Owen's story. The youngest boy in the Christiansen family. He has run to Alaska to escape his past and becomes injured when he is thrown overboard from a fishing boat.

"God is constantly using broken, messy people to restore the world and bring Him glory."

This quote from Mr. Christiansen in You're the One That I Want aptly sums up the entire Christiansen series. None of the family members are perfect; in fact, they pretty much spend the entire series making the mistakes the reader wanted them to avoid. They're complex, not cookie cutter, characters with many layers. I was emotionally invested and could not stop reading even when I wanted to knock their heads together.

I was seriously wondering if I would be able to enjoy a book about Owen, after the first five books made him out to be quite the villain, but his heart started to soften before the book began and we were able to root for him pretty quickly.

My main concerns are: several of the books involve believers falling in love and pursuing relationships with nonbelievers (who eventually come to have faith, but never till the end of the book and it never gave the believing MC pause); lots of physical attraction before any other kind; and I think 3 of the relationships were insta-love. And love triangles abounded.

Scotty was een heerlijke, sterke hoofdpersoon. Een vrouw die niet over zich heen laat lopen! Tegelijk heeft ze ook genoeg issues te overwinnen.
Leuk om Owen eindelijk beter te leren kennen. Bijzonder hoe Susan May Warren hem een nieuwe start geeft. Hoe reageren zijn familieleden op zijn thuiskomst? Hoe reageert hij zelf op alle nieuwe omstandigheden in Deep Haven?

Casper wordt aangeklaagd voor moord. Hoe loopt dat af?

Weer genoeg spanning en sensatie in dit verhaal!

Summary:
This book follows the life of the youngest Christiansen, Owen. Owen is a former hockey player who, after a freak accident, walked away from everything, including his family. His life has been in a downward spiral since. He ends up on a fishing boat (think Deadliest Catch), where he meets Scotty. Scotty, a police officer with a rough past, is the daughter of the captain of the boat and tough as nails. Her mom died when she was young and she doesn't really have a family. Both she and Owen have some bitterness towards God and some issues they need to work through. Owen, the prodigal son, is afraid to come and face his family. Scotty, an only child, desperately, yet unknowingly, wants to be part of a family. After falling overboard and almost dying, Owen's brother Darek comes to bring him back home, but some interesting things happen along the way.

Review:
I don't even know what to say. I LOVED this book. If I could have given it more than five starts, I would have. I have loved every one of the Christiansen family books, but this one may have been my favorite. I say "may," because I have loved all of them and it's hard to choose a favorite. This was the last book of the series, so it was incredibly bittersweet. I loved that Warren brought back all of the family members, even Amelia, for the final book. I think that's what made it my favorite. While this book is about Owen, there are many other deep storylines here, and I loved every one of them. The theme of redemption and grace is perfectly woven throughout this book and I ended up falling in love with characters I formerly hated. I love how Warren used certain people in this book to really speak God's truth into the lives of several characters. This book made me laugh and cry. In fact, I think I teared up about 3 times (I know, I know, crying over a book?!). Warren writes so well and I absolutely get lost in her books. While I don't want to give away any spoilers, this book included someone nearly dying and someone being accused of murder, so it was highly suspenseful and I couldn't put it down! At the same time, I didn't want it to end because I knew it would be over for good. I have fallen in love with each and every character in this series (okay, maybe not Monte), and I highly recommend this book and entire series to anyone who wants a good, clean, suspenseful, love story.

You're the One that I Want is Owen Christiansen's story. Owen, the prodigal son, the family black sheep, the character I most disliked throughout the series. Yet, in a testament to Warren's great writing, as I began the book, I found myself rooting for—and even really, really liking—Owen!

While the book focuses on Owen and Scotty's relationship, it also ties up loose ends from the other Christiansen books—especially regarding Casper. I was surprised to find that I was not "Team Casper" for most of the novel ... and that brings up something that I've greatly appreciated about the Christiansen Family series: the Christiansens are most definitely not perfect, even after a "come to Jesus" moment. The characters mess up—sometimes in major ways—yet they remain a family and love each other, while also not excusing bad behavior. This is especially evident as the family deals with the fallout of both Owen's and Casper's actions throughout the series.

Not only is You're the One that I Want a fabulous conclusion to the Christian Family novels, but the entire series is wonderful, and I highly recommend all of the books! 5 stars.

Note: This series is one that is best read in order. Start with Take a Chance on Me, and then work your way through the rest. This is one of my favorite series of all time!

Okay, I'll be honest. I did not read any of the other books. Why? Because I wanted to.
Yeah, I was slightly confused. But it was sooo good, all the different plots going on and all the twists, it was crazy. I loved the direction the book went on and felt so comfortable with the ending.
I totally recommend this book, just make sure to read the others first :)
Bye Y'all
-Duckie :)

This is a book that kept me riveted. Owen is the bad boy, the broken character, the prodigal son. The relationship between him and Casper is deepened in how they made amends and reconcile, but more importantly the story between Owen and Scotty and how they each help the other to heal.

This isn't a simple story. Owen left a lot of broken pieces in his wake. But through this last book of the Christiansen family, we can see the depth of Owen's soul and life; and his impetuousness.

Of all the books, I found the story of Casper and Owen my favorites. Two brothers who are so much alike and yet so different.

***I received this book through NetGalley from the publisher in exchange of an honest review***

Main characters falling overboard into rough, cold waters that could kill them and a murder investigation all in one book?? While I can't imagine that the Christiansen family could realistically have gone through all they went through in one family throughout this whole series, it did make for some gripping reading. I think I really liked this one because we got to experience such a radical change in Owen's life and way of handling things. He was quite a jerk for many of these books so it was great to see him on the other side of that, even if he still had glimpses of his former self.

I will admit, after having the last book dedicated largely to Casper as well as a chunk of this one, he turned out to be my least favorite of all the Christiansen siblings. I don't know why he rubbed me the wrong way, but he did. Ironically, Owen turned out to be one of my favorites but I think so much plot line was dedicated to him running from his family and his mistakes that you couldn't help cheering for his redemption story. One thing I love about reading a series that's so deeply connected (such as one that follows siblings) is getting constant updates about what's happening to the other couples you fell in love with. You definitely get that here. Though, poor Amelia felt kind of like an after thought thrown in. But I guess that's what she gets for going to Africa.

The prodigal comes home, this apeared to be the main theme behind this story. Owen has been almost a villan in most of the series. In this books we get his veiw and his struggles.
I had mixed feelings. At the 1/3 point I was kind of anoyed with Owen and Casper. However I kept going and was glad that I did, Warren has done a wonderful job of tying this heartfelt series together. For those who have read other deep haven novels, there is the treat of coming across characters from other books.
While this was not my fave of the series ( Eden and Jase will always be my fave), I was glad to read this finale, and I look forward to visiting Deep Haven again in the future.

An excellent ending to this series. As with the previous novels, my heart went through the wringer, and I cried a bit. Wonderful writing. Great stories. I am so sad it's all over.