Surrender Bay by Denise Hunter

I have read a lot of reviews about this book, and now that I've had an opportunity to read it for myself....I'm blown away. I've never read Denise Hunter's books before, but I know this will certainly be the beginning for me of several wonderful fiction adventures.

Surrender Bay is so much more than a love story. It is a story about the depravity of the human soul, the inability to love unconditionally and to accept unconditional love when it's offered. This book is about the fear of being hurt and the risk we take when we make ourselves vulnerable. Surrender is not the natural state of our heart and soul, and to surrender to anyone is very hard to do for most people.

In this story, Sam has to come back to the place she grew up and face all of the mistakes that have dogged her steps for the last eleven years. She has to face people she has hurt, and she has to face her own fears before she can accept the love and forgiveness offered to her. This book is filled with a lot of tension, a lot of heartache, and an overwhelming sense of grace.

This is an extremely powerful book. It is kind of short in the Christian content category, but it totally captures the meaning of the words love and grace. WOW!!!