Knowing You by Tracie Peterson

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1899 – Washington

Could a captivating art exhibit hold the key to truth–and love?

Budding artist May Parker is captivated by the Japanese exhibits at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and longs to know more about her mother’s heritage–which her mother refuses to speak of because of the heartache she left behind in Japan. Wanting to experience more of the exhibits, May works as a Camera Girl–but her curiosity leads her into danger when a suit of samurai armor becomes the target of an elusive art forger.

After ten years apart, May is reunited with her childhood friend Lee Munro, a police detective assigned to keep a watchful eye on the exposition. Their friendship immediately begins to blossom with hints of something more, but when they become entangled in a dangerous heist involving the samurai armor and their love is threatened, can they overcome the odds against them?

Jewel of the Nile by Tessa Afshar

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56 – Italy

Whispered secrets about her parents’ past take on new urgency for Chariline as she pays one last visit to the land of her forefathers, the ancient kingdom of Cush.

Raised as an orphan by her aunt, Chariline has only been told a few pieces of her parents’ tragic love story. Her beautiful dark skin is proof that her father was Cushite, but she knows nothing else. While visiting her grandfather before his retirement as the Roman official in the queen’s court, Chariline overhears that her father is still alive, and discovering his identity becomes her obsession. Both her grandfather and the queen have reasons for keeping this secret, however, and forbid her quest. So when her only clues lead to Rome, Chariline sneaks on the ship of a merchant trusted by friends.

Theo is shocked to discover a stowaway on board his vessel and determines to be rid of her as soon as possible. But drawn in by Chariline’s story, he feels honor-bound to see her safely to shore, especially when it appears someone may be willing to kill for the truth she seeks.

In this transformative tale of historical fiction, bestselling author Tessa Afshar brings to life the kingdom of Cush and the Roman Empire, introducing readers to a fascinating world filled with gripping adventure, touching romance, and a host of lovable characters—including some they may recognize from the biblical book of Acts.

The Heart’s Charge by Karen Witemeyer

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1894 – Texas

Members of Hanger’s Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they’d deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where Mark encounters the woman he’d nearly married a decade ago.

After failing at love, Katherine Palmer dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. From mixed ancestry, illegitimate, and female, Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society’s mold. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her with his courage and kindness, but there are secrets behind his eyes–ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.

However, when a handful of urchin children from the area go missing, a pair of Horsemen are exactly what the women need. Working together to find the children, will these two couples find love as well?

A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy

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1885 – India/England

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie’s English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn’t forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land.

The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark

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1946 – Alabama/Charleston

Harper Dupree has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her how to sew. As Harper rethinks her own future, long-hidden secrets about Millie’s past are brought to light.

In 1946, Millie Middleton–the daughter of an Italian man and a Black woman–boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.

Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston to find the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they’ve both dreamed of. But it’s not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

Mountain Laurel by Lori Benton

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1793 – North Carolina

Ian Cameron, a Boston cabinetmaker turned frontier trapper, has come to Mountain Laurel hoping to remake himself yet again—into his planter uncle’s heir. No matter how uneasily the role of slave owner rests upon his shoulders. Then he meets Seona—beautiful, artistic, and enslaved to his kin.

Seona has a secret: she’s been drawing for years, ever since that day she picked up a broken slate to sketch a portrait. When Ian catches her at it, he offers her opportunity to let her talent flourish, still secretly, in his cabinetmaking shop. Taking a frightening leap of faith, Seona puts her trust in Ian. A trust that leads to a deeper, more complicated bond.

As fascination with Seona turns to love, Ian can no longer be the man others have wished him to be. Though his own heart might prove just as untrustworthy a guide, he cannot simply walk away from those his kin enslaves. With more lives than his and Seona’s in the balance, the path Ian chooses now will set the course for generations of Camerons to come.

A story of choice and consequence, of bondage and freedom, of faith and family.

Heart of a Warrior by Angela K. Couch

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1859 – Oregon Trail

The Man She Fears Is Her Only Chance For Survival . . .

All Christina Astle wants is to reach Oregon before her baby is born, but the wagon train is attacked, and her husband killed, stranding her in a mountain labyrinth. Raised in the East, within civilization’s embrace, survival is not a skill she’s learned. Neither is evading the lone warrior dogging her trail.

Disgusted by the greed and cruelty of men like his white father, Towan has turned to the simpler existence of his mother’s tribal people. He is not prepared for the fiery woman who threatens to upturn his entire life … and his heart.

A Cord of Three Strands by Christy Distler

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1756 – Pennsylvania

Born to a French trader and a Lenape woman. Reared by Quakers. As the French & Indian War rages, one man strives for peace–between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, and between his own heart and mind.

As 1756 dawns, Isaac Lukens leaves the Pennsylvania wilderness after two years with the Lenape people. He’s failed to find the families of his birth parents, a French trader and a Lenape woman. Worse, the tribe he’s lived with, having rejected his peacemaking efforts, now ravages frontier settlements in retaliation. When he arrives in the Quaker community where he was reared, questions taunt him: Who is he–white man or Lenape? And where does he belong?

Elisabeth Alden, Isaac’s dearest childhood friend, is left to tend her young siblings alone upon her father’s death. Despite Isaac’s promise to care for her and the children, she battles resentment toward him for having left, while an unspeakable tragedy and her discordant courtship with a prominent Philadelphian weigh on her as well.

Elisabeth must marry or lose guardianship of her siblings, and her options threaten the life with her and the children that Isaac has come to love. Faced with Elisabeth’s hesitancy to marry, the prospect of finding his family at last, and the opportunity to assist in the peace process between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, Isaac must determine where–and to whom–the Almighty has called him.

A Cord of Three Strands weaves fact and fiction into a captivating portrayal of Colonial-era Quaker life, including Friends’ roles in Pennsylvania Indian relations and in refuting slavery.

Stories that Bind Us by Susie Finkbeiner

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1960s – Michigan

Betty Sweet never expected to be a widow at 40. With so much life still in front of her, she tries to figure out what’s next. She couldn’t have imagined what God had in mind. When her estranged sister is committed to a sanitarium, Betty finds herself taking on the care of a 5-year-old nephew she never knew she had.

In 1960s LaFontaine, Michigan, they make an odd pair. Betty with her pink button nose and bouffant hair. Hugo with his light brown skin and large brown eyes. But more powerful than what makes them different is what they share: the heartache of an empty space in their lives. Slowly, they will learn to trust one another as they discover common ground and healing through the magic of storytelling.

Award-winning author Susie Finkbeiner offers fans a novel that invites us to rediscover the power of story to open the doors of our hearts.

Wounded Heart by Colleen Hall

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1870s – Colorado

Della Hughes longs for adventure and for freedom from the strictness and austerity of 1870s Boston society. When her uncle and guardian, General Clint Logan, uses his fortune to purchase property in Colorado and set up a horse ranch selling remounts to the western army, Della decides she must accompany him and his family to the West. Along the journey, Della encounters more adventure than she bargained for.

Rustlers, Indians, and rattlesnakes add danger to the trek. A persistent cavalry captain who believes Della would make him the perfect wife and a Cheyenne chieftain’s son who tells her she’s brought sunshine to his heart complicate her life. And the handsome army scout who ramrods their wagon train guards a secret from his past that makes him believe he’s not worthy of loving Della. She must meet the challenges of the West and convince the man of her heart that love is worth risking everything to gain.

While I Count the Stars by Valerie Banfield

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1940 – Costa Rica/Texas

SAVANNAH HAMILTON isn’t looking for love—she’s watched that commodity vanish too many times to care—but she’s frantic for a mate. As the deadline approaches, things look hopeless. Then he shows up.

MICAH KELLER isn’t too keen to learn that the predicament described by the prospective bride held more illusion than fact. Nothing at Misión de Cacao resembles his expectations—especially her.

While two imperfect people make a go of an unlikely pairing, war erupts. With the speed and intensity of an epidemic, fear and distrust ignite the globe. Costa Rica is not immune, and when it’s time for countries to name their allies, Micah and Savannah find themselves in the path of an unimaginable firestorm. As distance and time render their tenuous relationship unrecognizable, is the promise to honor their hasty commitment far too costly, or will love abide all things?

A Promise in Defiance by Heather Blanton

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1800s – Colorado

When scandalous madam Delilah Goodnight flings open the doors to the newest, most decadent saloon in Defiance, two good men will be forced to face their personal demons.

Charles McIntyre founded the rowdy mining town of Defiance and early on was more than happy to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven. But things have changed. Now, he has faith, a new wife…and a ten-year-old half-breed son.

Logan Tillane, Defiance’s newly arrive preacher, carries a Bible in his hand, a gun on his hip, and uses both to fight for lost souls.

Delilah has come to town intent on destroying both men as she drags their town to hell…

A Promise in Defiance is an old-fashioned Western reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Pale Rider! Gritty and rich with drama, this is a riveting addition to the bestselling Wild West saga of love and faith in a godless frontier town.

Wolf Creek Widow by Penny Richards

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Wolf Creek Widowwolfcreekwidow

1886 – Arkansas

Meg Thomerson needs assistance getting back on her feet—even if it comes from the man who made her a widow. Ace Allen didn’t intend to kill her husband, he only wanted to protect the town from the man’s rage. Now Ace is keeping Meg’s business and farm running while she heals, both physically and emotionally. But is he helping her out of charity—or because of something more? 

Half Native American, Ace struggles to find his place in the world. He keeps himself isolated from the community, but sweet Meg begins to penetrate his defenses. At first, he simply wanted to make amends to her. Now, if she’ll let him, he could become the loving husband she deserves…

A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer

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1893 – Texas

Neill isn’t sure who hired him to repair Clara’s roof–he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

The Triumph of Grace by Kay Marshall Strom

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The Triumph of Grace – Grace in Africa series #3thetriumphofgrace

1793 – Several Countries – England, South Carolina, Africa, Canada

This riveting conclusion of Grace Winslow’s fight for freedom carries her from England to America’s Deep South. After learning that her husband, Cabeto, is on a South Carolina plantation, Grace dons a sailor’s disguise and boards the only ship headed for America—a detestable slave ship. When her secret is discovered, Grace is locked up in the hold.

In South Carolina, Grace is bought immediately, but soon sold to a man who is not a slave keeper. Moved by her story of perseverance and faith, John Hull makes Grace’s mission his own. Grace now has a dear brother in Christ to help her, but a restored sense of hope does not mean the path to finding Cabeto will be clear—or free of trouble . . .

The Voyage of Promise by Kay Marshall Strom

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The Voyage of Promise – Grace in Africa series #2thevoyageofpromise

1792 – Africa

She is safe, and she is free . . . but she is still alone.

 
Slavers burst into Grace Winslow’s life with guns blazing and tear her family apart forever. She watches in anguish as her husband is led in chains aboard a tightly packed slave ship bound for America.  An old enemy has a more sinister plan for Grace and prepares her for a different kind of servitude in London. But Grace will not be enslaved. And she will not give up on the man she loves. In her determination to be reunited with her husband, she finds God reaching out to her.

The Call of Zulina by Kay Marshall Strom

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The Call of Zulina (Book One of the Grace in Africa Series)thecallofzulina

1787 – Africa

The Grace in Africa series is a sweeping three-part historical saga of slavery and freedom that takes the reader from an island off the west coast of Africa to Southern plantations and finally on to Canada. All her life, Grace Winslow, the daughter of a mixed marriage between an English sea captain and an African princess, has been sheltered from the truth about the family business–the capture and trade of slaves.
 
Set in 1787 in West Africa, The Call of Zulina opens as the scorching harmattan winds blow. Desperate to avoid marriage to an odious suitor, Grace escapes the family compound only to be caught up in a slave revolt at the fortress of Zulina. Soon, she begins to grasp the brutality and ferocity of the family business. Held for ransom, viciously maimed by a runaway slave, and threatened with death, Grace is finally jerked into reality and comes to sympathize with the plight of the captives. She admires their strength and courage and is genuinely moved by the African Cabeto’s passion, determination, and willingness to sacrifice anything, including his own life, for his people’s freedom.

 

Beloved Captive by Kathleen Y’Barbo

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Beloved Captive: Fairweather Keys, Book 2belovedcaptive

1836 – Louisiana and Caribbean

In this sequel to Beloved Castaway, Emilie Gayarre is learning to accept her mixed race heritage while finding fulfillment in teaching children of the key. There is no denying the attraction between Emilie and the handsome young naval commander, Caleb Spencer, who is shadowed by his own flock of secrets. But if her heritage is found out, even greater things than his career are at risk. Enjoy this historical romance full of risk and redemption.

The Color of the Soul by Tracey Bateman

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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.

Shadow of His Hand by Wendy Lawton

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1938 – Germany

Young Anita Dittman’s world crumbles as Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, but because she’s a Christian and only half-Jewish, Anita feels sure she and her family are safe from “the Final Solution”. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Shadow of His Hand is an inspirational young adult historical fiction book based on the real-life story of Anita Dittman, a Holocaust survivor. It follows her struggle against Nazi persecution and her growth in her relationship with God through the worst of times.

Heart of the Sandhills by Stephanie Grace Whitson

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1860s – Minnesota

Married for a little more than a year, Genevieve LaCroix Dane Two Stars and her beloved Daniel Two Stars dream of making a happy home in a safe place. But Dakota Indians living in Minnesota in the aftermath of the Dakota War face hostility that seems to grow stronger every day. When Daniel is offered work as an army scout in the West, the couple leave Minnesota in hopes of finding a new home. But then tragedy strikes again, and this time it threatens the Two Stars’ love for one another and their faith in God. After all they’ve been through, will the Two Stars’ find what Gen prays for? “All we want is a place to be … just a place to be.” Is it too much to ask?

 

 

 

Behind the Veil by Linda Chaikin

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1097 – Byzantine Empire (Ancient Turkey)

Confident in Helena Lysander’s safety, Norman warrior Tancred Redwan sends Helena to his family’s castle, while he prepares to travel on to Antioch in search of his Moorish cousin Mosul, assassin of Tancred’s brother. But the unexpected arrival of Helena’s bodyguard reveals that her entourage was overtaken and she never reached the safety of the castle. Held captive by the corrupt Bishop Basel, Helena now faces marriage to a Moslem prince, arranged months earlier by her scheming aunt, Lady Irene Lysander.

As the crusaders race to overtake Moslem-controlled Antioch, Tancred plots Helena’s rescue. Betrayal and intrigue precede him, but the obstacles give way to courage, leading Tancred to the most important battle of his life—one that will determine his future, both for his honor and for his love of Helena.

A FINAL SHOWDOWN WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF THE NOBLE WARRIOR, HIS MORTAL ENEMY, AND HIS BELOVED….

Golden Palaces by Linda Chaikin

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1097 – Byzantine Empire (Ancient Turkey)

CLOTHED WITH THE PROMISE OF SALVATION, THE KNIGHTS OF THE FIRST CRUSADE FIGHT GALLANTLY TO RECLAIM THE HOLY LAND…BUT ONLY THEIR COURAGE CAN SAVE THEM FROM THE INFIDELS.

Helena of the Nobility has long resigned herself to the control of her aunt Lady Irene, a woman for whom betrayal is commonplace. Having banished Helena’s mother from Constantinople, Irene is now intent on securing Helena’s hand in marriage to a Muslim prince. Betrayed and heartbroken Helena has no other choice but to turn to the rebel Tancred Redwan, a man in whose heart she fears, and in whose honor she finds safety.

WHEN WAR AND TREACHERY THREATEN TEAR THEM APART, ONLY HIS SWORD OFFERS A WAY OF ESCAPE….

Swords and Scimitars by Linda Chaikin

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1095 – Byzantine Empire (Ancient Turkey)

WOVEN TOGETHER, THE COURAGE OF THE NORMAN KNIGHTS AND THE STRENGTH OF THE PEASANT HEART BROUGHT AGONY AND GLORY TO THE FIRST CRUSADE…

FRAMED FOR A MURDER he didn’t commit, Tancred Redwan is a knight torn between his father’s Norman blood and the Moorish blood of his mother. Forced to flee for his life, Tancred journeys from the golden hills of Palermo, Sicily to the seven jeweled hills of the Byzantine capitol, Constantinople. As both scholar and warrior, Tancred is caught up in the turbulent events surrounding the First Crusade, until he is suddenly forced to choose which path to follow as Christian Europe arms for the First Crusade to rescue Jerusalem and the Holy Lands from the Muslim infidels.

Helena of the Greek Nobility holds the key to his decision. Ensnared in a web of intrigue and political maneuvering within the Emperor’s Sacred Palace, Helena is proud and vulnerable—a woman Tancred longs to both rescue and win.

CLAIMING HONOR AS HIS ARMOR AND FAITH AS HIS SHIELD, TANCRED REDWAN WIELDS HIS SWORD AND SCIMITAR IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE. BUT WILL HE ESCAPE THE SCIMITAR OF HIS MOORISH COUSIN AWAITING HIM ON THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM