Book picks similar to
Words by Ginny L. Yttrup


christian-fiction
fiction
christian
contemporary

Journey to the Well


Diana Wallis Taylor - 2003
    Now the creative mind of Diana Wallis Taylor imagines how the Samaritan woman got there in the first place. Marah is just a girl of thirteen when her life is set on a path that will eventually lead her to a life-changing encounter with the Messiah. But before that momentous meeting she must traverse through times of love lost and found, cruel and manipulative men, and gossiping women.This creative and accurate portrayal of life in the time of Jesus opens a window into a fascinating world. Taylor's rich descriptions of the landscapes, lifestyles, and rituals mesh easily with the emotional and very personal story of one woman trying to make a life out of what fate seems to throw at her. This exciting and heartwrenching story will fascinate readers and lend new life to a familiar story.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon


Sarah Addison Allen - 2010
    Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world--no matter how out of place they feel. Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew--a reclusive, real-life gentle giant--she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes--which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past? Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

The Book of Tomorrow


Cecelia Ahern - 2009
    Until a traveling library arrives in her tiny village, bringing with it a mysterious, large leather-bound book locked with a gold clasp and padlock.What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.A mesmerizing story about how tomorrow can change what happens today...

Exposure


Brandilyn Collins - 2009
    Someone is watching Kaycee Raye. But who will believe her? Everyone knows she’s a little crazy. Kaycee’s popular syndicated newspaper column pokes fun at her own paranoia and multiple fears. The police in her small town are well aware she makes money writing of her experiences. Worse yet, she has no proof of the threats. Pictures of a dead man mysteriously appear in her home—then vanish before police arrive. Multisensory images flood Kaycee’s mind. Where is all this coming from? Maybe she is going over the edge. High action and psychological suspense collide in this story of terror, twists, and desperate faith. The startling questions surrounding Kaycee pile high. Her descent to answers may prove more than she can survive.

What Happened to My Sister


Elizabeth Flock - 2012
    Violence has shattered their family and left Libby nearly unable to cope. And while Carrie once took comfort in her beloved sister, Emma, her mother has now forbidden even the mention of her name.   When Carrie meets Ruth, Honor, and Cricket Chaplin, these three generations of warmhearted women seem to have the loving home Carrie has always dreamed of. But as Carrie and Cricket become fast friends, neither can escape the pull of their families’ secrets—and uncovering the truth will transform the Chaplins and the Parkers forever.   Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.

A Time to Love


Barbara Cameron - 2010
    But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her. Jennie has emotional and physical scars and though she feels she has come home to this man and this place, she's not sure she can bridge the difference between their worlds.

The Chocolate Run


Dorothy Koomson - 2004
    And every time it 'just happens' their secret affair moves closer to being a real relationship, which is a big problem when he's a womaniser and she's a commitment-phobe.While Amber struggles to accept her new feelings for Greg, she also realises that her closeness to Jen, her best friend, is slipping away and the two of them are becoming virtual strangers. Slowly but surely, as the stark truths of all their lives are revealed, Amber has to confront the fact that chocolate can't cure everything and sometimes running away isn't an option . . .The Chocolate Run is a delectable tale of lust, love and chocolate.Who needs love when you've got chocolate?

April & Oliver


Tess Callahan - 2009
    Years after being completely inseparable, they become strangers, but the wildly different paths of their lives cross once again with the sudden death of April's brother. Oliver, the responsible, newly engaged law student finds himself drawn more than ever to the reckless, mystifying April - and cracks begin to appear in his carefully constructed life. Even as Oliver attempts to "save" his childhood friend from her grief, her menacing boyfriend and herself, it soon becomes apparent that Oliver has some secrets of his own--secrets he hasn't shared with anyone, even his fiancee. But April knows, and her reappearance in his life derails him. Is it really April's life that is unraveling, or is it his own? The answer awaits at the end of a downward spiral...towards salvation.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group


Neta Jackson - 2003
    Who would have imagined that God would make a prayer group as mismatched as ours the closest of friends? I almost didn't even go to the Chicago Women's Conference--after all, being thrown together with five hundred strangers wasn't exactly my "comfort zone." But something happened that weekend to make us realize we had to hang together, and the "Yada Yada Prayer Group" was born! When I faced the biggest crisis of my life, God used my newfound Sisters to show me what it means to be just a sinner saved by grace.

Silver Bay


Jojo Moyes - 2007
    for the first time, a surprising and moving romance set in an old-fashioned seaside town on the verge of unwelcome change Liza McCullen will never fully escape her past. But the unspoiled beaches and tight-knit community of Silver Bay offer the freedom and safety she craves—if not for herself, then for her young daughter, Hannah. That is, until Mike Dormer arrives as a guest in her aunt’s hotel. The mild-mannered Englishman with his too-smart clothes and distracting eyes could destroy everything Liza has worked so hard to protect: not only the family business and the bay that harbors her beloved whales, but also her conviction that she will never love—never deserve to love—again. For his part, Mike Dormer is expecting just another business deal—an easy job kick-starting a resort in a small seaside town ripe for development. But he finds that he doesn’t quite know what to make of the eccentric inhabitants of the ramshackle Silver Bay Hotel, especially not enigmatic Liza McCullen, and their claim to the surrounding waters. As the development begins to take on a momentum of its own, Mike’s and Liza’s worlds collide in this hugely affecting and irresistible tale full of Jojo Moyes’s signature humor and generosity.

Since You've Been Gone


Anouska Knight - 2013
    Now to the external world, at least she s finally getting back on her feet, running her business, Cake. Then she meets Ciaran Argyll.His rich and charmed life feels a million miles from her own. However, there s more to Ciaran than the superficial world that surrounds him, and he too is wrestling with his own ghosts. Will Holly find the missing ingredient that allows her to live again and embrace an unknown and unexpected tomorrow?

Guarding Her Heart


Kimberly Rae Jordan - 2015
    Follow the lives of the men and women working for BlackThorpe Security as they face the challenges of life, faith and love. The BlackThorpe Security series is a spin-off from the Christian romance series, The McKinleys. If you haven’t read those yet, check out book one - THIS TIME WITH LOVE - and meet some of the characters who will continue to appear in the BlackThorpe Security series. Lindsay Hamilton has watched as people around her have fallen in love and gotten married. She knows she needs a change in her life, but she also knows it doesn’t involve romance or love, let alone marriage. When their church announces a two-week mission’s trip to the Philippines, Lindsay feels that this may be the change she needs. Plus, it will give her the opportunity to see the world beyond the one she’s lived in her whole life. The only problem is her mother. Having almost lost one child, Lindsay’s mother is distraught at the thought of her only daughter trekking halfway around the world by herself. In order to give her mother peace of mind, Lindsay agrees to allow a bodyguard to accompany her. Than Miller is the consummate ladies’ man. He loves to spend time with them and to make them feel good about themselves. Unfortunately, that very approach to life has made the one woman he’s most interested in hold him at arm’s length. When her older brother comes to BlackThorpe Security to hire a bodyguard for a trip she’s taking, Than quickly agrees. Surely he’ll have the opportunity to convince Lindsay to change her opinion of him during their trip together. Though Lindsay has accepted Than’s role as her bodyguard, she’s the one in charge of guarding her heart. And guard it she will. But when disaster strikes and she finds herself completely out of her element, Lindsay has to face her own vulnerabilities. As her faith in God deepens, will she be able to let down her guard enough to let Than in? Usually, Than has no trouble keeping his emotions detached from his job, but this time around he’s finding it more and more difficult. And it’s not just because he’s responsible for Lindsay. In the midst of disaster, he comes face to face with a faith he’s never experienced before. Will he give his heart to God even as he waits for Lindsay to give hers to him? Or will the experiences Than and Lindsay shared on the trip be just a memory when they get back home? Stayed tuned for the next book in the BlackThorpe Security series due out the end of June 2015. If you enjoy heartwarming Christian romance with a focus on love, faith and family, be sure to check out these other books and series by Kimberly Rae Jordan. Other series by Kimberly Rae Jordan: The McKinleys Home to Collingsworth Those Karlsson Boys Other books by Kimberly Rae Jordan: Faith, Hope & Love Marrying Kate

Little Night


Luanne Rice - 2012
    The verdict largely hinged on Anne’s defense of her spouse—all lies—and the sisters have been estranged ever since. Nearly twenty years later, Clare is living a quiet life in Manhattan as an urban birder and nature blogger, when her niece, Grit, turns up on her doorstep.The two long for a relationship with each other, but they’ll have to dig deep into their family’s difficult past in order to build one. Together they face the wounds inflicted by Anne and find in their new connection a place of healing. When Clare begins to suspect her sister might be in New York, she and her niece hold out hope for a long-awaited reunion with her.A riveting story about women and the primal, tangled family ties that bind them together, Little Night marks a milestone for Luanne Rice—the thirtieth novel from the author with a talent for creating stories that are "exciting, emotional, terrific" (The New York Times Book Review).

The Cure


Athol Dickson - 2007
    In a last bid for survival, Riley sets out and soon finds himself in Dublin, Maine, a coastal village. This once-proud birthplace of mighty wooden ships, then is now suffocating underneath an avalanche of desperate people searching for help. But will they find their miracle?

Promise Me This


Cathy Gohlke - 2012
    Determined to carry out his promise to care for Owen's relatives in America and his younger sister, Annie, in England, Michael works hard to strengthen the family's New Jersey garden and landscaping business. Annie Allen doesn't care what Michael promised Owen. She only knows that her brother is gone--like their mother and father--and the grief is enough to swallow her whole. As Annie struggles to navigate life without Owen, Michael reaches out to her through letters. In time, as Annie begins to lay aside her anger that Michael lived when Owen did not, a tentative friendship takes root and blossoms into something neither expected. Just as Michael saves enough money to bring Annie to America, WWI erupts in Europe. When Annie's letters mysteriously stop, Michael risks everything to fulfill his promise--and find the woman he's grown to love--before she's lost forever.