Book Tour - A Perfect Match & A Must-Read!

There are light reads. There are heavy, ponderous reads. And then there are books with multiple layers, like this one, where an important message is woven throughout the story. See my comments below.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Perfect Match
(Tyndale House January 1, 2009)
by
Susan May Warren


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan grew up in Wayzata, a suburb of Minneapolis, and became an avid camper from an early age. Her favorite fir-lined spot is the north shore of Minnesota is where she met her husband, honeymooned and dreamed of living.

The north woods easily became the foundation for her first series, The Deep Haven series, based on a little tourist town along the shores of Lake Superior. Her first full-length book, Happily Ever After, became a Christy Award Finalist published in 2004 with Tyndale/Heartquest.

As an award winning author, Susan returned home in 2004, to her native Minnesota after serving for eight years with her husband and four children as missionaries with SEND International in Far East Russia. She now writes full time from Minnesota's north woods and the beautiful town that she always dreamed of living in.

You can sample a chapter of each and every one of Susan's novels, on her website, HERE.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Ellie Karlson is new to Deep Haven. As the town’s interim fire chief, she is determined to lead the local macho fire crew in spite of their misconceptions about her. But when someone begins setting deadly fires, Ellie faces the biggest challenge of her life. Especially when sparks fly with one of the volunteers on her crew: Pastor Dan Matthews. As Ellie battles to do her job and win the respect of her crew, she finds that there is one fire she can’t fight—the one Dan has set in her heart.
(This book is the repackaged edition published in 2004)

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Perfect Match, go HERE.

Awards:
2004 American Christian Fiction Writer's Book of the Year
A Romantic Times Magazine TOP PICK – 4½ stars

Review:

Romantic Times Magazine:
Vibrant characters and vivid language zoom this action-packed romance to the top of the charts. This is a one-sitting read –once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down.

MY THOUGHTS

This is a great book. When I began reading it, I simply enjoyed it for the relatively light-hearted romance novel that I found it to be. (Well, as light-hearted as a story involving deadly arson can be!) As a self-proclaimed word geek and bookworm, I was intrigued by the descriptive passages and phrasing, and the romantic in me enjoyed the tension and interaction between Ellie and Dan - and between Ellie and everyone else.

But as the story continued to unfold, the layers began to deepen. And I saw the dilemmas that so many of us can battle. The frustration from feeling that as strong Christians (especially if we are in leadership positions) that we should have "the answers" when those we care about are hurting and we are at a loss for words. The desperate longing to make our lives count in a grand, earth-shattering, big-as-God way. Or to make amends for past mistakes. To prove our worth and find our purpose. Sometimes, even if we accept salvation by grace, we think we have to prove that God made a good choice with us.

Thus are some of the struggles of Dan and Ellie. How they work through these issues individually, and how it affects their relationship made this captivating book difficult to put down.

And the note from Susan May Warren at the end as she recaps it and explains how this played out in her own life is worth the price of the book. As many of us battle with insecurity and feeling like we need to make an impact for Christ, this one sentence cannot be missed:

"Life with Christ bears fruit, whether you serve in full-time missions proclaiming the gospel overseas or full-time missions wiping runny toddler noses in the middle of Iowa. And this fruit, my friends, is eternal."

OK, make that two sentences! And make this a book on your TBR list!

Happy, fruitful, reading!