Mortified after her semester
abroad is cut short, Amelia Christiansen returns to Deep Haven, certain she
isn’t brave enough for the adventures she’s dreamed of. The last thing she
expects is for the man who broke her heart to cross the Atlantic and beg
forgiveness.
Heir to a European hotel
dynasty, Roark St. John has trekked from one exotic locale to another, haunted
by tragedy and the expectations that accompany his last name. Amelia is the
first woman to give him a reason to stop running. He’ll do anything for a
second chance—even contend with Amelia’s old flame, who is intent on sending
Roark packing.
While on surprise after another
leaves Amelia reeling, Roark’s continued presence only highlights the questions
pursuing her. Like him, is she running from the life God has called her to?
Could finding her new place mean leaving home behind?
The Wonder of You is the
fifth book in Susan May Warren’s Christiansen
Family series, coming after Take a Chance on Me, It Had to Be You, When I Fall in Love, and Always on My Mind. Because it has been
quite a few months since I read the first four novels, I cannot accurately tell
you which one is my absolute favorite, but I do know that When I Fall in Love was by favorite before, and I absolutely LOVED The Wonder of You. So, I’m going to say
both of those are my top two. I’ve been a huge fan of Susan’s for a long time
now, so I knew I would enjoy The Wonder
of You, but I didn’t really expect it to knock my socks off just as well as
it did. It was a good thing I was sitting in a comfortable chair the whole time
I was reading it, because I seriously almost needed a fainting couch for ninety
percent of the story. When I wasn’t yelling at certain characters to stop being
so thickheaded, that is.
Amelia
Christiansen’s story was touched on a little bit at the end of Always on My Mind, and believe me, it
had me dying to read all about it as
soon as I could. Unfortunately, it took me this long to get around to it, but
let me tell you, it was definitely worth the wait. Amelia is exactly like I imagined
she would be, a beautiful, spunky dreamer who has all the fire inside her that
her hair makes you believe she would be filled with. At the same time, however,
she struggles with insecurity, fear, and doubt that keeps her from really being
able to fly. I love how real and raw and honest her character is, even though I
wanted to throw a book at her head many times when she wasn’t being very
understanding or spent too much time with the wrong guy, rather than the
perfect man.
Roark
St. John. He is the perfect man. Although he makes mistakes, just like anyone
else, he is the main reason for most of my swooning throughout this book. He
really does love Amelia, though he sometimes found a funny way of showing it,
and I fell for him because of it. Plus, I just loved his little British
expressions! They were so wonderful to read, and really helped to portray him
as a character. Anyway, I really loved the way he truly fought for Amelia, even
when she didn’t want him to and when he was chased away, and I couldn’t handle
the way he eventually overcame all his shortcomings, all of his self-doubts, to
really be the hero she needs.
One of
my favorite parts of this book was the fact that Susan also picked Grace and
Max’s story back up, which was clearly one of my favorites (they were the main
characters of When I Fall in Love).
Their love story still had to overcome the hurdles of Max’s insecurities and
fears of loving someone only to leave them caring for him when he succumbed to
the disease he knew all too well was coming, and I loved getting to pick back
up on how Grace puts his doubts to rest. And then everything that happens with
little Yulia—don’t worry, I won’t say another word so I don’t spoil anything—but
let’s just say, it definitely made me cry. Susan absolutely made the right call
when she added more of their story to Amelia and Roark’s.
Anyway,
I absolutely adored this novel; the ending the most actually, and cannot help
but give it all five bookshelves and a place on my all-time favorites list. It is
sweet, it is maddening, it is swoon-worthy, and it is one of the best novels I have
ever read. I know I won’t be forgetting this amazing piece of heaven any time
soon, that is for sure and for certain. I HIGHLY recommend you go pick up this
novel as soon as possible, once you read the first four that is. One thing
about this series, though it makes it even more perfect, is the fact that I really
believe you should read them in order. If you don’t, you won’t be able to truly
grasp all that is the Christiansens. So, go devour the first four, then melt
your way through this one, and maybe you’ll be done just in time for the
release of Owen’s story, You’re the One
That I Want.
Happy
reading!
To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party
page.
All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Susan May
Warren and Tyndale House Publishers.
This looks like a cool book. Thanks for sharing it at #LMMLinkup!
ReplyDeleteIt is! Thanks so much for visiting!
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