Review and $100 VISA Giveaway: It Had to be You by Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren is celebrating the release of her newest Christiansen Family novel, It Had To Be You, with a $100 Visa cash card giveaway and offering readers a free book club kit.

 One winner will receive:

• $100 Visa cash card
• Take a Chance on Me and It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 29th. Winner will be announced April 1st on Susan's blog. Also, visit her website to learn more about the It Had To Be You backstory and Susan's free book club kit.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Susan's blog on April 1st to see if you won.

My Review: A Must for Deep Haven Fans

Owen Christiansen is playing his first season of pro hockey, and sister Eden is his self-appointed babysitter, there to drag him out of bars and make sure his clothes get washed. Never mind that her dedication to Owen means she is missing prized assignments at work, and possibly costing her the opportunity to get out of writing obituaries and into real reporting.

Jace Jacobsen is Owen’s team captain, a role that places him in the sights of Eden Christiansen far too often for his liking. And he’s got his own problems, like knee injuries and migraines that affect his playing, and might mean his contract isn’t renewed. And then there’s Megan, his best friend’s daughter, who is ill.

I thoroughly enjoyed It Had to Be You. Jace was a wonderful hero, a bit like Mr Darcy in that he was rich and handsome, and Eden’s initial impressions of him turned out to be all wrong. With Eden, I liked the way she wasn’t impressed by Jace’s fame (but perhaps less impressed with the way she held Jace responsible for Owen’s mistakes). Overall, this was Eden’s story, as she was the one who had to learn to see herself as a person of value in her own right, not merely a shadow of her famous younger brother.

It Had to Be You is the second book in Susan May Warren’s Christiansen family series, which is set in Deep Haven, the same location as the (surprise) Deep Haven series. The early Deep Haven books were light romances, while the later books focused more on restoring relationships. The Christiansen family series is following (another surprise) the Christiansen siblings. It Had to Be You can easily be read as a standalone novel, as it’s not actually set in Deep Haven and has fewer overlapping characters than earlier novels. However, fans of the earlier novels will like this continuation.

One of the strengths of Susan May Warren’s writing has always been her ability to weave Christian themes and lessons into a story without it sounding like preaching, and It Had to Be You is no exception. Recommended for all Deep Haven fans.

Thanks to Tyndale and Litfuse for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Susan May Warren at her website.