Book picks similar to
Turning Hearts by Deanne Blackhurst


lds-fiction
lds
contemporary
gave-away-books

Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys


Janet Kay Jensen - 2007
    There was only one problem: polygamy - a lifestyle that Louisa could not escape and Andy would not embrace. As medical students at the University of Utah, Andy and Louisa fall in love - but can a mainstream Mormon and a Fundamental polygamist overcome the cultural barriers between them? Both realize that their choices will not only affect their own lives, but will also have an impact on their family, friends, and even their communities. Fearing that the sacrifices required of them would be too great, they go their separate ways. Yet for Andy in Kentucky and Louisa in Utah, life does not go as they'd planned. While Andy is serving as a country doctor and trying to bury his pain, Louisa is coming to terms with the fact that all is not as perfect in her tight-knit community as she'd believed. As doctors, each will have to choose between keeping the peace in their communities or doing what they know is right.

Finding Dad


Alma J. Yates - 2008
    He hopes they are dark enough to hide him from the unforgiving neighbors in the small town of his youth. When he drove away years ago, no one understood how he could leave behind his wife, Allyson, and their small son, Alma. After years on a road leading nowhere, Porter has finally started to get his life on track. Hes active in the Church and his business is successful. However, his relationship with his son has deteriorated to annual birthday cards and even less frequent visits. Then came the phone call. Allyson is dead. Now Porter is back in Utah to reclaim his son. However, Alma will leave the only life hes known under one not-so-simple conditionhis broken-down truck must come too. Even if Porter has to push it the entire five hundred miles to Eager, Arizona. Join acclaimed storyteller Alma Yates on a heartwarming journey of faith, redemption, and forgiveness as this father and son come to learn that their relationship, like the old truck, is worth fixing.

Mismatched in Love: Almost Cinderella (Almost a Fairytale #1)


Jolene Betty Perry - 2015
    But with a scholarship to BYU and a membership to a church that suits her better than she imagined, Avery’s life is definitely turning around. With tattooed arms and worn out boots, she doesn’t exactly blend into the conservative school, but after a day or two in her new political science classes, Avery knows she chose well. Aaron Price has gotten almost everything he’s ever asked for. But when the girl everyone assumes he’ll marry, ends up not being the one, Aaron swears off dating--at least until graduation. It’s okay. He’s found a new friend in Avery, and she doesn’t mind helping his pathetic scheme to use her to keep the girls away. Problem is, the more time Aaron spents with Avery, the more he realizes she might be the one. And falling in love with your best friend isn’t as easy as one might think...

Out of Darkness


Keith Terry - 1991
    in communications, reluctantly joins the other seven scholars at the insistence of his father-in-law, a prominent televangelist. Anney, Stephen's wife, who bears an old grudge against the Mormons, fears that he has been thrust into a study that may influence his protestant beliefs. As Stephen absorbs the truths of the Book of Mormon, a wedge is driven between them that could ultimately destroy their marriage.This extraordinary novel rivets the reader's interest on several different levels--intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Will Peter Polk, the project coordinator, be able to carry off this study? Will his scholarly conclave reach any substantial conclusions about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon? And will Stephen risk losing his wife and family if he embraces a new faith?

Prologue: The Brothers


Chris Stewart - 2003
    Brother fought brother. Families were torn apart. Some fought to protect their homes, their freedom and peace. Others fought to destroy everything they had once held so dear. And as the battle between good and evil came into each home, all God's children had to chose which side they were on, which principles would they fight for, and what price would they pay.In this contest before the Great War, each of us learned the first lessons of life. The great ones may fall. The wicked can change. The weak and the foolish can be made the strongest of all. And when the contest was over, we also had learned the greatest secret of all: the children of God can defeat their adversary, for they have fought him before.

One Last Chance


Jerry Borrowman - 2009
    Orphaned during the Depression, he steals food to survive. When mischief lands him in juvenile court, he's offered a home by fellow ward member David Boone, but then suffers under Boone's unkind and unyielding treatment. And after Artie helps the victim of a robbery gone bad, he's abandoned by Boone and sentenced to juvenile hall. Then his luck and his life suddenly change. Mary Wilkerson, the feisty widow who was robbed, sees potential in Artie and takes him into her custody. Ray McCandless, the wise yet firm chauffeur, teaches Artie about cars, life, and the connections between the two. Under their care, Artie develops the desire and the ability to leave his past behind and grasp the hope in his future, which shines like Mary's luxurious Dusenberg. But when cornered by old enemies, will he defend his honor with his life? Jerry Borrowman masterfully combines emotion, morality, suspense, and humor in this tender coming-of-age story. Readers will struggle and rejoice with Artie as he discovers the value of integrity, the sweetness of family ties, and the reality of the American dream. And they will never forget the triumph that unfolds when a good boy with bad problems is given one last chance.

The Skeleton in My Closet Wears a Wedding Dress


Sally Johnson - 2014
    With the whole world falling apart, what’s a nineteen-year-old divorcée to do? The answer for Sophia is simple: she picks up the pieces of her shattered heart and returns to BYU. Hoping for a clean slate, she embarks on her freshman year—again. But this time, Sophia has a skeleton in her closet, and she’ll go to any length to protect her secret. As she reluctantly navigates a world populated by newly returned missionaries, sweet Suzie Homemakers, and serious students, she finds herself turning more and more to her home teacher Luke. As their friendship blossoms, will Sophia allow herself to trust again in the hope of a true happy ending?

Borrowed Light


Carla Kelly - 2011
    Determined to stick the job out, Julia faces her biggest challenge yet letting go of borrowed light to find her own testimony. Set in the early 1900s, this is one romantic adventure you'll never forget!

Perfect Shot


Sonia O'Brien - 2006
    But now she has proof that her mother has been hiding the truth about her father, Jonathan-a man Reegan thought was long dead.In a dangerous turn of events, Reegan soon learns far more truth than she is ready for, and now she may be forced to pay the consequences for what an innocent eyewitness saw more than fourteen fateful years ago.

Saints & Spies


Jordan McCollum - 2015
    But Father Tim is more than he seems: he's an undercover FBI agent there to root out the mob. Falling in love might put both their names on the mobsters' hit list. When she finds her priest murdered, Molly Malone, secretary of their Catholic parish, vows to never let it happen again. She’ll use the full force of her Irish will, and her previous stint on the Irish police force, to protect the new priest from the congregation’s rumors of criminal activity. Falling in love wasn’t part of her plan. However, young, handsome and—dare she even think it?—flirtatious, Father Tim O’Rourke is nothing she expected. But Father Tim is also nothing like he seems to Molly: he’s Special Agent Zach Saint, an LDS FBI agent undercover to root out the mob that’s hiding in the parish. And Molly isn’t helping: every time Zach gets close to the mob, Molly manages to get in the way. Falling for her is the last thing he needs. Now Zach must find the murderer and catch the mobsters before his feelings for Molly blow his cover and add another murder or two to the mobsters’ docket. A new clean romantic suspense series from award-winning author Jordan McCollum!

Two Roads


Chris Crowe - 1994
    It was the night everything changed. It was the night Leisel died.Now, two years later, as Jared reflects on his life, he can't help but wonder at the chain reaction of choices that led him to this: a black nametag and a calling to serve as a missionary of God.It had been Leisel who had first sparked Jared's interest in the gospel. She and Rob had befriended Jared early on in his senior year of high school. But even as all of Rob's choices seem to be leading him away from the Church, all of Jared's choices were drawing him closer to it--and to Leisel. And on the night of the horrible crash, Jared finally understands how life-changing the consequences of a choice can be.

Abinadi


H.B. Moore - 2008
    As the daughter of one of King Noah's priests, she enjoys a luxurious life and the admiration of powerful men. But her heart belongs to a commoner, a man with no earthly wealth but rich heavenly gifts. When King Noah demands that Raquel join his harem, she flees the only life she has known and marries her secret love. His name is Abinadi. The couple finds abundant joy in their community of believers and in their firstborn son. But when the Lord calls Abinadi as His prophet, their faith is tested to the outermost limits. Abinadi's commitment to the Lord requires them both to give their all even unto death. Yet if Alma, the newest priest in King Noah's court, chooses to overcome his troubled past and cleave unto the truth, their sacrifice may yield rich fruit. With vivid detail and poignant emotion, this historical novel pulls readers into a fiery tale of love, courage, and faith that is difficult to put down and impossible to forget.

The Reluctant Blogger


Ryan Rapier - 2013
    Schenk, I don’t know if what I’ve written amounts to a breakthrough or not, but I hope you know how difficult this was for me. I also hope this proves how serious I am.Todd knows he is in a bad place. That’s why he went to a therapist in the first place, and that alone took a lot of doing. So when Dr. Schenk threatens to stop their sessions unless Todd puts in more effort, he grasps at the last available straw: a personal blog that will force Todd to confront his demons.Ever since he lost his wife, Todd has not been the same. He’s been forced to Single Adult activities at church, and everyone seems to expect him to just forget Marci and get married again—especially when he meets Emily, who makes him smile and starts to bring him out of his depression. But dating again is hard when Todd has three kids of his own, not to mention an overbearing father and friends with their own problems.This beautifully woven and emotional tale is both heartbreaking and humorous. Championing friendship, love, and family, Ryan Rapier deals adeptly with the everyday struggles we face as well as the strongest ties that keep us together. You’re sure to fall in love with this magnificent tale of redemption, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

The Operative


Willard Boyd Gardner - 2007
    Desperate to escape his anguish, he takes a job halfway across the world and leaves everything behind: his home, his career, and his beautiful, bewildered wifeCIA agent Rhiana Daniels.When an undercover operative is kidnapped by a fanatical Arab faction in Yemen, Kams knowledge of the language and culture prove to be invaluable, and he is recruited to help rescue the agent. However, the mission becomes even more complicated when he learns that one of theteam members is his estranged wife.Traveling with a research group sponsored by Brigham Young University, Kam and Rhiana attempt to navigate the obstacles that distance and time have placed between them, even as they confront dangerous militants determined to prevent the agents rescue by any means necessary.From the lethal deserts of the Middle East to the battlefield of a troubled soul, best-selling author Willard Boyd Gardner delivers an unforgettable story of action and conspiracy, of heartbreak and betrayal, and of faith and forgiveness.