Book picks similar to
The Memory by Barbara Kaylor


christian
christian-fiction
contemporary-romance
romance

Your Perfect Year


Charlotte Lucas - 2016
    He’s going to enjoy the day… For hyper-particular publishing heir Jonathan Grief, the day starts like any other—with a strict morning fitness regimen that’ll keep his divorced, easily irritated, cynical, forty-two-year-old self in absolutely flawless physical condition. But all it takes to put a crimp in his routine is one small annoyance. Someone has left a leather-bound day planner with the handwritten title Your Perfect Year in his spot on his mountain bike at his fitness course!Determined to discover its owner, Jonathan opens the calendar to find that someone known only as “H.” has filled it in with suggestions, tasks, and affirmative actions for each day. The more he devotes himself to locating the elusive H., the deeper Jonathan is drawn into someone else’s rich and generous narrative—and into an attitude adjustment he desperately needs.He may have ended up with a perfect year by accident, but it seems fate has set Jonathan on a path toward healing, feeling, and maybe even loving again…if only he can meet the stranger who’s changing his life one day at a time.

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.

Six Miles From Nashville (The Nashville Series)


Elaine Littau - 2013
    Since leaving for a large Bible College in Missouri, her life has been twisted around. Not that things weren't already a challenge for her with her brother in Vietnam and her heart bleeding from a recent break up. Faced with unbearable loneliness and loss, she arrives at a diner six miles from Nashville. There, she has a chance to pick up the pieces and build a new life for herself as an independant young woman with a great future ahead of her

The Wedding Gift


Lucy Kevin - 2012
    She plans to dazzle the bride and groom so the Chalet’s owner will keep her around, but fate has other plans for her when the bride’s brother shows up for the first food tasting.Andrew Kyle is not only the Cuisine Channel’s Edgy Eats host and chef, but his recent review of Julie’s restaurant was the final nail in its coffin. Once he meets Julie at the Rose Chalet, he’s certain she’s playing it safe. And he wants nothing more than to be the one to break her guarded passions loose.But despite the undeniable sparks between Julie and Andrew — and the fact that he seems to believe in her when no one else does — can she afford to be taking risks with her cooking, with her career… or with her heart?

The Pastor's Wife


Jennifer AlLee - 2009
    But when "the other woman" in her marriage turned out to be her husband's congregation, she ran. Six years later, she's back in the small community of Granger, Ohio, for the reading of a will that names both her and Nick as beneficiaries. Now, Maura must face the husband - and the congregation - she left behind.

Set Up For Love


Virna DePaul - 2011
    Three authors. Three kinds of romance. Sweet. Sassy. Sexy. Sweet: The Boyfriend Bylaws by Susan Hatler: Will a woman have to follow her best friend's narrow dating rules in order to find lasting love? Melanie Porter has been dumped-again. When others accuse her of "being in love with being in love," she agrees to let her best friend, Patti, step in and direct her dating life with The Boyfriend Bylaws. Sassy: Blind Date/Check Mate by Delilah Sloan: Should a woman who's unable to forget her first love give "happily ever after" one more try? Shelby Winters' one great love went sour. If she can't feel that way again, why bother? When her best friend sets Shelby up on a blind date with Logan, the one who broke her heart, he pursues her relentlessly, forcing her to make a choice: give her heart what it's always desired and risk total devastation or shut Logan out and lose her only shot at happiness. To Shelby, it's a lose-lose situation. Or is it? Sexy: Wild For Him by Virna DePaul: Can an uptight prosecutor and a laid-back defense attorney find love despite their opposing agendas? Bryn Donovon became a prosecutor for a reason and defense attorney Daniel Mays seems to take his job about as seriously as he does his love life. While straight-laced Bryn can't deny she's attracted to the southern charmer, she's determined to keep her distance. Instead, she ends up finding something she'd lost long ago a willingness to risk all for love. Bonus: My Last Blind Date by Susan Hatler: Should Rachel Price play it safe and spend Valentine's Day at home with her loyal pooch, Chester, or risk another dating disaster by letting her best friend set her up on a blind date?

What God Brings Together


Melissa Wardwell - 2014
    Just when she thinks she has found her path, a return to her hometown brings past hurts rushing back into her life. Can Emma learn to finally release the hardships of the past and rely on the goodness of God’s plans for her future? Eight years after a disfiguring accident, self-torment and life in the shadows keep David from all that he holds dear. When a chance encounter stirs him to hope again, he battles the voice inside that tells him he doesn’t deserve his second chance. Can he accept the gift of restoration God is offering him? Or will he allow self-doubt to rob him of his greatest love and the family he longs to embrace?

Blue Harmony (My Day Book 1)


Mary Kelly Reed - 2018
     MY DAY IS A SERIES - HOWEVER EACH BOOK CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE NOVEL Amy is tired of sabotaging all of her relationships because of Ethan. He broke her heart years ago, and she let him get away unscathed. It’s time for her to confront him and rewrite the past. Determined to set things right, she flies away with her friends for the blue skies of Santorini to carry out her plan; a plan that begins to collapse as soon as she crosses Ethan’s gaze. Surprise guests and an idyllic romantic setting will further complicate her designs. Is she right to insist, or will stirring up the past prove to be a dangerous game? EXCERPT “Good morning, Zoe, Allison ... Amy.” Why does a shiver go through me when he utters my name? It’s like he … “You look like you didn’t sleep well. I hope it wasn’t because of me.” “I don’t see why it would be because of you. Your kiss didn’t perturb me to the point of staying awake all night.” “I just wanted to make sure our walk didn’t get you too worked up to sleep, but I see the answer is quite different.” I try to picture him as a Greek statue, made of stone and unable to speak, and in my distraction I miss something Zoe asks me. “Excuse me?” “Ethan just offered to show us around the island. He knows it better than we do, and I think it’s a good idea. What do you say?” “I don’t think so,” I reply dryly.

Island Refuge


Kimberly Rose Johnson - 2015
    Did she make a mistake? Her engagement off, Zoe Griffin retreats to tiny Wildflower Island in the Puget Sound. Hiding out as a cook and maid at a shabby bed-and-breakfast seems crazy for a chef who’s used to running her own five-star kitchen. And just as she starts to feel at home, her klutzy mishaps make Zoe fear her handsome new boss will fire her. Dr. Nick Jackson is done with medicine, and owning a B&B is as far from doctoring as he can get. He needs help, but his only employee’s mistakes give him doubts. As Zoe lets her defenses down, Nick begins to see a competent and caring woman. One whose wounds are as deep as his own. But as they fall for each other, Nick and Zoe must learn the hardest lesson of all—to forgive. Only then can they heal the past and embrace the future . . . together. Author Bio Kimberly Rose Johnson, soon to be empty-nester, lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their yellow lab. Island Refuge is her sixth published book and the first in a series of three. Kimberly enjoys long walks, chocolate, and mochas, not necessarily in that order.

Three Girls and a Baby


Rachel Schurig - 2011
    Finished with college, she should have been planning her wedding. After all, Ginny and Josh were made for each other—everyone said so. Except the love of her life didn't agree. Now Ginny is back in her hometown, unwillingly single, and stuck in a dead-end job. When she discovers she's pregnant, Ginny is convinced her life is ending. Instead of planning a future with Josh, she's learning the truth about morning sickness, juggling bills, and seeing just how far designer jeans can stretch.Her life-plan never included dating again (not even with her too-hot new boss), or being a single mother at 23. Now, with the help of her best friends, Annie and Jen, Ginny must try to re-imagine—and rebuild—a life she never wanted.

The Queen of New Beginnings


Erica James - 2010
    After agreeing to help out a friend by shopping and cleaning for the unknown man staying at Cuckoo House, she soon becomes suspicious that her strange and obnoxiously rude client has something to hide. Clayton Miller's life is a mess. His career as one of the country's best comedy scriptwriters has stalled, and his long-term girlfriend has left him for his ex-best friend and ex-writing partner. Just when he thinks his life couldn't get any worse, he commits a spectacularly public fall from grace, and with the press hounding him, his agent banishes him to the middle of nowhere until the dust has settled. When Alice and Clayton discover the truth about each other they form an unlikely friendship—until Alice discovers Clayton has betrayed her in the worst possible way.

Reinventing Mona


Jennifer Coburn - 2005
    That's when the realization hit: I'm young, I'm rich (thanks to a hefty inheritance), and I'm boring. Not "needs a little zip" boring, either. More like "mustard stain on a Sears tweed couch" drab. French's in a squeeze bottle, that's me. But suddenly I have Grey Poupon aspirations! Things are gonna change-starting now... Building a better mantrap... First things first: Exercise. Carrot juice. Straight hair. Whiter teeth. Clothes that fit (I have breasts? Who knew?) But wait-there's more. Life's kicked me around a bit, and I've been nursing my wounds for too long. I'm finally ready to take a chance on love with the perfect guy. He's handsome. He's smart. He's reliable. He's my CPA. Problem is, I'm clueless about winning him over. It's time to call in an expert. It's time to call in The Dog. Down, boy. Mike "The Dog" Dougherty is a man's man. A guy's guy. Okay, he's a chauvinist pig, and his sty is "The Dog House," a testosterone-charged column in Maximum for Him magazine. On one hand, I abhor all he stands for. On the other hand, who better to coach me? So here I am. Learning the complex unspoken language of the American male (Talk, bad. Sex, good.); trying exciting new things (Stripping lessons are empowering. Really.); falling for Mike. Uh oh. But the Mike I'm getting to know is different from The Dog. And the Mona I'm becoming isn't quite who I expected, either. This whole makeover scheme is getting crazier by the minute. But "crazy" beats "boring"...right? Jennifer Coburn is an award-winning journalist who has written for magazines and newspapers in the United States, Canada and Australia. She lives in San Diego with her husband, William and their daughter, Katie. Jennifer desperately wishes she had Mona's unlimited cash, beachfront estate and singing voice. When she's not living vicariously through chick-lit characters, Jennifer runs a public relations business which serves non-profit organizations and small businesses in southern California. She is also the coordinator of the Del Cerro Soccer Moms League and coach of the real-life Kickin' Chicks, the best seven-year-old girls to ever tear up suburban soccer fields.

Feels like Home


Evelyn Adams - 2014
    But when her carefully constructed life crumbles around her, Autumn's forced to return to the small southern town that never let her forget she came from the wrong side of the tracks. Jude Southerland, the town doctor, is used to taking care of people and with a pedigree that has the Ladies Auxiliary reaching for their fans, he’s easily the town’s most eligible bachelor – a status he has no intention of changing. That is until he almost runs down the Maddox girl he never noticed in school and suddenly finds her lush curves, dark curls and blue eyes consuming his thoughts, day and night. Autumn would like nothing more than to live happily ever after with Jude. But with every local matron in the valley trying to marry him off to their own daughters, she knows they won’t let her forget that she's not good enough and never will be. With the chance to finally find happiness, can she overcome her family history and find the confidence she needs to believe in herself or will she let love pass her by?

Across the Creek


Jeremy Asher - 2012
    An unlikely childhood romance between a poor boy and a wealthy girl began the day Jesse decided to do the impossible and cross the creek. A love was born, one that would become their shelter, protecting them from the storms of their lives, until the day Jesse witnessed his mother’s murder, forcing him to leave his childhood home…and first love. Ten years later, life has finally gotten better for Jesse. He has a loving family, a charming pet shop to run, and one semester left before graduating with a degree in architecture. Everything is great, until the day fate intervenes and his long-lost love walks into his shop and back into his life.Sarah, engaged to a budding attorney, is struggling to keep everything together. Her father, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is running out of time. Sarah races to build their dream business while planning her wedding in time for her father to walk her down the aisle.Their brief encounter starts a series of events that neither Jesse nor Sarah expects. After a decade of running, Jesse is now forced to face the demons from his past, while Sarah has to choose between her handsome attorney and her first love. Just when they think love has given them a second chance, Jesse is faced with an impossible decision, one that will change their lives forever.Across the Creek is the first in a 2-book series. Beneath the Willow is the second.

Dodge the Bullet


Christy Hayes - 2011
    But Sarah doesn’t know a Colorado Senator has earmarked her ranch for purchase and he’ll do anything to get it. Unwilling to sell, she dismisses his continued offers and moves ahead by improving the land with the help of a sexy stranger. A.J. Dodge is a man with a past. He’s returned to his hometown ready to set down roots and make things right with his family and whatever anyone else thinks he doesn’t give a damn. Until his old friend Tommy Thornton asks a favor, a favor he can’t refuse, and Dodge becomes involved with the beautiful widow Sarah Woodward. She’s alone with her young sons on a dilapidated ranch she’s determined to get up and running with or without his help. Under pressure to deliver the Woodward ranch to a land developer with shady connections, the senator sets in motion a dangerous plot to convince Sarah to sell. Dodge will risk everything to protect Sarah and the boys including his heart.