Fiction Friday #9 - Robin's Books

I have been on Spring Break for the last week, and it has been simply wonderful! I was really needing to read some books about normal people that end happily. So, last Friday I stopped at the library here in Springfield and picked up all the Robin Jones Gunn books they had that I hadn't read before. Robin Jones Gunn is one of my favorite authors (I got to meet her once!!) and reading some of her books seemed like a good way to spend my break.Cottage by the Sea, the first book of the week, is about Erin Bryce, a woman who has recently opened a wedding planning business with her best friend. They even get to plan the wedding for Erin's son, Jordan. Life changes dramatically for Erin when her father's health takes a turn for the worst and Erin has to go live with him in his cottage by the sea for an indefinite amount of time. While Erin's relocation wasn't her ideal, she found that the location and situation gave her plenty of time to reflect, grow, and heal. One of the things I love about Robin's books is that she brings in characters from her other books and connects them, even if it's just a simple connection. Robin snuck in a few references to some of her other series, which I absolutely love! I only wish I would have realized that this book technically falls after Love Finds You in Sunset Beach (see below) in the timeline of some character's lives, so I got the end of Sierra Jensen's story before I read the middle of it.Next up on my book list was Gardenias for Breakfast. When Abby was twelve, she spend her summer in small town Louisiana with her grandmother, Grand Lady, and it had a profound, positive impact on her life. Fast-forward over twenty years, Abby is a happily married, mother of two who lives in Hawaii and would love to get back to the mainland for a while. More specifically, Abby wants her twelve-year-old daughter Hannah to have a chance to meet Grand Lady in hopes that Grand Lady will be able to speak encouragement and truth into her daughter's life as well. An unexpected offer from her brother brings Abby and Hannah to the mainland and sends them on a cross country trip to see many family members including a few days in Louisiana with Grand Lady. However, very little of the trip goes as Abby plans, but the trip allows both Abby and Hannah an opportunity to understand the importance of family and forgiveness. I enjoyed this book even though it has a more serious tone than many of Robin's other books.After Gardenias for Breakfast, I picked up Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, which I soon realized told the story of Sierra Jensen, who is the main character of one of Robin's beloved young adult series. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Sierra Jensen series when I was a teenager, so I was thrilled to find that her story was continued in this book (then concluded in Cottage by the Sea). Prior to this book, the last readers had heard of Sierra, she was living in Brazil serving Jesus in many different ministry roles. This book picks up as Sierra is processing some unexpected transition and trying to figure out what her next step in life will be. Her friend Marianna convinces Sierra to travel to Sunset Beach, Hawaii for a week of vacation as she is trying to make her decision. While she's in Hawaii, Sierra keeps running into Jordan Bryce, a photographer who is covering a surf competition on assignment for a major surf magazine. The two of them are thrown together time after time in situations that can only be described as a 'God thing'. Now, I'm not going to ruin the ending for you, but you can probably guess that love finds someone on Sunset Beach... ;)Canary Island Song wrapped up my reading for the week. Carolyn decided to escape to visit her mother on the Canary Islands after her daughter informs her she needs to get a life. When she lost her husband seven years earlier, Carolyn shut out God and people and lived a very safe life inside a cocoon, and her trip to the islands draws her out of her comfort zone and back into life. While there she runs into Bryan Spencer, the guy she had fallen for during her last visit to the islands when she was just out of high school, and she isn't sure how to handle his re-entry into her life. However, the caring attitude of her mother and extended family help Carolyn come out of her shell and learn to trust God again. My favorite part of this book was that the first time Bryan Spencer was mentioned I kept thinking, "that name sounds so familiar..." but I couldn't quite figure out why. Then in a flash of brilliance it dawned on me that Bryan Spencer is the father of a main character in a number of Robin's other book series. I may or may not have gotten really excited about that. I just love how she manages to pick up the lives of different characters that were previously background or minor characters and bring them into the front with a whole story of their own. This story was one of growth and forgiveness and discovering new life when you've suffered loss.One of my favorite aspects of Robin Jones Gunn's writing is that she tells the funniest stories and her characters tend to get into some of the strangest predicaments. While reading, there are moments when you think, "this would never happen!" However, Robin has often said that many of the crazy things that happen in her books have actually happened to her and her friends, which makes the stories even funnier. I also love that at the end of many of her 'travel' books she includes pictures of her and her friends exploring the countries she wrote about!The fact that she often tackles difficult life situations with her characters is another reason I love her writing. It makes them seem so much more real. Most of all though, I love that in every book she writes no matter what the life situation, travel experience, or character problem, she points people to Christ in a simple, honest way that is easy to connect with and understand. I hope that I will be able to tell stories like that someday.So if you are ever in need of something light, fun, and faith-filled to read, I would highly suggest checking out some of Robin Jones Gunn's books! If you have teen girls who need something positive to read, Robin has multiple series for young girls and young adults. She truly has mastered writing for different age groups and has at least one book for any age. I also love her Glenbrooke series, which is about a number of women who all end up living in a small town in Oregon and grow to be a great group of friends.