What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1898 – Tennessee

Worie Dressar is 19 years old when influenza and dysentery ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1898, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie’s mother has been secretly feeding a number of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when she dies suddenly, Worie is left to figure out why and how she was caring for them.

Plagued with two good-for-nothing brothers–one greedy and the other a drunkard–Worie fights to save her home and the orphaned children now in her begrudging care. Along the way, she will discover the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma’s children.

Storyteller and popular speaker Cindy K. Sproles pens a tender novel full of sacrifice, heartache, and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

The Merchant’s Yield by Lorri Dudley

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1814 – British West Indies

It was a marriage of inconvenience, but life has a wicked sense of humor.

Charlotte Amelia Etheridge has cowered to her mother’s sharp tongue and endless demands for the last time. In a fleeting moment of rebellion, she recklessly asks a foreigner from the Leeward Islands for a dance. But her one courageous act lands her in a compromising position. Forced to wed a stranger, Lottie leaves the only home she’s ever known to reside on the isle of St. Kitts.

Nathaniel Winthrop’s troubles are mounting, and the rumors of him being cursed are spreading. Due to the dwindling sugar crop, he risks everything to start his own shipping company. The last thing he needs is a wife, especially one with a weak constitution. Yellow fever has already claimed the lives of his mother and siblings. He must guard his heart against falling in love with this gentle beauty, knowing island life will be a death sentence.

No longer under her mother’s scrutiny, the newfound freedom of the island rejuvenates Lottie’s spirit. If her days on this earth are limited, then it’s time she lives life to the full. Now it’s up to her to prove that even though Nathan was coerced into marrying her, she’s the one he can’t live without.

The Runaway Bride by Jody Hedlund

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1862 – Canada

Wealthy Arabella Lawrence flees to British Columbia on a bride ship still wearing the scars of past mistakes. One of the few single women in the boomtown, she immediately has suitors, but she is determined not to find herself trapped again by a poor choice.

Vying for her hand are two very different men. Lieutenant Richard Drummond is a gentleman in the Navy and is held in high esteem. Peter Kelly is the town’s baker and has worked hard to build a thriving business. He and Drummond not only compete for Arabella’s affections, but clash over their views of how the natives should be treated in the midst of a smallpox outbreak.

As Arabella begins to overcome her fears, she discovers someone in dire need–a starving girl abandoned by her tribe. Intent on helping the girl, Arabella leans on Peter’s advice and guidance. Will she have the wisdom to make the right decision or will seeking what’s right cost both her and Peter everything?

Freedom in the Mountain Wind by Misty Beller

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1830 – Montana Territory

The last epic journey before her life changes forever.

Susanna Wilkins will do anything to make her father’s final dream come true, including trek along the path Lewis and Clark explored into the untamed wilds of the Rocky Mountains. Every mile is more crucial now that lung cancer is stealing Pa’s last days faster than she can come to terms with losing him. The journey becomes harder than she ever expected, but paddling upriver through fierce rapids and fighting hungry grizzlies isn’t what terrifies her the most.

Beaver Tail endured more than he can stand from the women in his Blackfoot camp, but the last disaster gave him the final shove he needed to join this band of brothers searching for one of their group who’s gone missing. The last thing he expected was to find a white woman and her sick father stranded at the base of massive waterfall. His plan is to help them carry their oversize canoe and supplies, then leave them to their strange mission. Yet, the more he learns about the pair, the more he realizes his life is about to be derailed—again.

The Rebel Bride by Shannon McNear

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1863 – Tennessee

Can Love Form Amidst Tensions of War?

During the clash between Union and Confederacy, quiet Tennessean Pearl MacFarlane is compelled to nurse both Rebel and Yankee wounded who seek refuge at her family’s farm. She is determined to remain unmoved by the Yankee cause—until she faces the silent struggle of Union soldier Joshua Wheeler, a recent amputee. The MacFarlane family fits no stereotype Joshua believed in; still he is desperate to regain his footing—as a soldier, as a man, as a Christian—in the aftermath of his debilitating injury. He will use his time behind enemy lines to gather useful intelligence for the Union—if the courageous Rebel woman will stay out of the line of danger.

Saving Ebenezer by S. Daniel Smith

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1850 – England

Seven years after Jacob Marley and the three ghosts of Christmas changed Ebenezer’s life, Scrooge has a problem. He’s given away most of his money and brightened many lives, restored churches, and made London workhouses better for those living and working inside. If only all of that made him feel better about his life…

Doubt plagues Ebenezer. Even with all of his philanthropy, he still has questions he can’t answer. Are the scales balanced? Did he do enough good after that fateful Christmas Eve to avoid Jacob Marley’s fate? And after a very special person dies, he adds another question: Why did God let it happen?

When he falls ill himself, Ebenezer’s questions take on a new desperation.

From the Cratchits to the workhouse fundraisers to nephew Fred, you’ll be reintroduced to several old friends, as well as a few new ones. With each visitor, Ebenezer tries to get closer to the answers to his questions. As the clock starts to run out, Ebenezer will need the words from an old friend to tip the scales in his favor.

Beneath a Michigan Moon by Candice Sue Patterson

Goodreads ~ Amazon

1885 – Michigan

Ava Ryan resides alone at the New Presque Isle lighthouse on the shore of Lake Huron. Her father’s recent passing has made her the temporary lightkeeper. With nowhere else to go and her precarious health making it impossible to start over, she desperately needs to keep the position. She manages the property and the lighthouse duties well, until a handsome logging foreman interrupts her routine–and her peace.

Benjamin Colfax needs to map the best cutting route for his crew, and the best vantage point is from the lighthouse. However, the fiery little lightkeeper won’t allow him access. It’s obvious she’s hiding something, and Benjamin is determined to discover what it is.

When unexpected circumstances force them into marriage, neither is prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. Will they open their hearts and give in to the stormy attraction brewing between them, or will illuminated secrets tear them apart?

My Heart Belongs in Glenwood Springs, Colorado: Millie’s Resolve by Rebecca Jepson

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1888 – Colorado

Millie Cooper, fisherman’s-daughter-turned-nurse, flees a painful entanglement with the wealthy Drexel family who summered near her childhood home in Nantucket, only to encounter them again six years later in Glenwood Springs. The serenity of her mountain hideaway in a town with healing springs is disrupted when she faces caring for the elderly mother and the expectant wife of Stephen Drexel, the man she’d once loved—at the request of his brother John, the man who’d kept them apart. Will Millie forgive the wrongs she feels were done to her, or will she come to see them as a blessing in disguise that leads her to greater joys?

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas

atapestryofsecrets A Tapestry of Secrets

1948 & 2008 – West Virginia

For decades, Perla Phillips has hidden the truth of a decision that still fills her with guilt. But now, seeing her granddaughter, Ella, struggle in a similar way, she’s prepared to finally open the past to her family, no matter the consequences. But when the opportunity is snatched from her in a most unexpected manner, will she have waited too long?

Spanning generations, this moving family drama weaves together the interlocking stories of two women as they navigate relationships, family, faith, and the choices that will shape their lives. Heartwarming and nostalgic, the story explores the courage to share the wounds of the past and celebrates the legacy a family passes from one generation to the next.

Dreamspell by Tamara Leigh

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1376 – England

A TIME TO LIVE. A TIME TO DIE. A TIME TO DREAM.

Sleep disorders specialist Kennedy Plain has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. When her research subject dies after trying to convince her he has achieved dream-induced time travel and her study is shelved, she enlists herself as a subject to complete her research. But when she dreams herself into 14th-century England and falls into the hands of Fulke Wynland, a man history has condemned as a murderer, she must not only stay alive long enough to find a way to return to her own time, but prevent Fulke from murdering his young nephews. And yet, the more time she spends with the medieval warrior, the more difficult it is to believe he is capable of committing the heinous crime for which he has been reviled for 600 years.

Baron Fulke Wynland has been granted guardianship of his brother’s heirs despite suspicions that he seeks to steal their inheritance. When the king sends a mysterious woman to care for the boys, Fulke is surprised by the lady’s hostility toward him–and more surprised to learn she is to be his wife. But when his nephews are abducted, the two must overcome their mutual dislike to discover the boys’ fate. What Fulke never expects is to feel for this woman whose peculiar speech, behavior, and talk of dream travel could see her burned as a witch.

Call Of The Prairie by Vickie McDonough

Call Of The Prairie

1873 – Kansas

A Young Woman Dreaming of Freedom…

Sophie Davenport feels like a prisoner in her own house. In her twenty–two years, her overprotective parents have taken every possible measure to keep her from anything that might exacerbate her asthma–in other words, just about everything but reading and needlework. Yet Sophie longs for adventure…and for love. She corresponds clandestinely with a would–be suitor, until they meet and her wheezing scares him off. It seems her fragile health just might sentence her to a lifetime of monotonous inactivity.

A Young Man Dreaming of a Family…

Josh Harper is far more bookish than his brawny brothers. The middle child, he enjoys helping at his family’s stagecoach stop in Kansas, where he spends a great deal of time crafting furniture and other items out of wood. But, before long, his book smarts draw him to the nearby city of Windmill, where he begins work as manager of his uncle’s bank. He also looks after his niece and nephew, who spend their weeks in town to attend school. The change of scenery is welcome, but Josh yearns for a family of his own. Too bad eligible females are not plenteous on the prairie.

A Reality That Seems to Stand in the Way…

When Sophie’s aunt, a resident of Windmill, falls ill and requires help, Sophie volunteers. Despite his hesitation, her father finally relents and lets her go, as there is no other option. Her new role brings her into contact with the children boarding at her aunt’s home–and with the handsome uncle of two of them. Is there a larger purpose in her coming to Windmill? Or will Josh Harper reject her, if not for her frail health, then for the rocky nature of their relationship?

Jewel of the Pacific by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1892 – Hawaii

Torn between family loyalties, political ambition, and their commitment to each other, Rafe and Eden must fight to protect the place they care about so deeply.

The year is 1892 and the small island nation of Hawaii is in turmoil. Rafe Easton and a small but influential band of patriots are quietly pursuing annexation to the United States out of concerns that the monarchy will fall to a less noble power. But Rafe is not the only one with secrets. And as political tensions mount, some of the island’s most prominent families are faced with revelations that could unravel everything—the future of the country–and Rafe’s future with his beautiful fiancé, Eden Derrington.

Just as the enemy of righteousness stalks his prey, danger prowls Hawaii’s beaches and pineapple plantations. The man who murdered Rafe’s father now threatens his mother and adopted son. And Eden is compelled to join her father in the noble yet dangerous work of medical research among a shunned leper community—a community that shelters the mother she never knew.

Among all the turmoil, will their own love survive?

Highland Sanctuary by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Highland Sanctuary

Medieval – Scotland

Gavin MacKenzie, a chieftain heir who is hired to restore the ancient Castle of Braigh, discovers a hidden village of outcasts who have created their own private sanctuary from the world. Among them is Serena Boyd, a mysterious and comely lass, who captures Gavin’s heart in spite of harboring a deadly past that could destroy her future.

The villagers happen to be keeping an intriguing secret as well, and when a fierce enemy launches an attack against them, greed leads to bitter betrayal. Then, as Gavin prepares a defense, the villagers unite in a bold act of faith, showing how God’s love is more powerful than any human force on earth.

Rocky Mountain Homecoming by Pamela Nissen

Rocky Mountain Homecoming

Colorado

The Prodigal Daughter’s Return

When Ivy Harris left Boulder after her mother’s death, she never planned to return. But six years later, her father’s illness brings her back to the place she’s sure won’t ever feel like home again. Her one source of comfort is Zach Drake, her childhood friend and protector, now foreman on her father’s ranch.

After years of living in his brothers’ shadows, Zach Drake has become a man to be reckoned with—a man determined to stand on his own. Yet Ivy can still move his heart in ways that no one else ever could. Perhaps they’ll find the home they didn’t know they sought, safe in each other’s arms.

Hawaiian Crosswinds by Linda Lee Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1892 – Hawaii and California

Amid the looming spiritual and political crisis in Hawaii, Rafe Easton and Eden Derrington are thrust into a conflict that will forever change their beloved Hawaii.

Hawaii, home of the early missionaries, becomes an empire of sugar and pineapple built by their children and grandchildren. By 1892 the Treasure of the Pacific is caught in a political revolution between those supporting Queen Liliuokalani, and the new Hawaiians determined to see the Stars and Stripes waving over Iolani Palace.

Rafe Easton hears the dark news that Townsend Derrington is in San Francisco prowling about the house on Nob Hill belonging to Parker Judson, Rafe’s partner in the pineapple plantation. Rafe’s mother, Celestine, is keeping out of sight with baby Kip inside the house. The news is dire enough to convince Rafe to alter his near-term plans in Honolulu. Having come to an agreement with his fiancée, Eden Derrington, to allow her to work for a year on Molokai at her father’s medical clinic while meeting her dying mother, a leper, Rafe makes swift plans to take a steamer to San Francisco to hunt down Townsend who is guilty of Rafe’s father’s death, and now stalking Celestine and Kip.

A Heart for Home by Lauraine Snelling

A Heart for Home

1904 – South Dakota

Astrid Bjorklund is on the Red Bud Indian Reservation in South Dakota trying to stop the horrific epidemic that is ravaging the tribe. The elders are suspicious of her, but when they see some of their people beginning to recover, they allow Astrid to continue caring for the sick and to train others to help. She is overwhelmed by this need so close to home and wonders if this is the mission field God has planned for her.

Joshua Landsverk wants to repair his broken relationship with Astrid, but he is opposed to her present work and refuses to tell her why. When he encounters unexpected adversity, a surprising act of kindness brings healing to the grievous wrong inflicted years ago. Will it be enough to bring Joshua and Astrid together again?

Her Healing Ways by Lyn Cote

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1868 – Idaho

A female physician with an adopted black daughter? The townsfolk of Idaho Bend will never accept Dr. Mercy Gabriel—even when faced with a deadly cholera epidemic. But all Mercy needs is one man willing to listen…and to trust.

Four years of war command turned Lon Mackey into a footloose gambler who can’t abide attachments. Yet he can’t help getting riled by the threats Mercy keeps receiving. Her trailblazing courage could reignite his faith and humanity. And his loyalty could make her dream—for the first time—of a family of her own….

Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson

Embers of Love (Striking a Match)

1885 – Texas

The logging industry in eastern Texas is booming, and Deborah Vandermark plans to assist her family’s business now that she’s completed college. Unexpectedly, her best friend, Lizzie Decker, accompanies her back home–fleeing a wedding and groom she has no interest in. Deborah, the determined matchmaker, puts her sights on uniting her brother and dear friend in a true love match.

Deborah soon meets Dr. Christopher Clayton, a much-needed addition to the town. As their lives intersect, Deborah realizes that she has a much greater interest in medicine and science than the bookkeeping she was trained in. But when typhoid begins to spread and Lizzie’s jilted fiance returns, Deborah wonders if true love can overcome such obstacles…for those dearest to her, and for herself.

Eleventh Guest by Brock and Bodie Thoene

Eleventh Guest (A. D. Chronicles)

30s – Middle East

The lepers in the Valley of Mak’ob hear rumors that a miracle worker is walking the earth. Ten are chosen to search for him, knowing that outside the Valley lies almost certain death. Could this healer be the Messiah they long for? And will they find him in time? You will be touched by the stories of these broken, weary travelers searching for the Messiah.

The Spoils of Eden by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1891 – Hawaii

Amid the looming spiritual and political crisis in Hawaii, Eden Derrington and Rafe Easton are thrust into a conflict that will forever change their beloved Hawaii and threaten to derail their future marriage.
When Eden, representing the Hawaiian Board of Health at Kalihi Leper Hospital is sent to Rafe’s plantation to take baby Kip to Kalihi to quarantine him indefinitely, an emotional volcano of suspected betrayal threatens to turn their love relationship to ashes.

Someone has alerted the Board that the baby Rafe saved and brought to Honolulu came from the Kalawao leper colony.
Since the law strictly forbids children born of lepers from being adopted, Kip’s future seems destined toward tragedy. And what of Eden and Rafe after their engagement is broken? When Eden’s father, Dr. Jerome, returns to open a clinic at Kalawao, she joins her father, leaving Rafe to run for the legislature and attempt to change the children’s law.

No Distance Too Far by Lauraine Snelling

No Distance Too Far (Home to Blessing Series, Book 2)

1904 – South Dakota

Astrid Bjorklund wants to use her medical training to serve God and feels that He might be leading her in the direction of missionary work. Smarting from a misunderstanding with Joshua Landsverk, the young man she thought she loved, she heads east to a missionary training school, hoping to eventually use her skills in some remote outpost in Africa.

When she is called home unexpectedly to help in a family medical emergency, Astrid learns of a deadly measles outbreak on the nearby Indian reservation. She immediately senses the Spirit tugging her to help the Indians and wonders if her “mission field” is not so far away as she had imagined. But if she follows God’s call, will love pass her by?

Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa by Melanie Dobson

Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa

1894 – Iowa

Times are hard in 1894. Desperate for work, former banker Jacob Hirsch rides the rails west from Chicago with his four-year-old daughter, Cassie. When a life-threatening illness strands the pair in Homestead, Iowa, the local Amana villagers welcome the father and daughter into their peaceful society. Liesel, a young Amana woman, nurses Cassie back to health, and the Homestead elders offer Jacob work. But Jacob’s growing interest in Liesel complicates his position in the Amanas. Will he fight to stay in the only place that feels like home, even if it means giving up the woman he loves? Or will Liesel leave her beloved community to face the outside world with Jacob and Cassie at her side?

In the Arms of Immortals by Ginger Garrett

In the Arms of Immortals

1347 – Italy

The Black Death sweeps through a Sicilian village in Book Two of Ginger Garrett’s unforgettable Chronicles of the Scribe series

It starts when a strange ship docks in the village harbor. That night an old man falls ill…then the baker’s wife…then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying—horribly. And no one in town has a clue how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron or his powerful knight. And not the three women at the heart of this book: the baron’s proud daughter, Panthea, the outcast healer Gio, and Mariskka, an unwilling visitor from another time. This fast-moving, richly imagined tale is a sure winner for lovers of historical fiction.

Breathe by Lisa T. Bergren

1883 – Colorado

Devastated by the loss of four sons to tuberculosis and his wife in childbirth, a Philadelphia patriarch sends his three living children west in 1883 to make a new life in the clean mountain air of Colorado Springs. Odessa is struggling to survive consumption; Moira is beautiful and dangerously headstrong; and pugnacious Dominic is charged with establishing a new arm of the family business a business he doesn’t want. Readers will love The Homeward Trilogy, in which the St. Clair siblings struggle to follow where the heavenly Father leads them.

In Breathe, Odessa arrives at a famous sanitarium seeking a cure for the disease that killed her brothers. While Moira and Nic establish themselves in Colorado Springs society, Dessa inches her way back to health – and into love with a softspoken fellow patient, rancher Bryce McAllan. When she witnesses a murder in the very hospital where she is recuperating-and other patients begin to die, Dessa struggles to breathe again. She’d always expected to die young, but now that she has a reason to live, can she hold on to her fragile health to solve the mystery?

From A Distance by Tamera Alexander

From a Distance (Timber Ridge Reflections, Book 1)

1875 – Colorado

What happens when the realization of a dream isn’t what you imagined… and the secret you’ve spent a lifetime guarding is finally laid bare?
Determined to become one of the country’s premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life. Daniel Ranslett is a man shackled by his Confederate past, and he’ll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He’s a man of his word, but repaying that debt could reveal secrets from his past he would prefer remain buried.
Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth’s lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met from a distance.

Till Morning Is Nigh by Leisha Kelly

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1932 – Illinois

It is December of 1932, just one year after the Worthams and the Hammonds lost Wilametta Hammond and Emma Graham in one terrible night. The Christmas spirit seems largely absent again this year. George Hammond has disappeared, and Julia Wortham’s house is filled to overflowing with the Hammond children, several of whom are coming down with a mysterious illness. As Christmas nears, the children’s homemade nativity scene takes on a life of its own, bringing comfort in the midst of uncertainty and hard times.

Dawn in My Heart by Ruth Axtell Morren

dawninmyheart Dawn in My Heart (Regency Series #2)

1814 – England

Called home to Regency London after his brother’s death, Tertius Pembroke, Earl of Skylar, must marry quickly and produce an heir. Lady Gillian Edwards seems the ideal bride: young, beautiful and innocent. But Sky is no ideal husband, having returned from the Indies gaunt, ill and plagued by a darkness that he dare not reveal even to his betrothed. Lady Gillian had promised Sky her hand in marriage but cannot give him her heart, not when she gave it to another man three years ago. Afraid of repudiation, Gillian buries her secret so deep inside herself, no one will every know, or so she hopes.

Through lies and deceit, their marriage slowly unravels. Then Sky becomes deathly ill, and his new found faith offers two virtual strangers a second chance at becoming husband and wife.

The Color of the Soul by Tracey Bateman

Goodread s ~ Purchase

1860s/1948 – Georgia

A Pandora’s box opens when reporter Andy Carmichael, too light skinned for acceptance by blacks and too dark skinned for acceptance by whites, is sent to Georgia to interview Miss Penbrook, an icon of Southern literature. From her deathbed, the mysterious Miss Penbrook gives Andy journals that reveal a surprising twist – her story and his own meld into one.

Go Down to Silence by Greg Belliveau

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1940/Present Day – Belgium/Ohio

Jacob Horowitz, a worn and bitter business tycoon, has never spoken to anyone about his experience of Nazi persecution during World War II — not even his recently deceased wife, Liza. Suddenly stricken with terminal cancer, the aging Jew receives an invitation from his old friend Pierre, a Gentile Christian and former Belgian underground operative, to pay him one last visit in Belgium. Jacob accepts, and determines to take along his estranged son Isaac. In this fast-paced, vivid historical account set alternately in war-torn Europe and today’s United States, the consequences of war become clear. Momentous events push the hardened Horowitz toward reconciliation with his youngest son, with his past, with God, and with himself.

For Whom the Stars Shine by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase

1891 – Hawaii

As the family of the last queen of Hawaii fights for their rights to the monarchy’s vast properties, one granddaughter, Eden Derrington, returns, only to discover family secrets that will greatly change the course of events on her beautiful island.

*This novel re-released in a series (The Dawn of Hawaii):

The Spoils of Eden

Hawaiian Crosswinds

Jewel of the Pacific