Book picks similar to
Where Dandelions Grow by Lydia Howe


contemporary
indie-authors
indie
christian-fiction

The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet


Stephanie Morrill - 2013
    But when “outcast” gets added to the list, she decides it’s time to take reality into her own hands … and tweak it as needed.In the pages of her book, she’s Lady Gabrielle, favorite of the medieval Italian court. Her once-friends are reduced to catty ladies-in-waiting, and the too-charming Palmer—who in real life never spares her a second word—gets to be nothing more than a rake wracked by unrequited love for her. She even has a perfect real-life villain in the brooding Chase, who hails from the wrong side of town.But just when she’s getting along great in her fictional world, the real one throws her a few curves. With Chase pursuing her, Palmer wanting to date her—but in secret—and the details of her manuscript going public, Ellie suddenly receives more attention than she ever really wanted. And when her former-friends discover what she’s been writing, they’re determined to teach Ellie a lesson about the severe consequences of using her pen as her sword.

Finding Faith


Terri Ferran - 2007
    She loves her family and is content with her life in California. That is, until her parents decide to move to Utah, the land of Mormons. New surroundings and culture shock do nothing to help Kit's social life. It is only with the help of Janet, a new friend, that Kit begins to adjust to life in Utah, as well as to the Mormon culture. Janet's older brother, Adam, is more than happy to befriend Kit, but when their feelings begin to go beyond friendship, Kit is torn. Does she really want to devote her heart to a boy who is going to leave her for two years to serve a mission for his faith? Can she support him when she doesn't even believe in his religion? As Kit looks deeper, she realizes that it isn't Adam's faith she needs to come to terms with - it's her own.

The Ticket


Debra Coleman Jeter - 2015
    R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up, the Weather Underground bombs the U.S. State Department, and Bill Gates founds Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As Communist forces take Saigon and the Vietnam War winds down, Tray Dunaway, an ordinary teenager from a poor Southern family, longs to become part of the popular clique at school.Tray's mother, Evelyn, lies in bed most days with her bipolar tendency toward extreme highs or desperate lows. Meanwhile, Tray's grandmother Ginny, still grieving over the loss of her husband, would love to move out and find a place of her own. Maybe even a bit of romance to replace the loss she feels. But given the sorry state of the family's finances that's not possible.Then the Dunaways' luck changes. Or so it seems.Tray's father drives a down-and-out friend of the family, Pee Wee Johnson, to Hazard, Illinois, so Johnson can buy lottery tickets. As a gesture of thanks, Johnson gives a ticket to Tray's father. And what do you know? The Dunaways' are suddenly rich.When Johnson demands his cut of the winnings, Tray's dad refuses. As Evelyn's illness spirals toward madness, Johnson threatens the family. Out of time, Tray makes one poor decision after another until what initially seemed like a stroke of good fortune quickly becomes a dangerous game of life and death for the Dunaways.

How (Not) to Fall in Love


Lisa Brown Roberts - 2015
    Even her dog ate gourmet. Then one day, Darcy’s car is repossessed from the parking lot of her elite private school. As her father’s business hit the skids, Dad didn’t just skip town, he bailed on his family.Fortunately, Darcy’s uncle owns a thrift shop where she can hide out from the world. There’s also Lucas, the wickedly hot fix-it guy she can’t stop crushing on, even if she’s not sure they’ll ever get out of the friend zone. But it’s here among the colorful characters of her uncle’s world that Darcy begins to see something more in herself… if she has the courage to follow it.

Red at Night


Katie McGarry - 2014
    She's the girl with purple hair from the wrong part of town. He's a high school senior who hangs with the cool crowd. Until a car accident leaves him haunted by guilt, and Jonah starts spending time at Stella's favorite refuge…the local cemetery.Stella knows she should keep her distance—after all, she spent her girlhood being bullied by Jonah's friends. Once he's sorted out his tangled emotions, Jonah won't have time for her anymore. Too bad she's already fallen for him.

Truth


Molly Evangeline - 2011
    Yet no one but her closest friend seems to understand or share her desire. Despite her family's fears and warnings of the consequences, she is determined to find answers.The unexpected arrival of a stranger, and the knowledge he possesses, drives Makilien to drastic action. Confronted with a world she knows nothing about, she must choose carefully who to trust as both good and evil lurk in all places. As a battle looms, one in which will be determined the fate of all, she must decide whether to believe in the One who is truth or fall prey to the lies of the enemy.(Young Adult/Christian Fiction)

Eyes Wide Open


Ted Dekker - 2013
    I’m seventeen and I’m about to die. I’m buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I’m lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won’t stop shaking.Some will say that I’m not really here. Some will say I’m delusional. Some will say that I don’t even exist. But who are they? I’m the one buried in a grave.My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen. I’m about to die.So who are you?In a return to the kind of storytelling that made Showdown and Three unforgettable, Ted Dekker drags that question into the light with this modern day parable about how we see ourselves.Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open is raw adrenaline from the first page to the last pure escapism packed with inescapable truth. Not all is as it seems. Or is it? Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.

Just One Summer: A Romance Novella Collection


Nicole Deese - 2015
    Four Love Stories. Just One Summer. Four college girls, best friends since childhood, have found one constant in their ever-changing lives--summer. Every June the girls choose a destination to reconnect, only this summer is different. This year, each one must face life's challenges on her own, overcome fear and failure, and learn the beauty of falling in love for the first time. A Summer Remade by Nicole Deese Joss Sanders needs an escape, a reminder of a sweeter, simpler, and steadier time. Only her family's cabin isn't exactly how she remembered it as a child, and neither is the charming boy who lives next door. Change is everywhere. If Joss doesn't stop living in the past, she just might miss the promise in her future. Waves of Summer by Tammy L. Gray Sydney Andrews wants nothing more than to get away from a controlling ex-boyfriend, find some clarity and enjoy a drama-free vacation. But nothing in Sydney’s life is ever that easy. Especially when the sexy bartender she meets at her mother’s wedding wants more than just her friendship. He wants the girl she’s forgotten how to be. A Painted Summer by Amy Matayo Darby Sparks has lived a very sheltered life. A homeschool graduate, a small town resident, and the only child of two over-protective parents. But she's had enough. She wants to see the world and chase her dreams, and that's just what she does...until she runs out of money. With limited options, Darby finds herself working for dangerously hot Lennon Dixon, the owner of a downtown Los Angeles tattoo parlor. To call the job unfamiliar is the world's biggest understatement. And to call her attraction to Lennon unexpected is a very close second. Wild Heart Summer by Jenny B. Jones Twenty-one year old Avery Crawford has had to fight for everything in her life, and this summer is no exception. When her culinary internship in a chic restaurant falls through at the last minute, she gets an unexpected offer to work on a dude ranch in the quaint town of Sugar Creek. While Avery’s up to her apron in cattle drives, trail rides, and kitchen duty, the cute ranch manager Owen Jackson is determined to sweep her off her feet. Just as Avery finds herself unable to resist Owen’s Southern charm, her own family secrets begin to unravel, pushing her away from the ranch--and the love of one handsome cowboy.

The Rules for Disappearing


Ashley Elston - 2013
    . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last. Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself. But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

Good Oil


Laura Buzo - 2010
    I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I'm open to all kinds of bribery.'From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost...head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he's 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien, but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes?

From the Start


Melissa Tagg - 2015
    While her own love life may have left her brokenhearted, it hasn't kept her from churning out made-for-TV romance movie screenplays...until a major career slump and a longing to do something meaningful send her running back to her hometown of Maple Valley. Permanently sidelined by an injury, former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is temporarily hiding out in a friend's hometown to avoid the media and the reminders of all he's lost. Maple Valley seems like the perfect place to learn how to adjust to normal life. The only trouble is he's never really done normal before.While Kate plays things safe and Colton is all about big risks and grand gestures, they both get what it's like to desperately need direction in life. An unexpected project gives them both a chance to jumpstart their new lives, but old wounds and new dreams are hard to ignore. Starting over wasn't part of the plan, but could it be the best thing that's ever happened to them?

The Whole Thing Together


Ann Brashares - 2017
    Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control…or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.

Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection


Jaycee Weaver - 2020
    If she can't see she's marrying the wrong guy soon, his leg won't be the only thing broken.All the Moore by Toni Shiloh — Leilah Anderson has been living behind the screen to hide her disability, then she meets Reggie Moore face-to-face. Can their relationship survive the truth and distance between them?A Holly, Bolly Christmas by Mikal Dawn — A dream wedding venue at Christmas? Sign Chahna Kapoor up. Even if her fiancé doesn’t know it…Somehow, This Christmas by Teresa Tysinger — When not-so-merry mishaps threaten wedding planner Cate Forsyth's holiday wedding and reputation, will her own happily ever after with sweetheart Noah Bennett melt away?A Promise So Sweet by Andrea Boyd — Lydia Osborn hasn't heard from her ex in ten years, so imagine her surprise when he shows up proposing marriage. Tis the season for love?

Sophie & Carter


Chelsea Fine - 2011
    Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they'll sit together on Sophie's front porch swing and escape from reality, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, will their friendship become something more?

The Best Laid Plans


Cameron Lund - 2020
    She wants to have that experience too (well, not exactly like that--but with someone she trusts and actually likes), so she's going to need to find the guy, and fast. Problem is, she's known all the boys in her small high school forever, and it's kinda hard to be into a guy when you watched him eat crayons in kindergarten. So she can't believe her luck when she meets a ridiculously hot new guy named Dean. Not only does he look like he's fallen out of a classic movie poster, but he drives a motorcycle, flirts with ease, and might actually be into her.But Dean's already in college, and Keely is convinced he'll drop her if he finds out how inexperienced she is. That's when she talks herself into a new plan: her lifelong best friend, Andrew, would never hurt or betray her, and he's clearly been with enough girls that he can show her the ropes before she goes all the way with Dean. Of course, the plan only works if Andrew and Keely stay friends--just friends--so things are about to get complicated.Cameron Lund's delightful debut is a hilarious and heartfelt story of first loves, first friends, and first times--and how making them your own is all that really matters.