Then Came You

RANDOM RETRO READ

He’s in Deep Haven to relax.

Detective Daniel “Boone” Buckam is more than burned out. After fourteen stellar years on the job, one bad judgment call—and, fine, a whole lot of cynicism—has forced him into a mandatory vacation. If he can get his head on straight, there’s a job as Police Chief waiting for him back in his Minneapolis suburb.

But then he meets Vivien.

Actress Vivien Calhoun isn’t really a drama queen. Sure, she gets swept up in the emotions of life—but please, she’s an actress. Or, um, was until a stalker made her flee the bright lights of Broadway. Now, she’s passionate about directing her local theater production. But when she accidentally ropes an uptight police detective on vacation into her cast, she can’t help but wonder if he might be the leading man she’s always longed for.

Of course, she’s in trouble.

Boone can’t help but like Vivien. He might even have a type—vivacious and bubbly, with a penchant for attracting danger. He can smell trouble even if she can’t, and is pretty sure her stalker has hunted her all the way to Deep Haven. He’ll have to stay by her side—even if it means being in her silly play—to keep her safe. But Vivien is more than he expected as she helps him discover a part of him he’s locked away…the part that said he could never love again.

So much for relaxing.

It’s summertime in Deep Haven, and the fun is heating up in this laugh-out-loud, charming story.

My Review

published in 2021

Just when I think there can’t be an original meet/cute idea left, an author surprises me with a fresh spin. Vivi and Boone’s is equal parts charming and funny and sets the tone for their unexpected romance. One or other of them is always feeling discombobulated, which is kind of fun.

Boone sees straight through Vivi’s over-the-top theatrics and I love that about him. There are reasons she feels like she has to be ‘on’ one hundred percent of the time and Boone is one of the few people in her life who calls her on it. Blunt, forthright and dealing with his own issues, he has come to Deep Haven to decompress and get his life and career back on track. An idyllic summer retreat is not the time to start up a romance…but then Vivi happens and….

Sweet and funny with some significant character growth (especially for Boone) made this a compulsive read. There’s a bit of very light suspense which mostly serves to push the plot in the right direction, so definitely a straight up Contemporary Romance.

This is the fourth Deep Haven Collection novel and the 2nd one I have read. While I enjoy the small town ambiance, there’s always a slew of characters to meet between the original Deep Haven series written by Susan May Warren and the Collection series written by various authors so I felt quite out of the loop at times. Kinda like I’m new in town, sitting in the coffee shop and getting whiplash from all the bantering back and forth between complete strangers. It’s a fun way to people watch, but I feel off kilter from time to time. Like I’m not getting every punch line or undercurrent.

While I enjoyed many standalone qualities of Then Came You, I feel like this series is written more for diehard fans of the original books — and even some other Susan May Warren series (The Christiansen family is mentioned here and Boone is a secondary character from the PJ Sugar series.)

16 thoughts on “Then Came You”

  2. Thank you for the retro review on “Then Came You”. Definitely sounds like a fun read and one I know I would enjoy reading. Sounds like it might be best to at least read the series in order maybe in order to know exactly who is who maybe.

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  3. I’m doing a reread of a Deep Haven book soon too. I’m going back to the very first book that started it all, Happily Ever After by Susan Warren. Afterall, it has the Footstep of Heaven Bookstore/coffee shop and we do love our bookstore books! 🙂

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  4. Thanks for your review, Kav. I recently (finally) started The Christiansen Family Series. I know what you mean about so many characters! I had to make a character list to help me out as I’m reading. I am really enjoying it, though. I will keep my list for future reads. I might eventually read the Deep Haven Series.

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    1. I have read the Christiansen Family series — my first Susan May Warren reading experience, and I thought I had read the Deep Haven books…but I realize I’ve missed a few. Definitely keep that character list handy for future reference. lol

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  7. I’ve read a few of Susan’s books, but not any of the Deep Haven series. I went and looked over my book list of this author and I’ll admit its really all a bit confusing. Almost seems you have to go back quite a ways to be able to follow the storyline of these books. I hate to jump into the middle of a series. I want to start from the beginning to enjoy them all. So I guess I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

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    1. Yes, it’s a fine line between giving readers more of what they love (in this case the town of Deep Haven and some beloved characters) but not overwhelming those readers with so many new characters (as well as ones from other series besides Deep Haven.) I think the way this collection is written is more for the Deep Haven connoisseurs.

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