Serena recs inspys 'Take a Chance on Me,' 'Roses Have Thorns'
Featuring themes of reconciliation and forgiveness, these April romance releases from popular Inspy authors are sure to keep you warm on these rainy spring nights!
Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren
What it's about (from publisher Tyndale House):
Darek Christiansen is almost a dream bachelor — oldest son in the large Christiansen clan, heir to their historic Evergreen Lake Resort, and doting father. But he's also wounded and angry since the tragic death of his wife, Felicity. No woman in Deep Haven dares come near.
New assistant county attorney Ivy Madison simply doesn't know any better when she bids on Darek at the charity auction. Nor does she know that when she crafted a plea bargain three years ago to keep Jensen Atwood out of jail and in Deep Haven fulfilling community service, she was releasing the man responsible for Felicity's death. All Ivy knows is that the Christiansens feel like the family she's always longed for. And once she gets past Darek's tough exterior, she finds a man she could spend the rest of her life with. Which scares her almost as much as Darek learning of her involvement in his wife's case.
Caught between new love and old grudges, Darek must decide if he can set aside the past for a future with Ivy — a future more and more at risk as an approaching wildfire threatens to wipe out the Christiansen resort and Deep Haven itself.
Why you should read it: Darek is a gruff, angry (and did I mention drop-dead-gorgeous) former dare-devil firefighter with several axes to grind, but a soft spot when it comes to the tender way he is raising his preschool-age son, Tiger, alone. *swoon alert!* Ivy doesn't believe love and romance are for her, but one moment of loneliness and compassion purchases a date with the town's most ineligible bachelor and … she can't help but be drawn into his life. The Christiansen family is everything Ivy ever dreamed of in childhood as she was shuffled from one foster home to the other — and she would do anything to protect them. But as Ivy settles into her new town and romance begins to sizzle with Darek, she knows the truth will eventually come out. Deep Haven is too small, and too close-knit a community, to keep anyone's secrets for long.
Take a Chance on Me is the first of six books in this new series from prolific author Susan May Warren — and I couldn't be more excited! I've already fallen in love with the Christianson family (especially those hunky young men!) and I can't wait to see how Warren brings true and lasting love into the lives of Darek's two brothers and three sisters.
Roses Have Thorns: A novel of Elizabeth I by Sandra Byrd
What it's about (from publisher Howard Books):
From the acclaimed author of To Die For comes a stirring novel told that sheds new light on Elizabeth I and her court. Like Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, Sandra Byrd has attracted countless fans for evoking the complexity, grandeur, and brutality of the Tudor period. In her latest tour de force, she poses the question: What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage — or your life?
In 1565, 17-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiancé has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth's circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen's downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she's not sure she can trust--a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.
Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.
Why you should read it: Sandra Byrd's Ladies in Waiting series has hooked me in with each and every title, but this latest novel, set in the court of Elizabeth I, is not on the final of the series, but my favorite. Roses Have Thorns gives a backstage peek at the Elizabethan court — it's like the Tudor court version of modern celebrity gossip. Beautifully set against a woman's heartbreaking hunger for love, t's one of those books in which your eyeballs just can't seem to move fast enough to soak in every rich detail and every delicious secret.
This one simply has it all. Scandalous gossip! Court intrigue! Forbidden romance! Roses Have Thorns is addictive reading — a guilty pleasure that will transport your heart to the edge of despair and, with a sigh, to the renewal of hope.
The House that Love Built by Beth Wiseman
What it's about (from publisher Thomas Nelson)
Brooke has only loved one man, her late husband. Owen's rebuilding after a painful divorce. Can a mysterious house bring them together for a second chance at love?
In the charming town of Smithville, Texas, Brooke Holloway is raising two young children on her own, supporting them by running the family hardware store. The last thing on her mind is falling in love. But she's intrigued when a stranger moves to town and buys the old Hadley mansion. She's always heard that house holds a secret — maybe even a treasure — and she can't wait to see inside. When she meets the new owner and they spend time together, she can't deny the attraction. Could God be giving her another chance at happiness? Or is she betraying her late husband's memory by even thinking that way?
Owen Saunders bought the Hadley place to spite his cheating ex-wife. She'd always wanted to restore an old house in Smithville. Now he's going to do it without her. But if anything needs restoration, it is Owen's heart. Then he meets Brooke and her kids and finds himself tempted by love. Can he bring himself to trust a woman again?
Throw an eccentric uncle into the mix, along with the town's teenage troublemaker, and even a finicky cat — and one thing becomes clear: God is bringing them all together for a reason.
Why you should read it: Beth Wiseman built a name for herself penning Amish fiction, but The House that Love Built is a clear departure from that popular genre. In this novel, Wiseman lives "in the now" in a picturesque town of Smithville, Texas. Her characters are broken by the loss of spouses through death and divorce, but the romance, while resisted by both parties, sparks to life with layers of instant-but-building attraction. Add in a few light bulb moments in which her characters reconcile themselves with the idea of a second chance at love, but then back pedal out of fear, and you can hardly wait for those moments when, after reclining into the sweet compatibility of friendship, a surprising kiss reminds them that there could be something more.
A theme of forgiveness is threaded through both characters' stories, and minor characters help to vividly redefine what a "family" can truly become if we allow ourselves to open our concept of that word up to a fresh interpretation. Although the story starts a bit slowly, the characters soon reel you in to their romance and it becomes hard to walk away from them. A few twists, turns and revelations later, the tale is rounded out with a sweet and satisfying ending.
A writer, performer and accomplished partaker of dark chocolate, Serena Chase lives in Iowa with her husband and two daughters. Her debut romance, The Ryn, book one of her Eyes of E'veria series, is out now. Book two, The Remedy, came out in late April. You can find out more about her at serenachase.com.