Two years after her husband’s death, Amanda Whittier has two children to raise alone, an abandoned dream of starting a business, and a fixer-upper cottage by the sea. She has no room in her life for anything else and little interest in moving on after losing the man she loved.
Paul Grant is a relative newcomer to the area, and his work with former military dogs needing rehabilitation has been good for the town. Though he loved once before, he’s convinced he’s not suited for romance and is determined to find meaning—alone—through his work and role in the community.
Widowed Maeve Lindsay was born and raised on Whelk’s Island. Spirited, kind, and a little mischievous, she pours her life into the town. But she carries a secret that shapes her every move.
Together, these three souls find encouragement in the most mysterious places and discover a love that’s bigger than their pain, healing their wounded hearts in ways none of them could have hoped for or expected.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading The Shell Collector, a beautiful story that’s full of hope. The story opens with Amanda, and young children in tow, saying goodbye to her husband before he leaves on the military deployment that would claim his life. Her grief journey leads her to a beach cottage on Whelk’s Island to start a new life with her children.
Amanda and the children meet Maeve, a senior and widow who spends a lot of time at the beach. They become friends over the summer and share Maeve’s love for seashells. The lives of Amanda, Maeve, and Paul intersect in unexpected ways. The story highlights the importance of family, faith, and emotional healing after experiencing the loss of loved ones. The children and puppies in the story are adorable.
I recommend The Shell Collector to contemporary fiction readers who like inspiring stories that address hard issues, including grief, with a light faith thread and romantic elements in the story.
When Melanie suffers an accident on her honeymoon and wakes up with amnesia, the last thing she expects is to find a hunky man in her bed. A man who swears is her husband, but she’s not buying it. Armed with pepper spray and a kitchen knife, Melanie sets out across Nantucket, escaping her imposter husband and trying to find her way home.
Adam has no idea what he’s going to do. He can’t leave Melanie to wander alone, and even if she doesn’t remember that she loves him, he promises to stand by her side. Through a series of hilarious mishaps and amnesia-induced adventures, Melanie and Adam stumble their way toward falling in love …for the second time. Maybe this time, Melanie won’t forget.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Amnesia on Nantucket and loved the romcom story premise. Melanie and Adam are on the third day of their Nantucket honeymoon, and Melanie decides to try parasailing for the first time. She’s involved in an accident and ends up with a nasty concussion combined with amnesia.
Melanie wakes up in the hospital and doesn’t know she has lost five years of her memory. She doesn’t recognise her Australian husband, Adam, and she is convinced he has kidnapped her!
Adam is an adorable hero. He’s very patient with Melanie who’s insecure about a whole bunch of things. Her temporary amnesia diagnosis tests their relationship, and Melanie has to learn to fall in love with Adam all over again.
The fun cast of side characters add to the many hilarious and LOL moments in the story. The scene with Melanie wearing a particular pair of shorts was a standout and so funny.
I recommend Amnesia on Nantucket to contemporary romance readers who like sweet clean romcoms that include a married couple romance combined with the amnesia trope. The novella is connected to Taryn’s Cousins in Nantucket series.
A hardworking introvert meets a handsome adventurer longing to settle down.
Tabitha Thomas longs to leave Trinity Lakes and travel the world in honor of the beloved grandmother who raised her and her siblings. But she’s needed at home—she’s the responsible triplet, the one who stayed home to run the family inn while her brother and sister left to live their dreams.
Kiwi Logan Wylde doesn’t call any place home. When an injury frustrates his travel plans, he accepts an invitation to return to Trinity Lakes and recuperate at the Lakeview Inn, where he hopes to rediscover his purpose in life.
When Tabby and Logan find a property deed while cleaning out Gran’s rooms, Tabby embraces a new challenge—to solve the mystery of the floodplain and renovate the old boatshed. Working with Logan reignites long-suppressed feelings, but will their differences drive them apart?
An opposites-attract, friends-to-more, small town contemporary Christian romance.
Can paper and paw prints draw these two nemeses together?All Carleigh Adams wants is a relaxing evening. But Sullivan Theodore IV, her wayward shih tzu, has other plans. After escaping from home, Sullivan Theodore unlawfully enters what Carleigh assumes is a stranger’s house via a doggy door. Much to Carleigh’s horror, it is actually the home of her coworker and nemesis, Trey “The Irritating” Montgomery.
Trey Montgomery has had to work with “Quirky Carleigh,” his top competitor for the best articles at The Oakville Daily, for the past two years. It’s safe to say that she and her criminally-minded pet are his adversaries. Trey’s attempts to keep his distance from her are demolished when their boss thrusts them together as The Oakville Daily Duo, forcing them to work as a team on every. Single. Article.
Petty crimes and crazy shenanigans in Oakville soon draw Carleigh and Trey into doubling as detectives. When dogs, including their own pets, begin to mysteriously disappear, Carleigh and Trey join forces to uncover the culprit. As they work to report the daily news and solve the crimes in Oakville, can these two stubborn reporters find love in the headlines?
Faith, plentiful humor, and tender romance round out the latest Christian contemporary romance novel by Author Penny Zeller.
In a culinary clash of wills, Vanessa and Nate are two enemies on a collision course towards a recipe for disaster. But when their simmering attraction boils over, can they find a way to keep their love from going stale?
Vanessa Douglas is determined to keep her late mother’s food truck legacy alive, even if it means facing off against the suave billionaire, Nate Stone, who threatens to evict her from his property.
Nate’s career as a top-performing race car driver is winding down. As he focuses on expanding his portfolio of five-star restaurants, he’s not prepared for Vanessa’s feisty spirit or the undeniable chemistry between them.
But when Vanessa reluctantly agrees to help Nate plan his family reunion, their fragile relationship is put to the test.
Can they find a compromise in this culinary clash, or will their love go up in flames?
After the breakup of his band, country music performer Kyle Callahan retreats to tiny Hidden Veil to write songs and explore his career options. But his creative well has run dry and he considers his worthiest option as a pathway to failure. When he discovers the local coffee shop owner is a woman he once met and has never forgotten, the small town’s appeal skyrockets for city boy Kyle. If only she didn’t make it glaringly clear she wants nothing to do with him.
He’s her worst nightmare.
Jo Ella Ledbetter won’t chance a romantic involvement with another man bent on seeking the limelight. She made that mistake once and learned the hard way what happens to those who are left waiting in the backstage shadows. With her grandmother’s plot to win Kyle for her in a bachelor auction and her cheating ex-husband’s persistence in contacting her, Jo becomes caught between wanting to trust in the goodness of a musician’s heart or hanging on to past hurts.
How will two people with opposing visions for their futures find common ground?
Get to know the first of a series of couples who navigate the joys and pitfalls of life and love in their quaint and tight-knit southern hometown of Hidden Veil, North Carolina.
Though Margo Durand invests her whole heart into working for her family’s newspaper, her father refuses to modernize, and she harbors a secret fear of approaching interviewees and all things dangerous—except riding her Vespa everywhere. But when Margo follows evidence that two government officials are corrupt, Margo discovers danger, intrigue, and a legal sort of blackmail.
Professional race car driver, Steve Grayson, arrives to finish recuperating and overcome his fear of getting back on the track while pursuing his desire to open a race car driving school on Le Cadeau Île. If he can find the money and convince the owner to sell.
When Margo’s best friend sets Margo up with Steve as a tour guide, conveniently forgetting to tell him Margo is a reporter, they tour the islands until Steve is willingly dragged into the investigation. The investigation only opens new questions, creates new trials, and has the potential to destroy their budding romance.
Does pursuing a relationship just before he leaves to take part in one last racing season even make sense?
Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.
Hannah Martin thought she was about to have an empty nest . . . until the illegitimate daughter of her late husband shows up on her doorstep.
Five years after her husband’s death, Hannah Martin runs a successful inn and serves the needy in her community. Despite a house full of guests, she’s worried about the loneliness that will come with an empty nest. Now that no one needs her for anything other than serving her famous five-course breakfasts and retrieving fresh towels, she throws herself into winning Camden’s Hospitality Grant. With the help of the grant, the bed and breakfast will bring in even more customers and Hannah won’t have time to think about what she’s missing.
But when a handsome lumberjack named Kevin moves in next door, Hannah’s attraction to the widowed bachelor knocks her off-kilter. Just as she begins to think about dating again, a young woman arrives at the bed and breakfast claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Hannah’s late husband.
When the Orchard House’s chances at the Hospitality grant is threatened, Hannah’s children oppose her “new” daughter moving in, and Kevin’s problems start to bleed over into her own, she must decide what matters most—before she loses the grant, the bed and breakfast’s reputation, and perhaps, her second chance at love.
Will autumn’s majesty breathe new life and new love into these parched and lonely souls?
After his wife died, Ross Kerrigan took a sabbatical from his job as minister to the senior souls at Apple Blossom Fellowship. How can he minister to them when he’s only living for the day he can join Lizzie in heaven? But when he gets roped into volunteering for the town’s first Autumn Festival, the meetings are the highlight of his week, and he looks forward to seeing the beautiful florist, whose smile brightens up the room better than any flower.
It hurts Mallory Shannon to see their beloved pastor broken and grieving. She lost her husband to cancer ten years ago, and Pastor Ross and Lizzie were there for her when she needed someone to listen, whether it was railing at the Lord or crying out in grief and loneliness. Surely the Lord can use her flowers and the festival’s pumpkins and hayrides to make the man see that life is still worth living. And she’s willing for Him to use her in that mission.
Will autumn’s majesty breathe new life and new love into these parched and lonely souls? Can it kindle a fire of revival in Ross’s faith? Will this pastor rediscover his joy and welcome a new love or will he wither and tumble like autumn’s dried and crackled leaves…
She’s a princess adrift in her own life. He’s a royal protection officer on holiday. How far is he willing to go to keep her safe?
Castles & Courtships Book 3 Royals of Øyanord
Of all the things Princess Johanna Betlinde Amalia of Øyanord thought she would do in her life, sneaking away from her protection detail wasn’t one of them.
At least not once she’d outgrown her slightly rebellious teenager phase. But she does anyway, hoping to spend a few days as just Amalia, without the stress – or trappings – of her everyday life.
Ryker Drasil of Eyjania is almost finished with his long overdue holiday to Ravenzario. As he prepares to return to his daily life, he recognizes someone who should have security with her at all times – but doesn’t. He tries to convince himself she’ll be fine, and he should just head home.
She wasn’t his protectee, after all.
They weren’t even from the same country.
But when Ryker realizes she’s not as alone as she seems, he knows none of that matters.
Ryker’s personal and professional reputation depends on keeping Amalia safe, but falling head over heels in love with a princess from another country borders on treason. When Amalia professes her feelings, will Ryker walk away or confess he’s found the one his heart longs for in His Runaway Princess?
Sage Hoffman wants what her sister has. A normal life. A husband. The works. But moving on from the trauma she survived during her late teens proves more than she can bear—especially when she’s haunted by the sound of a tiny heartbeat she never knew existed.
Because of the one young woman he couldn’t save—his twin sister—Levi Tillis is on a mission to rescue others. He shouldn’t have time for romance… but he can’t help falling for beautiful and enigmatic Sage. Levi knows there’s a part of her she’s keeping locked away. And he wants to know all of her.
But Sage thinks her secret is the one thing Levi could never understand or forgive. Is the God who brought Levi and Sage together big enough to heal two broken hearts?
***Possible trigger warning: main character dealing with emotional trauma from a past incest/rape. No graphic/explicit portrayal.
Escape to Cape Cod–where you just might find the secret to happiness
Callie Dixon had the world by the tail . . . until it all slipped away. Fired from her dream job after making a colossalmistake, she’s escaped to her aunt’s home on Cape Cod for time to bounce back. Except it isn’t a home, it’s an ice cream shop. And time isn’t going to help, because Callie’s bounce has up and left. There’s a reason she made that mistake at work, and she’s struggling to come to terms with it.
Things go from bad to worse when Callie’s cousin Dawn drags her to a community class about the secret to happiness. Happiness is the last thing Callie wants to think about right now, but instructor Bruno Bianco–a curiously gloomy fellow–is relentless. He has a way of turning Callie’s thoughts upside down. Her feelings, too.
Bruno insists that hitting rock bottom is the very best place to be. But if that’s true, how is it supposed to help her figure out what–or who–has been missing from her life all along?
A special K-9. A troubled child. Can their bond heal the past?
Pastor Nate Fisher is confident he can handle a bunch of teenagers and ignore his attraction to camp codirector Hayley Harris for the summer. That is, until he learns a camper with an emotional support dog is the child Hayley placed for adoption thirteen years ago. When a misunderstanding brings Hayley and Nate closer together, keeping the secret becomes impossible. But will the truth reunite a family…or destroy Hayley’s trust forever?
All he wants is a fresh start But the past has other ideas…
After leaving city life and heartbreak behind, Lance Hudson’s come home to his family’s apple orchard. And ex-girlfriend Piper Gray is there for the same reason. But the spirited single mom has her own secrets…including that Lance is the father of her sweet-faced little girl. But can Piper spill the truth without upsetting the applecart?
A short-term solution Could lead to long-term love
When Alli Krenek returns to her hometown, she’s surprised to find herself agreeing to become a nanny to Jake Walker’s children. Seventeen years ago, Jake betrayed Alli’s trust, and she’s avoided him ever since. But the more time she spends with Jake, the more his two little ones melt her heart and Alli begins to see the man Jake has become. Is this their chance to finally heal old wounds?
To keep his child’s nanny He’ll have to let down his guard
The last thing struggling cattle rancher Austin Watkins needs, or wants, is for his son’s nanny to quit. But Cassie Berber longs to follow her dreams. The solution seems simple: prove to Cassie she can have the life she’s always wanted right here in their small town. There’s just one problem—Austin has a secret. And the only way to get Cassie to stay is to tell the truth…
When Thad Hanson hears gunshots fired on his ranch, the last thing he expects to find is game warden Carrie Caldwell pinned down by an armed drone—and an unknown assailant closing in. Now Thad’s determined to stay between Carrie and the threat at all times. But with the shooter following their every move, can Thad get Carrie to safety…without leading them both into a trap?
Rachel Bright’s time hiding in a small town comes to a crashing halt when her witness protection location is compromised. Now to evade her serial killer ex-husband after his surprise release from prison, she must go on the run with US marshal Kyle Reid. But with a bounty on her head and determined contract killers on her tail, every move could be their last.
When a serial bomber’s explosion in Olympic National Park lands K-9 officer Willow Bates in the hospital, her estranged husband, FBI agent Theo Bates, rushes to her side. He’s determined to protect her and the baby he didn’t know she was carrying. But the bomber has revenge on his mind and will stop at nothing to finish them off.
New evidence tied to a ten-year-old robbery sends Lila Christie running to her ex-fiancé, Sheriff Stewart Duncan, for support—and right into a gunman’s crosshairs. Reopening the case that left his father dead and hers missing is the last thing Stewart wants, especially now that Lila’s a target. But could uncovering old mysteries give them a second chance…or make them victims in their own investigation?
When a three-year-old boy is kidnapped, deputy sheriff Chandler Murphy and his search-and-rescue K-9 partner are on the case. And when the child’s mother, Bristol Delaney, insists on helping, he can’t turn her away. But someone is dead set on stopping the investigation. Can Chandler guarantee Bristol’s safety and rescue the missing child before the trail goes cold?
Turbulence has come ashore. Now the whole island is on shaky ground.
Former Navy SEAL Ty Chambers never thought the fallout from one of his past covert missions would reach him in Lantern Beach. But when a sinister plot is exposed, Ty realizes everything—and everyone—he loves is at risk.
Police Chief Cassidy Chambers is knee-deep in investigating hundreds of dead fish that have mysteriously washed ashore. When her husband, Ty, shares a secret from his past, everything tilts around her. She knows the danger is real—and imminent.
A vicious storm threatens all Ty and Cassidy hold dear. Will the foundation they’ve established hold steady? Or will the new terrain they’re navigating collapse and send them plunging to their deaths?
When Teagan Parsons discovers that the Amber Alert on a celebrity couple’s child is actually her daughter, she’s determined to rescue the daughter she relinquished years ago. If she’d only realized the emotions her mission would rekindle…
Having a cousin in the FBI gets her closer to the case than she could have dreamed, but instead of listening to the lead FBI agent’s warnings to “leave the job to the professionals,” Teagan begins following everyone she suspects. That old saying, “Don’t quit your day job,” has never been truer, but she’ll do whatever it takes to bring her daughter home safe.
Mitch McCartney has enough trouble on his hands without dealing with a guilt-ridden, biological mother bent on making up for past sins. Teagan seems to have developed a talent for getting things wrong and putting herself in danger. Oh… and she’s adding theft to her rap sheet—theft of his heart, anyway.
Then Teagan goes missing.
Learning you can’t undo the past is a tough enough lesson without adding on more mistakes, but with Mitch’s help, Teagan may, with the Lord’s Guidance, forge a brighter future this time.
A brand new heart-stopping series from a USA Today bestselling author
No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim sheriff for Russell County, Tennessee, when a serial killer dubbed the Queen’s Gambit Killer strikes again–this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex’s real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer’s calling card–a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it–cannot be ignored.
Pearl Springs chief of police Nathan Landry can’t believe that his high school sweetheart Alexis (he refuses to call her Alex) is back in town, and he can’t help wanting to protect the woman he never stopped loving. But as the danger mounts and the killer closes in, can Nathan come through on the promises he makes to himself to bring a killer to justice before it’s too late.
A frantic anonymous crisis center hot-line call propels counselor Susana Martinez-Acosta smack into the center of a murder investigation and a homicide detective’s arms. Exactly where she doesn’t want to be. Following the tragic death of her husband, she’s struggled to build a safe haven for herself and her son. That new world doesn’t include hit men and persistent detectives with dangerous jobs.
An idyllic wilderness hike turns deadly when homicide detective Ray Johnson tumbles into a ravine and lands on a corpse later identified as the son of a prominent citizen. Ray works to solve the political hot potato murder before city leaders bump him from the case. His determination to find the man’s killer leads him from the wealthiest enclaves in San Antonio to the city’s dark underbelly, all the while trying to win the woman he loves.
A Deadly Wilderness is a romantic suspense novel that will take the reader along on a tumultuous journey as the consuming need for material wealth drives a deadly wedge among family members who haven’t learned when enough really is enough. The journey ends where it began—in a deadly wilderness.
A routine assault conviction gone wrong. A menacing intruder. And a case that’s more twisted—and dangerous—than anyone suspected.
Assistant District Attorney Misty Lake wants nothing more than to ensure Boston lawbreakers face justice, but how can she while dealing with an increasing workload and pressure to offer plea deals? When a criminal she prosecuted is released on a technicality, she doesn’t have time to worry about the threats he once breathed against her.
Tate Steele dreams of rising in the ranks at the DA’s office, but idealistic prosecutor Misty is in his way. When the district attorney asks him to assist her with a few cases, he’s eager to close them quickly to prove his merit. But he and Misty discover her apartment has been broken into, and this is no run-of-the-mill burglar. The intruder escapes and leaves no trace.
Either the vengeful convict Misty put away has upped his skills, or there’s more at play than a defendant seeking revenge.
Every clue opens up a deeper layer of lies and corruption. Though Tate has always been her rival—more concerned with ambition than justice—seeing his protective side makes Misty’s heart vulnerable to his charm…something she can’t risk. Someone is bent on making sure the truth never comes to light—no matter what the cost.
Don’t miss the final twisted mystery in the addictive Coventry Saga.
An elusive killer. A false identity. A deadly maze of lies.
When Coast Guard Investigative Service Special Agent LOGAN PERRY’s beloved grandfather is murdered, Logan races to his hometown of Cauldron Creek, New Mexico to investigate the murder. His teammate and friend, EMMY THORTON, insists on joining him. Not a good idea—not when he loves her, but carries a secret that he knows will tear them apart.
Emmy knows Logan will pursue the investigation no matter the cost, and she won’t let the man she loves plunge into a dangerous situation alone. She needs to be at his side, even if he believes friendship is her only reason for joining him.
What looks like a robbery gone wrong rapidly shifts, drawing Emmy and Logan into a dizzying maze where nothing is as it appears. Every lead slips through their fingers as threats against them grow deadlier at each turn. Having only each other to rely on, their love for one another deepens, but will they live long enough to admit their attraction to each other?
They’re in the killer’s sights. One wrong move puts their future together and their lives on the line.
Fire. Family. Faith. A female fire-fighter and a hero ATF agent get a second chance at love, but when she’s targeted, will the secrets of the past destroy them?
She’ll stop at nothing to protect her family.
Probie fire-fighter and EMT Andi Crawford loves her job, but when her family becomes the target of a dangerous drug cartel, she’ll have to choose between firefighting and protecting her family.
Even if that means accepting help from the one man who broke her heart.
The last thing he wants is to return home…
Superstar ATF Agent Jude Brooks never thought he’d return to Last Chance County—and especially not to uncover information about the Crawford family, the family who rescued him as a teen. The last person he wants to see is Andi…mostly because of the love he still has for her.
But working together to uncover the truth ignites all their old feelings and suddenly, he has to decide…the love he can’t forget, or a future he wants.
But what happens when the past shows up to destroy it all…
A romantic second chance at love suspense with a strong-but-wounded hero, a woman in danger, a found family and a fight for justice with a surprise twist!
With enemies surrounding her… Ryleigh Steele gives in to mounting pressure from her siblings and cousins and leaves her job as a law enforcement officer to join the Steele Guardians. She’s just getting her feet wet when a lumber company begins receiving threats, and the owner contracts with Ryleigh for the Steele Guardians to protect their workers. But the threats quickly escalate under her watch, and a bomb is detonated at one of the sites, killing one of the workers.
Can she find the killer and save her company’s reputation and her life? Ryleigh takes the man’s death personally and commits to finding the killer. Trouble is, the owner has hired a security manager without Ryleigh’s knowledge, and the manager isn’t about to let anyone cut him out of this investigation. Ryleigh gets ready to do battle with him, but when she meets the handsome head of security, former Navy SEAL, Finn Durham, she can barely find the words to speak much less fight. She and Finn had once dated, a tumultuous month, that ended badly. Doesn’t matter. She can’t let their past or her residual feelings for him distract her in the hunt for the killer. If she’s not careful, the killer will find her first.
From New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg comes the fifth military and international political thriller in the Marcus Ryker series.
The world’s most wanted terrorist is dead.Marcus Ryker recommended the drone strike himself.The intelligence was rock-solid.But what if it was wrong?
Abu Nakba—the man responsible for lethal attacks in Washington, D.C., London, and Jerusalem—is finally dead. Marcus Ryker has been tasked with hunting down and destroying what’s left of the terror group Kairos.
But before Ryker can mobilize his team of CIA operatives with their new assignment, a disturbing report from Libya suggests all may not be as it seems. The U.S. bombing that should have taken out Nakba’s headquarters now appears to have been a disastrous mistake—and Ryker himself may be responsible.
With Kairos gearing up for a major retaliatory strike against the U.S., time is short, and terror cells may already be inside American borders. But Ryker won’t be able to stop this threat until he clears his own name, and his closest ally inside the White House can no longer help him.
The Libyan diversion threatens to leave Ryker on the sidelines just when his country needs him most.
Packed with action and intrigue, this thriller novel is everything Joel’s fans have come to expect.
A high-stakes suspense novel for fans of Jack Carr, Ryan Steck, and Kyle Mills
She’s losing her faith in mankind. He’s lost his faith in God. Can working together restore them both?
As matron of Final Chance House of Refuge, Gwendolyn Ellison has dedicated her life to serving the children deemed delinquents by society. She’ll protect them with everything she has. So when she suspects someone is using Final Chance for criminal deeds, she’s determined to investigate and put a stop to it. But villains don’t like to be crossed–and they’re willing to kill to get their way.
Gwendolyn knows she can’t quit fighting. More than her own life is on the line if counterfeiters go free. She must find someone she can trust to help her expose the criminals and protect the children under her care.
Charming and chivalrous Secret Service operative Josiah Isaacs has never been able to turn his back on a woman in trouble–and capturing counterfeiters is his job, after all. The danger he’s truly worried about is his growing attraction to Gwendolyn when his heart wants to remain faithful to his deceased wife.
As both peril and interest grow, he begins to consider whether a second love may be possible–if they can live through this case. At the same time, he’s put off by her faith in a God he no longer trusts. How can a future together even be possible when their beliefs are at odds?
He came to cook for ranch hands, not three single women.
Gideon Swift, a visually impaired Civil War Veteran, responds to an ad for a ranch cook in the Southern California desert mountains. He wants nothing more than to forget his past and stay in the kitchen where he can do no harm. But when he arrives to find his employer murdered, the ranch turned to ashes, and three young women struggling to survive in the unforgiving Borrego Desert, he must decide whether his presence protects them or places them in greater danger.
Bridget “Biddie” Davidson finally receives word from her older sister who disappeared with their brother and pa eighteen years prior, but the news is not good. Determined to help her family, Biddie sets out for a remote desert ranch with her adopted father and best friend. Nothing she finds there is as she expected, including the man who came to cook for the shambles of a ranch.
When tragedy strikes, the danger threatens not only her plans to help her sister, but her own dreams for the future—with the man who’s stolen her heart.
His suspect holds a secret, but can he uncover the truth before she steals his heart?
When Katherine Jenkins is rescued from the side of the road, half-frozen and left for dead, her only option is to stay silent about her identity or risk being shipped back to her ruthless guardian, who will kill to get his hands on her inheritance and the famous Jenkins Lipizzaner horses. But even under the pretense of amnesia, she cannot shake the memory of her sister and Katherine’s need to reach her before their guardian, or his marauding bandits, finish her off. Will she be safe in the earl’s manor, or will the assailant climbing through her window be the death of her?
British spy, Stephen Hartington’s assignment to uncover an underground horse-thieving ring brings him home to his family’s manor, and the last thing he expected was to be struck with a candlestick upon climbing through the guest chamber window. The manor’s feisty and intriguing new house guest throws Stephen’s best-laid plans into turmoil and raises questions about the timing of her appearance, the convenience of her memory loss, and her impeccable riding skills. Could he be housing the horse thief he’d been ordered to capture—or worse, falling in love with her?
If all the world’s a stage, Jacci will play her part. She only hopes her story does not turn out to be a tragedy.
In 1881, Jacci Reed is only five years old when a man attempts to kidnap her from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on. Badly wounded during the confrontation, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat tied up beside them. There, Jacci’s actor grandfather tends to her mother and Jacci gets a first taste of the life she will come to lead.
Fifteen years later, Jacci is an actress aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, and largely contented with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers. Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and the gruff grandfather she has come to know and love. Jacci’s mother has been gone for years, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately took her life–and the cryptic things Jacci has overheard about her past–is always there, lurking in the back of her mind.
When someone on the showboat tries to kill Jacci, it’s clear her questions demand answers. But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows, and the answers she craves will not come easily. Gabe only hopes they come in time for him and Jacci to have a future together.
He has nothing to offer. She has everything to lose.
Despite the dishonorable circumstances of his own birth, Adam Faulkner has never begrudged his half-brother Sebastian’s legitimate position as the Viscount Willowthorpe. Having a title and everything that goes with it never mattered to Adam—until “everything” became the hand of Miss Eliza Southwick. Adam knows, as the stable manager at Hooke Manor, he shouldn’t hope to wed a well-born miss. After all, enchanting such a lady’s heart would take a true gentleman…something he is not.
Eliza Southwick loves horses more than society and doesn’t care a whit about status or titles. But her father has set his sights on the Viscount Willowthorpe for his future son-in-law and has brought his daughter to Hooke Manor in hopes of arranging a marriage contract. When a spark first kindled during a chance meeting between Eliza and Adam grows stronger, she doesn’t dare tell her father how she feels. He will disown her entirely if she fails to do his will, and the cost of following her heart has never seemed higher.
When the darkness closes all around, Beauty is still there just waiting to be found.
Dawson Huxham blames himself for his sister’s death . . . until he briefly crosses time and discovers she’s alive in the Middle Ages. Hoping to reconnect with her, he searches for the holy water that will help him visit the past for a longer duration. But he realizes he’s not the only one looking for the miraculous water. Terrorists are threatening him and watching his every move.
As Dawson locates holy water from an unlikely source, he crosses fully into the past where he meets a beautiful noblewoman, Philippa Neville, who is desperately trying to escape her uncle’s plans for an arranged marriage. When danger closes in, Dawson agrees to wed her in an effort to thwart her uncle’s schemes. As forces in both the present and past conspire against the newlyweds, will they find a way to be together before the swiftly moving waters of time separate them forever?
Love’s gentle promise becomes nothing more than a withered dream.
With dreams of love and a hope for belonging, shy Belle Parish leaves her position as a maid in Charleston to travel to New Mexico with her best friend to become mail-order brides. Colt Lawson’s letters hold great promise and while his devilishly handsome face matches his picture, something does not add up. Discovering his lie only moments before they wed, Belle flees the church and straight into the Castañeda Hotel Harvey House. Giving up the prospect on ever marrying, she dons her nun-like uniform and focuses on her role as a Harvey Girl waitress until a strong Texas Ranger rides into her life.
Colt Lawson didn’t want to send that letter to Belle Parish in the first place, but her first response had all but captured his heart. When he is left standing at the altar alone, he is left with two choices—either release his dream of a love marriage, or attempt to win her heart. Wooing her would be a lot easier if that Texas Ranger wasn’t back in town. Who wants a dusty rancher with a past when she could have a shining knight in a Stetson?
Can the perfect picture reveal the truth before it’s too late?
Photographer Amelia Harris has had enough of her aunts’ meddling matchmaking. So when The Photographic Times commissions her to spend the summer on Mobile Bay taking portraits of the elite and capturing nature for penny postcards, Amelia happily accepts. But this job is not as simple as it appears, and Amelia must defend against naysayers if she’s to ever gain respect in a man’s world. And that doesn’t leave any room for romance.
Point Clear Resort General Manager Titus Overton never wanted the position he inherited when his cousin passed away. If it were up to him, he would be traveling with the Audubon Society to far-off places, enjoying the solitude of nature instead of providing relaxation for his guests. And now he has to deal with the big-city photographer stomping her way through sand dunes that house the migratory birds nesting there. But when she reveals an admiration for his feathered friends, it reawakens a longing in his heart he’d buried after the death of his fiancé.
When threats arise against Amelia and the other resort guests, Titus knows he must step in to help. But she insists they trust God for deliverance. How can he turn to a God who took away his first beloved?
As the danger closes in, he must find the courage to overcome his past before someone gets hurt—especially the woman he’s come to love.
A surprise inheritance. A cache of family secrets. A choice that will change her life forever.
Lillian Doyle has lived her entire high-society life with her widowed mother, believing her father died long ago. But when news arrives that her estranged father only recently passed away–in jail–Lillian is startled to find that the man has left a business and all of his possessions to her, making her a rather unusual heiress.
When she goes to take possession of her father’s house in a backwoods Georgia town, the dilapidated structure is already occupied by another woman who claims it was promised to her son, Jonah. In her attempts to untangle the mess, Lillian will discover not only a family she never knew she had but a family business that is more than meets the eye–and has put a target on her back.
To discover the truth and take hold of the independence she’s always dreamed of, she’ll have to make friends with adversaries and strangers–especially Jonah, the dusty and unrefined cowboy who has secret aspirations of his own.
Lizzy Cunningham resents any man who thinks he can get by with a wink and a smile. Doubly so the ones who try to get close to her—she knows she’s homely and difficult of temper, and that not a man has been made who can bear with her for a lifetime.
Jedidiah Wheeler (Sam’s cousin from The Highwayman) has always depended on his easy charm to get him through. He’s also used to girls falling all over themselves when he glances their way, so it’s a shock to find one who responds with definite hostility. It might also be a bit of a challenge … especially when he discovers her connection to an infamous Tory leader he’s tasked with bringing down.
As Jed gains the trust of the Tories, he sees that Lizzy is far more than the snarling tavern maid she pretends to be. Truth be told, in her unguarded moments she’s one of the most fetching misses he’s ever met—and bravest, when his own life is on the line. How can he complete the mission without endangering her? And dare Lizzy risk family loyalty for a kindness she’s sure is too good to be true?
Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever.
In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.
While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?
Secrets Sealed Within a Wall Come to Light in Lower Manhattan
Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure.
Investigative historical journalist Andrea Andrews is tired of waiting tables to make ends meet. If she could find and write the next breakout story, she could secure a promotion with Smithsonian Magazine as their writer-at-large. But not much happens in lower Manhattan out of the ordinary until she discovers post-Civil War counterfeit bills hidden in the wall of her historic district apartment.
Politics have always been Beau Davidson-Quincy’s passion, despite his family’s real estate empire. His clean image and single status make him a target in the media as he prepares to build his campaign for New York governor. He has nothing to hide until a cute waitress unravels a mystery that could destroy his family’s reputation.
Two centuries earlier, wounded Civil War veteran Franklin Davidson lost everything—his house, his wife, his standing in society. In his darkest moment, he’s awarded a position with the newly formed Secret Service to combat the spread of counterfeit U.S. currency. His life and new home in Gramercy Park are the envy of his peers, but nothing is as it seems. Secrets are meant to be kept, and Franklin will take his to his grave.
They must uncover the truth before it’s buried forever.
After witnessing a wrongful conviction as a young girl, Rebecca Whitman–the first female court reporter in Montana–is now determined to defend the innocent. During a murder trial, something doesn’t sit well with her about the case, but no one except the handsome new Carnegie librarian will listen to her.
Librarian Mark Andrews’s father sent him to college hoping he would take over the business side of the family ranch, but Mark would rather wrangle books than cows. When a patron seeks help with research in hopes of proving a man’s innocence, Mark is immediately drawn to her and her cause.
In a race against time, will Rebecca and Mark find the evidence they need–and open their hearts to love–before it’s too late?
Thrust into an arranged marriage, the daughter of ancient Egypt’s high priest plays a pivotal role in Joseph’s biblical narrative in this powerful novel from the award-winning author of Potiphar’s Wife.
After four-year-old Asenath’s mother is murdered by Egypt’s foreign rulers, the child is raised to be a priestess by her overprotective father—high priest of Egypt’s sun god. For fifteen years, Asenath is sequestered in the upper levels of Ra’s temple, convinced it is her destiny to heal the land by becoming queen to the next Egyptianpharaoh. But when Egypt’s foreign king instead gives her as a bride to the newly appointed vizier—a Hebrew named Joseph—her entire world is shaken.
Beyond the walls of her tower, Asenath discovers treachery, deceit, and conspiracy that force her to redefine her destiny and weigh where her true loyalties lie. Can she still trust the gods of Egypt? Or is Elohim, the foreign God of her husband, the one who will heal her nation during the feast and famine to come?
On screen they’re a darling duo, but it’s a whole different story backstage.
Hollywood legend Kent Selwood isn’t happy sharing the limelight with rising star Stella Sanders. Tired of her diva drama, Kent makes it clear—he wants Stella gone.
Seamstress Bonnie Roseland is practically invisible to everyone at the studio, except for slick actor, Jerry Jackson — the one man she wishes would leave her alone. Her deep-rooted faith helps her see beyond the glitz and glamor to the broken realities and dysfunctional atmosphere at the studio. She sometimes wonders if God has a purpose for her there or if she should just move on.
When the studio receives blackmail letters, Kent’s attitude makes him the prime suspect, and he’s swiftly banished from the lot, despite insisting that he’s been framed. Only Bonnie believes him — and she’s confident she knows who the real culprit is.
But when a ransom note arrives after Stella goes missing and evidence is discovered that clearly implicates Kent, will Bonnie help him uncover the truth in time to save his career… and Stella’s life?
A colossal fortune. A secret reaper. A young woman whose drive for due process makes her the target of dangerous people…
Nefi Jenkins dreams of becoming an FBI agent. After outing her parents’ heartless killer, the Harvard grad focuses on getting into a stellar criminal justice master’s degree program. But her career goals take a back seat when she inherits a ten-million-dollar trust from her late parents…with a hefty chunk gone.
Seeking the help of a forensic accountant, Nefi discovers a cunning thief has been stealing from her inheritance. And with her legacy at stake, the hidden enemy’s scheme to swipe her cash could turn deadly.
Can Nefi restore her parent’s wealth before her investigation turns fatal?
East of Evil is the fourth book in the page-turning Compass Crimes suspense series. If you like strong heroines, greed-driven crimes, and jaw-dropping twists, then you’ll love Joni M Fisher’s hunt for the truth.
Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.
What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.
Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind.
After the introduction of Yellow magic in a society accustomed to only Red and Blue magic, the world inside the barrier has become more complicated than anyone imagined. Ava, Elm, and the former students of Prism navigate life in hiding. They face discord, secrets, betrayal, and danger that looms ever closer as the Benefactors narrow in on their hideaway.
Ava is determined to keep everyone protected, even at the cost of her own safety. She explores dangerous aspects of her new Mentalist abilities—against Elm’s dire warnings.
Tensions escalate when a new visitor arrives claiming to know a way out of the barrier. While this may be the only way to escape the Benefactors, what awaits them on the outside? Will they gain allies or make an entirely new set of enemies?
After being sentenced to death for the accidental killing of a wealthy, well-connected man, Sela Meriweather is offered another option—to be stripped of her soul and sentenced to lifetime exile on Azazel, the vast prison-island. There, alongside “dangerous” criminals like herself, firstborn children of the Old Town chosen by the lot are sent to atone for the sins of their families.
As one of the elected Righteous, Caleb Alexander’s path to widespread renown is guaranteed so long as he can endure a year as an overseer on Azazel, preventing the other guards from fraternizing with the prisoners. But as he finds himself drawn to Sela, Caleb wrestles with the implications of his new role and the laws forbidding contact between jailer and prisoner. Could a woman like Sela truly be soulless?
While Caleb tries to resist his growing attraction, Sela struggles with the weight of her sins and the past she has kept from Caleb. But when mutiny against the Old Town brews on Azazel, Sela and Caleb must work together to stay alive…and to uncover the truth behind the very powers that created Azazel in the first place.
A desperate jilted man. His summer rent-a-girlfriend. Their own beach town.
Single thirty-something Sebastian Langston hires his sister’s best friend to be his fake girlfriend for the summer in order to win back his ex-fiancée whom he lost to a billionaire.
Publisher’s Note: His Wake-Up Call is the updated and expanded second edition of Step with Me, previously published on April 5, 2017.
The desperate jilted man…
Restaurateur Sebastian Langston cannot believe that his ex-fiancée, Talia, would leave him again. They’ve broken up so many times that he is sure she’ll return to him…until he sees her with a billionaire. Now he has to fight to get her back. Sebastian cooks up an idea in which he hires a beautiful girl who can make Talia jealous. Poor starving harpist Emmeline O’Hanlon needs money and seems willing to help him reach his objectives.
The dreamy rent-a-girlfriend…
When her best friend’s older brother offers her an unusual proposition, Emmeline has no idea what she is getting into. However, her van is dead, her rent is due, and she is forced to take the job. The short-term business agreement would only last one summer, or so Emmeline thinks. More than money for graduate school, she needs Sebastian’s funding to resume the search for her long-lost brother. Sebastian promises to enlist one of the top private investigators in the region to find Claude. In return, all she has to do is smile and make Talia jealous. How hard can it be?
The duet that can’t go wrong…
So begins this ill-advised scheme to drive Sebastian’s ex-fiancée back to him. He thinks his plan-on-a-whim will succeed because it has to. He will turn thirty-four next September, and he wants to be a father by the following summer, preferably to the first of a passel of Talia’s future children. As they keep up the ruse, Emmeline’s ethereal harp starts to sound like a siren song that distracts Sebastian from his goals. Soon, he rows away from his lane and begins to forget his original purpose for hiring her…
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading His Wake-Up Call, the second book in Jan Thompson’s Seaside Chapel series. Emmaline’s passion is playing her harp, and she wants to follow in her professional musician father’s footsteps. She’s working multiple jobs over the summer at St. Simons Island, Georgia, before moving inland to start graduate school. Her brother disappeared in Atlanta years ago, and Emmaline would do almost anything to find her brother and bring him home to her distraught parents.
Sebastian is a wealthy and successful restaurant owner who hasn’t gotten over his ex-girlfriend, Talia. Talia is dating a billionaire, and Sebastian wants her back. He hatches a scheme to make Talia jealous by talking Emmaline into having a fake relationship with him. In return, Sebastian would hire a private investigator to find Emmaline’s brother.
Emmaline is desperate and agrees to Sebastian’s crazy plan. A fun romance develops between Emmaline and Sebastian as real feelings arise and cause complications with big consequences. Sebastian starts questioning whether or not he wants to reconcile with Talia. Sebastian and Emmaline are challenged to live their faith and seek His will. I recommend His Wake-Up Call to contemporary romance readers who like the fake relationship romance trope underpinned by a strong faith element in the story.
Kelsea Anderson is a jilted bride with nothing left but a battered heart and a plane ticket to the Caribbean. The only part of her doomed wedding that she had any say in was the honeymoon. She paid for it, and there’s no reason she can’t come to the romantic resort alone, so Kelsea jumps on a plane the day after New Year’s to escape the icy St. Louis winter and come up with a Plan B for the rest of her life.
Landon St. Clair was left at the altar on New Year’s Day at St. Louis’ social event of the season. He wants nothing more than to lick his wounds in solitude and figure out a Plan B, and intends to keep his reservation at the St. Jardin Honeymoon Resort, even without a bride. With the owners’ reluctant approval, Landon takes on an assumed identity and cuts all ties to home for the week.
Lottery winners Rose and Ike Goldman, married for 53 years, never looked back when they left Brooklyn, NY for the Caribbean where they bought a honeymoon resort three years ago. Rose was something of a matchmaker in Brooklyn, and once she meets Kelsea and “Brandon,” she knows she has her work cut out for her. She has only a week to convince them that sometimes, Plan B is the best plan of all.
Take a quick getaway to St. Jardin! Plan B is your ticket to a tropical paradise filled with beautiful gardens, merriment, and romance.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Plan B, the first book in the St. Clair Family series. Kelsea is a pet sitter who lives in St. Louis and is devastated when she’s jilted only days before her wedding. She paid for the honeymoon on a Carribean island, and decides to go to the honeymoon resort on her own. Landon is a well known St. Louis law firm partner who was stood up at the altar. He changes his name to Brandon and makes the solo trip to the Carribean island honeymoon resort.
Kelsea and Landon don’t like each other when they first meet, but they’re paired together for the duration of their vacation due to being the only singles staying at the honeymoon resort. It doesn’t take long for the romantic island setting to move their mutual attraction into insta-love territory.
I like short time frame romances, and it was fun seeing Kelsea and Landon getting to know each other. The enforced proximity of the island resort challenged them to unpack what went wrong in their previous relationships, and work out how to manage their growing feelings for each other. I recommend Plan B to contemporary romance readers who like the jilted romance trope combined with enemies-to-love and hidden identity vacation romances with a light faith element in the story.
Tim Jones is known by his cousins as the bad twin, until an accident has Tim relying on others to rebuild his life.
Physiotherapist, Kayla Jackson, sees through Tim’s grumpy façade and not only teaches him how to walk again but how to love.
This is the sixth book to the Cousins of Nantucket series. See the Jones family restored as the twins, Tim and Nathan, work through their childhood misunderstandings, and find out if Tim allows Kayla to be his sunshine through his grumpy cloud.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Learning to Love on Nantucket, Book 6 in Taryn Daniel’s Cousins of Nantucket series. I jumped into the series with this book, which means I didn’t know the hero’s relationship history from earlier books in the series. Sometimes reading a series out of order (or being hazy on remembering the story details in previous books) can be an advantage.
The story opens with Tim and Kayla dancing together at a Nantucket wedding. Kayla’s best friend is the bride, and the groom is Tim’s twin brother. Tim’s a handsome lawyer with a bad boy reputation and Kayla is a physio (physical therapist) who’s paired with him at the wedding.
Kayla is drawn to Tim, but he’s her best friend’s brother-in-law and off-limits. Tim leaves Kayla on the dance floor, telling her he needs to apologise to his ex-wife for ‘something’. Kayla’s initially unaware that the ‘something’ is marital infidelity.
I was impressed and intrigued by a lawyer who not only apologised and took responsibility for past behaviour, but was also working with a therapist before and during the story to heal and improve family relationships.
When Tim accidentally breaks both of his legs, he moves from the mainland to his parents’ Nantucket resort to recuperate. Kayla agrees to be Tim’s physical therapist and visit him on the island. She’s the sunshine who’s dealing with the grumpy patient. Tim’s struggling with physical and emotional pain, and is frustrated by his lack of mobility.
A fun romance develops as Tim and Kayla spend time together during their physical therapy sessions. I recommend Learning to Love on Nantucket to contemporary romance readers who like sweet and clean grumpy sunshine romances that address difficult issues and have forgiveness themes in the story.
From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a sweet and sizzling story of a romance writer surprised by her own happily ever after.
When novelist Sadie Goodwin is forced to stop writing westerns and charged with penning a contemporary romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, there’s only one tiny problem: She’s never been in love.
Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie begins devouring romance novels. Knowing she must devote herself to this confounding genre, she accepts an invitation to hole up at her friend’s beach duplex for the summer. Where better to witness love in bloom than on the beautiful North Carolina shore?
However, once ensconced in the charming ocean-front home with her sweet maltipoo Rio, she finds many ways to procrastinate. First there’s the beach, right outside her backdoor, with all its interesting visitors (research). Then there’s the free library she decides to build and set up by the back deck (She has to do something with all those romance novels). To say nothing of Sam Ford, the grumpy neighbor on the other side of the duplex . . . who she can’t seem to stop annoying.
A social butterfly by nature, Sadie soon gets to know all the beach regulars—sunbathers, walkers, and surfers alike. The free books draw a crowd right up to the house for nice little book chats, which further irritates her reclusive neighbor, to break up her “writing.” But things take an unexpected turn when Sadie opens a recently-placed novel to find a secret compartment—and tucked inside is a beautiful engagement ring. To whom does the ring belong? Sadie is convinced she needs to find the owner and save the man’s proposal from certain doom.
She draws a reluctant Sam into the project, and slowly their connection begins to develop. Are these weird fluttery feelings the first stirrings of love? Has Sadie managed to stumble upon the very subject about which she must write—and wouldn’t Sam make the perfect alpha hero?
Will Sadie find the ring’s rightful owner? And will she manage to pen a career-saving romance novel by summer’s end?
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading A Novel Proposal, set on an island off the North Carolina coast. Sadie is a school teacher in NYC who’s reluctant to fall in love and replicate her parents’ unstable marriage relationship. Sadie supplements her school teaching income by writing during the summer. When her literary agent suggests she writes a romance novel proposal, instead of a western, Sadie is short on ideas. She’s hoping a summer stay in a beachfront duplex will inspire her creativity.
Sam is Sadie’s neighbor at the beach duplex where he’s temporarily staying to get some space from his family. His cousin, who works with him in the family gardening business and is like a brother, has betrayed Sam and is now engaged to Sam’s ex-girlfriend. Sam’s not happy when Sadie arrives and disrupts his peaceful beach escape.
A fun romance develops as Sam and Sadie get to know each other and work together to solve the mystery of the engagement ring found in an old book in Sadie’s free library that she set up on her back deck. I recommend A Novel Proposal to contemporary romance readers who like grumpy sunshine beach reads with an intriguing mystery and a light faith element in the story.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.
Leah Thompson is the Sheriff’s daughter of Trinity Lakes, Washington state. No one is good enough for his baby girl. At twenty-four, she should be able to choose who she wants to date, but her dad holds Justin’s past against him.
Justin has loved Leah for years, the woman where no guy has been brave enough to pursue. Who would want the grumpy sheriff as their future father-in-law? No one is that crazy. Except Justin is crazy in love and willing to do anything to win Leah’s heart, even to set her up on a fake date with his neck-tattooed mate from Australia. Surely the sheriff will see Justin is the better choice for his daughter. Until the fake love triangle goes terribly wrong.
A forbidden love, love triangle, small town contemporary Christian romance. Visit Trinity Lakes and meet the fun and quirky characters who value family, faith, and happily-ever-after.
Small-town romance with faith, humor, and more than a dash of danger!
Can a plus-size teacher with a daughter and a dangerous secret and an ex-cowboy player with wanderlust build a future together?
Genevieve loves her daughter, books, and sweets, in that order—mostly. Since men just see her as a friend, she gave up on romantic relationships. Besides, nobody outside her family can know her secret. Especially not her new friend and tentative crush, Declan O’Neill, who leaves foreign countries and gorgeous women behind him easier than she can set aside a good book and a cup of cocoa.
Declan is attracted to the kind teacher, but she keeps him further away than he long ago stowed his cowboy boots and saddle. Although the mystery surrounding her also piques his investigative mind, a secret of his own makes him avoid commitments.
When her life is in peril, will this unlikely pair discover a chance at survival—and love?
The sweet memories of our relationship haunt me more than any fire I’ve ever fought. Because she can’t remember any of it.
I thought my world was falling apart when Monica was in the car accident. Waiting desperately with her family in the hospital, I couldn’t let anyone see just how much I cared.
Our secret relationship meant my hidden torture as I waited for her to wake up. But when she finally did, the truth, was so much worse.
Thankfully, she’s healing perfectly fine–except she can’t remember the last six months.
Which means she still thinks we merely tolerate each other for her brother’s sake and are more inclined toward animosity than attraction.
She doesn’t remember our first kiss. Or our first date. Or our promises of forever.
No one else in town knew we were together, especially her brother–my best friend. And when I tried to tell her, she doesn’t even trust me enough to believe it.
But I’ll do everything I can to make her remember. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just have to make her fall in love with me all over again. Even if it was nearly impossible the first time. I’ll be The One She Can’t Forget.
A series of heartbreaking losses has left Simeon and Abigail’s marriage in shambles. But can God rebuild it even stronger than they remember?
Abigail knows she’s the reason she and her husband Simeon have lost their battle to have a baby. It’s God’s punishment for her past—a past she never told Simeon about. He thinks the reason she was on the mission trip where they met was to serve God. If he learns the truth now, he’ll send her packing. Just like her family did. Better that she leave him first.
As a Christian counselor, Simeon should be able to help his wife. And it’s killing him that he can’t. It seems like the harder he tries, the more he pushes her away. When she finally asks for a divorce, it’s nothing he didn’t expect. But it breaks him just the same.
When they face yet another tragedy, will it tear them apart for good? Or can God use it to draw them back to one another—and to him?
Will leaving positive legacies mean kissing their own happily-ever-after goodbye?
If Tim Bergeron got a lifetime achievement award for anything, it’d be managing the iconic rock band, Awestruck, but he’d trade his successful career for the opportunity to prevent his daughter from repeating his mistakes.
When a health scare proves time is short, he talks Isabella into a cross-country road trip. His attempts to talk her out of a hasty marriage drive a wedge between them, and it looks like the best he can hope for from the trip is scouting out promising new talent to represent. That is, until he meets Gabby.
Widow Gabrielle Voss has responsibilities to her daughter and patients, deep roots in the community, and a dream that scares her. Though she’d never utter it to the people she lives and works among, the truth slips out with Tim, who’s not in Many Oaks, Iowa, to stay.
As her fiftieth birthday party draws near and an attraction to Tim sparks to life, Gabby realizes she must pursue her dream now—or, more reasonably, never.
This prequel novella to the Many Oaks Romances stars a popular character from the Rhythms of Redemption Romances.
If you like Christian romance that explores meaningful questions of faith, life, and love, escape into the small town of Many Oaks, Iowa, by ordering today!
Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.
As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony–two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she’s also desperate to find the closure she’s convinced will come with Cecelia’s missing final manuscript.
After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell–the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters–offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.
Honoring Cecelia’s last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?
Hope Rodriguez loves planning weddings. There’s nothing more special than helping a bride become a princess for a day, but she’s not sure that’s her calling in life anymore. If only she had her own special someone. Her only current prospect leaves her with more questions than answers about where she falls in his list of priorities. Yet, when a lifelong friend asks her to plan a destination wedding across the country in only two weeks, she’ll have to figure out how to pull off the impossible…alone.
After being burned as a child and deserted by his family, Caleb Donnelly has an intimate relationship with pain. Despite all he’s endured, one ache refuses to leave him—the throbbing in his heart where Hope is concerned. So when Hope needs help with their friend’s wedding, he can’t stop himself from volunteering to travel two thousand miles to Jackson, Wyoming. As long as he keeps his feelings in check, he might not ruin their friendship. Because a beautiful woman like Hope could never love a scarred man like him. There’s no way their longtime friendship could ever become more.
When Hope and Caleb’s plans go up in flames, it’s their hearts that might never recover.
Buying a haunted house was never in Ashley Scott’s plans, but when an intriguing opportunity drops into her lap after a major setback, she finds herself trekking cross-country to Hope Harbor on the Oregon coast to launch a new life.
Wounded warrior Jonathan Gray isn’t sure what to make of the attractive woman on his reclusive older neighbor’s isolated property, but her presence is none of his business–until she enlists his help with an ambitious project. When Jonathan finds his interest in the new arrival becoming more personal than professional, however, his defenses go up. There’s no room in his life–or his heart–for romance.
Yet, as these three hurting people join forces to restore life, laughter, and love to a historic estate that has known too much sadness, they may also find healing, hope, and happiness for themselves.
Bestselling author Irene Hannon invites you back to Hope Harbor, where hearts heal and love blooms.
All he wants to do is help people, but local women want to help themselves… to him!
When Henri Tupuola returned to Suamalie to open his holistic mental health clinic, he had no idea what he was getting into. After ten years in Australia getting his degree and practical experience under his mentor, the locals had all but forgotten the quiet “boy” who had always made them feel like he could see right through them.
Not anymore! The ladies of Lafoina are eager to meet the island’s therapist and spend hours staring deeply into his eyes on their weekly dates… ahem, sessions.
Desperate for relief, he hightails it down to The Title Wave and begs Ezra to order him a couple dozen copies of his own book. Yes, author copies would be cheaper, but he needs these things fast. Maybe if he hands out his book like an old-time quack handed out pills, the ladies will get the hint and leave him alone.
But when he tells his troubles to Ezra (who’s the therapist now?), and she jokes at how much her father would love to have people flocking to his “sessions” so to speak, Henri gets an idea that could save his sanity… if only Ezra will agree.
Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.
As the oldest daughter at Kellynch Station, Elizabeth Elliot prides herself on her exemplary public image. In fact, women could learn a thing or two by following her example—her public example.
There are things Liz doesn’t want known, and she guards them closely. In fact, keeping everyone except her best friend from ever seeing the truth behind her impenetrable facade is the only thing she can control.
Enter Michael Page. Unassuming and too stubborn for his own good, Mick bucks trend by bringing sheep back to cattle country. Just a small flock at first, but their numbers are growing. There’s just one problem to deal with now. Liz Elliot.
With all her airs and fancy ways, and the unreasonable demands she makes of the town and its people, Liz is a walking antagonism. Maybe he should’ve stayed home after that first meeting, but something keeps bringing him back. If nothing else, someone has to foil her outrageous attempts to do who-knows-what with the town.
Then a carefully worded slip of the tongue hints at a mystery that might be worth digging into.
As the truth comes to light, and Liz’s carefully crafted world comes crashing down, who can either of them trust?
Wading through grief is like dancing with shadows.
Bekah Casey’s been on a tear for near a year, and the anger clings to her like cheap perfume. If only the Lord would wash it away like He did with her sins, she might could find her way out of the mire. Instead, she escapes from the one person to blame for all her ills—her husband Mitch.
Now she’s living with her mama and daddy, working two jobs, and facing a future that looks bleak as a middle-Tennessee winter. Her mama’s all the time telling her that the good Lord works in ways too confounding to comprehend, and if she’d learn to trust in Him, her life will look a might brighter. Easy for her to say.
When things go from dark to disastrous, Bekah figures she’s got two choices—sink in her sin or dig her way out.
Mitch Casey never did put a whole lot of stock in faith. Didn’t appear it helped Bekah any either since hers went sideways the minute things got hard. Still, he’s willing to take whatever abuse she throws his way if it helps her muddle through the grief. Then one poor decision, a night in jail, and a divine assignment with a local pastor puts Mitch on an unexpected path.
When you’re dancing with shadows, who gets to lead? Find out in the next book in the Bedford County series.
The Year of Jubilee is a lyrical coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of the turbulent South in the early 1960s.
The Mockingbird family has always lived peacefully in Jubilee, Kentucky, despite the divisions that mark their small town. Until the tense summer of 1963, when their youngest child, Isaac, falls gravely ill. Middle sister Grace, nearly fourteen, is determined to do whatever it takes to save her little brother. With her father and mother away at the hospital, Grace is left under the loving but inexperienced eye of her aunt June, with little to do but wait and worry. Inspired by a young teacher’s mission for change, she begins to flirt with danger—and with a gifted boy named Golden, who just might be the key to saving Isaac’s life. Then the unthinkable happens, and the world as she knows it shifts in ways she never could have imagined. Grace must decide what she believes amid the swirling, conflicting voices even of those she loves the most.
From gifted songwriter Cindy Morgan comes this lyrical, tender tale of a girl standing at the threshold of adulthood, learning the depths of the human heart and the bonds of family that bend, break, and bind together over and over again.
Physically and emotionally scarred, reclusive cowgirl Monroe Matheson prefers rescue dogs over handsome men. But when Nathan Garrison arrives in town, determined to fix up the guest ranch next door, he needs all the help he can get. Before long, Monroe knows there’s more to this stranger than meets the eye. Can working with a man carrying tragic memories be the key to overcoming Monroe’s wounds—both inside and out?
With her uncle’s health declining, Esther Yoder wants nothing more than to sell his mercantile store. But what she doesn’t count on is Joseph Kemp being the prospective buyer. He’s the reason Esther fled her Amish community, and Esther fears her shameful past could threaten the sale. Can they learn to forgive each other…or will old guilt stand in the way of their future?
Widow Maddie Williams is eager for a fresh start. But she’s worried her meager skills and high school diploma will hinder her chances of landing a job. In the meantime, she’s happy to babysit her new neighbor Jackson Taylor’s two girls. But as the temporary gig starts to feel permanent, will she still chase a new life or choose the one she’s found at home?
After the tragic loss of his best friends, rancher Drew Morgan willingly accepts guardianship of their six-month-old baby—until he learns big-city professor Sadie Ross has temporary custody as well. Opposites in every way, the pair now has eight weeks together on Drew’s ranch to decide who will become the permanent parent. Could this makeshift family turn into something real…before the deadline is up?
For the baby’s sake, she’ll tolerate anything Even his exasperating—and handsome—uncle
Adorable baby Micah melts Sienna King’s heart instantly. Too bad he’s related to the most insufferable man Sienna knows. Joel Armstrong has temporary custody of his sweet nephew—and no clue what he’s doing. Sienna has free time…and a yearning to be a mother. It could be a perfect match. But what happens when they both start wanting a long-term ever after?
Danger lurks in the shadows… and a police dog is keeping watch
Officer Jasper Holt never thought he’d see his high school girlfriend, Kinsley Miller, again—much less become her protector. But when the wildlife biologist returns home for her aunt’s funeral, she’s attacked twice in a matter of hours. With his K-9 partner at his side, the single father will protect Kinsley with his life. But can they uncover the reason behind the assaults…before the next strike becomes the last?
Somebody wants her dead… But they’ll have to go through him first.
After his client is murdered, security expert Brett Harmon plans to lie low at his family’s ranch—until he comes across an injured woman in the road. With only Brett’s business card in her pocket and no memory of her attack, Jaycee Richmond turns to her rescuer for answers. But when their search reveals a deadly connection, can Brett protect her from a killer she can’t remember?
An innocent suspect. A look-alike killer. Can a K-9 team crack this case?
After Officer Colt Maxwell and his K-9 partner, Sampson, discover a body, all signs point to Brooke Stevens as the murderer. But Colt suspects someone’s framing the park ranger—and that the killer looks exactly like her. When the imposter turns her sights on Brooke, it’s up to Colt to guard her. But can they track down the truth…before innocent Brooke loses her life?
When crime scene cleaner Lissa Page discovers a clue at a murder site, she’s attacked and becomes the killer’s new target. Now Deputy US Marshal Micah Bender must protect the single mother from becoming another victim. But with threats coming from every direction, Micah needs to hide Lissa—and the Amish community he left behind might be the answer to keeping his witness safe.
A woman falsely accused. A lawman out for justice.
Sergeant Anthony Jones never expected the most challenging fugitive he’d ever have to track down would be his childhood sweetheart, Tessa Watson. She’s accused of a cold case murder, but she claims she’s being framed for a crime she didn’t commit. Now Tessa wants Anthony’s help to clear her name. But the clock is ticking, because armed assailants will do anything to keep them from uncovering long-buried secrets.
One near-fatal “accident.” Two deaths. Finding the culprit will risk their lives…
After nearly drowning in a kayaking accident, Alaskan wilderness guide Zoey Kirk is sure it’s an accident—but her boss, Josiah Quinn, suspects someone of ill-intentions. And when people on the tour start turning up dead, Zoey and Josiah must work together to protect the group while searching for the truth. Can they unmask the homicidal menace in their midst before time runs out?
When theater owner Abby Mendez goes in after hours to work on the set for their newest production, she’s shocked to find a body behind stage. She’d just gone out to dinner with the dead man earlier that very night. Even worse, the killer is still in the building.
Blackout operative Hunter Bancroft is nearby when Abby screams, and he rushes to help her. He’s trying to build a new life for himself after the death of his wife, and Lantern Beach seems like the perfect place to do so–until he’s pulled into the chaos surrounding Abby. Yet he can’t walk away, not knowing the jeopardy she’s in.
As more dangerous incidents begin to occur, Hunter and Abby find themselves in the middle of the killer’s deadly game. But the person behind the violent acts remains a mystery–as do his motives. When the truth comes to light, will whispers from the past shatter the new starts both are desperately seeking?
She battled every fire she ever faced. He’s risking everything for the chance to belong.
Veteran and therapist Natalie Atkinson watched her Army career explode in her face. All she ever wanted was to help people carry their burdens. Seeking a new future in Last Chance County doesn’t start so well when she’s the one being rescued from a client’s burning house. To make matters worse, now she’s stuck evaluating the truck and rescue squads for the fire department. When the chief overhears why she left her last job, she’s determined to prove to him and her boss that she’s still the right therapist to assess his crew.
No matter if success takes everything she’s got.
Fire Chief Macon James is the right man for the job. He doesn’t need a therapist interfering with the running of his crew or putting his position in jeopardy when a counselor is what tore his family apart. He’s got to get his firefighters to be a team, and he can do it without Natalie’s help. After an explosion destroys her car, it quickly becomes clear she might need him as much as everyone thinks he needs her. If these two stubborn hearts will surrender, they could have everything they want.
Lyla Fox knows she has a reputation at the SNAP Agency for impulsivity, but when she receives a threatening letter from a man she helped put in prison, she can’t stop herself from going all in to find out why he’s coming after her. Unfortunately, she’s going to need the help of the one person who questions her reckless choices more than anyone else.
Explosives and weapons specialist Nicolás Garcia agrees to help Lyla in order to keep her safe, but her recklessness continues to be a major concern, especially when her investigation into a conspiracy puts a target on her back. Dealing with bombs is dangerous. Working with Lyla is proving to be just as treacherous–to both the mission and his heart.
Natalie Walters closes out her SNAP Agency series with a bang with this nail-biting story of a deadly government conspiracy, an unlikely couple, and an ending that will leave you breathless.
Jonas Marshall is done storm-chasing, plagued with the memory of a terrible accident that paralyzed a fellow chaser, so the last thing he’s going to do is run into more danger. Now, he’s just a simple weatherman deploying dirigibles in an experiment to track weather patterns in Slovenia.
As far from danger as he can get.
But danger comes knocking in the form of hiker in need of rescue, and he can’t deny that her companion—beautiful Sibba Kovac—is a great distraction from the guilt that haunts him…until she paraglides right out of his life.
Probably for the best.
But danger still won’t leave him alone when a storm knocks his dirigibles out of the sky, and he happens upon one that looks tampered with…
It is. And worse, it’s carrying what could be radioactive waste. At least according to EOD expert Sibba…who finds herself face-to-face with the rescuer she can’t forget. But she’s not looking for him—her grandfather is missing, and she’ll stop at nothing to find him.
When her missing grandfather leads to the threat of a dirty bomb, she’s the only one who can stop it. And Jonas is the only man brave enough to run into danger with her. But she doesn’t have room in her heart to love him—not when she lives with death in her periphery. Can the right man, at the right time help her see beyond her fears to a future?
And if they have a chance to save the world, can Jonas let go of the woman he loves?
In her new role as Emergency Operations Center director for Fairbanks, Alaska, Darcie Phillips prevents disasters. But none of her training can prepare her for the terror that’s coming.
As a cybersecurity specialist, Jason Myers is determined to ferret out any threats to the town he now calls home–and that includes his reckless brother and his ecoterrorist friends.
When an old woman’s wild prediction–widespread destruction as soon as the Fairbanks temperature falls to 26 below–hits national headlines, neither Darcie nor Jason sees a real risk to anything but tourism.
Then the bodies start dropping.
Darcie is relying on her experience and intelligence to stop a killer; Jason is relying on God to guide the way. They’ll have to work together to find the truth and prevent their Alaskan town from becoming a city of nightmares. The first in a thrilling new suspense series from best-selling author Kimberley Woodhouse, 26 Below will delight fans of Lynnette Eason, Irene Hannon, and Lynn Blackburn.
Will this epic journey be their second chance or the final heartbreak?
Heidi Wallace came west with secrets. When she accompanied her cartologist cousin to map terrain in the Montana Territory, she never imagined he would die from a snakebite. As she and her maid bury the body in this wild country, the last person she expects to come to their aid is the man she’s no longer sure she wants to find. But now that Ben Lane is standing before her…her heart demands answers.
Ben never thought he’d see Heidi again…let alone find her burying a body beneath a pile of rocks in the fierce Rocky Mountain plains. A man she claims was her husband. The last time Ben saw her, tears cascaded down her pretty cheeks as he walked away forever. He’d planned to marry her. Planned to spend his life making her happy. But to protect her life, he had to leave her behind. Now she’s alone again…and once more in danger.
Heidi must finish her contract to map the Marias River. When Ben insists she’ll need more than a maid to keep herself alive, he determines to travel with them into the treacherous northern country. As Ben and Heidi uncover each other’s secrets, the threat of the mountain wilderness may not be half as dangerous as the love that once flamed between them.
From a USA Today bestselling author comes another epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.
They Waited Their Whole Lives for Their Papa to Return
Nan and Heath Duncan, siblings abandoned by their papa and abused by their guardian, have no choice but to survive on the London streets. When a kind gentleman rescues Nan from such a life, the siblings are separated and raised in two vastly different social worlds. Just when both are beginning to flourish and years have healed some of their wounds, their long-awaited papa returns and reunites them—bringing demands with him. Nan is expected to marry a rich suitor she’s never liked, and Heath is expected to forsake his gentle spirit and become the hardened man his father always was.
Dangers unfold, secret love develops, fights ensue, and murder upsets the worlds Heath and Nan have built for themselves.
They’ve waited their whole lives for their papa to return, for tomorrow to come—but now that it has, will they be able to see through to the truth and end this whirlwind of a nightmare before it costs one of their lives?
Not much happens in Theodosia Stapleton’s tiny Northumberland village. Certainly not to her. She has resigned herself to spinsterhood, caring for her ailing mother in the home of her grandfather, known to the locals as “General Contrary.” When her dear friend dies and leaves behind a daughter, it’s simple enough to take the child into her own quiet world. That is, until her ward’s famous uncle unexpectedly arrives and throws Theo’s tidy orbit completely off-kilter.
Fame was the last thing Daniel Balfour sought when he fought in the Peninsular War. But his brave exploits caught the attention of the King, and now the honors he was given hound him everywhere . . . even on his rushed trip to rescue his orphaned niece.
Theo’s quick wit and warm smile reassure him that Rebecca is in good hands, and he finds himself free to swiftly return to London and his responsibilities. But those caring hands are beginning to look like they could also safely hold his heart, and he’s tempted to linger. Unfortunately, marriage is simply not in the cards; the army is spouse enough for him.
Then an accident and a scandal lead both Theo and Daniel to discover that their best-laid plans may not have been what God designed for them after all.
His pa named him Cain because his birth was a curse… but what happens when he’s the only one who can save the town?
Anna Mae Harding never thought getting married would be so hard. It’s not that she hasn’t had any offers. On the contrary, it seems like someone is always asking her to be his wife. The trouble is, she up and fell in love with the wrong man years ago, and no matter how much she tries to forget him, no one else she’s met has measured up.
Texas Ranger Cain Whitelaw is happy to leave the town where he grew up behind him forever. Being around his childhood friends stirs up too many old feelings—feelings that are best left buried beneath the cracked desert dirt. The hardest part is seeing Anna Mae Harding. Each time he looks at her, he gets a hankering to sweep her off her feet and carry her to the church for a surprise wedding. But he had too rough of a childhood—and has seen too many things as a Ranger—to ever become a family man. That’s why he’s better off shaking the dust of Twin Rivers from his worn boots and never returning.
When one of Cain’s enemies sets his sights on Twin Rivers and threatens both Anna Mae and his friends, Cain finds himself not only returning home, but facing a choice between his duty to the Rangers and the closest thing he has to a family. And he’s not quite sure who will survive the outcome…
From jagged mountains and green river valleys, to cattle ranches and vivid sunsets, Tomorrow’s Lasting Joy offers a powerful story about loyalty, love, and the bonds that hold us together through the deepest of trials.
When a group of Kansas women start a Frauenverein, a benevolent society devoted to aiding widows and orphans, life changes for more than just the hurting people they seek to help in this heartwarming romance inspired by historical events—from the bestselling author of Freedom’s Song.
With classes paused for the planting season, Alexandertol’s schoolteacher Augusta Dyck is glad for some meaningful work to occupy her time. She even knows exactly who their town’s benevolence society should help first: quiet, reserved widower Konrad Rempel and his young twin sons.
Konrad Rempel, however, is adamant that he doesn’t want help. His boys are mischievous but good-hearted. And though Konrad may be struggling, he doesn’t want anyone else sticking their nose in and telling him what his sons need. Or what he needs.
For her part, the charity’s founder Martina Krahn is relieved to have a reason to spend time outside her unhappy home. It even occurs to her that she may, through her work, encounter a boy in need of a family and so find a son for her husband since they have no children of their own.
Augusta, Konrad, and Martina each have deep needs and desires, and each imagines how they should be met: by reaching out or by being left alone. But God, indeed, knows best. Will the competing agendas of Alexandertol’s residents prevent them from receiving God’s help? Or will the members of this small Mennonite community find the answers to their prayers in the very last place they expect—in one another?
Phoebe can have her pick of suitors but never the man she wants.
Fancy parties and embroidered fans hold little appeal for Phoebe Walsh. She would rather gallop across the open range or help her father with a wounded calf. Of her many admirers, none spark her interest. Ma seems determined to save her from becoming a spinster, but how can Phoebe accept her mother’s choice of suitors when her heart belongs elsewhere?
Several years have passed since Will Canfield stole a kiss and her heart. Remembering her passionate response still curls her insides, but how she feels doesn’t matter. Will’s interest in her isn’t serious, as he’s made clear. She needs to get over the man. If Uncle Con will stop throwing them together, that could be a whole lot easier.
Will feels guilty about Phoebe, but he can’t risk another heartbreak. Being left at the altar certainly changed his mind about romance. Phoebe is better off marrying someone else, even if the idea sets his teeth on edge.
Phoebe and Will must both, with God’s help, conquer an old fear before they can move ahead with their lives. Set during a troubled time in America, the Montana Gold series explores faith, courage, and love in the Wild West.
Sometimes love finds you where you are, and other times it meets you across distant shores as four women discover in these four historical stories linked by a shared gold pendant.
More Than Gold (New South Wales, 1851) by Carolyn Miller Josephine Wilkins is headstrong and heartbroken—why else would she have left all she knew to follow her brother’s dreams of finding gold across the seas? Daniel Jardine is simply seeking adventure, in a land far away from family responsibilities and duty, two burdens he’s happy to disregard in his quest to be known for himself. When these two finally meet sparks are set to fly, as they discover that digging deeper than first impressions reveals the true value of one’s character, and real love and faith is worth far more than gold.
The Veil (Baltimore, 1877) by Kelly J. Goshorn After Caroline Wilkins is burned during a suitor’s attack, she retreats behind a lace veil and vows only to remove it for a man who will profess his love without seeing what lies beneath. Franz Kohler is a mountain of a man with a gentle heart and a hidden dream of carving intricate Bavarian clocks. When a mutual attraction grows between them, neither is willing to reveal their secrets, jeopardizing any hope of a future together unless two hearts can find the courage to trust again.
Running from Love (Canada, 1905) by Angela K. Couch Anna Kohler has left her home, and even her country, for the sake of her wayward brother. But when the local Mounted Police takes an interest in them, her hopes for the future collide. Constable Benjamin Cole has a duty to perform, no matter what his heart desires.
Lauren’s Song (Outer Banks, NC, 1942) by Cara Putman Lauren Randolph’s world has fractured with the death of her father five years earlier in a boating accident. John Weary defied his father’s wishes when he followed his grandfather’s footsteps and joined the Coast Guard. When Lauren’s brother goes missing at sea, John is determined to do what he can for Lauren, while continuing his work scouring the shoreline for U-Boats. Lauren focuses on her duties with the Civil Defense as they seek to uncover the real reason her brother disappeared. To do so, they have to unravel the truth about the woman who claims to carry John’s child and whether fishermen are really seeing U-boats or something else entirely.
A collection of faith-filled novellas all inspired by Charleston Light, the wonderfully awkward-looking lighthouse that sits on the shore of Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina. The stories range from sweet romance to time travel to fantasy to a modern retelling of a beloved fairy tale. You will definitely find something you love on these pages!
All proceeds from the sale of this anthology will go to Sanctuary of Unborn Life in Charleston, a not-for-profit that provides support, mentoring, and housing assistance for local pregnant and new mothers in need.
Hosanna’s Light, by Dianne Miley: Homeless and pregnant, Hosanna Oliver returns from years of rebellion to reconnect with her family, but someone else lives in her childhood home. At the lighthouse, she runs into her old friend Jonathan Salvador and an unspoken attraction is rekindled. When he encourages her to find her family, will she be able to forgive herself enough to accept love?
Homecoming, by Jody Stallings: When a band nerd and a cheerleader find each other across a high school football field in 1988, love seems inevitable … until they discover there’s a far wider chasm to cross: time itself.
Looks Aren’t Everything, a Retelling of the classic Fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling, by Laurie Larsen: Pediatric nurse Wanda Byrd feels an instant kinship with ten-year-old cancer patient Kendall, and it’s not just because of their matching scars. But a surprise encounter with Kendall’s Uncle Mark immediately ignites her long-held insecurities due to his good looks and confident demeanor. Can an awkward-looking lighthouse, the wisdom of a little girl, and a confession from the man himself teach her that true value comes from within?
Lighthouse of the Fireflies by Kelsey R Budd: Through a twist of fate, recent marine biology grad Lucia finds her plans to work at the local aquarium interrupted when Ben, a mysterious man in the Coast Guard, miraculously appears from the island lighthouse. Until they can figure out how to get him back to 1962, Ben plays Lucia’s boyfriend and helps as they act in a skit for the fundraising gala to repair the lighthouse. Together, they find healing for their pasts and hope for their futures, but will all the acting lead to real romance, and will time travel lead to real adventure?
Shattered Darkness, by Laurie Ingram Sibley: Six years ago, Will Edgar left his high school sweetheart behind. Now he’s back in town, and vandalism to their beloved lighthouse throws them together. But Will and Raven are haunted by the past. Can they break free and learn to trust again?
The Gold Note, by Christina Sinisi: Anna Rizzo has a long list of men she dated and dropped like loose change. She also lied, stole, and partied until she hit rock bottom, unconscious on her living room floor. By God’s grace, she makes a fresh start. Can a mysterious admirer’s coded gold notes help make her life whole again?
Second Time Lighthouse Love by Melissa Henderson: After two years, widow Lana Pierce continues to grieve the loss of her beloved husband Stan. When the older woman finds a mysterious notebook left on their favorite bench, she wonders if this could be a secret message intended for her. Is another “forever love” possible?
Following His Plans, by Annette Wiley: Consumed with the desire for wealth and status, Nora pours her energy into her prestigious interior design firm. But when her beloved aunt dies she drops everything to go to Rockland, Maine, where a set of precious gifts and a romantic relationship help light the way toward a new direction.
Lilac Cottage set on Mackinac Island, Book 2 Mackinac Cottages Series
Out of options, Rachel Dunmara “camps out” at her deceased Grandmother’s cottage on Mackinac Island. Next door, her childhood nemesis, Jack Welling, is overseeing his family’s remodeling of their home on the West Bluff. When Rachel’s new boss, at a local coffee shop, pushes her to work as Jack’s assistant, for her second job, can they mend their rift?
Kareen Parker, widowed in the past year, returns to the island to share long-held information with her son and to transition ownership of her resort to her son. Her grandson befriends Rachel, who was banned by her family from associating with the Parkers.
In a summer full of secrets that are finally revealed, can three families be healed?
Three days after deciding to marry so she can adopt the young Chinese girl who has captured her heart, Nicki Mayfield heads to Texas to become Mrs. Ben Carrington. However, as the unlikely pair prepares to say, “I do,” a shocking revelation threatens their plans to become a family.
While searching for the answers to the mystery holding her future hostage, Nicki must also keep Ms. O’Connor’s legacy alive at New Hope Orphanage – whose future is at serious risk.
As she and Ben work toward building their unconventional family, they discover that sacrificial parenting requires putting the child first in ways that bring indescribable joy and unexpected heartbreak to everyone involved.
In the end, will Nicki find her happily ever after, or will circumstances stop her from being perfectly matched in work, life, and love?
A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.
In 1870, orphaned Daisy François takes a position as housemaid at a Wisconsin castle to escape the horrors of her past life. There she finds a reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress who hides tales more harrowing than the ones in her novels. As women disappear from the area and the eerie circumstances seem to parallel a local legend, Daisy is thrust into a web that could ultimately steal her sanity, if not her life.
In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman’s stash of collectibles, a century-old mystery and the dust of the old castle’s curse threaten to rise again . . . this time to leave no one alive to tell the sordid tale.
Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly weaves a dual-time tale of two women who must do all they can to seek the light amid the darkness shrouding Castle Moreau.
The man who knows all our secrets has a secret of his own.
When Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory, finds a clue to solving the tragic arson that took his wife from him, he risks everything to find the truth—and chances losing himself in the process.
With a terror attack looming on the horizon and a pair of assassins on his tail, Brock drops off the grid and joins forces with a disavowed Homeland Security operative. Together they race to stop the attack before Brock is neutralized by the people he trusts the most.
From critically acclaimed, bestselling novelist Steven James comes a smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller that asks just how far across the line we might go to see justice carried out.
The time for peace is over—now he demands vengeance
They followed him back. Against his will, against his intention. Now enemies threaten from every direction. Amidst it all Marco Dusan struggles to lead his people, to help them survive, even mayhap win the war. He will take any advantage to even the odds. But only after tragedy strikes does he learn just how much he’s willing to sacrifice.
He’s not alone. Droserans fight as one, united against the offworlders—Symmachians who covet their planet. With the aid of unexpected allies, the Droserans battle on longer than anyone could have anticipated. Yet they cannot win. And the Faa’Cris, those supernatural warriors, fair of face and fierce of mien, do nothing.
But not all have turned their backs. After a bitter year of pain and loss, Kersei Dragoumis navigates a new heritage, ever intent on defending her people. Like her, light-years away from the Quadrants and even farther from the girl she thought she was, Eija Zacdari must come to terms with a new role. Or, rather, with an ancient one. And her success or failure may determine back in the Quadrants who lives and who dies.
In the end, Marco will have vengeance for the torment brought by this war. No matter the price. Not even if the price is his soul.
Three friends. Two broken promises. One missing manuscript.
As a senior acquisitions editor for Fog Harbor Books in San Francisco, Ingrid Erikson has rejected many a manuscript for lack of defined conflict and dramatic irony–two elements her current life possesses in spades. In the months following the death of her childhood best friend and international bestselling author Cecelia Campbell, Ingrid has not only lost her ability to escape into fiction due to a rare trauma response, but she’s also desperate to find the closure she’s convinced will come with Cecelia’s missing final manuscript.
After Ingrid jeopardizes her career, she fears her future will remain irrevocably broken. But then Joel Campbell–the man who shattered her belief in happily-ever-afters–offers her a sealed envelope from his late cousin, Cecelia, asking Joel and to put their differences aside and retrieve a mysterious package in their coastal Washington hometown.
Honoring Cecelia’s last request will challenge their convictions and test their loyalties, but through it all, will Ingrid and Joel be brave enough to uncover a twice-in-a-lifetime love?
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading The Words We Lost, the first book in Nicole Deese’s Fog Harbor Romance series that’s set in San Francisco and an island in Washington State. Ingrid is a fiction editor who’s working for a traditional publisher based in San Francisco. She’s devastated by the passing of her dear childhood friend, Cece, who was also her top selling author. Ingrid’s new boss is an awful person, and she’s threatening to fire Ingrid unless Cece’s missing manuscript, the last book under contract in Cece’s best selling fantasy series, is located.
Ingrid travels to Port Townsend to recover the missing manuscript and save her job. Joel grew up in Port Townsend, and he has history with Ingrid. He’s also Cece’s cousin, and circumstances force Joel and Ingrid to work together, and deal with the emotional baggage from their shared past, to solve the mystery of the missing manuscript.
I was intrigued by the story premise, and the reasons for why Ingrid struggled in her editorial job after she lost Cece. I loved seeing how the story mystery, combined with secret reveals, impacted the main characters. I recommend The Words We Lost to contemporary romance readers who like second chance romances with depth that explore how the past impacts the present, and include a relevant faith element in the story.
Many thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy.
After surviving a trauma several years back, Remy Reed relocated to a cottage on one of Maine’s most remote islands. She’s arranged her life just the way she wants it, spending her time working on her wood sculptures and soaking in the beauty of nature. It’s quiet and solitary—until the day she spots something bobbing in the ocean.
Her binoculars reveal the “something” to be a man, and he’s struggling to keep his head above water. She races out to save him and brings him into her home. He’s injured, which doesn’t detract from his handsomeness nor make him any easier to bear. He acts like a duke who’s misplaced his dukedom . . . expensive tastes, lazy charm, bossy ideas.
Remy would love nothing more than to return him to his people, but he has no recollection of his life prior to the moment she rescued him. Though she’s not interested in relationships other than the safe ones she’s already established, she begins to realize that he’s coming to depend on her.
Who is he? What happened that landed him in the Atlantic Ocean? And why is she drawn to him more and more as time goes by?
There’s no way to discover those answers except to walk beside him down memory lane.
Travel to the rocky coast of Maine for “opposites attract” banter, witty humor, a fascinating mystery, and destiny-changing love. This sweet contemporary romance kicks off Becky Wade’s new Sons of Scandal series!
*Note: For a list of sensitive topics in Becky’s novels, visit BeckyWade.com and click the link you’ll find at the top of the “My Books” page.
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I enjoyed reading Memory Lane, the first book in Becky Wade’s new Sons of Scandal series that’s set in Maine. Remy lives a simple life on a remote island. Six years earlier she left behind her previous life in Dallas, Texas. The main reason for why Remy left Texas, connected to a past trauma, is a sensitive issue. Readers who pay attention to trigger warnings can visit Becky’s website and look up her list of sensitive topics. Please be aware the trigger warning information includes story spoilers.
The story opens with Remy seeing a man in the ocean who’s a fair distance away from a boat. She rescues him, and discovers the man has amnesia and no memory of how or why he ended up in the ocean off the Maine coast. I’m a big fan of the amnesia romance trope, and I loved how the amnesia storyline, combined with a mystery connected to the man’s background, played out in the story. I read the book quickly and kept turning the page, wanting to know what happened next.
The romance is sweet and tender, and Remy forms an unexpectedly close bond of friendship with the man she rescued that develops into something more than friends. I recommend Memory Lane to contemporary romance readers who like the amnesia romance trope combined with a compelling mystery and faith threads in the story.
Many thanks to the author for an Advanced Reader Copy.
