Book picks similar to
Ilana's Wish by Annette Lyon


lds-fiction
fiction
christian-fiction
contemporary

The After Wife


Gigi Levangie Grazer - 2012
      L.A. is no place for widows. This is what forty-four-year-old Hannah Bernal quickly discovers after the tragic death of her handsome and loving husband, John. Misery and red-rimmed eyes are little tolerated in the land of the beautiful. But life stumbles on: Hannah’s sweet three-year-old daughter, Ellie, needs to be dropped off at her overpriced preschool, while Hannah herself must get back to work in order to pay the bills on “Casa Sugar,” the charming Spanish-styled bungalow they call home.   Fortunately, Hannah has her “Grief Team” for emotional support: earth mother and fanatical animal lover Chloe, who finds a potential blog post in every moment; aspiring actress Aimee, who has her cosmetic surgeon on speed dial; and Jay, Hannah’s TV producing partner, who has a penchant for Mr. Wrong. But after a series of mishaps and bizarre occurrences, one of which finds Hannah in a posh Santa Monica jail cell, her friends start to fear for her sanity. To make matters worse, John left their financial affairs in a disastrous state. And when Hannah is dramatically fired from her latest producing gig, she finds herself in danger of losing her house, her daughter, and her mind.   One night, standing in her backyard under a majestic avocado tree, in the throes of grief, Hannah breaks down and asks, “Why?” The answer that comes back—Why not?—begins an astounding journey of discovery and transformation that leads Hannah to her own truly extraordinary life after death.

Edenbrooke


Julianne Donaldson - 2012
    So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.

Another Chance


Candie Checketts - 2003
    A love story that's celebration of the gift of free agency

The Wedding Letters


Jason F. Wright - 2011
    With no more secrets . . . When Noah Cooper bumps into Rachel, it's love at first sight—at least for Noah. Rachel isn't so sure. But Noah's charm pays off, and he introduces his bride-to-be to a special Cooper family tradition—the wedding letters. Family and friends of the happy couple are invited to send letters of advice on love, life, and happiness.However, when a dark secret from Rachel's past surfaces, will Noah and his parents, Malcolm and Rain, be able to help save the wedding from disaster? And what about the scrapbook of wedding letters that have already been gathered? Could a single letter really provide the answer that will bring Rachel back?Set against the backdrop of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, The Wedding Letters will remind you that sometimes, no matter the secrets of years' past, two hearts can still be one. And by the final page, you might just want to create your own book of wedding letters for someone you love.

The Speed of Light


Elissa Grossell Dickey - 2021
    Diagnosed with MS, she awaits the results of another anxiety-inducing MRI. She’s just walked away from Connor, “a fixer” but possibly the love of her life. And nearing the holidays, the sights and sounds of winter in South Dakota only prick memories of better years gone by. Then, on a December morning at the university where she works, jarring gunshots pierce the halls. In a temporary safe place and terrified, Simone listens and pretends this will all be over soon.As she waits for silence, her mind racing, Simone’s past year comes into focus. Falling in love and missing it. Finding strength in family and enduring friendships. Planning for the future, fearing it, and hoping against hope in dark places. Her life has been changing at the speed of light, and each crossroad brought Simone here, to this day, to endure the things she can’t control and to confront those that she can.

The Ladies' Room


Carolyn Brown - 2011
    But that doesn't mean that what Trudy overhears there during her great-aunt Gertrude's funeral won't change the rest of her life.Trudy has a daughter in the middle of a major rebellion; a two-timing husband who has been cheating for their entire married life; and a mother with Alzheimer's residing in the local nursing home. She doesn't really need a crumbling old house about to fall into nothing but a pile of memories and broken knickknacks. Billy Lee Tucker, resident oddball in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, lived next door to Gert, and in her will she leaves him the funds to help Trudy remodel the old house. That's fine with Billy Lee, because he's been in love with Trudy since before they started school. And just spending time with her is something he'd never ever allowed himself to dream about.A beautiful home rises up from the old house on Broadway, and right along with it rises up a relationship. But is Trudy too scarred from what she heard in the ladies' room to see a lovely future with Billy Lee?

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...

A Portrait of Emily Price


Katherine Reay - 2016
    But when Emily follows Ben home to Italy, she learns that his family is another matter . . .Emily Price—fix-it girl extraordinaire and would-be artist—dreams of having a gallery show of her own. There is no time for distractions, especially not the ultimate distraction of falling in love.But Chef Benito Vassallo’s relentless pursuit proves hard to resist. Visiting from Italy, Ben works to breathe new life into his aunt and uncle’s faded restaurant, Piccollo. Soon after their first meeting, he works to win Emily as well—inviting her into his world and into his heart.Emily astonishes everyone when she accepts Ben’s proposal and follows him home. But instead of allowing the land, culture, and people of Monterello to transform her, Emily interferes with everyone and everything around her, alienating Ben’s tightly knit family. Only Ben’s father, Lucio, gives Emily the understanding she needs to lay down her guard. Soon, Emily’s life and art begin to blossom, and Italy’s beauty and rhythm take hold of her spirit.Yet when she unearths long-buried family secrets, Emily wonders if she really fits into Ben’s world. Will the joys of Italy become just a memory, or will Emily share in the freedom and grace that her life with Ben has shown her are possible?

The Lost Hours


Karen White - 2009
    For twelve years, it remained untouched.Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong.

Heart of Gold


Jeanette Miller - 2015
    A year after the tragic death of her husband, the young widow discovers a horrifying secret. Heartbroken and humiliated, she resolved that no one could ever know. Now, back in her hometown with her three-year-old daughter, she’s ready for a fresh start. But Ashlyn is unprepared to find that an embarrassing memory, buried deep in her past, is about to resurface... Ryan Anderson was the last person Ashlyn expected to see. After the unexpected kiss they’d shared years earlier, she assumed she’d never see him again. Though she tries to avoid him at all costs, Ashlyn finds herself running into her former flame far more often than she’d like. Between her uncomfortable history with Ryan and the series of well-meaning suitors pursuing her, Ashlyn finds herself disenchanted with dating altogether. Yet as she and Ryan slowly become reacquainted, she feels her resolve to avoid a relationship slipping. But when moving forward with Ryan means revealing the secret she’s worked so hard to keep, will Ashlyn have the courage to leave behind her late husband’s legacy of deceit and learn to love again?

A Sinner in Paradise


Deborah Hining - 2013
    Jilted by her fiance, Geneva watches her seemingly idyllic life suddenly fall apart. Bereft and desolate, she packs up her nine cats and leaves her home in Washington, DC to return to her native hills of West Virginia where she plans rest and heal from her heartbreak. When Geneva's ambition, and machinations run up against rugged mountain ways, she finds herself flung from one perilous adventure, romance, crazy circumstance, and heartbreak to another. After facing illness, disaster in the wilderness and an encounter with an old mountain man who teaches her that her soul needs more than men, courtship, and adventure, Geneva finally finds what she's been missing. Ultimately, Geneva realizes she must face herself before she is free to truly love and be loved.

Undercover Honeymoon


Kari Iroz - 2019
    After their adventurous beginning, the happy couple finds the relative calm leading up to their big day a huge relief. Unfortunately, it seems the peace and quiet were too good to last. As they embark on their honeymoon, a weeklong cruise, Jack can’t shake the feeling that something is off with her new husband. When she stumbles upon a secret plot—one in which her husband is a key player—she realizes this getaway will be anything but smooth sailing. When she delves into the shady happenings aboard the ship, Jack realizes Damon’s involvement is just the tip of the iceberg—she has become an unwitting player in a deadly conspiracy, and in such close quarters, there is no escape. Now, Jack has no choice but to work with her new husband to unravel the truth before their happily ever after—and their lives—are ended all too soon.

The Fifth Avenue Story Society


Rachel Hauck - 2020
    No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bare their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

The Healing Place


Sharon Downing Jarvis - 1994
    She leaves behind the woman her ex-husband wanted her to be and hopes to find herself in a new, foreign place, a place to heal. Determined to isolate herself from relationships and practically the rest of the world, Liz settles in a small farming community south of Salt Lake City. She is gradually drawn into the lives of her neighbors, most of whom are LDS. She discovers wounds heal better in warmth and acceptance of friends.

Hearts in Hiding


Betsy Brannon Green - 2001
    Married just over a year, with a baby on the way, Kate learns that her husband, and FBI agent, is dead. To top it off, the same people who murdered her husband have a contract on her head.With the help of the FBI, Kate flees with little more that the clothes on her back. And in no time at all, they provide her with new clothes, a new home, a new name, and... a new husband.But this is only the beginning of Kate's adventure. Before it's through, there will be a kidnapping, true love, and enough suspense to keep any reader turning pages long after bedtime. Hearts in Hiding is an action-packed, romantic first novel by gifted author Betsy Brannon Green.