Book picks similar to
The Dressmaker's Christmas by Eliza Lawley


reading-challenge
short-stories-novella
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christmas-reads

The Christmas Collector


Kristina McMorris - 2017
    . .   Toss, repair, sell, repeat. Most of the time, people are grateful for estate liquidator Jenna Matthews’ organizing services. Not Reece Porter, her new client’s handsome but grouchy grandson. As far as he’s concerned Jenna is a vulture, picking through his late grandfather’s treasures, during the holidays, no less. Personally, Jenna isn’t one for Christmas nostalgia, or any kind of nostalgia. Plus, she’s just doing her job. But when she and Reece are drawn together in an emergency, it becomes clear there’s a whole other kind of tension between them, one that’s pure electricity. And when Jenna discovers keepsakes that suggest an intriguing Porter family secret, unwrapping the mystery leads both Jenna and Reese to the greatest gifts of the holidays—and the truth in their hearts. . .   PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF KRISTINA McMORRIS   THE EDGE OF LOST   “Compelling, resonant and deeply moving, The Edge of Lost is an absorbing tale of deceit and self-deception, survival and second chances, the ties that bind and the lure of the unknown.”--Christina Baker Kline, # 1 New York Times bestselling author   “Will grab your heart on page one and won’t let go until the end.  I absolutely love this book, and so will you.” --Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants   “Kristina McMorris takes us on a thrilling ride from the Emerald Isle, to the boroughs of New York, to the ‘Rock’ of Alcatraz. I found myself thoroughly immersed in her richly evocative settings, just as I was captivated by the pure humanity of her characters as they struggled for redemption. This book is a wonderful read!”--David R. Gillham, New York Times bestselling author of City of Women   “I adore everything that Kristina McMorris writes and this book is no exception.”--Jennifer Robson, author of Somewhere in France   “A beautifully told story about a young man’s journey through adversity and loss with an exhilarating ending that I couldn’t put down and stayed up well past my bedtime to finish.”--Charles Belfoure, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Architect   “An absorbing, addictive read.”--Beatriz Williams   THE PIECES WE KEEP   “McMorris’s strong pacing keeps the two stories zipping along and all its many strings connected for a gratifying conclusion.”--Kirkus Reviews   BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES   “Impeccably researched and beautifully written.” --Karen White   LETTERS FROM HOME   “An absolutely lovely debut novel filled with endearing chara

The Carpenter: A Retelling of the Story of Joseph of Nazareth


S.A. Wilson - 2019
    Pious, devout, and guided by the dictates of Heaven, Joseph has no issue with taking Mary – who still claims to be a virgin – as his wife and committing himself to the protection of her child, whom he senses is extraordinary. However, there are others who are also aware of how special the child is, and not all have its best interests at heart. Among these is the despot Herod, whose oppressive rule and wanton cruelty are legendary. Deeply troubled by a prophecy concerning a King to Come, the tyrant is committed to finding – and eliminating – this threat to his reign. (And, having already murdered members of his own family in order to maintain power, Herod has no qualms about killing a baby.) In addition, there are forces beyond the ken of men that also recognize the singular nature of Mary’s child, and which are determined to keep the salvation that the babe represents out of mankind’s reach.All of these factions and more converge on Mary and Joseph as they trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem in hopes of starting a new life. On a journey fraught with peril, Joseph fights to protect Mary and her unborn child from danger on all sides, including the elements, bandits, and Herod’s legions – as well as an utterly evil and otherworldly demonic force determined to stamp out mankind’s only hope of redemption.Armed with little more than his wits, his faith, and his carpenter’s hammer, Joseph must face impossible odds to ensure the safety and survival of not only his family, but mankind’s future…

Mail Order Bride: Tilly and the Orphans (Brides and Orphans Book 1)


Emily Woods - 2016
    When the man she loves rejects her, she heads west to find love as a mail order bride.Owen looks for a mail order bride to start a family, but doesn’t know the first thing about loving a bride.Owen and Tilly start their relationship with very different goals. With the help of prayer and some adorable orphans, they just might find love.This book is a sweet, clean, western, historical, romance short story. It is a complete story, but it is also part of the Wyoming Brides and Babies series. Be sure to read them all - in any order!Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Christina, A Bride for Christmas


Hildie McQueen - 2017
    When everything goes wrong are you still meant for each other?After being dispatched to Blanchard Creek, Wyoming by her mother as a mail order bride, Christina Mills tumbles from one mishap to another. As if arriving in Wyoming with a fever, losing luggage and being accosted by the hotel owner isn’t already bad enough, her to be groom decides to back out of the marriage.Alexander Barrett Patterson is a man of honor. However, the scars from battle are more than skin deep. Rather than tying the beautiful woman to a cripple, he decides to give her up and suffer the consequences of a decision every ounce of his being protests. Now, if only half the town would stop trying to make him change his mind.A story of hurt, scars and the healing power of love.

The Perfect Christmas


Kate Forster - 2014
    With its history and Christmas charm, London feels like the perfect getaway.But can they truly leave their realities behind?In their luxurious quarters, the girls meet Holly who is ideal at showing Maggie and Zoe the sumptuous sights and sounds of London in their most glittering light. But behind her bright façade, Holly is hiding a secret: suffering from unrequited love, she’s looking for a Christmas miracle. Desperate to see an unattainable love story for Holly come together, will our LA starlets succeed in providing a Hollywood ending before the dawn of Christmas Day?Packed to the brim with festive cheer, this is the only story you’ll need this Christmas…

Love's Pure Light: 4 Stories Follow an Heirloom Nativity Set Through Four Generations


Deborah Raney - 2020
     While Shepherds Watch Are Keeping by Susanne DietzeMassachusetts, 1899 This Christmas, Pastor Seth Shepherd has little to offer his flock of congregants in their time of need until Jessalyn Grant, a mysterious newcomer, comes to his aid.  The Wise Guy and the Star by Shannon McNearCharleston, South Carolina, to Kansas City, Missouri, 1919 While journeying by train, Stella Shepherd befriends war veteran Nat Wise. She helps him find renewed faith in God, but could he also be the answer to the wanderings of her own heart?  On Angel Wings by Janine RoscheKansas City, Missouri, 1945 Elodie Wise plans a fundraising ball with the help of her friend Benjamin Gabriel. But can she look past the swanky Hollywood headliner to see the man who truly loves her?  Making Room at the Inn by Deborah RaneyCape Girardeau, Missouri, Present Day Benjie Gabriel thinks the chef’s position she’s just taken at an award-winning bed and breakfast is temporary—just a stepping stone. The B&B’s owner, Trevor Keye, thinks the same. Will five months be long enough for them to figure out that what they’ve each been longing for, praying for, is right beneath their noses?

The Twelfth Night of the Duchess


Tiffany Baton - 2021
    Posing as a noble upon her Lady’s insistent request, she finds herself not only attending the Season’s grandest balls, but also a betrothed Duchess-to-be.Robert Jameson, brother of the Duke of Cromwell, has spent his years struggling with his horrid reputation and terrible relationship with his mother. Still, he is quite certain that nothing could ever compare to his most recent sin: falling for his brother’s betrothed.Caught between duty and lies, threatening letters turn Jane’s happiness to ashes in her mouth. For, someone knows her secrets; even ones she doesn’t know herself. On Twelfth Night, the masks shatter and the face they see behind them has been dead for a long while.

Christmas at Malton Manor


Pam Lecky - 2017
     Kate Hamilton is companion to the dullest and meanest woman in England, but she is looking forward to going home for Christmas and her sister Mary’s wedding. When her employer refuses to release her, Colonel Robert Woodgate comes to the rescue. Robert now owns Malton Manor, Kate’s old home in the village of Malton. Recently returned from the Boer War and recovering from his injuries, Robert has been reclusive and morose. Clashing several times over his plans and sweeping changes in the village, their relationship has always been tempestuous. But when Kate returns to Malton, she discovers her sister’s wedding is to take place at Malton Manor and everyone is convinced the Colonel has an ulterior motive. Can Kate resist the lure of her old home and the memories it holds? And does she have the courage to break down Robert’s defences to find happiness at last?

Christmas Roses


Amanda Cabot - 2012
    She certainly doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a wandering carpenter finds lodging at her boarding house, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle to get roses during a harsh Wyoming winter. But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .Amanda Cabot invites readers to cozy up with a romantic, heartwarming tale of the greatest gift of all--love.

Merry and Bright


Erynn Mangum - 2013
    At least until her fiance breaks it off, she ends up having to catch a ride back to her hometown with her boss, Joe Patterson, and the snow starts to fall. When Christmas turns into a snowed-in, electricity-free day, will Kelly finally see that God has plans that go way beyond even her imaginings of a perfect Christmas?

Lord Calne's Christmas Ruby


Jude Knight - 2017
    Except perhaps for an earl with a twisted hand and a charming smile. Why, for all the fortune hunters she has fended off since returning from India, is the one man who seems to like her so against marrying for money?Philip has inherited an earldom that his only two choices are to marry for money or to abandon Society altogether and return to his work as an engineer. Which is no choice at all, until a tiny woman with beautiful eyes and a fine mind dances with him on his last night in London.When they meet again in a small country village, they join forces to uncover larceny and deceit, to rescue Lalamani’s aunt from poverty, and to discover that pride is a poor reason to refuse a love for a lifetime.

Dark Road to Darjeeling / The Dark Enquiry / Silent Night


Deanna Raybourn - 2016
    At the urging of Julia's eccentric family, they hurry to India to aid an old friend, the newly-widowed Jane Cavendish. Living on the Cavendish tea plantation with the remnants of her husband's family, Jane is consumed with the impending birth of her child—and with discovering the truth about her husband's death. Was he murdered for his estate? And if he was, could Jane and her unborn child be next? THE DARK ENQUIRY: Book 5 Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to London. But merging their respective households leaves little room for the newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane's private enquiry business. Among the more unlikely clients: Julia's very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her family, Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation. It leads to the exclusive Spirit Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances…and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of murder, espionage and blackmail… Bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont's sake—and more—they'll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets: the kind men kill to keep…

Her Christmas Handyman


Laura Ann - 2020
    She and two of her cousins came willing and able to keep the "Gingerbread Inn" up and running. She had no idea she would meet a boy she'd known in her youth, who now worked at the inn. The lanky teen Hope remembers is now a ruggedly handsome man, and amazingly, his sights are set on her.Enoch Dunlap had been content with his work at the "Gingerbread Inn". As the resident handyman, his life was comfortable and predictable. But when his employer's granddaughters come to help over the holidays, his peaceful existence is turned on its head as soon as he lays eyes on Hope. She's just as quiet as she was when they were younger, but his attraction to her is definitely not a teenage crush.When food and other items begin to disappear around the inn, everyone is surprised and a little dismissive. But when the thief escalates to stealing jewelry and Hope is accused of doing the deed, they spring into action. Can Hope and Enoch clear her name before it's time to go back to her regular life? And a bigger question...will she even want to?Her Christmas Handyman is the first sweet story in The Gingerbread Inn Christmas Romance Trilogy. If you enjoy clean romance with a dash of suspense, you'll adore Laura Ann's charming tale!

A Cornish Carol: A Short Story


Fern Britton - 2014
    But Pendruggan’s Mr Rochester is in danger of becoming its Ebeneezer Scrooge when he is driven to distraction by the villager’s over-the-top Christmas celebrations. How could the cringeworthy amateur village production of Aladdin bring seasonal cheer to anyone, he wonders? And do the village children really have to arrive at his cottage door every single night in December with their terrible recorders and discordant singing?But when Piran’s bad temper risks spoiling Christmas for everyone, something drastic needs to be done. So, over one Christmas Eve, three very special people pay Piran a visit, determined to show him what Christmas is really all about…

Seven Christmas Kisses


Jillian Eaton - 2021
    All hope seems lost…until one afternoon fate steps in and Sarah learns that sometimes, with a little magic, winter wishes can come true.A Rake in WinterNo one is more shocked than Lady Emma herself when she drinks a bit too much wine…and wakes up in bed beside Lord William Prescott, England’s most notorious rake! Emma wants to forget the entire night ever happened, but Will isn’t about to let her go that easily...Risqué ResolutionDue to a clause in her father’s will, Lily has until Christmas to find a husband. Having yet to find a single man she would ever consider marrying after six failed seasons, she fears all hope is lost… until she meets the mysterious, insufferable, and oh so handsome Captain James Rigby.Natalie’s Christmas RogueLord Benjamin Hawthorne has never met a woman he couldn’t charm…until Natalie Rigby. The sad-eyed beauty wants nothing to do with him, or any man for that matter. But at the Christmas Eve Ball, anything is possible. Even falling in love…Marquess Under the MistletoeEvery single Appleton sister has met her husband at their parent’s annual Christmas ball. Every sister except for Honora, that is. When sparks unexpectedly begin to fly with a devilishly charming marquess, will she be the first in her family to break tradition…or follow in her sister’s footsteps and run towards the nearest mistletoe?The Christmas WidowKnown as “Mad Lady Bea” by the townspeople of Blooming Glen, Lady Beatrice Tumbley has not left her estate since the tragic death of her husband on Christmas Eve. Terrified of the outside world, she lives in complete seclusion, determined never to fall in love again. Until one cold, snowy night, when a handsome stranger comes knocking at her door…The Winter DuchessAs cold winds howl outside the manor, inside of it a duke’s frozen heart is finally starting to melt as he finds himself falling for the one woman he was never supposed to love…his wife. But can she love him in return? Publisher’s Note: These novellas range from sweet to spicy and have been previously published individually. This is the first time they’re being offered in one must-read collection!