You’re The One I Want

And if Casper’s eyes worked, his brother seemed to be tearing up? Oh no—

“Aw Raina, if I had known I got you pregnant, I would have… I should have…”

Then as Casper watched – as everything turned to ice inside him – Owen reached out for the sofa and gingerly lowered himself to one knee. “I know it’s a little late for this, but… do you want to marry me?”

“What. Are. You. DOING?” Casper’s voice turned into a locomotive, tunneling out from some dark place inside him and he advanced on Owen, grabbed him by the shirt. “Have you lost your mind?”

Book: You're the One That I Want (Christiansen Family) by Susan May Warren, Tyndale House Publishers, 2016

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Adult Women

Subjects: Family Relationships, Sex-outside-marriage, Crime, Identity

Summary: When Casper went searching for Owen he never dreamed he would find a more mature, grown up version of his brother, a version determined to do the right thing, even if it destroys someone else. He also never expected to find a warrant for his own arrest as soon as he arrived home! Scotty never expected to find any man like Owen. He’s brave – willing to risk his life to save her. He’s kind – even to the woman who has never known anything but the rough life on the seas. He’s a family man – she didn’t even know families like the Christiansens existed! And he loves her. And he makes her want to believe in God. As for Owen? He never expected to find meaning and purpose in his life again after the fight that ruined his hockey career. Yet somehow, stranded in the middle of the sea with Scotty, Owen starts to find exactly that. Life’s tragedies have a way of refusing to let go of the pain they cause though and the hurt and fear they each feel could destroy the chances of any one of them experiencing anything life than their worst nightmare.

Notes: You’re The One That I Want is about the sixth and final kid in the Christiansen family from the Christiansen Family Novels series. Each book has focused on one of the siblings and in this book, we finally see the completion of Owen’s story – introduced in a big way back in book two. Owen got into a fight with some of the others on his hockey team one night and the result was an injury to his eye that completely ruined his hockey career. The rest of this series has shown Owen sleeping around, fighting with siblings and running away from his family. In this book, Owen returns home and faces up to his responsibilities – namely the girl he got pregnant and the son born as a result. He is also facing the faith he tried to walk away from. He finds a longing for his faith and right relationships with his family. He is also falling in love with a woman who concluded long ago that God doesn’t want her and depending on a God who will just betray her when she needs Him, will make her weak. Owen has to find out how much he truly believes and share that with Scotty.

I highly recommend not only this book, but this series, and in fact this author. Each of her books put a character in a situation that greatly challenges their faith in God and forces them to make tough choices about whether or not to follow Him.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Corinthians 16:13 – Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.