Book picks similar to
Grace & Lavender by Heather Norman Smith


christian-fiction
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Memories of a Dirt Road Town


Stephen Bly - 2005
    She divorces him without ever telling her twenty-one-year-old daughter why. Although Devvy has a heart change and desires for reconciliation, he dies before she can tell him of her desire. The daughter blames her mother for her father's death. Memories of a Dirt Road Town begins the story the following summer. Brokenhearted about her husband's death and her daughter's decision not to come home for the summer, Devvy decides to find a little dirt road town in Wyoming where she had vacationed as a child. She remembers fondly the sunset and a beautiful Roan horse. Upon arrival, Devvy purchases a Roan mare and a burro, rents a little cabin, and watches as God brings three very important men into her life.

Hometown Hope


Laurel Blount - 2019
    Hoyt is desperate to hear his daughter's voice again, but he and the bookstore's pretty owner, Anna Delaney, share a less-than-friendly past. Working together is complicated enough...but can they avoid falling in love?

Shattered Mirror


Sarah Price - 2018
    But college professor Kelly Martin can no longer deny the reality she lives every day: substance abuse is tearing her family apart. First, her ex-husband’s drinking destroyed their marriage. Now their seventeen-year-old son, Zach, is caught in the grip of drug addiction, fueled by a known drug dealer walking the halls of his high school. Kelly has two choices: watch helplessly and simply try to bear it or fight to save her son, who’s at the edge of suicidal depression.When she encounters shocking disinterest, even hostility, from her ex-husband, her sister, her mother, and her former social circle, Kelly quickly realizes that she’s alone on this painful and frightening journey. But the race to rescue her child becomes an awakening for Kelly as she comes to understand the keys to her own heart and happiness.

To Catch a Falling Star


Julie Wright - 2001
    Following her parents' divorce, April was dragged to Boston to live with her mother. Her only glimmer of happiness there has come through her new friend Sara Downey, who is not only smart and popular, but is also a true friend. Sara soon sets April up on a blind date with John, a Mormon from the Rocky Mountains. He returns home, but April dreams of their next meeting. Then Sara is diagnosed with cancer. Sara begins a search for God and the ultimate purpose of life while April finds herself filled with cynicism and doubt. While at a party, she meets Sam, a new friend who designates himself her conscience. Sam is headed to BYU, and when April finds out that his roommate is going to be John, she conspires to get her parents to send her there for college. Reunited with John, April finds herself confronting her past, as well as facing the quest looming in front of her, which urges her down a path she can ultimately never deny-the truth.

Chasing Lilacs


Carla Stewart - 2010
    But not for twelve-year-old Sammie Tucker. Sammie has plenty of questions about her mother's "nerve" problems. About shock treatments. About whether her mother loves her.When her mother commits suicide and a not-so-favorite aunt arrives, Sammie has to choose who to trust with her deepest fears: Her best friend who has an opinion about everything, the mysterious kid from California whose own troubles plague him, or her round-faced neighbor with gentle advice and strong shoulders to cry on. Then there's the elderly widower who seems nice but has his own dark past.Trusting is one thing, but accepting the truth may be the hardest thing Sammie has ever done.

My Stubborn Heart


Becky Wade - 2012
    When her grandmother asks her to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance. Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man hired to renovate the house. Kate can't help being attracted to him, drawn by both his good looks and something else she can't quite put her finger on. He's clearly wounded--hiding from people, from God, and from his past. Yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light... whether he likes it or not. When the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

Immortality


Dee Henderson - 2018
    She’s finishing a design for a new type of battery. And she’s also doing some traveling to explore the Rocky Mountains. It’s going to be an enjoyable three months. A relatively new Christian, she wants to know God better than she does now and that, too, is part of her summer plans. What she hadn’t considered was a summer romance, but walks into one compliments of God who has been richly blessing her. This is the story of Emily Worth and Noah Shepherd. It’s also a story of God’s romance with us through Jesus for God has purposed in His heart to love us forever. Dee Henderson is the author of numerous novels, including An Unfinished Death, Taken, Unspoken and the acclaimed O’MALLEY series. Several titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list; Full Disclosure has also appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list. Her books have won or been nominated for several industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award and the ECPA Gold Medallion.

Hope Harbor


Irene Hannon - 2015
    But life–and love–altered her plans.When tragedy strikes and changes her plans yet again, she finds herself back in her hometown with a floundering farm to run and a heartbreaking secret. Romance is not on her agenda. Nor is it on Michael Hunter’s. The visitor from Chicago has daunting secrets of his own. But when Tracy recruits him to help save a struggling charitable organization, the winds of change begin to sweep through Hope Harbor, bringing healing, hope, and love to countless lives–including their own.

Quaker Summer


Lisa Samson - 2007
    And people are starting to notice. What's wrong with a woman who has everything--a mansion on a lake, a loving son, a heart-surgeon husband--yet still feels miserable inside?When Heather spends the summer with two ancient Quaker sisters and a crusty nun running a downtown homeless shelter, she finds herself at a crossroads. Life turns upside down for Heather in a Quaker Summer. “One of the most powerful voices in Christian fiction,Samson delivers …a staggering examination of the Christian conscience.” –Publishers Weekly

The Prayer Box


Lisa Wingate - 2013
    Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper--the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

Finding Fireflies


A.C. Williams - 2015
    I’m 32 years old, accident-prone, a church secretary, and still single. Never-been-on-a-date kind of single. But that doesn’t mean I’ve never been in love. Until I find the second love of my life, I’ll always have my memories of summers past with Aaron, the guy of my dreams, chasing fireflies at twilight. Compared to him, the options at the Highpointe Baptist Church’s singles group just add insult to injury. But my stable pastor’s kid’s life takes an extraordinary turn when a misunderstanding lands me in jail, and that’s where I meet Jordin, a young prostitute. Her troubles make my life look like a dream, and I can’t help but feel that I need to help her in any way possible. Of course, that’s the perfect time for Aaron to reappear in my life, only to befriend Jordin. Just when I think it can’t possibly get worse, Jordin gets herself kidnapped by an underground prostitution ring, and it’s up to Aaron and me to get her back. This story isn’t for the faint-hearted. I have to face off with jilted women desperate for a second MRS degree, survive bad catfish, captain pontoon boats, and fight old people for their motor scooters. This is my story. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Amish Wanderer


Laura V. Hilton - 2017
    Tongues haven't stopped clacking in Jamesport, MO, since her daed, the bishop, was admitted to a mental hospital after hurting their small Amish community. But her sharpest wounds Bethany hides from prying eyes, quietly biding her time until she can take a chance at a new life away from Jamesport and away from God.Searching for a HomeSilas Beiler was kicked out of his own family's home. Dogged by a rough childhood and a family who blames him for each new disaster, he begins hitchhiking across the country, sleeping in barns where he can, working for food when possible; headed for Pennsylvania, in the hope of some stability. A Memory of LemonadeWhen Bethany spies a man asleep in the hayloft, she first fears the return of an unwelcome suitor. But when it is Silas who turns and speaks, the memories flood back: a happy summer six years ago full of lemonade, long walks, and budding courtship. Now, however, those months of bliss seem naive and idyllic. Will their old love overcome new pain? Or will hurt and rejection continue to haunt their path?

Voice in the Wilderness


H.L. Wegley - 2015
    KC Banning, network specialist, discovers President Hannan’s tyrannical plans and is branded a terrorist, sending her fleeing the Beltway to find her childhood soulmate and protector, Brock Daniels. Brock, a writer and man of faith, gives CPR to a dying nation through his blog, which is read by military members still loyal to the Constitution. But starting a grassroots insurgency while reconciling KC’s and Brock’s broken relationship proves difficult. When Hannan sends Special Forces to kill Brock and KC, starting a war in the Central Oregon desert, reconciliation, like staying alive, might be impossible.Set in Washington DC and near Crooked River Ranch in the Central Oregon desert, Voice in the Wilderness, Book 1 of the Against All Enemies Series, is a political thriller, with romance, about two people who must decide if they’re willing to sacrifice their lives to prevent the USA from becoming the Dystopian States of America.

A Love Most Worthy


Sandra Ardoin - 2019
     Hallie Russell believes life should be lived to the fullest. For that reason, she sails to the gold rush town of Nome, Alaska to take her cousin’s place as the mail-order bride of a respected shopkeeper. But when her aloof husband’s wedding-night announcement rocks her plans for their marriage, Hallie sees her desire for a family to call her own vanish as quickly as the dreams of hopeful miners. Tragedy led Rance Preston to repent of his rowdy ways and open a general store for the miners in Nome. He’s content in his bachelorhood, but his two orphaned nephews deserve a proper and serious-minded mother. Duped once by a vivacious female, he’s determined to never again let his heart overrule his head…until the high spirits of his new bride threaten his resolve to keep theirs a marriage of convenience. When a misunderstanding comes to light, will they allow the gale force winds of insecurity to destroy what they each need most?

Promises to Keep


Ann Tatlock - 2011
    Only days after settling into their new home, they are surprised to find the previous owner, Tillie Monroe, on their front porch reading the newspaper. Though her sons have sold the house and sent her to a facility for the aged, she is determined to die in the place she lived her life, and somehow manages to find her way "home" day after day. Feeling sympathy for the elderly woman, Roz's mother allows Tillie to move back in. Mara Nightingale becomes Roz's first friend in Mills River. In spite of their many differences, the girls discover they have something in common that binds them together--both are hiding secrets. So they make a promise--"cross my heart and hope to die"--never to tell anyone else.When danger stalks the Anthonys, Tillie exhibits unimaginable courage and selfless love in her determination to protect the family she has adopted as her own.