Customer Reviews

Canary Island Song: A Novel

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an avid Robin Jones Gunn reader, when I got an email about the opportunity to review her newest book, Canary Island Song, I was all over that. I started out reading her Christy Miller series in middle school, and was able to follow along with Sierra Jensen as I was in high school. Canary Island Song was a fun way to briefly catch up with a couple characters from those series via Bryan Spencer.

Robin's books always make me want to live in the islands, whether Hawaii, where many of her books venture, or the Canary Islands, like in this book. Her descriptions are so lush and vivid, I can imagine myself there. Of course, I am then brutally reminded that I am, in fact, not on an island, but in Minnesota. Tragic.

The book starts out with Carolyn's twin sister Marilyn getting married, and Carolyn realizing she needs to "get a life," in the words of her adult daughter, Tikki. After a brief, failed relationship begun at Marilyn's wedding reception, Carolyn agrees. And the best way to get a life? Take an impromptu trip to the Canary Islands just in time to surprise her mom, Abuela Teresa, for her seventieth birthday!

While in the Canary Islands, Carolyn spends time with the Women of the Canaries--her mother and aunts--getting a life after the loss of her husband. She still blames God for his death seven years later. Through flamenco dance lessons, treating herself to a pedicure, and, of course, reconnecting with her high school summer sweetheart, Bryan Spencer, Carolyn is able to regain both her life and her relationship with the Lord.

This is a sweet story about mother-daughter relationships, healing after loss, and the rekindling of love, many years and heartaches later. The dynamic with three generations--Carolyn, Abuela Teresa, and Tikki--is fantastic, and I love Aunt Frieda's "Old World declarations."

I highly recommend this both for longtime Robin Jones Gunn fans and those who have never read her books before.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Howard Books. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

Often times we have to accept our lot in life. Whatever choices we have made along the way are personalized just for us.

When life dealt Carolyn a tough hand, she dealt with it the best way she could. She coped on the outside, put on a smile when need be, and avoided the subject of her husband, Jeff's death. Even after so many years the grief remained buried deep inside. As long as no one mentioned it, she could ignore it.

Yet, life was passing her by! Her twin sister, Marilyn is already married and she is moving on and finally out of her house. Now alone, she takes the advice of her sister and daughter, Tikki, that she needs to get out there again. Meet some one. Fall in love again!

With the approach of her mom's 70th birthday, she plans a surprise for her and returns to the Canary Islands. She is ready to begin a new start, but what she didn't expect was to meet up again with the man who captured her heart at 18 and broke it. Will she be ready to start a new life or will her past reclaim her and hold her heart captive again?

I received Canary Island Song by Robin Jones Gunn, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and have to give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. We all have had our fair shares of heart breaks in our life, but rarely do we get the opportunity to possibly rekindle that old flame. This is a novel about romance but also about dealing with grief and the ability to move forward even though our hearts and emotions will sometimes hold us back. Filled with so much love and hope, this novel is a great summer book that will take you to the most unexpected places.

I personally perferred Robin's Sisterchick novels to this new direction she is going in. However, she has made me want to move to Hawaii with a great light read

Canary Island Song is such a feel good book that makes you look at your life. Yesterday was good, but tomorrow will be better! Robin makes the book come to life before your eyes! A truly wonderful talented Author!

I have read all the Sisterchick books and I loved this one as much as I loved that series! Can't wait to see where she goes from here!

Robin Jones Gunn is well known for her YA books and her SisterChicks books. Here we have a book that reminds me a little of the SisterChicks books except instead of best friends we have Carolyn who is at a crossroads in her life, her mother who lives in the Canary Islands and her daughter who just can't get her boyfriend to commit. These 3 generations all learn a lot about each other and themselves when they take a little time to discover what's important. I loved the setting of this book and the characters were so vibrant and different. The message that you are never too old or young to find yourself and that God has a plan in everything was so clear. What a good book, especially if you enjoyed her SisterChicks books!

For fans of Robin Jones Gunn, as well as those who haven't had the pleasure of reading her books before, Canary Island Song is a must-read.

I joke that Christy Miller was one of the best friends I had in high school, and the funny party is, I'm only half-joking. If you're like me and you love the Christy books, you are sure to appreciate the hero's connection to Todd, as well as the novel's brief mention of this couple. In some ways, Canary Island is sort of like an adult Christy Miller book: the whimsical beauty of love with some of life's hardships mixed in.

Carolyn is a young widow whose heart yearns for love but still feels the pain of her sudden loss. Bryan is a single father who's family drama brings him back to the Canary Islands. Together, these two rekindle a past worth remembering.

Something magical happens between the spaces of a Robin Jones Gunn book, and this novel is no exception. I can't explain it. All I can say is that Robin has an amazing ability to make the reader empathize with the characters, and to transport the reader into the vibrancy of different locations. In this case, that location is full of sort breezes, camel rides, flamenco dance lessons, and adventure. Also, Robin does a nice job weaving historical details into the story so that fans of historicals will still be satisfied with this contemporary story.

There is strong and well-developed family thread that was probably my favorite aspect of the book. Grandmother, mother, and daughter all come together in this tropical setting to find their dreams and their strength, but most importantly, to find it together.

All in all, another A+ from Robin. You know a book is good when you come away from it wishing you could meet the characters, and that certainly holds true here.

If you need a summer getaway but can't afford a cruise, get Canary Island Song and let Robin Jones Gunn's story take you to the Canaries. It's a story of reconnecting with family and with a past love. But for Carolyn, it's more than that. She's reconnecting with herself and with life. Beautifully written as only Robin Jones Gunn can do, you'll feel the island breezes in your hair and smell the salt air as you read. Novel Rocket and I give Canary Island Song a very high recommendation. It's a must read!

Anyone who has read the Christy Miller series will love to discover more of the life of Todd Spencer's dad in this book. It is amazing how Robin Jones Gunn is able to relate to us readers through these characters. This book is full of hope, redemption and family and passion.

This is the kind of book that just makes you relax. All the island descriptions, the ocean, the food. And then there's the love angle,which grows on you, too. I enjoyed every moment of this book and appreciated being "transported" to a beautiful island. Well written, well character development. Give it a try!

I read my 1st book by Robin when I was 13 (The Christy Miller series, Book #1) and I was immediately hooked! Since then I have read almost every book that she has published. So I was very excited to see she had another new one on the market. I was even more excited to find out that she had pulled a character from her previous series into this stand-alone novel (I love catching up with old characters).

I was a little surprised when I started to read "Canary Island Song" that I had some trouble getting into the 1st chapter or 2 (not usual for me with one of her books). That problem quickly disappeared and I was swept up in to the story of Carolyn & Bryan and the interaction between the different generations of women in the family! (Man, I want to visit the Canary Islands now!! lol) As with all of Robin's novels, she is able to describe thing so you feel like you are right there watching the events unfold. Her characters come to life and the reader is drawn into the character's life and struggles. As with all Robin's books, she again weaves this story around faith in God, which is so refreshing and uplifting.

*Disclosure: I pre-ordered this book, but before I could receive my purchased copy, I was sent a complimentary one from Howard Books for the purpose of review. With two copies, I happily passed one on to a friend with high praises (she loved it too)!