Book picks similar to
Homeward by Melody Carlson


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Heavens to Betsy


Beth Pattillo - 2005
    Not to mention the very inconvenient feelings she is suddenly having for her long-time friend, fellow seminarian, and verbal sparring partner, David Swenson. It isn’t until Betsy is thrust into the position of senior minister for her church, however, that she discovers the real cause of her discontent: her fear of failing has become stronger than her faith in herself.Is it really possible to keep a good woman down? Can Betsy reclaim her confidence while reconciling her clerical robe with high heels and the right shade of lipstick? A fun-loving look at a single girl’s life on the other side of the altar, Heavens to Betsy is also a hilarious and joyful celebration of strong, stylish, and faithful womanhood.

Shatter the Silence


Carol J. Post - 2020
    She is using those experiences to help other women and children find solace. Right now, her abused women’s shelter is bursting at the seams. When she learns she’s heir to a huge two-story house outside of town, she thanks God for unexpected blessings, until a grandson shows up with another will, threatening to contest hers. For the past several months, Jason Sloan has kept his nose to the grindstone, watching his mother’s cancer treatments dwindle away his savings. When he learns the inheritance he counted on has been left to Tia and her shelter, he’s torn. With his mother and him having been forced to flee an abusive situation themselves, Tia’s cause hits too close to home. All disagreements take a back seat, though, when he and Tia find themselves working together to fight an unseen foe. But which one of them is the target?

The Love Letter


Rachel Hauck - 2018
    But after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of redcoats, he fears he’ll fight for revenge instead of honor. On the verge of a great battle, he pens a letter to Esther, the woman he loves.Esther Longfellow is in love with Hamilton, but her father is a loyalist, living in upcountry South Carolina and working for a wealthy British lord. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton.Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty—a great director and an Oscar-winning actress. Yet her career has taken an unexpected turn: She’s the queen of death scenes. Trying to break out, she accepts a supporting role in a revolutionary war film. But she longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies?After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a page from one of his ancestor’s letters, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there. Determined to help his grandfather find happiness at the end of his life, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations.When Jesse meets the woman he has cast to play Esther Longfellow—his grandfather’s one true love—the stories of all four collide across time and space. The love letter from the past might have more power to affect the future than any of them could have imagined.

The Art of Losing Yourself


Katie Ganshert - 2015
     Every morning, Carmen Hart pastes on her made-for-TV smile and broadcasts the weather. She’s the Florida panhandle’s favorite meteorologist, married to everyone’s favorite high school football coach. They’re the perfect-looking couple, live in a nice house, and attend church on Sundays. From the outside, she’s a woman who has it all together. But on the inside, Carmen Hart struggles with doubt. She wonders if she made a mistake when she married her husband. She wonders if God is as powerful as she once believed. Sometimes she wonders if He exists at all. After years of secret losses and empty arms, she’s not so sure anymore. Until Carmen’s sister—seventeen year old runaway, Gracie Fisher—steps in and changes everything. Gracie is caught squatting at a boarded-up motel that belongs to Carmen’s aunt, and their mother is off on another one of her benders, which means Carmen has no other option but to take Gracie in. Is it possible for God to use a broken teenager and an abandoned motel to bring a woman’s faith and marriage back to life? Can two half-sisters make each other whole?

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning


Olivia Newport - 2012
    Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work--and the classes she is secretly taking at the newly opened University of Chicago. When she meets an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World's Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family's expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is? Readers will love being swept away into a world of mansions, secrets, and romance as they follow Lucy through the streets of the Windy City during one of the most exciting times in the city's history. From opulent upper-class homes to the well-worn rooms of an orphanage, Olivia Newport breathes life and romance into the pages of history--and everyone is invited.

Noble Pursuits


Chautona Havig - 2008
    In his search for a genuine relationship, he's come up empty handed. Desperate for a change of scenery (and desperate for an escape from the attentions of aggressive Rockland women), he's relocating to Brunswick. He is not prepared for Grace. Independent, strong, and decidedly feminine, Grace Buscher is living her childhood dream. While friends and family watch concerned and amazed, she pinches pennies into dollars as the most successful (and only) house-spinster in the greater Rockland area. When Nolan meets Grace, two worlds collide resulting in accidents, misunderstandings, and one silly serenade to a mouse. Noble Pursuits is the introductory book in the Rockland Chronicles series by Chautona Havig. Coming soon: Past Forward- diamond of yesteryear in a contemporary setting.

Leaving Carolina


Tamara Leigh - 2009
    She's even engaged to be engaged to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.Now all of Piper's hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle's bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks secrets, including Piper's. Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe's rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can't she stay on task? With the Lord's help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free.

Reunited at Christmas


Debra Ullrick - 2013
    Not only does she train search and rescue dogs, but she’s a bestselling suspense author who has waterfront property in the beautiful mountain town of Grand Lake, Colorado. All is well until she receives a call to bring her dog Max and her snowmobile to help rescue a man who is lost in a blizzard up on Gravel Mountain. That man is the one person she never wants to see again—Ryker Anderson—the man who broke her heart the day he called three months before their wedding to say goodbye with no explanation as to why.After being gone for eighteen months, Ryker Anderson is back in Grand Lake where he hopes to win back the woman he loves. He only hopes Shelby understands why he left. Will he be able to convince Shelby that she can trust him with her heart again even though he broke it before?

Daniel's Gift


Barbara Freethy - 1996
    Claire found Luke Sheridan -- her dashing knight in intern's scrubs. But a fast-track future and rigid, ambitious parents drove passion out of Luke's life. And the summer ended, leaving Jenny with a broken heart... and a beautiful son, Danny, to help mend it.Love Reclaimed ...Years later it is tragedy that reunites them -- the father whom a son longs to know, and the mother who has tried desperately to forget. And as Luke and Jenny struggle to ignore the pain and desire reborn in a look and a touch, only the remarkable courage of a young boy -- and the help of a rather unorthodox guardian angel -- can offer them the most precious gift of all: a second chance at the love of a lifetime.Reviews:"A warm, moving story of the power of love." Debbie Macomber"Wonderful story, wonderful cast -- this is a do-not-miss reading experience." Rendezvous Magazine"Barbara Freethy brings a tender poignancy to mainstream romantic fiction." Romantic Times"The depth is incredible, the minds of the characters (and there are quite a few) delightful. Clearly a hit!" Heartland Critiques"Exceptional. I couldn't put it down!" The Time Machine Newsletter"The lead players are excellent and the support cast superb ... Kudos to Barbara Freethy for a first class reading experience." Affaire de Coeur

Rocky Mountain Redemption


Lisa J. Flickinger - 2020
    If only she could out run the lingering nightmares.Charles Bailey, camp foreman and Stony Creek's itinerant pastor, develops a reputation to match his new nickname — Preach. However, an inner battle ensues when the details of his rough history threaten to overcome the beliefs of his young faith.Amid the hazards of camp life, the unlikely friendship growing between the two surprises Isabelle. She's drawn to Preach's brute strength and gentle nature as he leads the ragtag crew toiling for Pollitt's Lumber. But when the ghosts from her past return to haunt her, the choices she will make change the course of her life forever—and that of the man she's come to love.

Secrets


Kristen Heitzmann - 2004
    What happened all those years ago, and what is it she so desperately needs him to find? The old villa in Sonoma holds the answers, but it is now owned by a young woman who neither knows nor cares about his mission. But Rese Barret is a force to contend with, and her own impending storm could sweep him up as their sparring creates a fierce and uncomfortable attraction. From bestselling author Kristen Heitzmann.

His Longing Heart


Jan Thompson - 2015
    She is a billionairess violin collector with a trust fund. Living in two different worlds, will their unexpected romance last?His Longing Heart is the first novel in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson’s Seaside Chapel Christian small-town beach romance series. This book is the updated second edition of the previously published Share with Me.The musician…Six years ago, Ivan McMillan was a budding crossover violinist on a world tour with his pianist sister. His career was cut short when Grandpa Otto died suddenly, leaving Grandma Yun saddled with enormous medical bills that ate up all their savings. In the midst of Ivan’s struggle to provide for his elderly grandmother and to save their family home from foreclosure, he finds himself falling in love with his billionairess friend, whose lifestyle he cannot afford.The muse…After Brinley Brooks’s ex-boyfriend abandons her due to her vow of purity, the twenty-something heiress goes home to St. Simon’s Island to spend time with her family and to accept her life as a single woman. At her sister’s birthday party, Brinley is mesmerized by a violinist friend, Ivan, when he plays one of Bach’s orchestral suites. Music therapy or not, her heart starts to seek its own second movement in her love life. Or is she just lonely? One thing leads to another, and Brinley enters Ivan’s world of material poverty and spiritual wealth.The minuet of their lives…When one of Ivan’s worst fears comes to pass, he feels obligated to show Brinley what it means to be a Christian living through adversity. However, trusting God is the last thing on his mind as the crisis affects his career, his life, his family, and his relationship with Brinley. Ivan cannot let her see how far he has sunk. What is a Christian man to do?

Then There Was You


Kara Isaac - 2017
    Her boyfriend can’t even commit to living in the same country, her promised promotion is dead on arrival and the simultaneous loss of her brother and her dream of being a concert violinist has kept her playing life safe and predictable for six years. Things need to change. A moment of temporary insanity finds her leaving her life in Chicago to move to Sydney, Australia. There she finds herself, against many of her convictions, as a logistics planner for one of Australia’s biggest churches, and on a collision course with her boss’s son.Josh Tyler fronts a top-selling worship band and is in demand all over the world. But his past failed romantic relationships almost destroyed both his reputation and his family. He's determined to never risk it happening again. The last thing he needs is some American girl tipping his ordered life upside down. Especially one who despises everything he’s ever worked for and manages to push every button he has.When Josh and Paige are thrown together to organize his band’s next tour, the sparks fly. But can they find a way to bridge the differences that pull them apart? Or will they choose the safety and security of what they know over taking a chance on something that will require them to risk everything?

Making Waves


Lorna Seilstad - 2010
    It is the perfect way to escape her agonizingly boring suitor, Roger Gordon. It's also where she stumbles upon two new loves: sailing, and sailing instructor Trip Andrews. But this summer of fun turns to turmoil as her father's gambling problems threaten to ruin the family forever. Will free-spirited Marguerite marry Roger to save her father's name and fortune? Or will she follow her heart--even if it means abandoning the family she loves? Author Lorna Seilstad's fresh and entertaining voice will whisk readers away to a breezy lakeside summer holiday. Full of sharp wit and blossoming romance, "Making Waves" is the first book in the LAKE MANAWA SUMMERS series.

Catching Christmas


Terri Blackstock - 2018
    So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.