Book picks similar to
Ornamental Graces by Carolyn Astfalk


romance
fiction
christmas
christian-fiction

First Crush


Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig - 2016
    The search to learn more about her birth family drives Natalie to renovate the dilapidated chateau into a stylish bed-and-breakfast complete with wine tastings amongst beautiful vineyards. But danger awaits her around every corner of the aged home and every lush row of grapes. For twenty-five years a serial killer has left a trail of bodies in his wake. Now the Lakeview Slayer has his sights set on Natalie.  Nick Hardaway never recovered from his sister’s murder—a victim of the Slayer. When news of the killer’s latest murder breaks, Nick grows more determined to make amends for his sister’s death, and joins Natalie in her renovations of the chateau. Natalie may hold the key to capturing the Lakeview Slayer before he kills again, but first the pair must decide if their newfound love is worth dying for.

Hummingbird


David Stearman - 2012
    Who is she? Where does she belong? Is she Lexa, Alexandra, or someone else?Forced to commit a crime, she flees south of the Border--and a vindictive bounty hunter follows her.Will she escape? Find redemption? Learn who she really is and where she belongs?The answer lies hidden in a tiny seaside village where wandering hummingbirds rest their wings.

The Secret Life of Daydreams


Lucinda Whitney - 2016
    Six years after a painful divorce, Josh Conrad is happy traveling the world as a photographer. When he arrives in Portugal, he plans to complete the assignment as quickly as possible. What he doesn’t plan for is Sofia, the girl he baptized eleven years earlier on an LDS mission, and soon he’s making excuses to prolong his trip.Sofia Monteiro leads a structured life in Braga, Portugal, teaching high school by day and caring for her mother by night. After she reconnects with Josh through mutual friends, the memory of a failed relationship and her new graduate program are enough reasons to stay away from him.As they collaborate on a project, Josh is wary of repeating his old mistakes and Sofia hesitates to spend time with an American who’s only passing through. Can two people with wounded hearts bring themselves to trust their dreams to each other?The Secret Life of Daydreams is a clean and wholesome contemporary LDS romance set in Portugal.

Christmas in Abundance


Sally Bayless - 2015
     Lanie Phillips has a quiet holiday planned. So quiet, in fact, that the only sounds in the house where she's staying should be the clicks of her computer keyboard and the occasional bark from a chocolate Labrador retriever. No joyous choirs of angels, no jolly laughs from Santa, and no jingle bells--nothing to distract her from her master's thesis or bring up painful Christmas memories. But for the single dad who's her closest neighbor, simple holiday decorations just won't do. Kyle Mattox is determined to give his five-year-old daughter the best Christmas ever--one that includes an outdoor display lit with fifty thousand lights, activated in time to music shared through four giant loudspeakers. When Lanie comes to complain that she can't write with the lights flashing and carols blasting, Kyle realizes that--unknown to her--their circuits have crossed in the past. If he wants his daughter happy, he needs to keep that information to himself, keep the show running, and keep his distance from Lanie. The companion novella to be read at any point in The Abundance Series Other Books in Series: Love at Sunset Lake Love and Harmony Love and Roses

By Summer's End (Christian Fiction)


Rosemarie Naramore - 2014
    As guardian to her fifteen-year-old half-sister, with whom she doesn’t get along, she hopes that moving will be a catalyst for change in their relationship. The young women fall in love with their new home, but unfortunately, are unaware of a condition of home ownership that may destroy their newfound happiness. Much is at stake, particularly for Holly and handsome neighbor Ryan McGraw. The two develop feelings for one another—but will a series of obstacles prevent the two from finding happiness together? Or will God assure a happy ending for all?

Almost Christmas


Brooke St. James - 2016
    It was her one chance to escape a lifetime of misery, and she was determined to take advantage of it. The fact that it was almost Christmas and she had no particular place to go was of little consequence. The only thing on her mind was starting over. She headed east, confident that her strong will and meager savings would be enough to get by. But her plans quickly began to crumble when she found herself in desperate need of help. Thankfully, that was precisely when she met Jesse Ward. Mae was stubborn, and she tried her best to refuse assistance from this handsome stranger. After all, her plans didn't include an extended detour in the middle of Virginia. Yet the two of them would soon discover that this chance encounter was exactly what they both needed to make a fresh start.

A Christmas in Montana


Elysia Lumen Strife - 2018
    Years in service and living alone have made Matt Jefferson one callous man. Will the spirit of the season bring them together? Or will the secrets they hold inside keep them apart? Christmas is quickly approaching. Orion’s sleepy Montana town is bustling with returning family, vacationing students, and several unexpected visitors: a friend on the rebound, Orion’s volatile ex, and a handsome silver-eyed stranger. When a surprise letter arrives from Matt's mother, it leads him deep into a snowy world of holiday magic and Irish fire that threaten to crack his shell. Filled with holiday humor, tempers, sweet romance, and lots of food, Orion and Matt rediscover what it means to have hope, faith, love, joy, and a belief in something greater than themselves.

The Fifth Avenue Story Society


Rachel Hauck - 2020
    No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bare their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

Destiny


Cindy Ray Hale - 2013
    As their rehearsals begin, Destiny realizes the unimaginable: Isaac has developed deep feelings for her despite their vastly different backgrounds and belief systems. But can they find the true message of love in a world full of judgement and fear? Weaving around Destiny and Isaac’s alternating viewpoints, this modern-day retelling of Romeo and Juliet is the first book in a series inspired by the characters of Les Misérables and explores heartbreak, self-discovery, intolerance, and love.

Christmas Star Sapphire


Hallee Bridgeman - 2015
    On her first day there, she meets JOE WESTCOTT, team leader for a campus ministry. Despite a mutual attraction, Joe’s personal rule of no romance with any student keeps any kind of deep relationship from developing. Joe has no desire to have a relationship with anyone, ever, anyway. He left a life of luxury and his family’s business behind to live alone on a sailboat and serve in ministry. Then Madeline walks into the auditorium the week school starts and Joe suspects his personal rules might not apply to this graduate student. That is, until he discovers Madeline is one of the Viscollis, and that her destiny lay in running her father’s massive corporation. Having rejected wealth and all its trappings since childhood, Joe finds himself falling for the vivacious sapphire-eyed beauty. Madeline knows she loves Joe, but is not willing to throw away her destiny of taking over at the helm of Viscolli Enterprises. A Christmas Eve funeral washes all Joe’s plans away. Will their love succumb to the rising tide caused by their differences in lifestyles, or will raging seas calm and allow them to sail off into the sunset?

Chasing the Butterfly


Jayme H. Mansfield - 2014
    Ella's journey is portrayed through a heartbroken child, a young woman's struggles during the tumultuous times surrounding World War II, and as a reflective adult. Through a series of secret paintings, her art becomes the substitute for lost love—the metaphor of her life. But when her paintings are discovered, the intentions of those she loves are revealed.

We Met in December


Rosie Curtis - 2019
    One house. A year that changes everything.  Twenty-nine-year-old Jess is following her dream and moving to London. It’s December, and she’s taking a room in a crumbling, but grand, Notting Hill house-share with four virtual strangers. On her first night, Jess meets Alex, the guy sharing her floor, at a Christmas dinner hosted by her landlord. They don’t kiss, but as far as Jess is concerned the connection is clear. She starts planning how they will knock down the wall between them to spend more time together.But when Jess returns from a two-week Christmas holiday, she finds Alex has started dating someone else—beautiful Emma, who lives on the floor above them. Now Jess faces a year of bumping into (hell, sharing a bathroom with) the man of her dreams…and the woman of his.

Welcome to Wishing Bridge


Ruth Logan Herne - 2017
    And it’s not the first time. Abandoned by her drug-addict mother as a teen, she landed in a foster-care group home where she experienced faith and community—and met her best friends, Jazz and Theadora. The trio stuck together like sisters and vowed to make their lives mean something.Now Kelsey’s pushing thirty, and her life has taken a wrong turn. Pregnant and alone after loving the wrong man, she’s on her way to making another life-changing decision when a wicked blizzard strands her outside the sleepy town of Wishing Bridge.After being rescued from a snowbank by handsome cop, she’s embraced by the welcoming village, but she still feels upside down. Fortunately, her frantic SOS brings her besties rushing to help sort things out. They soon find that Wishing Bridge has as many secrets as Kelsey does—and she’s connected to it in ways she couldn’t have imagined.

Journey of Grace


T.K. Chapin - 2018
    He had written off love after losing his wife years ago. A chance meeting changes these two lives forever.JOURNEY OF GRACE is book one of the tightly woven Christian romance series entitled JOURNEY OF LOVE by T.K. Chapin. Follow the lives of three grown siblings as they face challenges of faith, love, and heartache. The JOURNEY OF LOVE series is a spin-off of the best-selling DIAMOND LAKE SERIES. When Grace Anderson left Newport, Washington, she thought it was for good. But now she's back and trying to start a new life after running away from her abusive husband. Even surrounded by the love of her family, she can't help but cling to the pieces of her past that hurt the most.Owen McBride never dreamed of finding love again after losing his wife. The dashing Newport High School history teacher had written off love and was solely focused on living a life devoted to God and teaching children. That is, until he met Grace Anderson.Will these two find love in each other's arms? Or will God's will be something completely different?From the best-selling Christian Romance author T.K. Chapin comes a love story that will keep you reading until the very last page. Heartfelt, inspirational, and clean, Journey of Grace will remind you how God can work in the lives of those who place their trust in Him.

Christmas at Holiday House


RaeAnne Thayne - 2020
    Excited about the chance to create an unforgettable Christmas for her young son in picturesque Silver Bells, Colorado, Abby has been hired to take care of her dear friend’s recuperating grandmother. But sprightly senior Winnie insists she doesn’t need looking after. What she does need is help decorating her historic mansion, Holiday House, for a seasonal town fundraiser. Abby warms to the festive task, but she’ll have to contend with her own personal Grinch: Winnie’s prickly grandson, Ethan Lancaster.Ethan Lancaster is good at a lot of things. Relationships surely aren’t one of them. His ex-fiancée convinced Ethan he was incapable of love, and he believes her…up until the moment he impulsively kisses Abby. What is it about this vibrant woman and her sweet son that knocks his world off-kilter? He knows they’re leaving town after Christmas. He just didn’t expect they’d be taking a little of his heart with them. But as he and Abby work together on the magical Holiday House through the record cold weather, visions of a different future dance in his head…one filled with warmth, love and a new beginning for them both.