Book picks similar to
Eyes of Light by Charissa Stastny


romance
religion
lds-fiction
young-or-new-adult

The Scarab Beetle: Books 1-4


C.L. Stone - 2019
     This bundle includes: Thief - Book 1 Liar - Book 2 Fake - Book 3 Accessory - Book 4 Hoax - Book 5 (sneak peek)

Wish Me from the Water


R.E. Swirsky - 2013
    The town's people believe the suicide was another tragic result of bullying, but the two boys have learned the true reason their friend took his own life, and decide to take matters into their own hands. Detective Dean Daly is called in to investigate the brutal murders and believes there is much more to the murders than first appears. Not far away, a young housewife, Sarah, is in a very bad place. Her husband Gerald finally crosses the line from verbal abuse to physical abuse and breaks her arm. She takes flight in the middle of the night, and Gerald vows he will track her down to the ends of the ends of time, and insists she can never leave him. Detective Daly soon becomes involved in both events, not knowing that he will soon be caught in the middle as the two stories collide. This is a story about courage, strength, and standing up for what you believe

Throstleford


Susan Evans McCloud - 2008
    Esther and her father, the local vicar, are the first to receive copies of the Book of Mormon. Both recognize truth in the book, but recoil from the challenges this knowledge brings. The new message affects the lives of other villagers as well: the Lutheran minister, the grocer, the stone mason, the local squire's son, the stable boy who finds a discarded Book of Mormon, and the innkeeper and his sons, who spearhead the opposition to this new faith. Faith, charm, and romance permeate this glimpse into nineteenth-century England and the early Church.

Tender Grace


Jackina Stark - 2009
    Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the 'tender graces' God provides every day.

Hurricane Beach (Southern Storms #1)


Lexie Nicholas - 2020
    They were also convinced they were soulmates—until the breakup. Can a hurricane threatening the Georgia Coast reunite the once high school sweethearts? With her disgruntled teenage daughter in tow, Anna, a recently divorced paramedic, has moved back to her hometown of Magnolia Hill to start over. Her priority is to heal the emotional wounds her now ex-husband had caused. She also needs to prove to herself that she is capable of providing for herself and her daughter on her own. Only by facing her inner demons and the people who’ve told her she's not worthy can she make room in her heart to love again.Two years after the fatal car accident that claimed his wife, Chief Meteorologist Jason Morrison is still grieving. However, when he collides with Anna at a community event, memories of his senior year resurface, and he can’t get her out of his mind. He invites Anna to tag along on an opportunity of a lifetime—to cover Hurricane Gerard’s landfall at Tybee Island—just as friends. Nothing ever goes as planned, though. Spending time together rekindles the familiar feelings they had for each other when they dated in high school nearly two decades ago. But they can't be together. He’s made a sacred promise. She has to learn to trust again. Will they find a way? If you enjoy clean romances with charming characters and a small-town feel, stories about second chances, and the excitement of stormy weather, then you’ll love Lexie Nicholas’s debut novel.

The Evil Twin?


P.G. Van - 2016
    She never expected a simple act of kindness would be life altering. Reyan comes into her life threatening to shake up her focus and challenges her resolve. He is everything Vinnie wants in a man and he shows up just when she thought she had everything she needed to stay focused on her life and her goals.Will he crack her titanium tough exterior and get to her heart? Will she let him into her life especially with what she has been through since she was ten? Will she trust Reyan to help her recover from her emotional wounds? Will she get to the bottom of why people think they have seen her at places that she has never been to before. Does she have a doppleganger or a twin?Follow Vinnie's and Reyan's love story as she learns the true meaning of love, trust and family.

Thistles (Pistils, Book 1)


Kate McNeil - 2018
     But I'm not allowed to put that on my resume, so..." Unceremoniously dragged back to U.S. soil, disgraced spy Vivian Carmichael was forced to leave it all behind...a bulletproof cover, a promising career, and a man she loved enough to protect no matter the cost.   The only family she's ever known is waiting to put her back together again, but will anything ever be enough to keep someone with such a unique skillset satisfied for long?  It's a waiting game until the day that first opportunity finds her, with the second not far behind...  This introductory novella to the Pistils series will leave you wondering: what's next for an ex-spy who didn't retire voluntarily?  Is it truly what it appears to be on the surface...and how long will it really last? For the reader: please note that Thistles is an introductory novella to the series, not a full-length novel.  The novella is just over 60% of the book itself, and as a bonus, the first four chapters of the next novel, Pistils, make up the remainder.

How to Fetch a Fiancé


Rachelle J. Christensen - 2017
    A faithful German Shepherd named Duke helps Audrey and her two daughters adjust to their new life, but nothing can heal the hurt Audrey feels. Angry at God and focused on work, Audrey pushes away any attempts for future relationships. But a game of fetch changes everything when her dog runs into Troy Jackson. Troy, the billionaire owner of Arise Music, is too handsome, too busy and too haunted by his past for a relationship. Audrey grabs hold of his heart and impresses him with her musical talent, but why is she willing to work with a Christian label when she’s harboring ill feelings toward God? Within the first week of work, Audrey’s car breaks down and Troy offers her a ride home. They end up chasing fireflies, laughing, and connecting. When Troy asks her out, she decides one date won’t hurt. That one date turns into a private Fourth of July celebration with fireworks in the sky and her heart. Troy finds himself falling in love with Audrey, but when the truth about his past comes to light, will Audrey’s faith be lost forever?

Cold River


Liz Adair - 2011
    She's determined to make a difference, but the local populace still looks to the former superintendent for leadership. When Mandy lands in the middle of an old feud and someone keeps trying to kill her, instinct tells her to run. With the river rising and death a real possibility, will she find a reason to stay and chance the odds? Part romance, part cozy mystery, part thriller, Cold River, like many of Liz Adair’s books, is a novel about family ties and second chances. From The Deseret News: "Cold River" is a light read, with emphasis on romantic entanglements and small-town politics…Readers expecting a complex thriller or a dark suspense book may be disappointed with "Cold River," but those looking for light afternoon entertainment will enjoy it. The content is family friendly, with no sexual issues beyond a few kisses and a frank discussion about reasons not to let physical intimacy progress. While there is danger and some potentially violent situations, these are neither graphic nor overly threatening. The family relationships are well done. Especially entertaining is the sibling banter between Mandy and her young sister, who joins her in the backwoods and also falls in love ... not with a boy, but with bluegrass. From Alice Wills Gold’s blog: I’m so Funny (Sometimes): Sometimes I wonder where my brain is. It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I realized how the title Cold River reflects the subject of the book. I swear I am blonde sometimes. The gist of the story-line in Cold River is a gutsy gal takes a job as a superintendent of schools in the small town in the upper mid-west of the US. She has never lived in such a small town and so when she ends up renting a house right on the river, the river and its surrounding landscapes are a comfort to her as she acclimates to the small town life. The river also has significance in one of the main plots, but I hate to give away spoilers in the reviews I write, so you will just have to read the book yourself. I fell in love with the male co-leads, if that's what we can call them. There are three cousins that are completely different yet equally hunky and mysterious. Once the story got going it was fast paced and intriguing and the suspense and romance only grew my interest up until the very end. I loved how the relationships all twist and intervene with one another; the mere idea is so consistent with small town living, especially because everyone is related in one way or another. I didn't guess the villain of the story until they were revealed and that is not easy for an author to do...I always guess what's going on, so I appreciated the surprise. It was a great surprise and I love when an author can get me shaking my head at myself for not guessing what was really going on in the story-line. I am personally connected to the three subplots of music in schools, literacy, and gaining emotional maturity and I agreed with the viewpoint of the author on them all and enjoyed how Adair wove them into the greater story. The end of the story was magnificent. I have a real hard time giving a book a good review if I don't think the end was spectacular. It has to be not only spectacular but real to life and feel-good. I know that limits me, but I don't think I am going to change now, so all you authors out there, write good endings.

First Visions


Heather Topham Wood - 2012
    While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother's home. Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can't control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.

Confidential


Jack Parker - 2013
    After being forced into hiding until the trial, Heidi finds Camdon, someone who changes her :Making her new life more than bearable, he makes it perfect.Now she has to decide if it's worth giving up the perfect life she has to testify, if it's worth it to go back to the old life she had before, and if she can keep lying to the only person that she's ever loved.

Not What She Seems


Victorine E. Lieske - 2010
    What he doesn't know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn't stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people led him to a small Nebraska town. He didn't want to lie about who he was, but he couldn't exactly tell them the truth.Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long.This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense, appropriate for all ages.Like clean romance? Check out cleanromancebooks.com!

Collecting Scars


Tee Smith - 2016
    She left home at seventeen to start a new life for herself, to follow her dreams of becoming a nurse.For more than ten years she has not needed anyone in her life, well at least that's what she has told herself. Until she met the man with the gorgeous smile and piercing green eyes.Xavier Arnold has had his own share of trouble in his life. He is still grieving for his younger sister Maddie, who has been missing without a trace for more than six years.Will these two find love?One night walking home from work, Asha is snatched off the street and held captive by a mysterious stranger. She is forced to re-evaluate her life. Not knowing if she will ever escape to see Xavier or her family again.

Dating: No Guts, No Glory


Joni Hilton - 1989
    

In the Spotlight


Ann Mauren - 2010
    Working to uncover the secrets behind her elusive watchers, she carefully conducts her own surveillance, testing the limits of professionals who think she is clueless about them. Though they are hard to spot, their loyalty and care for her is not. When she finds a way to declare her feelings for one of her guards, he is blindsided with joy but fearful that his team will lose its lucrative security contract because of his relationship with the mark they’ve all come to love.As secrets to the identity and intentions of the team’s mysterious employer begin to unravel, Ellery’s deeply buried affections resurface and battle with the love and loyalty she feels for her security team and her new love. Searching for answers and conscious that her choices will impact loved ones and guardian angels alike, Ellery finds that her life is ‘In The Spotlight’ and she is the ‘Mayne Attraction.’