Can’t Buy Me Love

By Andrea Christenson

This is one of those books that makes you feel good while you’re reading it. A note from Susan May Warren calls it a retooled fairytale. It might be accurate to call it a modern-day Cinderella story, but the prince needs rescuing too in this story.

Ella Bradley cleans houses in Deep Haven. She makes environmentally friendly soaps and cleaning products and wants to start a soap making business. She first meets Adrian Vassos at a stockholder’s meeting where she hopes to pitch her business idea to his father. Instead, Adrian steals her thunder.

Adrian is trying to prove himself after a humiliating fail, and change his reputation as a party boy. He’s heading up the development of a new hotel/waterpark in Deep Haven, but winds up in trouble within minutes of entering the town.

Through a series of mishaps, the two characters are thrust together doing community service. And, as they work together, sparks fly.

This is simply one of the cutest books I’ve read in a long time. It made me laugh out loud, and it tugged at my heart on more than one occasion. The characters are believable and well-developed. If they were real, you’d like them and feel empathy for them.

There is a nice faith element running through the story, but it’s not over-bearing. You know the characters are believers, but you don’t get a bunch of sermons.

One final bonus is you get to see some of the beloved characters from the original Deep Haven books. It’s always nice to catch up with old friends.

Can’t Buy Me Love is the second book in a new series of stories set in Deep Haven. Susan May Warren is the mentor/sponsor/publisher for the books. Christenson has done a great job capturing the feel of Deep Haven. I particularly liked the mix of humor and seriousness that I think was very much a part of the original Deep Haven novels by Susan May Warren.

It’s a five-star story.