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.

Too Close to Home


Lynette Eason - 2010
    Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help local chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There's her faith--in God and herself. And then there's the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife. As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor's 16-year-old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can't a girl just have some fun? Too Close to Home ratchets up the suspense with each page, and will have readers cheering for the characters they love as justice is served and love grows even in the face of danger. Read this one with the lights on!

Summer of Promise


Amanda Cabot - 2012
    Charlotte's letters have been uncharacteristically melancholy, and her claims that nothing is wrong ring false, so Abigail heads west to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. When her stagecoach is attacked, Wyoming promises to be anything but boring. Luckily, the heroics of another passenger, Lieutenant Ethan Bowles, save the day.Abigail plans to marry when she returns to Vermont, just as soon as she attends to her sister. As the summer passes, she finds herself drawn to this rugged land and to a certain soldier determined to persuade her to stay. When summer ends, will she go back East, or will she find her heart's true home?

Jaded


Varina Denman - 2015
    On the surface, nothing seems to change in this dull town-yet God always works beneath the surface.

Thief of Glory


Sigmund Brouwer - 2014
    When Holland declared war on the Japanese in 1941, the situation changed swiftly. The Japanese army invaded, and Jeremiah and his family were placed in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp-a camp Jeremiah finally escapes and returns to Holland. Yet wartime complications force him to abandon a marriage engagement with Laura Jensen. The young man flees to California, where he struggles with the lingering anger and war stress he faced as a child.Determined to find some kind of redemption, a now-elderly Jeremiah tries to make sense of his life by journaling of all that he does not want to reveal to his children about his past, intending to leave his writings as an apology after he is gone.An online encounter puts Jeremiah in touch with his true love from the war years, Laura, and when they meet again, it triggers the time bomb of long-buried secrets. Even seventy years later, if uncovered, these secrets can harm everyone who matters to Jeremiah.

Peace Like a River


Leif Enger - 2001
    Leif Enger's debut, Peace Like a River, is one such work. His richly evocative novel, narrated by an asthmatic 11-year-old named Reuben Land, is the story of Reuben's unusual family and their journey across the frozen Badlands of the Dakotas in search of his fugitive older brother. Charged with the murder of two locals who terrorized their family, Davy has fled, understanding that the scales of justice will not weigh in his favor. But Reuben, his father, Jeremiah—a man of faith so deep he has been known to produce miracles—and Reuben's little sister, Swede, follow closely behind the fleeing Davy.Affecting and dynamic, Peace Like a River is at once a tragedy, a romance, and an unflagging exploration into the spirituality and magic possible in the everyday world, and in that of the world awaiting us on the other side of life. In Enger's superb debut effort, we witness a wondrous celebration of family, faith, and spirit, the likes of which we haven't seen in a long, long time—and the birth of a classic work of literature.

Courting Morrow Little


Laura Frantz - 2010
    Now that she is nearly a grown woman and her father is ailing, she must make difficult choices about the future. Several men--ranging from the undesired to the unthinkable--vie for her attentions, but she finds herself inexplicably drawn to a forbidden love that both terrifies and intrigues her. Can she betray the memory of her lost loved ones--and garner suspicion from her friends--by pursuing a life with him? Or should she seal her own misery by marrying a man she doesn't love? This sweeping tale of romance and forgiveness will envelop readers as it takes them from a Kentucky fort through the vast wilderness to the west in search of true love.

The Vow


Jody Hedlund - 2015
    But just as her feelings begin to grow, a man carrying the Plague interrupts their hunting party. While in forced isolation, Rosemarie begins to contemplate her future—could it include Thomas? Could he be the perfect man to one day rule beside her and oversee her parents’ lands? Then Rosemarie is summoned back to her castle in haste. The disease has spread, and her family is threatened. And the secret she discovers when she returns could change her future forever.This novella also serves as a prequel to Jody Hedlund’s An Uncertain Choice.

The Weight of Shadows


Alison Strobel - 2010
    When she meets Rick, she finds everything she needs—including a way to pay for her sins every time he hits her. Kim and Rick’s new neighbor, Joshua, knows more than Kim realizes about Rick, but Joshua has battles of his own to fight. Soon to intersect Kim’s and Rick’s lives is Debbie, who has saved countless women from abuse through the shelter she runs, but Debbie might be as desperate for love as the women she serves. Meanwhile, as Rick’s wrath extends to their baby, Kim must decide if her penance is more important than protecting that innocent life—and if she should dare leave Rick when he has the power to bring her hidden crime to light.

Across the Creek


Jeremy Asher - 2012
    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

Fireflies in December


Jennifer Erin Valent - 2008
    When her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn's father vows to care for her as one of his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands. As tensions mount in the small community, loyalties are tested and Jessilyn is forced to say good-bye to the carefree days of her youth. Fireflies in December is the 2007 winner of the Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest.

Securing Aisling


Andrea Boyd - 2015
    According to the laws of her country, she must marry by her eighteenth birthday or risk losing the right to rule her kingdom. How is she supposed to find a suitable husband in less than six months? What will the consequences be if she makes the wrong choice? With the help of her advisors, she compiles a surprisingly short list of suitable mates. Her top choices include three princes all belonging to her nemesis, King Coman Barnali of Gilvary. None of the three seem particularly promising. Dunbar, the eldest, is his father’s puppet. Next in line is Reagan, the biggest flirt in Kearnley. Then there is the elusive Garrett who seems to go into hiding whenever she is present. One by one she eliminates names from her list until she finds the man she feels destined to marry. But her choice is not pleasing to everyone. King Coman has been plotting to take control of Aisling for years. Queen Brianna’s choice causes him to have to come up with a new plan—one that could prove deadly for the newly wedded couple. †Securing Aisling is Christian Romance.

Pieces of Granite


Brenda S. Anderson - 2014
    With no one else to turn to, her once-strong faith begins to crumble.For the first time in her life, Debbie needs someone to lean on, but who is left to be strong for her?

A Hope Undaunted


Julie Lessman - 2010
    Her boyfriend Jack fits all of her criteria for a husband—good-looking, well-connected, wealthy, and eating out of her hand. But when she is forced to spend the summer of 1929 with Luke McGee, the bane of her childhood existence, Katie comes face-to-face with a choice. Will she follow her well-laid plans to marry Jack? Or will she fall for the man she swore to despise forever?

With Every Letter


Sarah Sundin - 2012
    Mellie Blake is looking forward to beginning her training as a flight nurse. She is not looking forward to writing a letter to a man she's never met--even if it is anonymous and part of a morale-building program. Lt. Tom MacGilliver, an officer stationed in North Africa, welcomes the idea of an anonymous correspondence--he's been trying to escape his infamous name for years.As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, Tom and Mellie develop a unique friendship despite not knowing the other's true identity. When both are transferred to Algeria, the two are poised to meet face-to-face for the first time. Will they overcome their fears and reveal who they are, or will their future be held hostage by their pasts?Combining a flair for romance with excellent research and attention to detail, Sarah Sundin vividly brings to life the perilous challenges of WWII aviation, nursing--and true love.