The New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box and The Walk series returns with a holiday novel of hope, love, and redemption.She was my first kiss. My first love. She was a little match girl who could see the future in the flame of a candle. She was a runaway who taught me more about life than anyone has before or since. And when she was gone my innocence left with her. As I begin to write, a part of me feels as if I am awakening something best left dead and buried, or at least buried. We can bury the past, but it never really dies. The experience of that winter has grown on my soul like ivy climbing the outside of a home, growing until it begins to tear and tug at the brick and mortar. I pray I can still get the story right. My memory, like my eyesight, has waned with age. Still, there are things that become clearer to me as I grow older. This much I know: too many things were kept secret in those days. Things that never should have been hidden. And things that should have.

    After five years living in exile, she’s finally returning home, but she’s still living a secret life. Her best friend, Ria’s dying wish was for Lizzie to assume her identity, return to London, and make amends that Ria herself would never live to make. Bearing a striking resemblance to her friend, and harboring more secrets than ever before, Lizzie embarks on a journey that tempts her reckless heart once again . . .A committed clergyman, Geoffrey Somerville’s world is upended when he suddenly inherits the title of Lord Somerville. Now he’s invited to every ball and sought after by the matchmaking mothers of London society. Yet the only woman to capture his heart is the one he cannot have: his brother’s young widow, Ria. Duty demands he deny his feelings, but his heart longs for the mysterious beauty. With both their futures at stake, will Lizzie be able to keep up her façade? Or will she find the strength to share her secret and put her faith in true love?

    Both goals prove more difficult than she could imagine as her brother and sister are lured by the city's dangerous freedom and a missionary-turned-gambler stakes a claim on her heart. Rachel won't give up without a fight though, and soon all will learn an eloquent but humorous lesson about what truly makes a lady. *Speak Politely. Even when you're the only respectable woman around, protesting the decadence of a city lost to gold fever. *Dress Modestly. Wear your sunbonnet at all times. Ensure nobody sees your work boots muddied by the San Francisco streets. *Remain Devoted to Family. Protect your siblings from the lures of the city, even against their wishes. *Stand Above Reproach. Most difficult when a wonderful man turns out to be a saloon owner. *Rise Above Temptation. No, not even just a little kiss.... When these rules become increasingly difficult to uphold, can Rachel Van Buren remain a beacon of virtue in a city of vice?

    Ike Reeves shows up for a surprise Christmas visit, exhausted and filthy. Ike claims the right to escort Laura home and outlaws after Ike turn a simple ride into a fight for their lives. "A Town Called Christmas" by Ruth Logan HerneWhen gruff English pioneer Edward Stillwell offers a former prostitute a job, he gets more than he bargained for: a wagon train more! With winter rolling in, can Sylvie’s faith, hope and optimism be just what the guilt-laden Idaho rancher needs to love Christmas—and people-- again? "Designs on Love" by Myra Johnson. Ranch foreman Jacob Collins has had designs on Vera Mae Beasley since their schooldays. When the pretty seamstress returns home to settle her late family's affairs, Jacob hopes his Christmas surprise will win her heart and convince her to stay. "A Whisper of Hope" by Julie LessmanWith a husband dead set against adoption, Charity O’Connor Dennehy has barely a whisper of hope for more children, but if hope doesn’t disappoint … will it be enough to find a precious bundle under her tree?

    Rachel Branigan is Springton's outcast...Caleb Stone the new minister. They both have enemies from the past who threaten to destroy them - and squelch their budding love. When handsome lawman Lee Cutler falls ill, the plain-faced and demure Patience Primrose volunteers to nurse him back to health. Will her self esteem suffer another crushing blow when the new schoolteacher catches Lee's eye? After months of feuding, a confessed secret brings sawmill owner Bobby Joe Aaron and schoolmarm Susannah Butler together in a marriage of convenience. But their little family and growing love teeter on destruction when other secrets are revealed. On his first day as sheriff, Billy Ray Aaron catches a thief who turns out to be a woman in disguise. The biggest challenge of Billy Ray's entire career may be rehabilitating Victoria "Tory" Nelson from her life of crime - before she can steal his heart. Follow the romantic exploits and spiritual journeys of Springton's finest - as well as a couple of her less-than-upstanding citizens - and watch God's love unfold in each life.

    Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help? Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey.Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from financial ruin. The last thing he needs is the distraction coming of a kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith.While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families--common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?

    For seven years, she's carved out an independent life in the bustling town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho, teaching piano and writing for the local newspaper. But now she's a single woman running for mayor—and in 1915 this decision is bound to stir up trouble.Morgan McKinley is fed up with the delays that hinder the construction of New Hope Health Spa, a place where both rich and poor can come for rest and healing. New to the area, he has determined that serving as mayor would help him push through his agenda for progress.Gwen and Morgan each want to prove they are the most qualified candidate, not only to voters, but to each other, and so sparks fly as the two campaign. Although Morgan has learned to guard his heart as fiercely as Gwen guards her independence, could they learn to be allies instead of adversaries?This first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series provides intriguing insights into how women challenged convention and shaped America in the early twentieth century.

    Everyone thought little Sunny had perished with Lady Gallagher in storm–tossed seas off the Arabian coast, but the beautiful toddler had been found, taken to the palace of Darhabar, and raised as the ruler’s own child. Now the emir, Ahmad Khan, is sending her home, and Sunny’s uncertain, new life is completely in God’s hands. This classic series, which has sold more than 375,000 copies, has a fresh, new look sure to please Lori Wick’s longtime fans and readers just discovering the treasure of a great story.

    She’s nobody’s fool who hopes to steer clear. Until a thunderstorm sinks them both into a sea of love. Blake “The Rake” McClare has a notorious reputation as a womanizer, which is why soft-spoken Patience Peabody carefully avoids the lovable rogue attorney at the law firm in which they both work. Until a rare thunderstorm brings them together in a love soaked with the grace of God ... and sparked with a little lightning of its own.

    Could this be the answer to her prayer for independence? During their adventurous journey, both Annie and Ike learn that freedom's promise holds more than either of them ever dreamed.

    From the ballrooms of London, to abandoned Scottish castles, to the snowy streets of Gilded Age New York, four bestselling authors whip up some unforgettable romance...with a little help from some enchanted shortbread."Meet Me in Mayfair" by Tessa DareLouisa Ward needs a Christmas miracle. Unless she catches a wealthy husband at the ball tonight, the horrid, heartless Duke of Thorndale will evict her family from their beloved Mayfair home. But when her friend begs to switch dance cards, Louisa finds herself waltzing with the enemy: the horrid, heartless--and unexpectedly handsome--Thorndale himself. Now the duke's holding her future in his hands...and he's not letting go."The Duke of Christmas Present" by Sarah MacLeanRich and ruthless, Eben, Duke of Allryd, has no time for holidays. Holidays are for whimsy and charm--the only two things his money cannot buy. Lady Jacqueline Mosby is full of both, even now, twelve years after she left to see the world. When Jacqueline returns for a single Christmas, Eben can't resist the woman he never stopped loving...or the future that had once been in reach. It will take a miracle to convince her to stay...but if ever there were a time for miracles, it's Christmas..."Heiress Alone" by Sophie JordanWhen Annis Bannister's family leaves her behind in the rush to escape an impending snowstorm, she finds herself stranded in the Highlands, left to fend off brigands terrorizing the countryside, robbing homes locked up for winter. Her only hope falls on her neighbor, a surly hermit duke who unravels her with a look, then a kiss ... until she fears the danger to her heart outweighs the danger of brigands and snowstorms."Christmas in Central Park" by Joanna ShupeWomen all over America devour Mrs. Walker's weekly column for recipes and advice. No one knows Rose, the column's author, can't even boil water. When the paper's owner, Duke Havemeyer, insists she host a Christmas party, Rose must scramble to find a husband, an empty mansion, and a cook. But Duke is not a man easily fooled and she fears her perfect plan is failing--especially when Duke's attentions make her feel anything but professional. To save her career will she give up her chance at love?

    After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land—even if a certain handsome foreman named Luke doubts her abilities.Just when she thinks she's getting a handle on the constant male attention from the cowhands and the catty barbs from some of the local young women, tragedy strikes. And saving the ranch from a greedy neighboring landowner means Crystal must take charge of a cattle drive, ready or not. Can she rise to the challenge? Or will she head back to Georgia defeated?

    Ellen Pierce and her brother are determined to reach the Alaska gold rush. But when ice stalls their steamship, all seems lost, until Buck Lewis makes a decision: he'll lead all who dare to follow on foot toward Dawson City.Buck is determined to leave behind a heartbreaking past. No amount of ice or weather will stop him. But he never counted on a woman joining a dangerous wilderness trek--or on falling in love with her.As their journey unfolds and Christmas approaches, Ellen and Buck discover that the greatest gift of all can't be wrapped in paper and tied with a bow. It comes from, and is received in, the heart.Come share in a soul-deep romance that gives a joyful reminder of a redeeming God who makes us each unique, yet loves us all the same.

    When she is suddenly whisked away to a wealthy widow's home in the prestigious Mayfair district, Sarah can't fathom what has happened. Why would this elderly woman, a stranger, want her company? But Dorothea Blake has reasons she isn't revealing.As Sarah blossoms into a young woman, the secret Mrs. Blake harbors threatens to make them both outcasts among London's elite. When a visitor unknowingly stumbles upon the truth, he puts Sarah at risk of losing everything she holds dear, including the attentions of a new curate. Will the mystery of her birth remain buried forever?

    But suddenly she finds herself orphaned, bankrupt, and dependent on the assistance of her Christain relatives who are moving west. Stunned by the turn of events, she must learn to cope with the physical and emotional strain of a wagon train journey in the company of a family whose faith she cannot understand, and a young man whose presence disturbs her.The Journey West is the first book in the exciting story of the Talbots, a Christian family determined to penetrate the west with the reality of God's love.