Book picks similar to
His Longing Heart by Jan Thompson


romance
christian-fiction
christian-romance
contemporary

My Soul Loves


Barbara Gee - 2017
    She isn’t escaping a bad job or an ex-boyfriend, and she’s not in the witness protection program. She’s not even leaving the city in hopes of a grand adventure. Nope, her motive is as simple as inheriting a house in a place she loves and deciding to see whether life in a small town suits her. She isn’t looking for romance, either.....and then she meets the guy next door. Before long, Ava is thinking Jude Keller could be the one. She looks at him and sees forever. Until she doesn’t. When Ava discovers something that could change everything, she panics and almost loses the best man she’s ever known. And just when things are looking up again, Ava finds she had something to run from after all. Trouble has found her in Hidden Creek, in a form she never expected. But God and Grandma brought her to Jude, and trouble’s no match for that combination. Good thing, because Ava has found the one her soul loves, and she never wants to let him go.

Secrets of the Heart


Lee Tobin McClain - 2017
    But when his interfering siblings hire Molly Abbott, a successful food entrepreneur and his high-school sweetheart, he’s livid. The way their relationship ended wasn’t pretty. And although Molly never married, she’s the single mom of an eleven-year-old daughter conceived right about the time of the breakup. Molly’s ideas about farm-to-table, health-conscious Mexican food conflict with Javier’s strong sense of tradition, even as her joyous faith convicts him about his own lapse from the church of his youth. Can a reunion romance bring happiness to two lonely souls who never forgot each other… or will their relationship be derailed by the secrets they both carry in their hearts? Secrets of the Heart is Book Four of the Arcadia Valley Romance series. These inspirational Christian romances all take place in the same Idaho town, with characters you'll come to love and a farm-fresh, sustainable foods focus. Look for a new book each month, including more books about the Quintana Family and El Corazon.

Remember Me


Marion Ueckermann - 2019
     What she most needed was right there in front of her all along. At the age of thirteen, Clarise Aylward and her two best friends each pen a wish list of things they want to achieve. Deciding to bury a tin containing their life goals, the friends vow to unearth the metal box once they’ve all turned forty. But as the decades pass and each girl chases her dreams, the lists are forgotten. Heath Brock has been in love with Clarise for over twenty-seven years and counting. As a young man, he’d plucked up the courage to ask her out on a Valentine’s date, but the couple succumbed to pent-up passions, sending Clarise dashing for the other side of the country. Years after Clarise’s sudden departure, Heath serves as youth pastor. He’d held out hope of Clarise’s return, but buries his feelings for his childhood sweetheart when he learns she’s married. Almost penniless, divorced, and with nowhere to go, Clarise returns home to Chapel Cove, her future uncertain. She’s approaching forty with her dreams in tatters. When old feelings resurface, Clarise wonders whether she’s ever really fallen out of love with Heath. What’s the man of God to do when his old flame returns, seemingly to stay? With Clarise back in town, Heath is determined not to repeat past mistakes, but if he has anything to say about it, never again will he lose the only woman he’s ever loved.

Saving Grace


Lesley Ann McDaniel - 2013
    When an obsessive fan forces Tracy to change her name to Grace Addison and go into hiding, the last thing she wants is to get to know the locals. Now, not one but two men have worked their way into her daily routine, much to the chagrin of jealous local girl Sophia, who insists on prying into Grace’s past and stirring up deadly trouble. Will Grace find love in Madison Falls…or will her stalker find her? Madison Falls. Home of faith, love, peach pie…and a dollop of danger.

One More Chance


Bonnie R. Paulson - 2020
    Fall for the competition...again...and lose. In Mistletoe, anything is possible. Everyone wants the small-town whirlwind fantasy, but no one knows where to find that kind of romance.But there’s a rumor you can find it in Mistletoe and only during the Christmas season.Enter the Mistletoe Matchmakers.Checking on her father recovering in the hospital, Taylor Dean ducks out of the shared room to fill the flowers with water – okay, and to text her sister that their dad is sharing a room with his sworn enemy, the matriarch of the Wilson family!Taylor can’t believe she’s made a successful career as a world-renowned matchmaker yet can’t find love herself. Maybe she compares everything to the one who got away… or maybe… everyone really does only get that one shot at happily-ever-after.Just her luck, the two original matchmakers, while mortal enemies, also took their jobs seriously. After Taylor begs her father and the Wilson matriarch to help her, she can’t fight the surge of hope when they agree.Until he walks in.When Roman Wilson returns to Mistletoe, Montana after his mother’s heart attack scare, he makes wild claims and even crazier challenges when he runs into Taylor in the hospital room.The last thing he needs is a Dean telling him what to do and that specific Dean to boot. No matter what he says though, he just digs himself a deeper hole.Before Roman knows it, he and Taylor are pitted against each other in the yearly matchmaking contest to help their recovering counterparts. The second chance Roman and Taylor have always wanted is given to someone else. Is true love in their matches or will they find their way back to each other? ***Books by Bonnie R. Paulson*** Clearwater County CollectionThe MONTANA TRAILS SERIESBroken Trails (book 1) Forbidden Trails (book 2)Unbridled Trails (book 3)Hidden Trails (book 4)Forgotten Trails (book 5)Endless Trails (book 6)Forsaken Trails (book 7)Lonesome Trails (book 8)Lost Trails (book 9)Untamed Trails (book 10)LONELY LACE SERIESSpurs and Lace (book 1)Secrets and Lace (book 2)Sorrows and Lace (book 3)Boxset (all 3 books)REDEMPTION SERIESRomancing Redemption (book 1)Riding for Redemption (book 2)Resisting Redemption (book 3)Regretting Redemption (book 4)Rewarding Redemption (book 5)

Secrets of Sunbeams


Valerie Comer - 2016
    especially if your neighbor is a goat.Eden Andrusek knows she should have fixed her fence last week. It's too bad her runaway goat makes a less-than-ideal first impression on her new neighbor, who turns out to be cute, brilliant… and a little uptight.
Solar architect Jacob Riehl is furious when he returns outside to find a goat eating his presentation. As someone who likes everything in its place, he has little sympathy for a farm animal in the city or its tattooed owner, but there's something about the lovely Eden that captures his attention.
What will it take to win over a man whose only pet was a goldfish? And how long can Jacob and Eden go without addressing the goat in the room?

Love at Sunset Lake


Sally Bayless - 2018
    An artist who's withdrawn from the world. A property battle that just might heal them both.When struggling caterer Tess Palmer inherits her great-aunt's home at Sunset Lake, Missouri, she thinks she's found the way to save her business. Selling the property can provide just the infusion of capital she needs to pay off her debts and move to a larger commercial kitchen.Wildlife painter Jack Hamlin, who lives across Sunset Lake, wants the area kept exactly as it is--a place where waterfowl can thrive and where he can find peace and solitude to ease his troubled heart. Although he's drawn to Tess's honesty and beauty, he's appalled to learn she would welcome a deal with a developer, and he vows to stop her.As Tess discovers the reasons why Jack is so passionate about protecting the lake, she finds him more and more attractive. She takes a tentative step past her own emotional pain to risk her heart again. But there seems to be no solution to the impasse over the property. As a sale becomes imminent, can Jack and Tess trust God--and each other--and finally find a love that will last?

When I Come Home Again


Jennifer Rodewald - 2020
    But in a matter of a year’s time, everything she’d counted on fell apart, leaving her devastated. Seven years later, she’s stable again. She has a supportive boyfriend, fulfilling career, and close friends. She keeps her past heartache where it belongs—in her rearview mirror. Until the man who broke her heart finds his way back to Big Prairie.Craig Erikson had it all—popularity, success, and the love of his high school coach’s daughter. But after a year of mistakes that ended in a tragic accident, he’d left Big Prairie—the place he’d thought to always call home—hoping that without his antagonizing presence, Brenna would be able to heal. Now his mother desperately needs him, as do two young boys in her care. Craig has little choice but to return for good.Unsure that she can forgive him, Brenna does her best to avoid him. Irritated that she ignores him as if they’d never meant anything to each other, Craig becomes determined not to allow it. Life in a small town forces their interaction, making them confront their unresolved issues and igniting emotions that have smoldered for seven years. As Craig and Brenna are pushed together, can they endure the hard places still littering their lives? If so, is it possible to find their way back to love and home again?

Winning the Cowboy Billionaire : A Chappell Brothers Novel


Emmy Eugene - 2020
    Oh, and did Olivia Hudson mention his money?He's got a ton of that too.As the oldest son in the Chappell family, it's up to Spur to lead his brothers into the next generation of raising and selling championship racehorses. He loves it with his whole heart and soul, but a horse can't keep him warm at night.So when Olli Hudson, one of his neighbors, asks him to be her arm candy for one night to woo an investor, the worst he thinks can happen is his eyes might get permanently stuck up in his head for how often he rolls them.He wasn't expecting to be swept off his feet by the five-and-half-foot powerhouse of a woman with a nose that can sniff out the purest scents...and all of his hidden feelings for her.Will Olli be able to win over the cowboy billionaire? Or will she lose everything--including her heart?Start this brand-new series by Emmy Eugene and meet the Chappell family of cowboys in the beautiful Kentucky Bluegrass region!

Season of Miracles


Alexa Verde - 2016
    After escaping a dead-end relationship with a celebrity, she avoids her patient's grandson, a pro football player. When Arturo gradually thaws her frozen heart, can her Christmas wish for family and affection come true? Football is Arturo De La Vega's life, but he returns to his hometown to help his ailing grandfather. Lana challenges Arturo to reach for stars of faith and love. Is Arturo's quest for glory worth crushing Lana's dreams and sacrificing his heart's true desire?

Christmas on Breakers Point


Chautona Havig - 2019
     Mallory Barrows has one last Christmas with her uncle. She’s determined to make it the best one he’s ever had. She knows when she asks what he wants as his final gift, it won’t be a tie or a new mug. He won’t need those where he’s going, and he’s quite happy about that. Mallory just didn’t think he wanted a miracle wrapped in paper and tied with a shiny red bow! Christmas on Breakers Point is the introductory book to the Independence Islands Series.

For Love...and Donuts (Sweetwater Island Ferry #1)


Sophie Mays - 2016
    If you like a good fixer-upper, fresh donuts and solid storytelling, jump on the ferry and make your way over to Sweetwater Island! After several stressful years, Virginia’s self-esteem is shot. So when she inherits her beloved Aunt’s house in the quaint, neighboring island town of Sweetwater, her longtime boyfriend Jason convinces her to sell it so that they can pocket the money. The only catch is, there are substantial fixes that need to be made before she can sell it. Fueled by HGTV shows, they decide that the house can be fixed up and flipped. On a recommendation, she hires Tristan, a cute, funny, church-going contractor, with a good heart and a dark secret. As Virginia puts more and more time into fixing up the old house, she rekindles her love of art and interior design, she reflects on all the wonderful times she had in the house growing up, and she spends time getting to re-know herself, and her new friend Tristan. Through their combined strengths, they renovate the old home into something gorgeous, and along the way they find that sometimes the most unsuspectingly beautiful things can be uncovered with a little sweat, proper attention, and some TLC. AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is a 42,000-word stand-alone story with an HEA ending! Story is a clean romance with no offensive language. I love this story so much, and I truly hope you enjoy it!

Reunited at Christmas


Debra Ullrick - 2013
    Not only does she train search and rescue dogs, but she’s a bestselling suspense author who has waterfront property in the beautiful mountain town of Grand Lake, Colorado. All is well until she receives a call to bring her dog Max and her snowmobile to help rescue a man who is lost in a blizzard up on Gravel Mountain. That man is the one person she never wants to see again—Ryker Anderson—the man who broke her heart the day he called three months before their wedding to say goodbye with no explanation as to why.After being gone for eighteen months, Ryker Anderson is back in Grand Lake where he hopes to win back the woman he loves. He only hopes Shelby understands why he left. Will he be able to convince Shelby that she can trust him with her heart again even though he broke it before?

Callie


Sharon Srock - 2012
    Haunted by memories of a tiny coffin, Callie can’t understand how God could expect her to put her heart on the line a second time. But the evasive little girl attending her Sunday School class is so obviously in trouble that Callie finds her resolve cracking. Iris and Samantha Evans are living on borrowed time. Deserted, orphaned, betrayed, and deceived, they need rescuing in the worst way. Steve Evans had his life changed by God. A reformed drug addict, he’s searching for the family he abandoned ten years ago and praying for a miracle. The road to healing is rocky. But as Callie confronts her worst fears by bringing father and daughters together in a risky bid for reconciliation, she realizes that the Evans family aren’t the only ones God wants to rescue from a tortured past.

Flight 259


Staci Stallings - 2017
    After losing everything she considered her world three years ago, her only hope has been holding on and trying to survive. When she finally decides she must find a way to go on with life, she boards a plane destined to visit a friend across the country. But she hadn’t counted on meeting a handsome stranger and his young son on the flight, nor could she have prepared herself for what life would throw at her next. Can Jenna find love again after tragedy strikes or is she destined to go from one tragedy to another forever? Scott Browning was devastated when his marriage broke up. With his young son, Lane, he is learning to pick up the pieces and go on with life. On his way home from a visit to his parents, Scott meets a young woman who will change everything, just before his own life is thrown into question. Most couples think about love at first sight. Could this one be love at first death? *~* “Staci Stallings writes Christian romance at its finest!” A compelling story that will leave you asking, “Why am I here?” and “What is the point of suffering and trials?” Life, death, danger, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and most of all hope, “Flight 259” and its sequel “A Time for Love” give you a glimpse into not just this life but what is to come. Maybe, the story says, the trials of life are designed to teach us to hope in God and to hold on for second chances we never knew might come our way. EXCERPT The emergency lights in the cabin flickered even though most of the violent shuttering of the wounded aircraft had subsided. Worried voices and screams of pain intermittently pierced the ominous semi-darkness. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and Jenna grabbed for hers and then helped Lane with his. When she looked over to Scott, his face was a ghastly white, and with one look, she knew it was more than fear. “Are you okay?” she yelled through her mask as she saw him struggling to get his own on. “Here!” She reached over and helped him put the mask on. Between them, Lane began screaming when he saw Scott with the mask on his face. “No, shhh, honey. Shhh.” Jenna pulled him to her, soothing and rubbing Lane’s arm. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” However, the other cries in the plane and the convulsions of the plane itself were wreaking havoc on everyone’s nerves, and Lane was no different. “Listen,” she said willing her voice to be calm, and then without her knowing how or why, the words and melody just came. “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound.” It was the song her father had taught her many years before, and somehow the words flowed through her now with no effort at all. Her voice sounded much stronger and far calmer than she felt, but she knew that somehow she had to get Lane to calm down. She had no other choice. The chaos around them mounted as the plane nose-dived forward, righted itself, and then pitched forward again. Each pitch was like being thrown headlong off a cliff. Without questioning it, Jenna reached across Lane and held him against the seat. As the plane dipped again, she had the vague thought that this was her worst nightmare come true, but she pushed even that observation away. She had to remain focused if she wanted to make it out of this alive…