Book picks similar to
The Ghost of Christmas Present: A Novel by Scott Abbott
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Missing Pieces
Jeni Grossman - 2009
Yet when terrorist attack her entourage, a perilous pollitican plot is revealed. Al Qaeda henchman Aboud is hunting the statue to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would grant the extremists ultimate power over Islam. The CIA has gone undercover in Zeugma to prevent this coup. The safety of the free now hinges on the cooperation of Americans and Turks. With the help of native guide Asena. Dulcey navigates the power struggles and cultural clashes that arise as the dig progresses. But as tensions mount outside and inside the excavation camp, she struggles to distinguish friends from enemies. In a pulse-pounding race to secure the goddess, Dulcey learns the value of honor, family, and heritage as she risk her life to preserve her most precious treasures.
Touching the Clouds
Bonnie Leon - 2010
She pilots a mail-delivery plane in the forbidding Alaskan wilderness, the lone woman in a male profession. But even that seems easy compared to finding true love. She likes a fellow pilot and would even consider marrying him--if it weren't for Paul, a mysterious man on her mail route with a gentle spirit and a past to hide. Can Kate break through the walls Paul has put up around his heart? And will her quest for adventure be her demise?
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
JoAnn Durgin - 2012
Then, he meets his best friend's sister, Julia Sinclair, and Jake believes he's found the woman of his dreams. But she's promised to another. When Julia makes an unexpected confession on Christmas Day, Jake shares his secret with her, and it looks as though happily-ever-after will make a holiday appearance. But what will she think when she discovers his vow?Somehow, everyone in the tiny town of Starlight suddenly learns Jake’s secret, and he's instantly transformed from town hero to laughingstock. Did Julia reveal his secret? Can Jake forget the humiliation and find his way under the mistletoe to share a forever kiss with Julia?
Tending Roses
Lisa Wingate - 2001
Her sensitive and able crafting of language, character, and situation pierces through the turmoil and stress of everyday life, illuminating its message with almost painful intensity: "Maybe you should start wanting less." Wingate's words resonate as readers are introduced to Kate Bowman, her architect husband Ben, and their infant son. Kate, on maternity leave from her high-profile Chicago job, has been given the unenviable task of convincing her increasingly frail and forgetful grandmother that she can no longer live alone on the Missouri farm that has been her home for almost half a century. Kate and Ben are struggling to deal with mounting debts and medical bills as they strive to build a lifestyle, rather than a life. Frustrated by dealing with her stubborn, if well-meaning, grandmother, Kate finds solace and clarity in Grandma Rose's handwritten journal. The simple stories of earlier, less complicated times renew Kate's understanding of the truly important things in life. Through the journal, Kate discovers the essence of the remarkable Grandma Rose and is forced to reevaluate her priorities and those of her family. Simply put, Wingate's aim is to exhort readers to "stop and smell the roses." The daily race to achieve and have more, more, more is clearly and all-too-accurately portrayed in these pages. I guarantee readers will stop to think of their own lives and where they are spending their energies. Let's hope Lisa Wingate has other relatives as inspiring as Grandma Rose for future novels.
Out of North Korea
Alana Terry - 2018
Ian McAllister has searched the world over, hunting for that all-elusive perfect photograph. He finds it on a tourist trip to North Korea when he stumbles upon a young street kid foraging for roots. Unaware that this single act will brand him a spy and cost his freedom, Ian takes the shot. Now he must pay the penalty. A true-to-life novel about an American imprisoned behind North Korea's closed borders. A gripping tale of courage, faith, and hope from award-winning Christian novelist Alana Terry.
Jane of Austin: A Novel of Sweet Tea and Sensibility
Hillary Manton Lodge - 2017
You want nothing but patience - or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”―Jane Austen, Sense and SensibilityJust a few years after their father’s business scandal shatters their lives, Jane and Celia Woodward find themselves forced out of their San Francisco tea shop. The last thing Jane wants is to leave their beloved shop on Valencia Street, but when Celia insists on a move to Austin, Texas, the sisters pack up their kid sister Margot and Jane’s tea plants, determined to start over yet again.But life in Austin isn’t all sweet tea and breakfast tacos. Their unusual living situation is challenging and unspoken words begin to fester between Jane and Celia. When Jane meets and falls for up-and-coming musician Sean Willis, the chasm grows deeper.While Sean seems to charm everyone in his path, one person is immune – retired Marine Captain Callum Beckett. Callum never meant to leave the military, but the twin losses of his father and his left leg have returned him to the place he least expected—Texas. In this modern spin on the Austen classic, Sense and Sensibility, the Woodward sisters must contend with new ingredients in unfamiliar kitchens, a dash of heartbreak, and the fragile hope that maybe home isn't so far away.
The Seafaring Women of the Vera B
Susan Page Davis - 2016
Only one old man, Gypsy Deak, sticks by her, but Gypsy alone can’t raise a crew from the depleted population. In desperation, Alice turns to the only source of plentiful workers: the women of Melbourne. In a bold move, she and Gypsy empty a brothel, promising the escaped women a new life. Her all-woman (save one) crew put their backs and hearts into the voyage, but Alice finds training her sailors much harder than she expected. Her faith is tested to the limit. With a cargo to sell, angry brothel and tavern owners in pursuit, pirates to evade, and a mysterious stowaway, will the seafaring women of the Vera B. survive to tell the tale of this daring adventure?
A Plain and Simple Christmas
Amy Clipston - 2010
Now, eight months pregnant when her first child, she longs to return home for Christmas to reconcile with her family, especially her stern father, who is the religious leader for her former Amish church district.So Anne Mae writes a letter to Kathryn Beiler, her brother's wife, to enlist her help. Kathryn asks her husband, David, if she should arrange Anna Mae's visit. David cautions her that a visit would cause too much stress in the family and instead suggests they visit Anna Mae and her husband in the spring. However, Kathryn arranges the visit anyway, believing in her heart that it's God's will for the family to heal.When Anna Mae arrives in Lancaster for Christmas, the welcome she receives is nothing like what she had hoped for.A book filled with love, the pain of being separated from one's family, and the determination to follow God's will regardless of the outcome, A Plain and Simple Christmas is an inspiring page-turner that will keep you guessing what happens next ... right to the very last page.
On a Wing and a Prayer
Katherine Valentine - 2005
Deputy Hill is devastated over his open-ended assignment to the graveyard shift, his just desserts for having nearly wrecked a car and a wedding in one unfortunate mishap.Then tragedy strikes: the Gallagher twins are fighting for their lives after a fall through the ice--one on life support and the other in a coma. Doc Hammond is waging his own battle for life while helping the twins. More than ever, Dorsetville needs a miracle.
Grace Livingston Hill Collection No. 1
Grace Livingston Hill - 1999
1 : four complete novels, updated for today's readers, edited and updated for today's readers by Deborah Cole. Contains:-- Aunt Crete's Emancipation / Grace Livingston Hill -- A Daily Rate / Grace Livingston Hill -- The Girl from Montana / Grace Livingston Hill -- Mara / Isabella MacDonald AldenNow you can curl up and enjoy three of Grace Livingston Hill's most moving novels in one, easy-to-hold treasure. The valuable addition of Mara by Grace's beloved aunt, Isabella Alden, makes your collection complete. From the dream of Aunt Crete's Emancipation, to the sobering realities of A Daily Rate, to the inspiring discovery by The Girl from Montana, to the unforgettable tale of Mara, you'll be swept off your feet and carried away to another time, another place. Here main characters have character, romance is real, and love lives as surely as the heart beats.
The Miracle Letters of T. Rimberg
Geoff Herbach - 2008
I killed myself.”Having destroyed his life, the suicidal T. Rimberg strikes out on a journey through history and geography. From Minneapolis to Europe to a fiery accident near Green Bay, he searches for a father who is likely dead, digs for meaning where he’s sure there is none, fires off suicide letters to family, celebrities, presidents, and football stars, and lands in a hospital bed across from a priest who believes that Rimberg has caused a miracle. This funny, moving novel asks us to consider the nature of second chances and the unexpected form that grace sometimes takes.