Book picks similar to
Last Mango in Texas by Ray Blackston


christian-fiction
fiction
chick-lit
romance

Before the Season Ends


Linore Rose Burkard - 2005
    High society, the gentry, the working classes-they all knew their place. From coaches and curricles to Almack's and Regent's Park, from lorgnettes and quizzing glasses to Drury Lane and Pall Mall, it's all here, from chambermaids to the Prince Regent himself! Add Miss Ariana Forsythe to the intoxicating mix of fun and inspiration, and what do you have? The first Christian Inspirational Regency on the market today! Welcome to this delightful world, and prepare to fall in love with Ariana and her cohorts. From her home in the village of Chesterton to the very ballroom of Carlton House, you will follow her adventures and journey of faith to the edge-of-your-seat ending!

A Sweethaven Summer


Courtney Walsh - 2012
    Just before losing a battle with cancer, Suzanne Carter sent letters to childhood friends from her hometown of Sweethaven, Michigan. Suzanne's three friends -- Lila, Jane, and Meghan -- haven't spoken in years, yet each has pieces of a scrapbook they made together as girls. Suzanne's letters have lured them all back to the idyllic lakeside town, where they meet Campbell and begin to remember what was so special about their long Sweethaven summers. As the scrapbook reveals secrets from the past, old wounds are mended, lives are changed, and friendships are restored -- just as Suzanne intended.

Wind Dancer


Jamie Carie - 2009
    A free spirit, she dances in the moonlight as a praise offering to God and is more at home fearlessly taking her long rifle and knife into the woods for adventure and inspiration.But Isabelle's latest journey may be more than even her strength can handle when a huge storm throws the raven-haired beauty off course and into the path of rugged American spy Samuel Holt. After matching wits and denying their passion for each other, they are attacked by Indians, held prisoner, and forced to watch the horrific killing of Isabelle's brother. Now together but in captivity, they must fight spiritual forces that no knife or rifle could ever conquer in order to be free.

Heather


Debra White Smith - 2007
    Book 1 in this contemporary series features Heather, a winsome blonde whose looks belie her black belt in karate. When Heather meets Tyler, the society page editor, they are immediately attracted to each other, despite her parents' objections.When Houston's mayor is shot, the Debutantes solve the case. To remain anonymous, they leave the perfume-laden evidence at the newspaper...along with a long-stemmed rose. Obsessed with the mysterious woman now known as "The Rose," Tyler breaks up with Heather. As she and her friends work on solving yet another crime, Heather is determined to win Tyler's heart. Will she overcome his mystery-woman fascination? Can the Debutantes keep their identities hidden? "Heather" an intriguing storythat engages mind and heart

Harry Bentley's Second Chance


Dave Jackson - 2008
    perhaps Harry was being given a chance at both.- Retired Chicago cop, Harry Bentley, was lying low. He'd blown the whistle on a gang of rogue cops and was awaiting the day when Internal Affairs would call him to testify and help put their leader, Lieutenant Matty Fagan, behind bars. His cover was working as a doorman in a luxury highrise on Chicago's lakefront. Then Gabby Fairbanks and her husband moved into the building's penthouse. She brought home a bag lady, got a job at the Manna House Women's Shelter, found her life falling apart, and managed to entangle Harry in the whole affair. (Gabby's story is in Neta Jackson's parallel novel, WHERE DO I GO?) But there was an upside. Through Gabby, Harry meets the Yada Yada brothers and the classy Estelle Williams and envisions a second chance at romance. The Yada Yada brothers provide a new circle of friends to replace his old CPD cohorts. But when Harry discovers he has a grandson he didn't know about, will he find the faith to take on the boy as a -second chance- to be the father he'd failed to be to his own son-even when the boy creates new dangers in Harry's fight against corruption, and may derail his -second chance- at love? Dave Jackson and his wife, Neta, are the award-winning authors of the 40-volume Trailblazer series. The phenomenal popularity of Neta's Yada Yada Prayer Group series inspired them to write -parallel- spin-off novels, two stories taking place in the same context ... just the way it happens in real life. They live in the Chicago area, where these stories are set.

A Bride in the Bargain


Deeanne Gist - 2009
    But because of his wife's untimely death, Joe Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East. A woman he'll marry in name but keep around mostly as a cook.

Jenna's Cowboy


Sharon Gillenwater - 2010
    A partner on her father's successful ranch, she is surrounded by family and friends. But she never expected to see Nate Langley back in town—the first guy she ever noticed, the one her father sent away all those years ago.And she never thought the attraction they felt would be as strong as ever.Jenna's cowboy has some healing of his own to do, though, after two tours of duty in the armed forces. With the help of good friends, strong faith, and a loving family, he hopes to put the horrors of the past behind him—and become the man Jenna deserves.

Not Exactly Eden


Linda Windsor - 2000
    But among the gifts to be returned is a strange statue...one that came anonymously. Further investigation reveals the statue is from a remote tribe of the Amazon rain forest- and that it came from Jenna's supposedly deceased father! Soon Jenna finds herself in Peru, seeking the love of the father who abandoned her and meaning for her fractured future. And Dr. Adam DeSanto-a handsome, bitter widower who helps her father run a jungle hospital, and who happens to loathe "women like Jenna"-is only complicating matters. Then Jenna's life is put at risk. Helpless to save her, Adam cries out to the God he rejected at his wife's death. God hears and answers in ways neither Adam nor Jenna could imagine, finally resolving their pain and renewing their faith in Himself, the future-and each other.

The Matchmakers of Holly Circle


Chautona Havig - 2014
    Well, if so, Ruth and Richard are “the old masters” of the flirting game. Despite their strictly platonic relationship, there’s “something there,” as so many of their friends and families say. Neighbors and friends for ten years, neither seems willing to change the course of their relationship. Three doors down, at the end of the cul-de-sac, Mason Dickenson has watched his favorite neighbors with an interested eye, but he’s finally had it with the dance. So, with a pack of cards and a few tricks up his sleeve, he's determined to get them out of the "friend rut" and into romance. Thanks to Mason’s unique matchmaking scheme, Ruth and Richard concoct one of their own—a deeper, stronger, eternal love and relationship that nothing on earth can match.

The Note


Angela Elwell Hunt - 2001
    . .En route from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Tampa International, Flight 848 bursts into flames and crashes into Tampa Bay. All 261 passengers and crew are killed. For one week, newspaper columnist Peyton MacGruder and her fellow reporters cover one of the nation's worst air disasters in years with overwhelming and numbed emotions.Then a woman Peyton's never met gives her a plastic bag that has washed up behind her house. The bag contains a note, almost certainly from the doomed flight, with a simple yet wrenching message: T- I love you. All is forgiven. -DadCombing through the passenger list to find the victims whose children's names begin with T, Peyton is determined to deliver the note to its proper owner. A quest which will prove as important to Peyton's own life as to the mysterious T.

It Happens Every Spring


Gary Chapman - 1996
    Best-selling authors Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer team up to show how four married couples, all in different stages in life, experience the joys and hardships of marriage as examined in Gary Chapman's "The Four Seasons of Marriage." In book one, Steve and Brenda face a common problem among middle-age couples: empty nest syndrome. Steve works too much, and with their two children out of the house, Brenda feels lonely and unfulfilled. In order to save their marriage, the two must learn to reconnect. Readers are also introduced to many charming characters, like Cody, the mentally challenged homeless man that shows up on Steve and Brenda's porch; Pete, who owns the Rods 'N' Ends tackle shop; and Patsy Pringle, who owns the Just As I Am beauty parlor, where much of the action takes place.The series is based on the marriage principles found in Gary Chapman's non-fiction book "The Four Seasons of Marriage." Similar in tone and light-hearted, quirky humor as Jan Karon's Mitford series, Fannie Flagg's books or "Steel Magnolias." Each book has a study guide that talks about the four seasons of marriage and the healing strategies depicted in that volume's story.

Faith


Michelle Larks - 2010
    Both are gainfully employed, Marcus as a detective for Chicago's Finest, and Monet as a nurse in the neonatal unit of an inner city hospital. They are faithful members of Reverend Ruth Wilcox's church, The Temple. The only thing missing from their life is a child. Doctors have been unable to explain the reason for Monet's inability to conceive, which she calls the Sarah Syndrome. Then the unthinkable occurs. Monet is brutally assaulted. Months later, she learns the news she has been longing to hear her entire married life: she's having a baby. Monet is thrilled, but Marcus is appalled by the news, and orders his wife to terminate the pregnancy. Monet refuses, and a cold war of monumental proportions breaks out in the Caldwell household. In the face of great adversity, will Monet's faith persevere?

Christmas at the Inn


Andrea Twombly - 2015
     Heading north for the holidays, things certainly hadn’t gone as she had planned. A snowstorm, an apple pie, and an old friend, all conspire to bring her to a crossroads. Will a Christmas Eve detour send her back to her snug village home, or will she forge ahead and let a turn in the road lead her to a newfound happiness? In this, the first entry in her new Rose and Briar Inn series, From Women’s Pens author Andrea Twombly weaves a warm story of the Christmas season, rich in challenges overcome and courage discovered along a twisting road to love. You won’t want to miss this one!

Yesterday's Promise


Vanessa Miller - 2009
    So, when her father, Bishop Langston Johnson, decides to step down after thirty years of leadership at Omega Christian Center, it seems only natural for her to take his place. But Bishop Johnson feels led by a God who has other things in mind, and to succeed him, he appoints Steven Marks-a man who is opposed to female pastors, not to mention the fact that he is Melinda's ex-fiance. Feeling defeated, Melinda nevertheless maintains her position as the church's Missions and Community Outreach Director. Frequent interaction with the new bishop incites bitter sparring-and rekindles long-suppressed attraction, which grows only stronger when Melinda develops a relationship with Steven's precious daughter, Brianna, who's still struggling with the death of her mother. Can Steven and Melinda set aside past pains, forgive each other, and learn to love again?"

The Christmas Card


Amanda Tru - 2015
     Cole Nikols had spent months planning the perfect night for his girlfriend, Sarah Whitman. But when Sarah abandons their date for yet another emergency with her ever-demanding charitable work, everything falls apart. Now, instead of planning their future, Cole is worried he’s ruined any chance he had with Sarah. Wanting to prove his love for Sarah, Cole writes a Christmas card. He sends it to everyone he knows, spreading the message of Sarah’s generous life and dedication to God, while asking others for help in his project of winning the woman he loves. However, never does he imagine the far reach and impact one Christmas card can make. Landing in the hands of so many different people, it produces a chain that changes lives forever. As the Christmas card’s stories come full circle, will Cole’s plan work? Will a Christmas card be enough to win Sarah’s heart? 'The Christmas Card' is a Inspirational Romance novella.