I’ve never been in love, but Robin Jones Gunn makes me feel as if I am when I’m reading Christy and Todd: The College Years. The novel starts out with an incredible trip to Europe with Christy, her boyfriend, Todd, and her best friend, Katie. The second book in the set shows the romance between Christy and Todd as it grows stronger and healthier and the incredible proposal that will make your heart melt on the spot. The third book in the set includes planning the wedding, surviving details and complications, and finally walking down the aisle. This series is by far my favorite out of all the books I’ve ever read.

Not only does the series show the relationship between Christy and Todd, it also shows both of their relationships with the Lord. The series shows how they go from separate relationships with God to one overall relationship with the Lord. I love the way you feel like you’re in the character’s shoes when you’re reading the book. It makes you want to have a good, strong, loving relationship with God even if you’re not necessarily a Christian. The feelings and deepness is one of the best qualities of Robin Jones Gunn’s’ writing, and it most certainly makes you think!

In the first book in the set, Until Tomorrow, Christy Miller goes on a whirlwind trip to Europe with her best friend, Katie Weldon and her boyfriend, Todd Spencer. She starts off wanting to see everything in Europe and not take it slow because she doesn’t want to miss out on anything, but she ends up becoming slightly overwhelmed and rushed. Christy’s trip to Europe was an incredible experience with two of the people she’s closet to, but it was also a tense time with some difficult conflict and insecurities. While in Europe, Christy and Todd define their relationship and make a stronger and more incredible commitment to each other and the Lord, while Katie deals with relationships or, in her case, lack there-of.

In the second book in the set, As You Wish, Christy and Todd fall even more deeply in love with each other as Todd begins working as a youth minister, and Christy decides on a major, gets her college degree, and decides what to do with her life in the future. Christy faces the obstacle of telling Todd she loves him, as he has already told her multiple times. Finally, she realizes that Todd is the man that she wants to be with for the rest of her life. But before she gets the chance to tell him her new-found discovery, Todd gets into a terrible car accident, and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors say that the accident was life-threatening and that it’s practically a miracle that he survived. As Christy and her aunt and uncle nurse Todd back to health, Christy finally tells Todd how much she loves him and cares for him. Finally, after Todd is completely better, and they are both confident in their relationship with each other and with God, Todd proposes to Christy! She accepts, and they all celebrate with their friends.

In the third and final book in the set, I Promise, the wedding details start to take shape and relationships are tested. Christy and Todd get to know things about each other that they would have never considered before. Todd shares the details of his past with Christy, while Christy and her Uncle Bob attempt to convert Aunt Marti to Christianity. As the wedding grows nearer, Aunt Marti and Christy’s mom try to take over the wedding plans and minor details, but Christy and Todd end up getting the perfect wedding they had always dreamed of, with simple white flowers and a cake, with the ceremony held in an open meadow by their church near their the college they attend. There were numerous points in the third book where I thought they might break up for good, but they always ended up getting back together again. Christy and Todd are the absolute perfect couple, and they balance each other out, strengthening each other’s weaknesses. I love the way Robin Jones Gunn makes you feel as if you’re a character in the story, planning the wedding right along with everyone else. Whenever a character gets hurt, I always feel their pain as if I am very close to them. In the final scene, when Christy walked down the aisle and was pronounced Mrs. Todd Spencer, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop the tears.

If someone asked me if I recommend these books, I would most certainly say yes! In fact, I would recommend this incredible series to anybody, no matter what age. Although anyone could enjoy these books, I feel that they are directed more towards teenagers. If you are a teenager looking for a better relationship with the Lord, this would be one of the first series I would recommend, other than the Bible, of course! I don’t know what my future will turn out like, but I know that if I were in Christy Miller’s shoes, I would feel like I was living in a fairytale.