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Sunrise is a series of contemporary Christian romance novels written by Karen Kingsbury. The books follow the exploits of Dayne and Katy as they attempt to succeed as a married couple in an increasingly difficult world.
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Order of Sunrise Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunrise | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Summer | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Someday | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Sunset | 2008 | Description / Buy |
Karen, the author, moved around a lot as a child because of her father’s job, though her family finally settled in the San Fernando Valley. A student of journalism who spent a few years working as a sportswriter, Karen Kingsbury has attracted a lot of praise and criticism for the Sunrise series.
Though, most of her detractors will admit that they eventually came to love the Sunrise books. The criticism surrounding the Sunrise series primarily revolves around its complexity.
The books are relatively small but they tend to assault readers with a large cast of characters participating in multiple storylines that grow more convoluted with each passing novel.
Sunrise, the first novel in the Sunrise series, initially looks like a simple and straightforward tale. Dayne is a movie star with adoring fans all over the world. Katy is the girl he loves.
Dayne and Katy want to get married. But their dream wedding is a simple function, an intimate event free of the hordes of the press that follow Dayne around every moment of his life.
What starts out as a simple attempt to organize a secret wedding away from prying eyes gets complicated when the Baxter and Flannigan families come into the picture. The Baxters and the Flannigans only want to help.
But each family is plagued by its fair share of problems. From John Baxter who doesn’t know what to make of his feelings for Elaine to Ashley’s pregnancy problems and Bailey’s issues with boys, Sunrise is chocked with melodrama and turmoil.
Karen is only able to juggle so many characters and storylines because the Baxters and the Flannigans are not new to literary landscapes. The families have played central roles in previous novels and series by the author.
As such, the Sunrise series is merely an extension of Karen Kingsbury’s previous works. And while the author works hard to make the necessary background information available, readers that are new to her work have complained that it becomes difficult to keep up with everything that happens in the Sunrise books, especially when references are made to events in the previous series that only avid Karen Kingsbury fans read.
That being said, many such new readers had admitted that it becomes easier to understand the Sunrise landscape as the series progresses, especially after the first book ends; though, anyone who reads the Sunrise series should know that the books spoil many of the plots and mysteries of the previous Baxter and Flannigan series.
It should be noted that the Sunrise series is categorized as Christian fiction. The author makes God and the Bible a central aspect of every single story she tells. Her protagonists only find peace in life once they learn to lean on God.
Sunrise Awards
Sunrise and Sunset were awarded the Christian Retailing’s Best Women’s Fiction Prize in 2008 and 2009.
Best Sunrise Books
Even though these novels can prove difficult to comprehend for readers with no knowledge of the previous Baxter and Flannigan series, they have been praised for telling warm, touching and heart-rending stories, with some of the best books in the series including:
Summer: With a wife waiting for him back home, Dayne had no idea how he was going to approach the love scenes in his next movie. But then he tried and succeeded in making Katy, his wife, his co-star.
What should have been a wonderful collaboration on the set of a magical movie turns sour. As their marriage begins to fray in light of a new reality show exploring their lives, Dayne and Katy quickly realize that they should never have worked together.
Meanwhile, troubling news about a pair of pregnancies throws the Baxter Family into turmoil.
Someday: Dayne and Katy’s previous attempt at working together drove them to pursue separate movie projects. However, will their marriage survive their celebrity lifestyles, especially in light of tabloid rumors about their respective affairs?
Other Book Series You May Like
Another great book series is the “Firstborn” Series by Karen Kingsbury. Dayne Mathews is a famous movie star with all money he could ever want. But he yearns for true love. Katy Hart is a beautiful young woman who runs the Christian Kids Theater Group in her rural town. Dayne and Katy do not know it yet but their lives are about to become intertwined.
You may also enjoy the “Sisters of the Quilt” Series by Cindy Smallwood. These books tell the story of Hannah Lapp, a young woman who falls in love with a man outside her restrictive community and begins to contemplate leaving the Old Ways of the Amish. This is despite her family’s warnings of the dire consequences that will follow.
What Is The Next Book in The Sunrise Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Sunrise Series. The newest book is Sunset and was released on September, 1st 2008.