Longings of the Heart by Bonnie Leon

longingsoftheheart Longings of the Heart (Sydney Cove Series #2)

1800s – Australia

It’s the early 1800s and the wondrous land of Australia is full of possibilities as settlers stake their claims. Hannah and John are settling some land in New South Wales and hoping to start a family. But their bright hopes for the future are clouded with trouble. As they try unsuccessfully to have a baby, Hannah suffers from guilt over her past. Now this haunts her and her relationship with John–she’s never told her husband about this chapter of her life.
Full of the kind of emotional longings romance readers crave, Longings of the Heart is the heart-rending second book in the Sydney Cove series. Established and new Leon fans alike will finish this story wanting more.

A Passion Redeemed by Julie Lessman

apassionredeemed A Passion Redeemed

1919 – Ireland/Massachusetts

Graced with physical beauty, though shallow of heart, Charity O’Connor is a woman who knows what she wants. She sets her sights on the cantankerous Mitch Dennehy, editor at the Irish Times, who has unwittingly stolen her heart. And although the sparks are there, Mitch refuses to fan the coals of a potential relationship with his ex-fiancée’s sister. But Charity has a plan to turn up the heat and she always gets what she wants–one way or another. Is revenge so sweet after all? Or will Charity get burned?
Full of intense passion, betrayal, and forgiveness, A Passion Redeemed will delight Lessman’s fans and draw new ones.

Shadow of Colossus by T L Higley

Shadow of Colossus (Seven Wonders Series #1)

227 BC – Rhodes, Greece

In a world enslaved by money and power, one woman dares to be free. Will an explosive secret enslave her again?

The place is the island of Rhodes; the time, 227 BC. In the ten years that Tessa of Delos has been in bondage as a hetaeira, a high-priced Greek courtesan to a wealthy politician, she has learned to abandon all desire for freedom and love. But when her owner meets a violent death, Tessa is given the chance to be free—if she can hide the truth of his death and maintain a masquerade until escape is possible. Now Tessa must battle for her own freedom and for those she is beginning to love, as forces collide that will shatter the island’s peace and bring even its mighty Colossus to its knees.

Here is a powerful story showing how the love of God can transform even the most hardened person and bring back to life a soul jaded by sin and grief.

Copper Fire by Suzanne Woods Fisher

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1945 – Germany

On a summer day in 1945, Louisa Gordon receives a telegram from the International Red Cross Tracing Service. Her young cousin, Elisabeth, has just been released from Dachau, a concentration camp, and Louisa is her only remaining relative.

Determined to go to war-torn Germany to retrieve her cousin, Louisa is also on a mission to discover the whereabouts of Friedrich Mueller, a Nazi sympathizer who fled Copper Springs, Arizona. What Louisa never expected was to meet the man she had once loved. And now hated.

Seventh Day by Brock and bodie Thoene

Seventh Day (A. D. Chronicles, Book 7)

30s – Middle East

As Yeshua continues his ministry and is challenged by the religious leaders, his beloved friend El’azar falls ill in Bethany and when Yeshua finally arrives, it is too late…or is it?

Hearts in the Highlands by Ruth Axtell Morren

heartsinthehighlands Hearts in the Highlands

1890 – England and Scotland

Maddie Norton had long since resigned herself to her spinster’s lot. Her life was devoted to her simple yet enduring faith, to good works and to the elderly lady whose companion she was. She believed herself content. But that was before her mistress’s handsome nephew returned to London, after many years spent abroad as an archaeologist.

The shadows in Reid Gallagher’s memory-haunted eyes touched Maddie’s heart. When he asked her to help with his work, she could scarcely refuse. And as she came to know this man better, amid the breathtaking beauty of the Scottish Highlands, she began to wonder if two solitary souls might yet find new life–and love–as one.

The Duchess and the Dragon by Jamie Carie

The Duchess and the Dragon

Regency America/England

Drake Weston, Duke of Northumberland, is accustomed to a life of royalty until a tragic mistake followed by murderous rage results in his darkening character and sudden flee from England. With a hoarde of money on which to survive, Drake hops a ship of indentured servants to America but is duly robbed and taken ill by the merciless sea voyage.

In Pennsylvania, Serena Winter is a humble, devoted Quaker on a mission of mercy, ready to tend the sick people aboard a ship that has just arrived from England. Taken by Drake’s air of dark mystery after he begins to serve as an apprentice to her silversmith father, Serena falls in love and is excommunicated by her fellow believers when she accepts a non-Quaker’s marriage proposal.

Not knowing Drake’s history, Serena is later shocked to discover her new status as a duchess. What follows are hard truths and softening hearts, romance triangles, webs of deceit, and ultimately, the power of grace, love, and passion.

As High as the Heavens by Kathleen Morgan

As High as the Heavens

1568 – Scotland

It is 1568 and Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. But her supporters, including noblewoman Heather Gordon, are planning a rescue. Heather travels to a cottage in the frigid Highlands to teach a simple man–who just happens to resemble someone with access to Lochleven–how to act the part of a nobleman in order to gain entry to the castle. But in the close quarters of the cottage there is more stirring than political rebellion.

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

A Passion Most Pure

1916 – Massachusetts/Ireland

She’s found the love of her life. Unfortunately, he loves her sister. As World War I rages across the Atlantic in 1916, a smaller war is brewing in Boston. Faith O’Connor finds herself drawn to an Irish rogue who is anything but right for her. Collin McGuire is brash, cocky, and from the wrong side of the tracks, not to mention forbidden by her father. And then there’s the small matter that he is secretly courting her younger sister. But when Collin’s affections suddenly shift her way, it threatens to tear Faith’s proper Boston family apart.

Sixth Covenant by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Sixth Covenant (A. D. Chronicles, Book 6)

0 – Middle East

Who in Bethlehem could guess that their tiny, obscure village, populated by shepherds, would become the hinge upon which all history turns . . . and the focus of a terrifying rampage? Sixth Covenant is the conclusion of the three-book Nativity story within the A.D. Chronicles series. Sixth Covenant chronicles Mary, Yosef, and baby Yeshua in the first months of his life in Bethlehem. From the shepherd’s visit to the escape to Egypt to the Bethlehem babies who gave their life for Jesus, discover the most critical events in the history of the world.

The Restitution by Marylu Tyndall

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1669 – Jamaica

A woman’s desperate search for her kidnapped child A father seeking forgiveness for an unconscionable act Only when they join forces, can they save their son Lady Isabel Ashton longs to marry a nobleman and live out her days in the wealth and privilege she is accustomed to as the daughter of an earl. But her plans went awry when she was kidnapped and ravished by a notorious pirate captain. Scorned by society and banished by her family to live on the island of Jamaica, Isabel decides to keep her baby. But then her precious child is kidnapped. Desperate to find him, Isabel soon discovers she must accept the help of the one man she hates most in the world–the boy’s father. Determined to win the heart and forgiveness of the woman he ravished, Captain Kent Carlton searches every port in the Caribbean for Isabel. Drowning his sorrows in rum and cards, he has all but given up when an acquaintance informs him, first of the child’s existence, and then of the kidnapping and Isabel’s whereabouts. Thrilled Isabel agrees to accept his help, Kent soon finds himself involved in a plot of deception and revenge that threaten to destroy both him and Isabel and keep them from their son forever.

To Love Anew by Bonnie Leon

toloveanew To Love Anew (Sydney Cove Series #1)

1800s – Australia

Hannah Talbot has no one. Forced to leave the only home she’s ever known, she works for a cruel employer who brutally takes the one thing she has left–her dignity. When she is banished from London, she is certain God has turned his back on her. John Bradshaw was a successful businessman whose untamed spirit sometimes wanted more. When he is betrayed by those closest to him, he loses everything–his wife, his business, even his freedom. John’s and Hannah’s paths are about to cross. Aboard a ghastly, nineteenth-century prison ship from London to Australia, John and Hannah must keep hope alive and trust God’s unconditional love.

The Midwife of St. Petersburg by Linda Chaikin

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1914 – Russia

It is Czarist Russia, 1914. Karena Peshkev dreams of escaping her family’s country estate and attending medical school. But each year, as she watches her hopes of being accepted to the Imperial College of Medicine slip further away, she must content herself with working alongside her mother, the village’s Jewish midwife.

On a visit to her cousin’s sumptuous mansion, Karena gets a taste of Russian high society–and meets Colonel Alexsandr Kronstadt. Their attraction is immediate, but they can never act on it. Alex is meant for Karena’s cousin, the general’s daughter, a superior match politically and socially.

But when the accusations of Bolshevik conspiracy tear her family apart, Karena and her mother flee to St. Petersburg. The Okhrana–the Russian secret police–are convinced Karena is a Bolshevik traitor, in league with the rebel party’s leader. Certain she is guilty of murder and assassination, they’re determined to hunt her down. Alex risks his career and his life to protect her from afar, but will it be enough? Will he find her in time to save her from false accusations–and declare his love?

Vibrant with historical detail and richly woven themes of danger, romance, and God’s faithfulness, The Midwife of St. Petersburg is an eloquent tale portraying the beauty and madness of a country that is about to change forever.

Written on Silk by Linda Chaikin

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1600s – France

A royal wedding masks the unfolding of Catherine de Medici’s murderous plot against the Huguenots. Will any of the Huguenot princes survive? Life and death rest with two people … Rachelle Dushane-Macquinet, couturiere from a celebrated silk-making family, has come back to the Louvre Palais to create the royal wedding gown. Recruited into the evil Queen Mother’s ring of women spies, she must use her wits to preserve her honor—and the lives of her fellow Huguenots. Marquis Fabien de Vendome has also returned from a buccaneering venture against Spain. The Queen Mother plans to implicate him in an assassination. But Fabien has designs of his own. A man and a woman caught up in history’s deadly swirl and love’s uncertainties seek to escape the venom of Madame le Serpent. Faith in Christ must uphold them, and all who stand alone, in a city gone diabolically mad.

Fifth Seal by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Fifth Seal (A. D. Chronicles, Book 5)

0 – Middle East

The little town of Nazareth is a long way from Jerusalem and King Herod’s evil clutches. Yet is anywhere in Judea far enough? In their most dramatic, ambitious, and significant historical series to date, Bodie and Brock Thoene once again transport readers back in time to first century A.D. to the birth of Christ—the most critical events in the history of the world.

Patrick: Son of Ireland by Stephen Lawhead

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300s – Ireland/Italy

Slave, soldier, lover, hero, saint,—his life mirrored the cataclysmic world into which he was born. His memory will outlast the ages.

Born of a noble Welsh family, he is violently torn from his home by Irish raiders at age sixteen and sold as a slave to a brutal wilderness king. Rescued by the king’s druids from almost certain death, he learns the arts of healing and song, and the mystical ways of a secretive order whose teachings tantalize with hints at a deeper wisdom. Yet young Succat Morgannwg cannot rest until he sheds the strangling yoke of slavery and returns to his homeland across the sea. He pursues his dream of freedom through horrific war and shattering tragedy—through great love and greater loss—from a dying, decimated Wales to the bloody battlefields of Gaul to the fading majesty of Rome. And in the twilight of a once-supreme empire, he is transformed yet again by divine hand and a passionate vision of “truth against the world,” accepting the name that will one day become legend . . . Patricius!

Mozart’s Sister by Nancy Moser

Mozart’s Sister

1760s – Europe

Young Nannerl Mozart’s life seems to be the stuff of fairy tales–traveling far and wide, performing with little brother Wolfgang before kings and queens. But behind the glamour lurk hardships, illness, and constant financial worries. Their father, Leopold, is driven to bring his son’s genius to the attention of the world. But what of Nannerl’s talent and aspirations? And what of the man she loves? Readers will be captivated by the sometimes heartrending–and ultimately inspiring–story of a woman who struggles with her dreams and her faith in a world where a woman’s place was at home.

Dark Hour by Ginger Garrett

Dark Hour (Serpent Moon Trilogy)

BC – Middle East

One of the darkest and bloodiest stories of all time comes not from a medieval battlefield but from inside one of the most opulent palaces ever built. The strategies come not from men eager to extend their influence, but from women bent on exercising their wit and prowess in a kingdom not their own. Treason and murder are fair game. Marriage is manipulation, a means to an end. Children are the enemy. And the days of the House of David are numbered-unless one woman can find the strength to conquer them all.

Daughter of Silk by Linda Chaikin

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1600s – France

Pursuing the family name as the finest silk producer in Lyon, the young Huguenot Rachelle Dushane-Macquinet is thrilled to accompany her famous couturier Grandmere to Paris, there to create a silk trousseau for the Royal Princess Marguerite Valois. The Court is magnificent; its regent, Catherine de Medici, deceptively charming … and the circumstances, darker than Rachelle could possibly imagine. At a time in history when the tortures of the Bastille and the fiery stake are an almost casual consequence in France, a scourge of recrimination is moving fast and furious against the Huguenots—and as the Queen Mother’s political intrigues weave a web of deception around her, Rachelle finds herself in imminent danger. Hope rests in warning the handsome Marquis Fabien de Vendome of the wicked plot against his kin. But to do so, Rachelle must follow a perilous course.

Fourth Dawn by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Fourth Dawn (A. D. Chronicles, Book 4)

0 – Middle East

In their most dramatic, ambitious, and significant historical series to date, Bodie and Brock Thoene once again transport readers back in time to first century AD and the most critical events in the history of the world. In Fourth Dawn, Herod, the king of Judea, plunges deeper into madness as people wonder, Where is the promised liberator? As signs appear in the heavens, Mary of Nazareth receives an unusual visitor. What he tells her will change everything about her life . . . and impact all those in Judea and beyond for eternity!

When the Storm Breaks by Bonnie Leon

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1874 – Australia

A terrible drought has settled on Thornton Creek and has parched both the land and the strength of all who live there. After a devastating fire eats up most of Douloo and leaves them with barely enough to survive, Daniel and Rebecca Thornton are forced to go to extremes to provide for their growing family. With fear and uncertainty weighing heavy on his heart, Daniel makes an ill-advised investment with a shady businessman from Brisbane. But at what price? What will happen when they can’t pay their dues? Could this deal cost them the very home they are trying to save?

Madman by Tracy Groot

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Time of Christ – Palestine

If there is a way into madness, logic says there is a way out. Logic says. Tallis, a philosopher’s servant, is sent to a Greek academy in Palestine only to discover that it has silently, ominously, disappeared. No one will tell him what happened, but he learns what has become of four of its scholars. One was murdered. One committed suicide. One worships in the temple of Dionysus. And one . . . one is a madman.

From Christy Award–winning author Tracy Groot comes a tale of mystery, horror, and hope in the midst of unimaginable darkness: the story behind the Gerasene demoniac of the Gospels of Mark and Luke.

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Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs

Grace in Thine Eyes

1808 – Scotland

Davina McKie is a bonny lass of seventeen, as clever as they come and a gifted musician. Unable to speak since childhood, she is doted on by her belligerent younger brothers, Will and Sandy, who vow to protect their silent sister.

When the lads are forced to depart the glen, Jamie McKie intends to brighten his daughter’s summer by escorting Davina to the Isle of Arran. Her cousins make her welcome at the manse, and the parish delights in hearing their talented fiddler.

But when she catches the eye of a handsome young Highlander on Midsummer Eve, sheltered Davina is unprepared for the shocking events that follow.

From Dust and Ashes by Tricia Goyer

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1945 – Austria

It is 1945, and a group of American soldiers liberate a Nazi concentration camp. Helene is the abandoned wife of an SS guard who has fled to avoid arrest. Overcome by guilt, she begins to help meet the needs of survivors. Throughout the process, she finds her own liberation–from spiritual bondage, sin, and guilt. Readers will be intrigued and touched by this fascinating story of love, faithfulness, and courage amidst one of the darkest chapters of mankind’s history.

Today’s Embrace by Linda Chaikin

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1890s – England/At Sea/South Africa

She gambled with her husband’s trust. At stake is–everything.

Evy Varley’s marriage to Rogan Chantry is all she had hoped it would be–until she finds out that she is pregnant with a honeymoon baby. Fearing that Rogan won’t allow her to travel while she is expecting, Evy plots to keep her pregnancy secret in order to accompany him to South Africa. Her thoughts are not only for her husband, but Evy is determined to travel to Bulawayo, the new mission station of Dr. Jakob van Buren–the one man who can help Evy to finally clear her mother’s name.

After she and Rogan set out to sea, however, Evy discovers that she has gone too far in her deceit, and the damage to her marriage may be irreversible. Matters only worsen in Africa, where malaria, murder, and an African uprising all take their toll–and where Rogan and Evy must fight not only for their love, but also for their very lives.

Third Watch by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Third Watch (A. D. Chronicles, Book 3)

30s – Middle East

Journey back to first-century Jerusalem, a dark and hopeless time, when citizens are searching for their promised Messiah to return. Meet new characters Zahav, a Jewish woman who is very strong in her faith, and Alexander, a Greek with a past. Can their forbidden love endure the trials that face them? Will Susanna and Manaen’s love be able to overcome bitterness and overwhelming odds? After seeing all that Yeshua has done for them, will the people believe he is the Messiah? What they choose to believe will change them all for eternity

For the Love of the Land by Bonnie Leon

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1872 – Australia

Nearly a year after moving to Queensland, Australia, Rebecca Thornton has learned to love her new home and the sometimes unforgiving land. But living in the Outback has its challenges. A drought has settled on Thornton Creek, and Douloo Station has been hit hard. A visit from Aunt Mildred and the birth of Rebecca’s first child have kept Rebecca busy, but she still wishes she could be more help to her husband as he tirelessly struggles to save the family home. As the drought continues, Rebecca can only pray for peace for her husband and for the much-needed rain on which their survival depends.

Whence Came a Prince by Liz Curtis Higgs

Whence Came a Prince (Lowlands of Scotland Series #3)

1790 – Scotland

Jamie McKie is determined to return to his ancestral home in Glen Trool and claim his inheritance—a harrowing journey that will test the depth of his courage and the strength of his sword. Haunted by a shameful past and wrestling with an uncertain future, Jamie must outwit his devious Uncle Lachlan and confront the two men he most fears: Evan, the brother whose inheritance he stole, and Alec, the father whom he blatantly deceived.

Jamie faces a perilous journey of the heart as well: Two sisters each stake a tender claim on his affections. Quiet, gentle Leana is the mother of his firstborn. Her spirited younger sister, Rose, is expecting his second child. Honor and duty prevail but not without heartache, as Jamie prepares to fight for all he holds dear.

Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan

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1565 – Scotland

In the harsh Scottish highlands of 1565, superstition and treachery threaten a truce between rival clans. It’s a weak truce at first, bound only by an arranged engagement between Anne MacGregor and Niall Campbell-the heirs of the feuding families.

While Niall wrestles with his suspicions about a traitor in his clan, Anne’s actions do not go unnoticed. And as accusations of witchcraft abound, the strong and sometimes callous Campbell heir must fight for Anne’s safety among disconcerted clan members. Meanwhile his own safety in threatened with the ever-present threat of someone who wants him dead.
Will Niall discover the traitor’s identity in time? Can Anne find a way to fit into her new surroundings? Will the two learn to love each other despite the conflict?

The Heart of Thornton Creek by Bonnie Leon

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1871 – Australia

After falling for a handsome young Australian named Daniel Thornton, Rebecca Williams gives up her life in high society Boston and follows him to his father’s cattle station deep in the bush country of late 1800s Queensland.
As she acclimates herself to her new surroundings and her new family, Rebecca is unpleasantly surprised to find that Daniel’s father, Bertram, not only runs the prosperous cattle station, but also runs his son’s life. And his influence doesn’t stop there. It seems to Rebecca that Bertram oppresses his wife, his servants, his ranch hands, and even the rest of the townsfolk in Thornton Creek!
Can Rebecca adjust to her awkward surroundings? Will she ever be able to get along with Bertram’s bullying? Or will he drive Rebecca and Daniel apart once and for all?

The Blessed by Lisa T. Bergren

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1340 – Italy

In The Blessed, Sir Gianni de Capezzano and Daria dAngelo must face the church and avoid being burned as heretics. Trailed by the enemy, and on the run in an unpredictable land, they’re offered tenuous sanctuary where they find love and unknown danger.

Retribution by R. S. Ingermanson

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AD 62 – Israel

What if you were studying for your Ph.D. in archaeology and somehow got trapped in first-century Jerusalem after a controversial physics experiment went horribly wrong?

What if you knew the exact date when Roman troops would come sweeping into Jerusalem to crucify 3000 innocent people?

What if you could save some of those people — not all of them, but you could save the ones you loved — only if you stayed there in Jerusalem yourself during the rampage?

It’s A.D. 62 and Rivka Meyers has given up hope of ever going home. Her husband Ari is a physicist, and he says they’re stuck in the first century. He also says that the laws of physics say Rivka can’t change history. Rivka now believes him, but she also knows that anything not written in the history books is fair game for her to influence. The only problem is that the history books say nothing about whether she herself is going to survive.

King’s Ransom by Jan Beazely and Thom Lemmons

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1940 – Bulgaria

Based on a True Story

Set during the darkest days of World War II, King’s Ransom tells the heroic story of Tsar Boris III, King of Bulgaria, and his extraordinary efforts to save his country’s Jewish population from Hitler’s concentration camps. Aware of the price he might pay for his risks, Boris faced the Third Reich with courage and resolve, firm in his Christian convictions that would not permit him to abandon nearly 50,000 Jews. Boris, along with members of the Orthodox Church, Jewish religious leaders, and others, ultimately ensured that no Bulgarian Jews lost their lives to Hitler’s regime. Boris’s quest to save Bulgaria’s Jews is interwoven with the love story of Daria, the Jewish attendant to the Bulgarian royal family, and Dobri, a sergeant in the king’s guard. With courageous characters and passionate storytelling, King’s Ransom reveals how individuals acting on faith can change the course of history.

Second Touch by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Second Touch (A. D. Chronicles, Book 2)

30s – Middle East

Be transported once again to the dark and tumultuous times of first-century Jerusalem. Return to the story of Peniel, the no-longer-blind beggar who still longs for the connection of home and family. Meet new characters like Lily, Cantor, and Rabbi Ahava, who hold on to hope in spite of their devastating affliction of leprosy. This book’s rich, vibrant imagery will draw readers to discover that we all need Yeshua’s touch, not only on our bodies but on our souls.

Fair is the Rose by Liz Curtis Higgs

Fair is the Rose (Lowlands of Scotland Series #2)

1789 – Scotland

The Scottish Lowlands, October 1789.
A year has come and gone since Jamie McKie fled for his life, arriving at Auchengray in search of sanctuary and a bonny wife. Young Rose McBride, as fair a lass as any in Scotland, dearly loves her handsome cousin—but so does her older sister, Leana.

Determined to have Jamie all to herself, Rose puts in motion one desperate plan after another, enlisting the aid of Lillias Brown, a wise woman—a wutch, some say—still keen on the old ways. Impetuous Rose ignores the cruel whispers that travel up and down the parish hills, never dreaming of the tragic consequences that await her.

Her sister, Leana, clings to her hard-won sense of peace and assurance by a slender thread of faith. Day and night, Leana’s hours are apent caring for wee Ian and praying that her future will hold more promise than her past.

Jamie McKie is busy making his own plans to return home to Glentrool and claim his inheritance. To do so means facing Evan, the brother whose blessing he stole, and Alec, the father whom he ruthlessly deceived. It is a perilous journey that will test the depth of his courage, the strength of his sword, and the tenacity of his vow to honor Almighty God, no matter the cost.