Book picks similar to
Safe Haven by Jean Holbrook Mathews


historical-fiction
romance
lds-fiction
lds

Love, Jane


Ranee S. Clark - 2017
    Jane has her heart set on serving a mission, and she can't delay telling Sean the news any longer: not only has she quietly submitted her mission papers, but she's also leaving in a month ... for Alaska. Shocked and devastated, Sean struggles to come to terms with Jane's decision. Unable to deny the depth of their feelings for one another, Sean makes a promise to wait for her.Life unfolds for both Jane and Sean, with communications limited to weekly e-mails. But with just a few months left in Jane's mission, Sean's messages stop. When she receives the dreaded "Dear Jane" breakup along with the news that she has been replaced by Sean's former flame, Jane knows the future she envisioned now belongs to another woman. But upon her return home, Jane quickly realizes some things are worth fighting for—perhaps, most of all, a shot at true love.

The Sheriffs of Savage Wells


Sarah M. Eden - 2016
    A force to be reckoned with. The stuff of legend.So is she... May the best sheriff win. Paisley Bell knows the eccentric people of Savage Wells. From the absentminded shopkeeper who always thinks she's been robbed to the young man who has returned shell-shocked from the war, Paisley has compassion for them all. When the sheriff up and leaves town, Paisley steps up and assumes the responsibility, partly because she loves the work, but also because she needs the income to take care of her sick father. So when the town council decides that the position of sheriff should really go to a man, Paisley finds herself fighting to prove that she's the perfect candidate for the job, even though she wears a skirt.Cade O'Brien is heartily sick of shooting people. In his many years as a lawman, Cade has seen his share of blood and violence. So when he answers an advertisement for a sheriff job in the sleepy town of Savage Wells, he believes he's found the peace and quiet he's always desired. But when he discovers that his biggest competition for the job is a woman, he begins to question his decisions.Tension between the two begins to sizzle when both Cade and Paisley realize the attraction they have for each other, but when Paisley's former beau shows up in town, along with a band of bank robbers, the blossoming relationship between the two sheriffs is tested. They will have to work together to thwart the bank robbers and keep the town safe.

Sarah


Orson Scott Card - 2000
    He appeared before her in her father's house, filthy from the desert, tired and thirsty. But as the dirt of travel was washed from his body, the sight of him filled her heart. And when Abram promises Sarai to return in ten years to take her for his wife, her fate was sealed.Abram kept his promise, and Sarai kept hers they were wed, and so joined the royal house of Ur with the high priesthood of the Hebrews. So began a lifetime of great joy together, and greater peril: and with the blessing of their God, a great nation would be built around the core of their love.Bestselling author Orson Scott Card uses his fertile imagination, and uncanny insight into human nature, to tell the story of a unique woman--one who is beautiful, tough, smart, and resourceful in an era when women had little power, and are scarce in the historical record. Sarah, child of the desert, wife of Abraham, takes on vivid reality as a woman desirable to kings, a devoted wife, and a faithful follower of the God of Abraham, chosen to experience an incomparable miracle.

The Writing on the Wall


Dean Hughes - 2001
    The Berlin Wall. The Cold War. The Kennedy Assassination. The Civil Rights movement. Issues and events marked by prosperity, unrest, increasing global awareness as well as divisiveness over national priorities. The babies who were born to Al and Bea Thomas' children at the end of the bestselling Children of the Promise series are young adults now and are all being affected in different ways.

Steamship to Zion


Jerry Borrowman - 2012
    The holiday is a pretense. In actuality, the family does not plan to return to their home. They have recently joined the Mormon Church and are journeying west to join the Saints in Utah. But as they prepare to board ship, they encounter a desperate young woman attempting to travel alone. The Chandlers graciously offer to chaperone Gloria Palmerston to New York City. Little do they know this strong-willed young lady holds a dangerous secret.Upon arriving in the United States, the Chandlers’ passage west is unexpectedly interrupted and the family is forced to work on a steamship bound for Panama as they inch closer to their goal of the Great Salt Lake valley. With hopes of reaching the Zion of the West through a San Francisco route, the Chandler family and Miss Palmerston embark on a heroic undertaking as they face stormy seas, dishonest confidants, unending toil, strife, and betrayal—but also the helping hands of the famous Sam Brannan and Porter Rockwell. But there are some things worth sacrificing everything for. Book passage on Steamship to Zion and see how one family endures and proves the measure of their faith.

Cold Justice


Kathi Oram Peterson - 2012
    On the eve of their wedding, however, Samuel disappears, and Regi wonders if once again he has run away from both a life with her and a membership in the Church. Quite the opposite; Samuel has been kidnapped by the Raven Clan, a powerful Alaskan tribe, and is en route to stand trial in front of their justice council for a puzzling crime that happened years ago. When Regi and Samuel’s close friends suspect a kidnapping, Regi—with the help of her sister, Claudia, and friend Wakanda—resolves to follow Samuel to Alaska but soon learns secrets about her fiancé she hadn’t bargained for. While Samuel struggles with his faith and with understanding why he has been accused, Regi risks life and love to set him free.

The Flight Girls


Noelle Salazar - 2019
    Audrey Coltrane has always wanted to fly. It's why she implored her father to teach her at the little airfield back home in Texas. It's why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it's why she insists she is not interested in any dream-derailing romantic involvements, even with the disarming Lieutenant James Hart, who fast becomes a friend as treasured as the women she flies with. Then one fateful day, she gets caught in the air over Pearl Harbor just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe.To make everything she's lost count for something, Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. The bonds she forms with her fellow pilots reignite a spark of hope in the face war, and--when James goes missing in action--give Audrey the strength to cross the front lines and fight not only for her country, but for the love she holds so dear.Shining a light on a little-known piece of history, The Flight Girls is a sweeping portrayal of women's fearlessness, love, and the power of friendship to make us soar.

Cross My Heart


Julie Wright - 2010
    Hazel-eyed Geoffrey, the brilliant ad exec whom Jillian would've married if he hadn't stolen some of her best work and gotten her promotion as a result. The second man is Jack in Los Angeles. Insecure Jack, who signs Jillian up for a love study at a local university "just for fun" but secretly intends to find out if she still loves Geoffrey. Flaky Jack, who splits as soon as her brain neurons fire and emphatic yes. The third man is Allen on the airplane from LA to Boston, where Jillian's boss has ordered her to investigate the underhanded dealings of a competing agency and where Jillian's crazy parents still live. Allen, the electric-blue-eyed dentist who hates the advertising industry because his ex-girlfriend, Nicole, recently dumped him for some hotshot ad exec. Head spinning yet? Well, forget about love triangles--this turns into a full-blown love quadrangle that quickly becomes a high-stakes game with savvy players, snappy dialogue, and a plot that won't stop twisting...until another love study delivers surprising results.

Soda Springs


Carolyn Steele - 2015
    The family journeys along the Oregon Trail until tragedy strikes, leaving Tessa and her father to build a new life in Soda Springs, Idaho. This sweeping story illuminates an oft-forgotten era in LDS Church history. Filled with life and passion, it's a thrilling read for history buffs and romantics alike.

All She Ever Wanted


Lynn Austin - 2005
    But an unexpected invitation from her sister unwittingly draws her back to that sleepy New York town, her own daughter in tow.A trip meant to salvage her relationship with her daughter changes course as Kathleen reexamines her own childhood. But even more enlightening are the stories of Eleanor, her once-vibrant mother, and Fiona, the grandmother she barely knew.The more Kathleen learns, the more answers she seeks concerning her family's mysterious past. Yet with the past exposed, Kathleen is torn between her need to forgive and the urge to forget.

The Fortune Hunter


Daisy Goodwin - 2013
    Bored with the stultifying etiquette of the Hapsburg Court and her dutiful but unexciting husband, Franz Joseph, Sisi comes to England to hunt. She comes looking for excitement and she finds it in the dashing form of Captain Bay Middleton, the only man in Europe who can outride her. Ten years younger than her and engaged to the rich and devoted Charlotte, Bay has everything to lose by falling for a woman who can never be his. But Bay and the Empress are as reckless as each other, and their mutual attraction is a force that cannot be denied.Full of passion and drama, THE FORTUNE HUNTER tells the true story of a nineteenth century Queen of Hearts and a cavalry captain, and the struggle between love and duty.

Of Goodly Parents


H.B. Moore - 2004
    A deeply divided family led by Lehi and his son Nephi leaves the ancient city of Jerusalem and flees into the Arabian wilderness to make their long journey towards a promised land.

A Perfect Day


Richard Paul Evans - 2003
    But when his thirst for success causes him to lose focus on his happy family life, ambition begins to consume him. When a stranger appears with a mysterious message about the brevity of his future, he discovers the truth about himself: who he has become, what he has lost, and what it will take to find love again.

Pillar of Light


Gerald N. Lund - 1994
    I can see it on your face."For a moment, time seemed suspended as Nathan probed the inward recesses of his soul. There was still the incredulousness, still the sense of hearing something that couldn't possibly be true. And yet he knew it was. He knew without the least shadow of doubt that everything Joseph was telling him was true. And so, finally, with a wonder of his own, he said, "Yes, Joseph, I believe you."Pillar of Light — the first volume in the series The Work and the Glory — begins the epic story of the Benjamin Steed family. In the 1820s they move from Vermont to Palmyra Township in upstate New York in search of better farmland. There they meet a young man named Joseph Smith and are thrown into the maelstrom of conflict and controversy that swirls around him. Did he really see the Father and the Son in a pillar of light? Has he truly been visited by angelic messengers? What is all this talk about gold plates and new scripture? In short, is he a prophet and seer or a monumental fraud? The answers each one gives to these questions — intensely personal, potentially divisive — will dramatically affect the lives of the Steeds forever after.Author Gerald N. Lund here masterfully weaves together historical reality and high-powered fiction. In his hands this combination seems to make the reader an eyewitness to the early scenes of the Restoration, thus deepening one's understanding and appreciation of those momentous events. The well-drawn plot and fictional characters present a moving, gripping story. Here are Benjamin and Mary Ann Steed, devoted to each other as man and wife, yet at odds over religion; Joshua, their volatile son, who rebels and heads for trouble; the sensitive Nathan, their second son, in whom Joseph Smith's message strikes a responsive chord; the beautiful Lydia McBride, who captures the hearts of both Joshua and Nathan.This book skillfully explores the inmost motivations of Joseph Smith and his early followers and the responses of typical contemporary families to the claims he made. These people come to life in this powerful historical novel, a story that captures both the heartache and the happiness that came in the wake of Joseph's experience with the pillar of light.

In Quest of Zion


Laurel Mouritsen - 2003
    In Vol. 1 a Latter-day Saint newspaper writer has his world turned upside down when he meets a woman far more than his match. See how mobs attack their city, chase them from their farms, and how they still come out victorious. Fall in love with the characters and read history that moves you! (Hardcover)