Book picks similar to
Lu. by Beth Troy


fiction
contemporary
christian
contemporary-romance

This Wandering Heart


Janine Rosche - 2020
    No one, that is, except for her first love, Robbie Matthews, who has just discovered the woman he is falling for online is the same one that broke his heart five years ago.But Robbie has another problem: the mother of his daughter, Anabelle, has resurfaced after a three-year absence determined to rip Anabelle away from him. Robbie needs a steady paycheck for a chance at custody, and now, on the eve of a grand adventure that could give Keira a chance to flee her old, troubled life once and for all, she is in need of assistance.With so much broken trust between them, Keira and Robbie must keep an arms-length away to make this partnership work. But the more time they spend together, exploring majestic places and sharing new experiences, the closer they get--until their secrets and dreams threaten to cost them everything.

Reservations for Two


Anne Patrick - 2013
    Maggie, an adventurous former pastor’s wife of thirty-nine years, hopes to find closure in the place she and her husband spent their honeymoon. Carson, a retired judge, is living his lifelong dream of traveling across the U.S. in his RV. When their paths cross in the tranquil setting of Mason Springs, New Mexico, love is the last thing that either of them expects to find.When this mix matched pair comes together they find themselves in some hilarious and even precarious situations. As the romance begins to blossom they face many obstacles that threaten to tear them apart, and what Maggie discovers about herself in New Mexico will redefine her future and alienate one of her children. Will Carson and Maggie’s love for one another be strong enough to weather the storms or will their love for their children keep them apart?

The Break


Marian Keyes - 1999
    . . We're taking a break.''A city-with-fancy-food sort of break?'If only.Amy's husband Hugh says he isn't leaving her.He still loves her, he's just taking a break - from their marriage, their children and, most of all, from their life together. Six months to lose himself in south-east Asia. And there is nothing Amy can say or do about it.Yes, it's a mid-life crisis, but let's be clear: a break isn't a break up - yet . . .However, for Amy it's enough to send her - along with her extended family of gossips, misfits and troublemakers - teetering over the edge.For a lot can happen in six-months. When Hugh returns if he returns, will he be the same man she married? And will Amy be the same woman?Because if Hugh is on a break from their marriage, then isn't she?The Break isn't a story about falling in love but about staying in love. It is Marian Keyes at her funniest, wisest and brilliant best.

Chasing Sunsets


Eva Marie Everson - 2011
    A divorced mother of two, Kim resents her ex-husband for moving on with his life and living it up while she struggles to understand what went wrong. When her sons end up spending five weeks of summer vacation with their father, Kim's own father suggests a respite in the family vacation home on tiny Cedar Key Island. As Kim revisits her childhood memories and loves, she soon discovers that treasures in life are often buried, and mistakes--both past and present--become redeemable in God's hand.Readers will be swept away to an island retreat where they walk alongside Kim as she discovers that God's answers may not come easily, but they do come.

Jilted


Carla Laureano - 2016
    Two jaded hearts. One unexpected love.Bethany Hall is hiding out on a remote private island off the coast of Belize, creating romantic meals for the rich and the privileged. But when her client Derek Moretti’s bride jilts him at the altar, he’s left with a bitter view on love, a $30,000 a week bungalow, and for the first time in his life, nowhere else to be.After Derek overhears his beautiful personal chef talking about how he dodged a bullet when his bridezilla left him, he begins to think that maybe she’s right. He convinces Bethany to act as his personal tour guide for the remainder of his trip, but neither expect that their purely platonic arrangement could shake their preconceptions about love.Could Derek have been in the right place at the right time…just with the wrong woman?

Husband Auditions


Angela Ruth Strong - 2021
    So when she's handed a strange present at the latest wedding--a 1950s magazine article of "ways to get a husband"--she decides there's nothing to lose by trying out its advice. After all, she can't get any more single, can she?Her brother's roommate sees the whole thing as a great opportunity. Not to fall in love--Kai Kamaka has no interest in the effort a serious relationship takes. No, this is a career jump start. He talks Meri into letting him film every silly husband-catching attempt for a new online show. If it goes viral, his career as a cameraman will be made.When Meri Me debuts, it's an instant hit. People love watching her lasso men on street corners, drop handkerchiefs for unsuspecting potential beaus, and otherwise embarrass herself in pursuit of true love. But the longer this game goes on, the less sure Kai is that he wants Meri to snag anyone but him. The only problem is that he may not be the kind of husband material she's looking for . . .With droll comic timing, unbeatable chemistry, and a zany but relatable cast of characters, Angela Ruth Strong has created a heartfelt look at the reality of modern Christian dating that readers will both resonate with and fall for.

The Secrets of Paper and Ink


Lindsay Harrel - 2019
    She escapes to Cornwall, England--a place she's learned to love through the words of her favorite author--and finds a place to stay with the requirement that she help out in the bookstore underneath the room she's renting. Given her love of all things literary, it seems like the perfect place to find peace.Ginny Rose is an American living in Cornwall, sure that if she saves the bookstore she co-owns with her husband then she can save her marriage as well. Fighting to keep the first place she feels like she belongs, she brainstorms with her brother-in-law, William, and Sophia to try to keep the charming bookstore afloat.Two hundred years before, governess Emily Fairfax knew two things for certain: she wanted to be a published author, and she was in love with her childhood best friend. But he was a wealthy heir and well out of her league. Sophia discovers Emily's journals, and she and William embark on a mission to find out more about this mysterious and determined woman, all the while getting closer to each other as they get closer to the truth.The lives of the three women intertwine as each learns the power she has over the story of her life.

A Love So True (The Billionaires of Sawgrass, #3)


Delaney Cameron - 2020
    He's loved her since high school. She's holding on to the past. He's worked hard to overcome his. Brooks knew better than to fall in love with Jaclyn. She's a trust fund kid, and he's from the wrong side of the tracks. Guys like him never end up with girls like her. His head understood the rules. His heart was another story.

Justice


Emily Conrad - 2018
    Brooklyn can’t bring herself to name the father as she wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake. If Harold Keen, the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake's coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both.

Christmas Mercies


Emily Josephine - 2020
    Christmas has brought nothing but grief and loneliness for the past decade, after she lost her beloved husband to a fatal car accident. Hearing holiday music day after day during the first few months of the school year is like constantly ripping the scab off an unhealed wound.Determined to keep her husband in her heart, she has kept a fortress around it, allowing only one woman in as a true friend, and avoiding anything more than a passing acquaintance with any man.Until Timothy Fielding, the maintenance man at the apartment complex where she lives, comes along. He happens to love the Christmas season. When circumstances – and Janice’s best friend, Kayla – draw them together, he struggles to keep his growing feelings for Janice at bay. He has his own secret past that he’s sure would repel any woman, once she found out about it.But his desire for love and companionship win out, and he does his best to knock down the walls around Janice’s heart. But even when she finally relents and agrees to spend more time with him, she continues to resist opening her heart back up to Christmas.Because the death of her husband is only the beginning of the tragedy surrounding the day.In the meantime, Lucille Masterson, the great-grandmother of Janice’s star pupil, makes a shocking discovery that almost causes her to ruin Christmas for her family. Again. But then she realizes that if she would face her fear, she could finally release the burden she’s been carrying for the past ten years. What she doesn’t know is that it would release a horrible burden for the very person she’s afraid to face…**********“Christmas Mercies” is the first novel in Emily Josephine’s Christian holiday romance series, “Little River Village Christmas Romance.” A clean and wholesome romance novel, it will warm your heart, build your faith, and leave you feeling refreshed and hopeful.

Love's Return


T.K. Chapin - 2017
    Chapin. Follow the lives of the men and women working for WIN bodyguard agency as they face the challenges of faith, love and life. The PROTECTED BY LOVE series is a spin-off of the best-selling DIAMOND LAKE series and the book IN HIS LOVE.Five years ago, Jessica and Kirk were headed the same direction but on two separate paths. Jessica claiming her independence; Kirk chasing a professional hockey career. Sharing more than just a car ride, they found themselves longing for something more but decided to part ways.Five years later.Jessica McColler focuses all her energy on her current job as a reporter for a Christian magazine. She has friends, supportive family and a job she finds purpose in, all seems perfect. Then one day everything changes when her life is suddenly shaken to its core.Enter Kirk Dekker. Hockey never happened for him, but he did find fulfillment in his life for a time. When the unthinkable happens and brings him to his knees, he questions if he'll ever overcome the pain. A lot can happen in five years. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.God's love can return to our lives when we allow Him into our hearts, minds and soul. It's only through the softening of our heart can we find the healing that we need.From the best-selling Christian Romance author T.K. Chapin comes a love story that will keep you turning the pages until the very end. Heartwarming and inspirational, Love's Return will remind you of the beauty of God's ultimate plan for each one of our lives.

The Wedding Dress


Rachel Hauck - 2012
    One Dress.A tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love.Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift . . . and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can't she find the perfect dress...or feel certain she should marry Tim?Then Charlotte discovers a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new-shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it? Who welded the lock shut and tucked the dog tags in that little sachet? Who left it in the basement for a ten-year-old girl? And what about the mysterious man in the purple vest who insists the dress had been "redeemed."Charlotte's search for the gown's history-and its new bride-begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with her own story of promise, pain, and destiny. And each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte's heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the timeless beauty of finding true love.

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing


Allison Winn Scotch - 2020
    From congresswoman to senator, the magnetic, ambitious single mother now has her eye on the White House—always looking forward, never back. Until an estranged childhood friend shreds her in an op-ed hit piece gone viral.With seven words—“Cleo McDougal is not a good person”—the presidential hopeful has gone from in control to damage control, and not just in Washington but in life.Enter Cleo’s “regrets list” of 233 and counting. Her chief of staff has a brilliant idea: pick the top ten, make amends during a media blitz, and repair her reputation. But there are regrets, and there are regrets: like her broken relationship with her sister, her affair with a law school professor…and the regret too big to even say out loud.But with risk comes reward, and as Cleo makes both peace and amends with her past, she becomes more empowered than ever to tackle her career, confront the hypocrites out to destroy her, and open her heart to what matters most—one regret at a time.

The Last Time I Was Me


Cathy Lamb - 2008
    When Jeanne Stewart stops at The Opera Man's Cafe in Weltana, Oregon, to eat pancakes for the first time in twelve years, she has no idea she's also about to order up a whole new future. It's been barely a week since she succumbed to a spectacularly public nervous breakdown in front of hundreds of the nation's most important advertising and PR people. Jeanne certainly had her reasons--her mother's recent death, the discovery that her boyfriend had been sleeping with a dozen other women, and the assault charges that resulted when Jeanne retaliated in a creative way against him, involving condoms and peanut oil. Now, en route to her brother's house in Portland, Jeanne impulsively decides to spend some time in picturesque Weltana. Staying at a B&B run by the eccentric, endearing Rosvita, she meets a circle of quirky new friends at her court-ordered Anger Management classes. Like Jeanne, all of them are trying to become better, braver versions of themselves. Yet the most surprising discoveries are still to come--a good man who steadily makes his way into her heart and a dilapidated house that with love and care might be transformed into something wholly her own, just like the new life she is slowly building, piece by piece. As heartfelt as it is hilarious, The Last Time I Was Me is a warm, wise novel about breaking down, opening up, and finally letting go of everything we thought we should be, in order to claim the life that has been waiting all along.

There's Cake in My Future


Kim Gruenenfelder - 2010
    Melissa (Mel), still ringless after dating the same man for six years, deserves the engagement ring charm. The red hot chili pepper would be perfect for Seema, who is in love with her best male friend Scott, but can't seem to make their relationship more than platonic. And recently laid off journalist Nic wants the shovel, which symbolizes hard work, to help her get her career back on track. Nic does everything she can to control who gets which silver keepsake - as well as the future it represents. But when the charmed cake is mysteriously shifted from the place settings Nic arranged around it, no one gets the charm she chose for them. And when the other party guests' fortunes begin coming true, Mel, Seema, and Nic can't help but wonder.... Is the cake trying to tell them something?