursuit of Amelia to teach Rourk about Himself.
I am always happy to recommend a book in which the romance is good and clean, the characters irresistible, and life lessons from the Word of God are embedded in a natural way.
I received this book from bookfun.org in exchange for an honest review. -
pautoyoung5 Stars Out Of 5God's PlanAugust 19, 2015pautoyoungQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5The Wonder of You by Susan May Warren is an exciting Christian romance that will keep the readers interest until the end. It is the 5th in a series that I was unfamiliar with before now but am definitely interested in going back and reading the first four books. The Christiansen clan is a large close family that lives near the shores of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota that run a resort for tourists. Amelia, the youngest, had dreams of accomplishing something big after graduation and leaves the small town of Deep Haven for a photography course in Prague. There, she meets a seemingly poor photography student from Brussels with a dreamy British accent, Roark St. John, who is really an heir to a European hotel dynasty with a haunted past. Thus, begins their whirlwind relationship in Europe. After a misunderstanding, Amelia feels betrayed and returns home to her hometown and high school boyfriend. Roark travels across the Atlantic to try and make amends for their misunderstanding, but her protective family boot him out of their home. Refusing to leave the Lake Superior area, he rents an apartment in Deep Haven and obtains a job in hopes of winning Amelias heart back. Who will Amelia choose Seth, the rugged reliable hometown boy or Roark, the handsome exciting worldly man? Amelia wants to follow Gods plan for her life if she can ever figure out what that may be. What life is God calling Roark and Seth to live? Which of these suitors will compliment her as a soul mate in her spiritual quest? The writer interweaves the beautiful Lake Superior area of Minnesota throughout the setting of this book. The characters are well developed and personable. The plot is exciting and twists and turns with adventure and love. I literally couldnt put the book down until I finished reading it. I received a copy from the author and publisher of The Book Club Network in exchange for an honest review.
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Karen RWAGender: Female5 Stars Out Of 5Another great addition to the Christensen family series!August 18, 2015Karen RWAGender: FemaleQuality: 5Value: 5Meets Expectations: 5Welcome back to Deep Haven! I love this series, it just gets better and better with each book! It feels like coming home reading about the Christensen family, this time with the focus on the youngest daughter, Amelia. Grace and Max Sharpe's relationship is an interesting feature also.
The feeling of failure, and the fear of making a wrong choice seems to have followed Amelia home to Deep Haven from her time in Europe. The decision to follow her fickle heart or do what seems to be the most rational plan--and safe one--has her vacillating between two beaus. Finally realizing the right choice only comes when the focus is on God comes to her after it's almost too late.
Loved all the inspirational threads in this book, like using the hymn Be Thou My Vision, and the story of Jonah, to show how God pursues His people and loves them unconditionally. It was great to have so many returning Deep Haven characters taking active parts in the story too, and have them come alongside Amelia and Roark, giving wise counsel and Biblical insights. Wished I could sit down and talk with Ingrid, John, Pastor Dan or Ivy sometime. Some of their conversations made me cry they were so good. That's one thing that stands out in this author's writing, how real the people seem and how insightful the dialogues can be without every feeling maudlin or trite. Have to love the lumberjack activity in there too--can just about hear the whine of the chainsaws and smell the sawdust!
Highly recommend this whole series! Best read in order, but may be able to read as a standalone if you don't mind feeling like you've dropped into a family reunion where you don't really know anyone. An absolutely "brilliant" addition to this wonderful series!
(Thank you to Book Club Network and Tyndale House Publishers for the book given to me in exchange for my unsolicited, honest review.)
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