Book picks similar to
A Love to Behold by Sharlene MacLaren


celebrate-lit
romance
christian-fiction
civil-war

A Match Made in Texas


Karen Witemeyer - 2013
    How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?A Cowboy UnmatchedNeill isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof--he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?An Unforeseen MatchHoping to earn an honest wage on his way to the land rush, Clayton ends up on Grace's doorstep, lured by a classified ad. He may have signed on for more than he expected though--and he may have found the one woman who can keep him from moving on.No Match for LoveAndrew can't fathom how refined Lucy ended up as the caretaker to his dotty aunt, and somehow her arrival has prompted even more bizarre occurrences around the ranch. When they join forces to unearth the truth, will the attraction between Andrew and Lucy develop into more?Meeting Her MatchWhen the tables are turned and a tenderhearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker's son how much she cares for him?

A Love Restored


Kelly J. Goshorn - 2018
    When she accepts a position teaching in a Freedman’s School, it threatens the only marriage offer Ruth Ann is likely to receive. She's forced to choose between life as a lonely spinster or reinventing herself to secure a respectable proposal. Determined to rise above his meager beginnings, Benjamin Coulter’s reputation as a fast learner and hard worker earns him the opportunity to apprentice with a surveyor for the railroad—a position that will garner the respect he craves. After a chance encounter with Ruth Ann Sutton, Benjamin is smitten with her pretty face, quick wit, and feisty personality. When others ridicule his choice, will Benjamin listen to his heart or put ambition first?

Mountains of Grace


Kelly Irvin - 2019
    But when a wildfire blazes outside her beloved community, she and her family are forced to evacuate and flee to the small town of Eureka.John Hostetler, Mercy’s beau, sorts through the damage left by the fire, helping Mercy set up a makeshift school to continue her passion. Eureka is filled with fire personnel, media, and rubberneckers—more contact with the outside world than Mercy has ever experienced. A chance encounter with a smoke jumper, Travis Cooper, leads to longer conversations about her Amish beliefs and life.As word arrives that their home was one of the houses destroyed in the fire, Mercy struggles to accept that everything they owned is gone. A life’s worth of memories. She hides her bitterness from her father, who accepts such events as God’s will. How can it be God’s will that they would start over with nothing? John’s decision to return to Kansas pours kerosene on her doubts. Her heart is doubly broken.While John is away, Travis continues to seek Mercy’s company. His observations force her to look at her life from a different perspective. But is it the right perspective?When all seems lost, including her way, Mary finds unexpected beauty and love springing from the ashes of all that she’s known.

Miss Tavistock's Mistake


Linore Rose Burkard - 2020
    But the captain’s been at sea for a decade. When she finally meets him, tempestuous sparks fly, and she impulsively adopts a daring false identity. Going by “Lady X,” she vows never to marry such an infuriating man. Captain Gabriel Rempeare is prepared to fulfill his duty and marry Miss Tavistock—if only he can clap eyes on her. One circumstance or another keeps them apart, though he cannot seem to avoid the beautiful, maddening, Lady X. When fate throws them together in London, Miss Tavistock discovers the real nature of the captain, and regrets her subterfuge. But can such a noble man forgive deceit? Or has her mistake already cost her everything?

Dakota December / Dakota Destiny


Lauraine Snelling - 2012
    Sheriff Caleb Stenesrude climbed over the gate in a blizzard and reached up in time to catch the woman as she fell. To his astonishment, a small child, hanging on for dear life, fell with her. Under his breath he thanked the good Lord for bringing them this far and for a dog with a nose and ears to beat all. As the North Dakota storm continued to scream outside the house on the edge of town, Caleb tried to tend to the near-frozen mother and boy. When the woman let out a piercing cry of labor, Caleb realized this would be a Christmas Eve like no other. In the days after, Caleb and the town of Soldahl took Johanna Carlson and her two children into their hearts, but Johanna kept her distance, afraid to tell anyone the truth about her life. Dakota Destiny As folks in Soldahl reel from the war, Pastor Moen’s daughter, Mary, struggles to live with shocking news about the man she loves that arrived by telegram: We regret to inform you that Private First Class Willard Dunfey is missing in action and presumed dead. Thru months of agonized waiting, news came to Soldahl on Tuesday, November 11, 1918 that Victory Day had come. Does she have reason to hope? This volume includes the fourth and fifth books of the Dakota Series featuring the intertwining lives of five inspiring women, all who lived in the early 1900s in the immigrant community of Soldahl, North Dakota.

Snow on the Tulips


Liz Tolsma - 2013
    Now Gerrit Laninga—a man who puts God and country above all else—arrives at her house, needing help. She is terrified for herself and terrified for her family, but most of all, terrified of the pain she might feel again if she allows herself to love Gerrit. Her hope is to be free from her paralyzing fear.Gerrit is a known and hunted Dutch Resistance member. When he comes to Cornelia’s home for shelter, he’s drawn to her strength and kindness. When he asks her to contact the local Resistance on his behalf, she refuses. Gerrit is determined to find a way to continue his underground work without putting Cornelia or her family in harm’s way.When things start to unravel and Gerrit’s life depends on her actions, she must summon her courage and learn to depend on the perfect love that drives out all fear. But will her new love be snatched away before it has a chance to bloom?

Devil in the Dust


Cara Luecht - 2017
    . . Their small Oklahoma town is dying. Lillian remembers how acres and acres of wheat once waved under jewel-blue skies. Now the dirt stretches across the flat land as far as she can see. Emma's husband is missing. She keeps house, keeps her five children fed as best as she can, and keeps smiling as her hope fades. But when the days stretch to weeks, she faces the possibility that he will never come home. Left with the likelihood of losing their farm, and the ever-present pangs of hunger, she is forced to consider opportunities that, under normal circumstances, she would never contemplate. Jessie, Emma's oldest daughter, completes her tasks as if numb. Forced to wear her mother's shoes to avoid the humiliation of bare feet, she watches the dead, dirt road for signs of life. And then he comes. His new car and shiny shoes and generous way with gifts and money catch Jessie's eye, much to the dismay of her mother … and much to the concern of the minister's wife, Lillian. He's too smooth, too willing to help, and much too eager to spend time with a girl less than half his age. But who is to say he is not the miracle they all prayed for? Lillian and her husband stand by, helpless, as they realize that the winds carry more than one kind of evil, and as they are all forced to decide where the evil lies: in hunger, or in hope.

Beyond All Dreams


Elizabeth Camden - 2014
    She is thwarted in her attempts to uncover information, but her determination outweighs her shyness and she turns to a dashing congressman for help. Luke Callahan was one of the nation's most powerful congressmen until his promising career became shadowed in scandal. Eager to share in a new cause and intrigued by the winsome librarian, he joins forces with Anna to solve the mystery of the lost ship.Opposites in every way, Anna and Luke are unexpectedly drawn to each other despite the strict rules forbidding Anna from any romantic entanglement with a member of Congress. From the gilded halls of the Capitol, where powerful men shape the future of the nation, to the scholarly archives of the nation's finest library, Anna and Luke are soon embroiled in secrets much bigger and more perilous than they ever imagined. Is bringing the truth to light worth risking all they've ever dreamed for themselves?

Love by the Letter


Melissa Jagears - 2013
    He's been too busy helping to provide for his family. Now that he's heading west, Dex is hoping to start a family of his own. However, his attempt to acquire a mail-order bride fails miserably when the lady writes back ridiculing his terrible spelling. Rachel Oliver may be the last person he wants to know what a dunce he is, but she's also the smartest woman in town--and it's clear he needs her help.Rachel Oliver has lingered in town for three years secretly mooning over Dex Stanton, but now she's done. If the fool wants to write to a mail-order bride company, so be it. Once she begins giving Dex lessons, however, Rachel realizes she may not be prepared to give up just yet.As their time together runs short, can two of the most stubborn people in town set aside their pride long enough to find love?Love by the Letter is a companion novella to A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears's full-length debut novel available fall 2013. Includes an extended sneak peek at A Bride for Keeps.

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest


Melanie Dickerson - 2015
    Jorgen inherited his post from the man who raised him . . . a man who was murdered at the hands of a poacher.When Jorgen and Odette meet at the Midsummer festival and share a connection during a dance, neither has any idea that they are already adversaries.The one man she wants is bound by duty to capture her; the one woman he loves is his cunning target . . . What becomes of a forester who protects a notorious poacher? What becomes of a poacher when she is finally discovered?

Appalachian Serenade


Sarah Loudin Thomas - 2014
    Unable to continue to live alone in Chicago, her only option is to accept her sister's offer to move in with her family back in West Virginia. Will Delilah have the faith to pursue a new dream--even if it means giving up the old?In this charming novella, debut novelist Sarah Loudin Thomas introduces readers to Wise, West Virginia--a small town nestled in an Appalachian valley where the everyday miracles of life and faith play out in stories of healing, hope, and love.

The Preacher's Bride Collection


DiAnn Mills - 2014
    Being a helpmate to a pastor is no easy task. They must step out in a special kind of faith and love to become preachers’ brides…. This collection of historical stories will capture, inspire, and entertain readers—and remind them of God’s unique way of weaving great joy and blessing into the lives of those who love Him and follow His will.

The Matchmaker’s Rogue


Regina Scott - 2020
    She is the hostess of the spa, arranging introductions and entertainments and playing matchmaker to the ladies and gentlemen who come to take the waters, promenade through the shops, and dance at the assembly. But when a rogue returns from her past, Jess finds herself suddenly at sea.Always an adventurer, Larkin Denby left Grace-by-the-Sea to right the wrongful death of his father. Now he’s back on a mission: to identify the mysterious Lord of the Smugglers who allegedly sails from Grace Cove and takes England’s secrets to France. But Grace-by-the-Sea is the perfect little spa town, run by the still oh-so-perfect Jesslyn Chance. When the village’s future is threatened, Jess must work with Lark to solve the mystery and protect the town’s own. In doing so, the matchmaker of Grace-by-the-Sea may just find that the best match for her is the rogue who stole her heart years ago.

The Last Heiress


Mary Ellis - 2015
    Though there is not much one individual can do, the wealthy young woman feels she must try, as her mother and hundreds of employees at Dunn Textiles are dependent on Southern cotton.When Amanda meets Nathaniel Cooper, her desire to conduct business and quickly return to England changes. Though captivated by one another, neither is fully aware of the other's true nature.Nathanial, who on the outside appears to be a poor but hardworking merchant, is actually a secret Yankee sympathizer who will stop at almost nothing to bring about freedom for those who live under subjugation, even when that involves questionable judgment. And Amanda's wealth is made possible by underpaid workers living in slums around the mills, not much different than American slavery.Can these two earnest souls find the best in one another rather than focus on what could tear them apart? And though they both believe they are on God's path, how will their decisions affect those around them?

Woman of Courage


Wanda E. Brunstetter - 2014
    She becomes determined to follow the Rev. and Mrs. Spalding into the western wilderness to minister to the Nez Percé Indians.But a three-thousand-mile journey in 1837 is fraught with danger for anyone, and soon Amanda finds herself recovering from near death in a trapper's cabin. His Indian wife becomes Amanda's first convert--and friend. But the trapper and his intriguing half-Indian friend want nothing to do with Christians.Buck McFadden has received nothing but pain from white men who claim Christ as their lord. He wants only to be left to his solitary life, but he can't seem to walk away from Amanda.Amanda fears she'll never reach the mission in the Lapwai Valley. This journey has become life-changing for her--and those she meets--and the choices she must make are almost unbearable.