Book picks similar to
Crossing the Deep by Kelly Martin


christian-fiction
christian
young-adult
favorites

Once upon a Summer


Janette Oke - 1981
    He's a twelve-year-old orphan being raised by his eighteen-year-old aunt. When Grandpa and Uncle Charlie start making plans to find Auntie Lou a husband-and take away the only mother Josh has ever known-he knows something has to be done. His family has shaped the young man he has become. Now, as he grows into manhood, he begins to face important questions about life, love, and faith. How can he find his way when his whole world threatens to come apart?Trying desperately to cling to the life he's always had, Josh does what he can to keep his aunt single. But when a preacher comes along, Josh sees that things are going to get complicated.This heartwarming story is full of love, humor, and inspiring faith.

Let Them Eat Cake


Sandra Byrd - 2007
    She’s done with college but still living at home, ready to launch a career but unable to find a job, and solidly stalled between boyfriends. When a lighthearted conversation in French with the manager of her favorite bakery turns into a job offer, Lexi accepts. But the actual glamour is minimal: the pay is less than generous, her co-workers are skeptical, her bank account remains vertically-challenged, and her parents are perpetually disappointed. Her only comfort comes from the flirtatious baker she has her eye–but even may not be who he seems to be!So when a handsome young executive dashes into the bakery to pick up his high profile company’s special order for an important meeting–an order Lexi has flubbed– she loses her compulsion to please. “What am I going to do?” he shouts. “Let them eat cake!” she fires back with equal passion and a nod to Marie Antoinette. And then, something inside Lexi clicks. Laissez la révolution commencer! Let the revolution begin! Instead of trying to fulfill everyone else’s expectations for her life, Lexi embarks on an adventure in trusting God with her future–très bon!This book is written from a lightly, organically, Christian world view.

Brush with Love


Lisa McKendrick - 2017
    She arrives in Bluegill, Idaho, ready to spend the summer painting, excited to study under Walt's grandpa, a brilliant but aging artist. The more she is thrown together with Walt though--and the more she spends time with him--the more she realizes her heart may be drawing up its own plans. As the weeks pass, Lana realizes she'll have to choose between following her dreams or following her heart.

Walking on Broken Glass


Christa Allan - 2009
    But a paralyzing encounter with a can of frozen apple juice in the supermarket shatters the faCade, forcing her to admit that all is not as it appears. When her best friend gets in Leah's face about her refusal to deal with her life, Leah is forced to make an agonizing decision. Can she sacrifice what she wants to get what she needs? Joy, sadness, and pain converge, testing Leah's commitment to her marriage, her motherhood, and her faith.

Caught Up in Him


Lauren Blakely - 2013
    Now contained in Caught Up in Us.Seventeen-year-old Kat Harper has always dreamed of silver-screen kisses, the kind of love you see in the movies. That’s exactly what she gets the summer before college when she meets her brother’s best friend Bryan. He’s five years older, but that doesn’t stop them from falling into a summer romance so perfect it could have been scripted by Hollywood. They kiss in the back row of the movie theater, on the beach at night, even on the quiet streets of her hometown when no one’s looking. Surely, he’s falling as hard for her as she is for him, right? But Bryan breaks her heart and leaves with barely an explanation, forcing Kat to move on from her first love... until five years later, when he walks back into her life. Now she has to face the truth that she's never gotten over him. Is it possible he hasn’t stopped thinking about her too?

Guided By Faith (Unwavering Faith Series Book 1)


Amanda Lanclos - 2015
    At the age of twenty-six Karlee was going to get married, have a family and then in the blink of an eye everything was gone. Her fiancé Timothy was hit head on by a drunk driver and died at the scene. Karlee never imagined that she would have been left so broken and alone. Elijah Harris was your typical human being, trying to do the right thing. He always put God first in everything, even his career as a Firefighter. One day that all changed for him when he wasn’t able to save someone who needed it. His faith in God is tested when he is left with the guilt of someone’s death upon his shoulders. How do you live with yourself knowing you couldn’t save someone? As Karlee and Elijah’s paths cross, both will have their faith tested. What do you do when the one person who can save you, is the one person who reminds you of everything that was lost?

Another Chance to Love You


Robin Lee Hatcher - 2006
    . . Sustained by her faith, Monica Fletcher finally had the courage to tell the only man she'd ever loved the secret that had burned in her heart for eleven years.The time had come to heal old wounds . . . When celebrity Daniel Rourke revisited Boise, Idaho, the local beauty who'd been his college girlfriend turned his world upside down with the revelation that he was a father!The time was now to start over . . . if they could. Could Daniel's hometown sweetheart and newfound daughter find a place in the fast-paced Chicago milieu that was now his world? Only time would tell if it was possible for him to reclaim the life they should have had—and the family he had belatedly come to cherish.

A Bride for Pastor Dan


Katie Crabapple - 2011
    The main characters from this story continue through all five books as secondary characters and their characters are expanded on throughout the series. If you don't enjoy short stories, this book may not be what you're looking for.

Pearl in the Sand, Sampler


Tessa Afshar - 2013
    Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well-walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness. A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

The Wedding List


Autumn Macarthur - 2014
    With her eye for design and her cut-glass accent, no-one would guess Beth Forrest’s impoverished background. It’s all throw pillows, china patterns, and upper class brides as she manages the Wedding Registry at Pettett & Mayfield, the stately maiden aunt of London department stores. It’s not quite her dream job, but each bride she helps to select beautiful and oh-so-expensive items for their gift list brings her one step closer to buying a little home of her own, and financing the education she longs for. When physics professor James Tetherton-Hart, brilliant in his research lab but awkward and disorganised in everyday life, comes to the store in desperate need of both a gift and a partner for a wedding that evening and recognises her, all her careful plans and meticulous checklists are turned upside down. Now her first love is back, determined to make her his partner for life, not just the evening. But unless Beth can let go of the mistaken beliefs that separated them in the past, and appreciate the depth and breadth of God’s love for us all, her only gift from the wedding will be another heartbreak. Book 1 in the Love In Store series of sweet inspirational romances. The Wedding List is a novella length prequel to Believe In Me, a semi-finaling entry in Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write contest 2013. WARNING The Wedding List is a Christian romance! Please don't buy this book if you are offended by the G-bomb (God), Jesus, and mention of prayer, church, or the Bible. Includes Halloween costumes, kissing, and a hint of gentle slapstick humour, as well as British spelling. 37,000 words 132 paperback pages

The Shunning


Beverly Lewis - 2000
    Why else would her Amish mother, a plain and simple woman who embraces the Old Order laws, hide the beautiful baby dress in the attic? But nothing could have prepared Katie for the startling news that stumbles out of her anguished parents on the eve of her wedding to Bishop John. Will Katie suddenly find herself a stranger in the community she has always called home?

Delivered with Love


Sherry Kyle - 2011
     Claire James, age twenty-three, is ready to make it on her own.  When she's fired from her job as a waitress and subsequently kicked out of her sister's home, she sees it as an opportunity to start over.  But even before moving, a thirty-five-year-old love letter written to her mother keeps Claire stuck in the past.  Michael Thompson, a middle-aged real estate agent, wants to keep the past where it belongs--at least until his grown daughter is married.  But, then a young woman comes to town . . .

Paint Me True


E.M. Tippetts - 2011
    As a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) she'll soon be too old to attend church in a singles ward, her career as a painter is no longer considered cool, and she feels too old to use the excuse that she's "just starting out" to explain why she still can't pay the bills. The only man interested in her is a scruffy, video game addicted nerd who is the first to admit that they are all wrong for each other. When her beloved Aunt Nora calls from England and begs her to visit, Eliza leaps at the chance. Even better? Nora had the perfect romance with her late husband and is eager to share the tale. As Eliza sets out to immortalize this courtship in a series of paintings, she learns a lesson that will change her outlook on life and love forevermore.

Mismatched in Love: Almost Cinderella (Almost a Fairytale #1)


Jolene Betty Perry - 2015
    But with a scholarship to BYU and a membership to a church that suits her better than she imagined, Avery’s life is definitely turning around. With tattooed arms and worn out boots, she doesn’t exactly blend into the conservative school, but after a day or two in her new political science classes, Avery knows she chose well. Aaron Price has gotten almost everything he’s ever asked for. But when the girl everyone assumes he’ll marry, ends up not being the one, Aaron swears off dating--at least until graduation. It’s okay. He’s found a new friend in Avery, and she doesn’t mind helping his pathetic scheme to use her to keep the girls away. Problem is, the more time Aaron spents with Avery, the more he realizes she might be the one. And falling in love with your best friend isn’t as easy as one might think...

A Love Worth Waiting For


Jillian Hart - 2003
    However, when he experienced a life threatening crisis, the last person he expected to lean on was Julie Renton, the granddaughter of his grandmother's suitor. The small-town schoolteacher not only staunchly defended her grandfather's honor, but also opened this world - weary tycoon's eyes to the Lord's most precious blessings. A handsome and chivalrous Noah was everything Julie had ever dreamed of in a man. But even while she lavished him with sweet solace to see him through the hardships ahead, she sensed he had the power to shatter her fragile heart. It took a miracle from above to convince Julie she'd finally found a love worth fighting for.