Tag: Susan May Warren

Have you read any novels where a character plays a sport?

Bookish Question #318 | Have you read any novels where the character plays a sport?

I’ve read lots of novels where one or more of the characters play sport, often informally. For example, many of the characters in the Trinity Lakes Romance series play in the town’s annual Aussie Rules football game.

I’ve also read and enjoyed a fair few novels where one or both of the main characters are professional sportspeople.

Falling for Maddie Grace by Meredith Resce is an excellent novella featuring a professional Aussie Rules player and a female referee. I’ve read this one multiple times, and it’s a lot of fun.

Several novels in Susan May Warren’s Christiansen Family series features pro sportsmen, including It Had to Be You, When I Fall In Love, and You’re The One That I Want.

But the Christian author who first comes to mind when I think about sports romance is Carolyn Miller. Her Original Six series each follows a professional ice hockey player in one of the “original six” professional teams, and she is now following this up with the Northwest Ice series. I’ve read all the Original Six (my favourite was Big Apple Atonement), and now I’m working my way through the Northwest Ice series.

What about you? Have you read any novels where a character plays a sport?

You don't have to control every moment, plan every step. Maybe you just say yes to the doors God opens.

Book Review | Sundown (Sky Ranch #3) by Susan May Warren

I read this series in the wrong order (I read Sunburst before Sunrise, although I did read #3 last). I actually found Sunrise the hardest book to get into, because there were so many character names being mentioned in the early chapters, and it took me a while to work out who the main characters were, and which names were actually bears or dogs.

Sundown starts pretty much where Sunburst left off.

Ranger and are Noemi at Big Sky Ranch with Colt and their Jane Doe, who they have just discovered is Dr Taylor Price, who is somehow connected with the Russian terrorists Dodge and Echo (that’s the heroine, not one of the dogs) fought in Sunrise.

Sundown starts with the premise that Taylor (Tae) is the only person who can prevent a deadly smallpox outbreak because she is the only person to have successfully created a vaccine from an ancient strain the Russians have located. But it’s not a novel about vaccination. It’s a chase novel, as Colt finally reconciles with his brothers and obtains their help to locate the evildoers before they can infect the population with the virus.

I liked the way Sundown built on the plot and character points introduced and developed in the previous two novels, and the way it did a great job of rounding out the unfinished character arcs.

However, I didn’t like the way the timeline kept jumping around.

Now, this could be the formatting of the electronic review copy, but the story often moved from one scene to another without any kind of scene break, and the scenes were often showing the same actions from different points of view. Yes, that helped ramp up the tension, but it also meant I had to backtrack several times to figure out which characters were in the scene.

I also thought there were too many flashbacks, to the point where they messed with the tension. As a reader, it felt like every time we got to something fast-paced and exciting, the character stopped think about a formative experience from months or years ago, which slowed the story down. Confession: I actually skimmed a lot of the backstory because I wanted to know what was happening now, not what happened months or years or decades ago.

One of the best features of Christian fiction by Susan May Warren is that it absolutely is Christian fiction.

The main characters – in this case, Colt and Tae – have issues with God that need to be sorted out and worked through, and Warren doesn’t leave the reader in any doubt of the fact that God is the answer. That’s always good to read in Christian fiction (because otherwise it’s not Christian fiction. It’s just fiction with no sex or swearing.)

Overall, Sundown was a solid romantic suspense that those who have read the first two novels in the Sky King Ranch series will want to read to find out about Tae and to see Colt get his happy ending.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Susan May Warren

Susan May WarrenSusan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of nearly 90 novels with more than 1.5 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series, as well as Sunrise and Sunburst. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers’ Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota.

Find Susan May Warren online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Sundown

Former Delta Operative Colt Kingston knows when someone is lying. He may not know the truth, but he sure doesn’t trust Tae, the woman who is caring for his ailing father at Sky King Ranch. Behind those beautiful blue eyes, he can tell there is a troubled–and smart–woman.

A few of her stories prove true–he’s found the crashed plane and the dead body inside. Still, her story of survival seems too incredible to believe . . . until the thugs she claims to be hunting her show up and threaten Sky King Ranch. Now Tae must disappear, along with her secrets.

But Colt’s not about to let her go it alone. And when they discover that her secrets include the antidote to a plague that threatens the world, it’ll take all three Kingston brothers to save the country they’ve vowed to protect.

Susan May Warren brings her Sky King Ranch series to a climactic close with this high-stakes race against the clock.

Find Sundown online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday Week #257 | Sunrise (Sky King Ranch #1) by Susan May Warren

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m sharing from Sunrise, the first book in Susan May Warren’s Sky King Ranch series. And yes, I should have read Sunrise (#1) before Sunburst (#2), but it’s too late now …

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

By the time Dodge got to the hospital, he'd already broken his first promise.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Sunrise

Coming home was never the plan

Pilot Dodge Kingston has always been the heir to Sky King Ranch. But after a terrible family fight, he left to become a pararescue jumper. A decade later, he’s headed home to the destiny that awaits him.

That’s not all that’s waiting for Dodge. His childhood best friend and former flame, Echo Yazzie, is a true Alaskan–a homesteader, dogsledder, and research guide for the DNR. Most of all, she’s living a life Dodge knows could get her killed. One of these days she’s going to get lost in the woods again, and his worst fear is that he won’t be there to find her.

When one of Echo’s fellow researchers goes missing, Echo sets out to find her, despite a blizzard, a rogue grizzly haunting the woods, and the biting cold. Plus, there’s more than just the regular dangers of the Alaskan forests stalking her . . .

Will Dodge be able to find her in time? And if he does, is there still room for him in her heart?

Find Sunrise online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Faith is stepping forward without knowing the destination.

Book Review | Sunburst (Sky King Ranch #2) by Susan May Warren

It’s been a while since I’ve read one of Susan May Warren’s romantic suspense novels, even though it’s how I first discovered her writing. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy them,

A good portion of the novel takes place in Nigeria.

I enjoyed the opportunity to experience the country and the culture through the eyes of Noemi Sutton. Noemi is the only daughter of a Nigerian princess and a US Navy SEAL who teaches English as a second language. She is working in Nigeria when she and her companions are kidnapped and held prisoner.

Ranger Kingston, a navy SEAL from Alaska, first meets Noemi in Key West where he’s training and she’s on holiday. They meet again after Noemi is one of a group kidnapped in Nigeria. One of the other captives is Colt, Ranger’s brother, who was providing security as they travelled.

They are rescued by a team which includes Ranger, but Ranger and Noemi are separated from the rest of the rescue party while trying to locate Blessing, a young girl who was captured with them. Ranger is injured during their escape, so Noemi does the only thing she can thing of—she takes him to her uncle’s compound in the south of the country. Unfortunately, the only way to get there alive is to pretend that she and Ranger are married.

I’ve always enjoyed a good marriage of convenience story.

I’ve read a lot of good historical novels with this plotline (mail order brides spring to mind), but rarely come across a compelling setup for a contemporary.

Sunburst does this, and does it well. Noemi’s uncle insists on hosting a traditional Nigerian wedding, and it was fun to read about all the traditions and preparation. The seamless introduction of different aspects of Nigerian culture elevated Sunburst above most other romantic suspense novels.

The humour in their situation also helped balance the suspense.

And there was plenty of suspense. While Noemi is attracted to Ranger—and he seems to be attracted to her—she’s convinced their relationship won’t last. She’s also convinced that the events leading up to her kidnapping could put Ranger and his family in danger, so she’ll have to leave for both their sakes …

Sunburst by Susan May Warren is a solid Christian romantic suspense whose Nigerian location and heroine elevate the novel above the ordinary @SusanMayWarren #ChristianFiction Share on X

Overall, Sunburst is a solid Christian romantic suspense novel with a Nigerian location and heroine that elevates the novel above others in the genre. Recommended for fans of romantic suspense, especially those who like different settings.

Sunburst is the second book in the Sky King Ranch series, following Sunrise. The third book, Sundown, is due out later this year. Sunburst did a good job of setting up the final story, so I’ll look forward to reading it.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Sunburst

When former Navy SEAL and lifelong bachelor Ranger Kingston is called upon to take part in a rescue mission to save his brother Colt, who has been kidnapped by terrorists in Nigeria, he is shocked to find among the hostages a woman he knows and could never forget.

Noemi Sutton was attempting to return a young girl to her family in Boko Haram territory when she and the girl found themselves taken hostage, along with several others.

And while Ranger Kingston may be able to get the hostages away from their captors, he’ll need Noemi’s help if he ever hopes to get out of Nigeria alive.

Her solution? Pose as husband and wife. But when her uncle discovers the union, he insists on a traditional Nigerian wedding–binding Noemi to a man destined to break her heart. Worse, she’s discovered the real reason she was kidnapped, and anyone around her is bound to be caught in the cross fire. Including her so-called new husband.

She’ll need to figure out a way to leave the man she loves if she wants to save his life.

Find Sunburst online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Christianbook | Goodreads | Koorong

About Susan May Warren

Susan May WarrenSusan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of nearly 90 novels with more than 1.5 million books sold, including the Global Search and Rescue and the Montana Rescue series, as well as Sunrise and Sunburst. Winner of a RITA Award and multiple Christy and Carol Awards, as well as the HOLT Medallion and numerous Readers’ Choice Awards, Susan makes her home in Minnesota.

Find Susan May Warren online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

Bookish Question #142 | Which authors or novels to you think best illustrate healthy Christian family relationships?

This is another excellent question.

Fiction is about conflict, and that conflict is often in the context of a family relationship. It may be a stage-of-life thing, but I’m over books where the teenage protagonist has #FirstWorldProblems with their (in my opinion) reasonable parent or parents. I’m also not keen on books where the parents are made out to be some kind of ogres … who have magically produced a well-adjusted child or teenager. #YeahRight.

But there is more to family relationships than parents and children.

There is also siblings … and there are a lot of stories which feature siblings.

Susan May Warren’s Christiansen Family series features the Christiansen siblings (and their parents). Now, it has to be said that they aren’t always “healthy” family relationships, but the emphasis is on acknowledging problems and doing whatever you can to fix the relationships. That’s healthy.

Dee Henderson’s O’Malley romantic suspense series features seven adopted siblings, so that’s a different kind of family. They also disagree, but they’re all noble adults who would do anything for each other.

And, of course, there are Clarke and Marty’s family from Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke, and the Baxter family by Karen Kingsbury, as I mentioned last week.

It’s interesting that all the examples I can think of are series.

Can you think of any standalone novels that do a great job of showing healthy Christian family relationships? Or any series I’ve missed?

Bookish Question #43: Have you read any of the books you received for Christmas?

Bookish Question #43 | Have you read any of the books you received for Christmas?

I didn’t receive any books for Christmas, but as I have previously mentioned, I did get an Amazon gift voucher (even better, if you ask me). I bought myself:

The River of Time series by Lisa T Bergren

I haven’t read this yet. Well, it’s a trilogy!

Evergreen by Susan May Warren

Another in Susan May Warren’s Christiansen family series, but this one is about the parents rather than the children. It’s a bittersweet story of misunderstanding and making up that reminded me what we see isn’t always what’s going on inside.

June Bug by Chris Fabry

This is an older title I picked up based on the intriguing question: what if you saw your photograph on the side of a milk carton? How could I not read that?

One Christmas in Winter by Bell Renshaw

A fun contemporary romance set in the town of Winter when a film crew comes to make a winter romance movie … and the control freak director has to hire a local man to play her romantic lead.

But that has only spent half my gift voucher. What do you recommend I buy with the rest?

And have you read any of your Christmas books yet?

Book Review: The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren delivers one of my favourite series

The marriage of Eli and Noelle Hueston has been going steadily downhill since the death of their teenage daughter in a store shooting.  Eli blames himself for her death, and has since retired from his job as Sheriff, and spends his time either fishing or helping out Lee Nelson, who lost her husband in the same shooting. Noelle is barely surviving, and spends her time volunteering, but has made the decision that she is going to live again. A twist of fate finds her caught up in another shore shooting, but while she does not die, she loses all memory of the last 25 years. As Noelle starts to get to know her husband and two sons again, Eli realises that he has to get to know Noelle again.

I really enjoyed The Shadow of Your Smile, more so than I expected based on the plot summary.  As well as the main plot, there is a very sweet romantic sub-plot involving Eli and Noelle’s oldest son, Kyle, now a deputy in Deep Haven.  As always, Susan May Warren has delivered a book that satisfies on many levels, with likeable characters, a nice romance, a bit of suspense, and some thought-provoking plot lines.

While the Deep Haven novels are all happy-ever-after romances (well, what do you expect from a series where the first book is titled ‘Happily Ever After’?), above all, each book is a story of the power of God to heal our pain.  The Shadow of Your Smile is no exception.  This is the fifth Deep Haven book, and hopefully won’t be the last.  It features cameo appearances from many characters in the earlier books, including Liza Beaumont, the local potter.  I’m still anxiously waiting for Susan May Warren to tell us Liza’s story.  Perhaps she will meet a good-looking Nashville music producer?

This review was previously posted at Iola’s Christian Reads. Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.