Book picks similar to
Gift of the Heart by Karen Witemeyer


warm-fuzzies
challenge-ebooks
holiday
novella-short-stories

Cookies and Cheer: An Amish Christmas Bakery Story


Amy Clipston - 2019
    When she decides to design and build a sugar cookie nativity scene, all she needs is the right cookie cutters—and handsome blacksmith Kyle Smoker is the one she asks for help. Using Kyle’s handmade cutters, Alyssa creates a striking display that brings more tourists to the bakery than she can handle. And when shoppers request handmade cookie cutters of their own, Kyle finds himself overwhelmed by the demand. As Christmas approaches, Alyssa realizes she’s been too caught up in work to focus on the true meaning of Christmas—and too distracted to explore the feelings she has for Kyle. Together, they put aside the holiday rush and spend their time celebrating the season that has brought them together.

Because of You


Becky Wade - 2019
    When a church Christmas project brings them together and she stumbles upon an old family brooch, might it finally be her turn for love?

Christmas at Dove Creek


Scarlett Dunn - 2016
    And Lily Starr is determined to shepherd a helpless group of outcasts from Texas to Wyoming by Christmas—including a pregnant woman whose blessed event is drawing near. So encountering handsome Thorpe Turlow along the dangerous trail is a welcome unexpected gift, for he's as formidable as he is reserved. Besides, understanding this gentle, secretly wounded man is another challenge Lily isn't about to resist...   After the heartbreak he's found, Thorpe just wants to retreat to his peaceful Dove Creek ranch. But he's never met anyone as resourceful and straightforward as Lily. Somehow, she's reigniting his faith and giving him the courage to trust again. And if they survive the arduous trip ahead, he'll do whatever it takes to give her a lifetime of joy and love…

The More the Merrier


Linda Byler - 2019
    When Eli Miller passes away unexpectedly, and then a fire destroys their barn, Annie has no idea how she’ll make ends meet. The Amish community rallies around her and the children, as is their custom, but as days turn into weeks and then into months, Annie’s friends and neighbors return to their own routines and seem to expect Annie to do the same. Annie knows she needs to stay strong for the children and figure out a way to keep everyone warm and clothed and fed, but she is heartbroken and exhausted. She reminds herself that God will provide, but every day feels like an uphill battle.When Annie receives a letter from a widower with six children of his own, she tries to put it out of her mind. Her critical mother reminds her that it's too soon to start a new friendship with a man, and warns her that blending a family will be complicated. In the weeks and months to follow, Annie must learn to make her own decisions—and accept the consequences, good and bad—face her past, and embark on a new journey that will transform her and her large, complicated family. When life seems especially complicated one summer, she finds herself saying that by Christmas everything will start to come together, but she has no idea the challenges—and ultimately blessings—headed her way.

A Western Christmas Miracle: A Historical Western Romance Book


Aurora Hanson - 2021
    Between taking care of the family farm and working at the diner to make ends meet, she has a lot on her plate. She has neither the time nor the interest to pursue a relationship. When a stranger shows up in town and happens to be around just at the moment she needs help the most, will she break her own rules and let him into her life?If only tragedy didn’t find a way to sneak into her life at every chance…After studying for six years in Chicago, Roger Lockett has returned to Texas to be a doctor. He and his father have never seen eye to eye about his future and what he should dedicate himself to. When his father makes him an offer that could put their differences to rest and bring him to a tiny town in need of a doctor, Roger jumps at the chance. What he never expected was to cross paths with the most beautiful and strong-willed woman he has ever met...Will he manage to break down the walls surrounding her wary heart though?As Roger and Eve grow closer together, disasters and difficulties seem to pile up for Eve and her family. With Christmas preparations in full swing, she struggles to hold everything together. Then an accident hits close to home and suddenly Eve isn’t sure there will be any Christmas this year… Will Roger and Eve brave these challenges together? Will they open their hearts to love and a Christmas miracle?"A Western Christmas Miracle" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Legacy of Love


Kristi Ann Hunter - 2019
    Nor did she expect to admire the Dowager's youngest grandson so much, even though the difference in their stations means nothing will ever come of her daydreams.

Once Upon a Dickens Christmas: 3 Charming Christmas Tales Set in Victorian England


Michelle Griep - 2019
    What matters most is what Christmas is all about . . . love.  A Tale of Two Hearts: Pleasure seeker William Barlow needs a wife immediately to gain his uncle’s inheritance, and Mina Scott is just the girl to make him look respectable—too bad she turns him down. Ought he give her a second chance?  The Old Lace Shop: Recently widowed Bella White is finally freed from the domination of the overbearing men in her life, but when she enters into a business partnership with the handsome Edmund Archer, she begins to wonder if marriage is worth a second chance.

Tense: Holiday Edition of When the Vows Break


Lakisha Johnson - 2019
    They’ve experienced all kinds of things but with each other, their families, prayer, and God; they’ve made it through 2019, to the month of December. But not every relationship salvaged will make it to the future. In this Holiday Short Story, Special Edition of When the Vows Break, you’ll get to peek into the lives of these friends and see how they’re spending their Christmas holiday. Will the past they’ve endured affect their present, attempting to shatter their future? Or has the past given them instruction to treasure the present while preparing for the future? You’ll have to read to find out.

An Outlaw's Heart: A Southern Love Story


Shelley Gray - 2015
    But when he arrives at his mother’s homestead, he discovers that she is very ill and the woman he loved is still as beautiful and sweet as he remembered. With time running out, Russell must come to terms with both his future and his past.

A Gift For Abe (Brides For All Seasons Vol.2 Book 1)


Terri Grace - 2016
    Little does she realize, when she falls deathly ill on the journey there he will abandon her, leaving her stranded and sick on the station platform. Even the small town doctor refuses to take her in for fear that she will infect his other patients. Help comes in an unexpected guise, a humble mercantile owner named Abe Graham, once a physician, nurses the ailing Collette. And Collette’s body is not all that finds healing – Abe’s heart discovers a renewed purpose. Will Collette’s dream of a Thanksgiving wedding still take place? And can Abe shake off his past disappointments and embrace a new future? Brides For All Seasons Vol. II is a beautiful historical holiday romance series. Each book in the collection is a standalone story designed to warm your heart with seasonal love and romantic adventure.

The East Indiaman


Richard Woodman - 2001
    For ship-owners like Captain William Kite of Liverpool, ruin is only a gun-shot away.When providence strikes the embattled Kite yet again, he is desperate to restore his fortune and travels to London for a final throw of the dice. He travels from the smoky air of the city to the thunderous discharge of cannon fire over the Indian Ocean. As the sea-battles of the American War of Independence reverberate, will Kite emerge a hero or will fate deal him one last decisive blow? The third and final book in the William Kite Naval Adventures is perfect for fans of David McDine, Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O’Brian. The William Kite Naval Adventures The Guineaman The Privateersman The East Indiaman

His Christmas Nymph


Marly Mathews - 2014
    She wants a Christmas like the ones she enjoyed as a child. Except she's twenty-four years old and the life she enjoyed as a child no longer exists for her. Her mother has died and her two brothers were killed in the wars against Napoleon. Her father has married a shrew who only wants to see her married to a man who smells like a pig, and her best friend is set to marry a Naval Officer in the the spring and she fears she will never see her again. Her father spends his days holed up in his office and rarely comes out because he can't even stand the woman he's married. And then one day, everything changes. She goes to her favourite reading spot on the sprawling estate of Whitney Park and sits on the bench in the Greek Temple Folly. While there, Edward Rochester, The Duke of Whitney spies her and believes that he has seen his very own Christmas Nymph. He goes out to introduce himself to her and before he knows it he's proposing to her - knowing only one thing - his Christmas will not be happy unless he's married the woman who has besotted him - Caroline, his Christmas Nymph.

A Texas Christmas


Cathy Marie Hake - 2015
    Bridget O'Keefe leaves Chicago to teach Indian orphans and quickly experiences the hostility the Comanche face from locals like Seth Krueger who blame them for the death of his parents. Mary "Polly" Jessup holds onto a promise of marriage made five years ago, but when Joey Carpenter returns from law school with a new outlook and new girlfriend, her future hopes are dashed. Charlsey Ames can rope, ride, and work the ranch with the men and never thought she'd be attracted to accountant Harold Miller III, a citified tenderfoot. Travis McCoy is a nomadic photographer with no time to put down roots, find a wife, and raise a family. But then he meets the unconventional Vivian Sager.Lacey Mather’s delicious cooking is warming many hearts and stomachs—especially those of a closed-mouth blacksmith. But she has no plans to stay in Texas. An expert tracker, the plain Bessie Mae is content unmarried, until Texas Ranger Josef Mueller rides into town, trailing a wanted man.

Christmas at Dumpster Corral


Irene Onorato - 2017
    While still in mourning, her unscrupulous father resurfaces after many years’ absence and finds a way to undermine her mother’s will. Without regard for Noel’s welfare, he claims everything is rightly his, and the family lawyer can’t produce documents to prove otherwise. By invitation from her best friend, Noel makes a hard choice to leave her childhood hometown in upstate New York and journey to the friend’s house in Pensacola, Florida. Together they will try to devise a plan for Noel’s future. Fate steps in when a blinding rainstorm causes her to miss a turn, leading her to an unlikely place, and an uncertain destiny. Brought low by circumstances and struggling to make ends meet, she takes shelter in the least desirable location and accepts a graveyard-shift job. The last thing Noel is looking for is romance, but a chance meeting with a handsome, young lawyer named Liam Grant makes her reconsider. Could she accept his dinner invitations and make it through the Christmas holiday without revealing her destitute condition?

The Haunted Groom


Karly Stratford - 2018
    His Christmas plans include starting a foundation to help kids get out of his old neighborhood. However, quarterback Will Kent throws a wrench in Evan's plans with a bet. A bet for Evan to contact his first love, Anna Jordan, and try to win her back. To his surprise, Anna—now the hottest actress in Hollywood—agrees to help him with his foundation. Anna brings her feisty, ninja-like bodyguard along, and suddenly Evan has a problem. The beautiful and tough, Henley Keaton only wants a drama-free Christmas. When Evan Cook calls Henley's employer, to Milwaukee to help with some foundation, she's overjoyed. She can avoid the yearly family fight and eat deep-fried-cheese-curds and relax for Christmas. But when Anna gets sick and forces Henley to go on a date with Evan Cook in her place, Henley’s plan begins to crumble. When Henley and Evan engage in a spirited duel of Shakespeare quotes, things get...complicated. After tragedy strikes, and it looks like Evan's haunted past is going to catch up with him, he must decide if he's willing to walk away or let Christmas miracles come true.