Carousel Dreams by Various Authors

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4 Stories of Love Spun at Historic Carousels

Experience the early history of four iconic carousels that draw together four couples in whirling romances full of music and charm.

Sophia’s Hope by Cynthia Hickey
1889 – Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard
Sophia Blackwell is living the life of the wealthy, but on the outskirts of total acceptance. Drake Moreland believes her above his station. A misunderstanding between them threatens to shatter their dreams before they’ve begun.

The Art of Romance by Patty Smith Hall
1895 – Crescent Park Amusement Park, Riverside, Rhode Island
An interview with the artist painting the Crescent Park Carousel is what reporter Thomas West needs. Instead he finds Wells’s daughter, Jane, who is hiding secrets he’s desperate to uncover. Jane must do everything she can to save her ill father’s reputation . . .and her heart.

Carousel of Love by Teresa Ives Lilly
1910 – Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania
For Tamara Brand, spending the summer at Expedition Park impersonating her wealthy debutante employee seemed like a dream come true until she meets Blake Conner; just a Carnie who runs the carousel. He seems to be the type of man, she would like to get to know better if she weren’t pretending to be someone she isn’t. But, is Blake who he appears to be?

The Carousel Wedding by Susanne Dietze
1922 – Balboa Park, San Diego, California
For June Lowell, a secretary at the Natural History Museum, being with scientist Martin Howard is as thrilling as a ride on the carousel by the museum, but a relationship is forbidden by management.

The Stolen Scroll by Mark E. Fisher

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Medieval – Fictitious Kingdom

When a druid steals an ancient document holding the millennium’s-old secrets of the Tower of Dochás, young Machar is sent on a mission across the sea to find the thief and bring it back. What’s at stake? Only the key to ending the Dark Age that’s creeping across the Celtic world called Erde.

A Stolen Scroll Bearing the Secrets of the Ages.

Long has the secret society of Capulum scholars waited to understand the mysterious markings inside the Tower of Dochás, a structure so old its purpose was feared lost to the ages. Newly discovered documents hint that when the lost Scepter of Elyon sat in the Tower, hope, light, and prosperity shone on all the peoples of Erde.

Beneath the tumbled ruins of a forgotten temple, two scrolls appear. The first introduces the second. But as scholars work to understand the first, a druid masquerading as one of their own steals the second scroll and spirits it across the sea to distant Fjernshavn.

Now a great darkness is coming, spreading from the east, and the scholars discover that the lost scroll may tell them the location of the lost Scepter whose theft so long ago began the current Dark Age.

Machar mac Moan, the Cloaked Rider.

Young Machar mac Moan, the Cloaked Rider, has spent the last year riding across Ériu on missions for the Capulum. He’s weary, ready to sleep in his own bed with his dog at his side. But on his first night home, an anonymous rider knifes a cryptic message to his door: “Meet me at the Boar’s Head this very night. I will wait in the darkest corner. Come armed and prepared for a long journey.” Once again, the Capulum calls.

Thus begins a journey across the sea to Fjernshavn at the end of a cold fjord. Even before he lands, a druid cabal is planning his death. It’s a city where shapeshifters roam the night, where ordinary citizens disappear almost nightly, and where, it’s rumored, the druid cabal keeps a monster in a pit, a creature with an insatiable hunger.

Machar’s only help: A kindly cheese merchant and a beautiful serving wench, who’s attracted to Machar and who unwittingly puts herself in danger.

At stake is the future of the world. And if Machar can’t find the thief and bring back the stolen scroll . . .

A Christmas Wish by Diana Brandmeyer

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1886 – Illinois

She vowed to marry for love. He promised his daughters a mother for Christmas. Time is running out for both of them.

A handshake between two men changes Alma Pickens’ life. Alma’s father promises her hand in marriage with a wedding due before Christmas. How can she keep her vow to her mother and still honor her father? With only Roy’s dimples to capture her attention, Alma can’t conceive of loving a man in four weeks time.

Widower Roy Gibbons’ young daughters want a mother for Christmas, and desperate to grant their wish, he said yes without thinking. With Christmas right around the corner, time is running out. When Dr. Pickens offers his daughter in marriage, Roy reasons as long as Alma can cook, clean, and keep the youngsters in line, it’s a fine arrangement.

Will Roy keep his promise to his girls? Will Alma keep hers to her mother? When both people have conflicting promises to keep, who will get the Christmas gift?

Set in the year 1886 in Southern Illinois, this sweet inspirational novella will tug at your heartstrings as this little family wins your heart.

A Teacher’s Heart by Various Authors

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Some Lessons Only the Heart Can Teach

Four young women take schooling seriously. In 1864, Adeline teaches soldiers to read. In 1870, Deborah studies to enter college. In 1895, Adelaide competes for her dream academic job. In 1899, Helen fights for her students’ wellbeing. But will men with other teaching methods challenge their ideals and tutor them in romance? Couples come together to teach and learn, but working together has challenges that test their faith.

Lessons of the Heart by Terri J. Haynes
Washington, DC, 1864
After fleeing slavery, Sergeant Elim Smith must teach the First Colored Infantry’s newest soldiers to read. Schoolteacher Adeline Barris comes south searching for her still enslaved mother and brother. When she volunteers to assist Elim, can they learn the lessons of loss and love in the middle of a war?

Courting the Doctor by Cecilia Dowdy
Pennsylvania, 1870
Deborah was in love with Timothy years ago, but he married her sister Eve instead. Now Deborah is a schoolteacher and widower Timothy is back as the town’s doctor. As he helps her to study for a college entrance exam, her feelings for him are rekindled. Will Timothy return her affections?

Schooling Mr. Mason by Lynette Sowell
Massachusetts, 1895
Adelaide Parker thought she was a shoo-in the director of the prestigious Wickham’s Academy for Young Ladies. However, old Mrs. Wickham brings in her nephew, Stephen Mason, who’s new to teaching. She promises the position to the teacher whose team wins the academic challenge—a clever guise for her matchmaking. Who will win the coveted top spot?

Lessons of Love by Lynn A. Coleman
Eastern Tennessee, 1899
Helen Jones and Daniel Moore both teach by very different methods. But learning their own life lessons is a bit more difficult for both of them –and romance is a lesson neither is ready to take. Life keeps pushing them together. Will they surrender and be tutored in love?

To Every Love a Season by Stacy Henrie

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From USA TODAY best-selling author Stacy Henrie comes five inspirational historical romance novellas.

Her Winter Suitor
If Callie doesn’t attract the interest of a suitor by the Patriarch Ball, she’ll be shipped off to England to find a husband. Unwilling to let that happen, Leo, the son of Callie’s favorite chocolatier, volunteers to pretend to be her secret admirer. In return, Callie will ensure his family’s shop provides chocolate favors for the ball—in hopes of keeping the shop from closing. But when their arrangement deepens into real feelings, the two must decide if a humble maker of chocolate and a wealthy heiress can find more than temporary happiness together.

An Unlikely Spring Courtship
Tempest and Bram are both eager to have the most successful mercantile in town. But there are only enough customers to support one store, and neither Tempest or Bram are willing to concede defeat. In spite of their initial competition, the two can’t help but admire the tenacity of the other and eventually they form a bond of friendship. When disaster strikes the town, the pair will have to choose what matters most—success in business or in following one’s heart.

A Summer for Love
When circumstances thwarted their young love, Wyatt and Loralee promised to meet in eight years if neither of them had found someone. This time Loralee isn’t returning to the beach resort as a lowly hotel maid, though—she’s become a renowned singer, performing across the country. Wyatt’s situation has also changed. He’s become a father to his orphaned niece and wishes to provide her with a stable home. But when Wyatt and Loralee see each other again, they begin to wonder if their love hasn’t lessened with time but has deepened instead into something lasting.

Romance in Autumn
Once the daughter of a servant, Phoebe is now an heiress with enough funds to provide herself and her mother with a home of their own. And she knows exactly which house she wants to buy—the mansion at the seaside where she and her mother once worked in the summers. However, James, the son of their former employer, has been tasked to sell the mansion at auction for a price much higher than Phoebe can likely afford. Still hopeful, she volunteers to help James return the neglected mansion to its former glory, and the two become good friends. Yet as the auction draws nearer, they will need to determine which dreams are worth pursuing and which are worth changing.

A Long Winter Kiss
Once the best of friends, with the promise of being something more, Samantha and Rex have seen little of each other since Rex returned home from the war. Samantha is still hurt over Rex eventually asking her not to write him anymore while he was away, and Rex is certain Samantha doesn’t deserve to be with a man who bears the emotional scars of a soldier. However, the two of them are thrown together again when Samantha’s father is unable to deliver his annual Christmas Eve gifts. As Samantha and Rex perform the task, the walls between them start to crumble, making them both hope in the miracles of the season.

The Heart’s Stronghold by Various Authors

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Love on the Edge of the Unknown

Join four brave women making their mark on history at Colonial forts. Faced with tragedy and distrust they will fight to bring civility, family, and love to the frontier.

Virginia Company Bride by Gabrielle Meyer
James Fort at Jamestown, Virginia, 1608
In September 1608, Anne Burras is the only woman in Jamestown when her mistress dies upon arrival. Laborer John Layton is one of only thirty-eight colonists who survived the first year in the colony. Both want Anne on the supply ship returning to England in three months, but neither foresee the difficulties they will face just to stay alive—or the painful sacrifices they will make to stay together.

Embers of Hope by Kimberley Woodhouse
Castle Island, Massachusetts, 1674
Castle William (which would eventually become Fort Independence)
With Castle William burned to ashes, a stone mason’s daughter is the only woman on an island of soldiers. But superstitions and rumors abound that she is bad luck for the island. The captain finds himself falling in love with her, but disaster seems to strike every time they make headway. Can these two find love and hope in the midst of the ashes?

A Treaty of Tulips by Angie Dicken
Fort Burnet in Upstate New York, 1740
Daughter of a Dutch trader, Sabine Van Der Berg is loyal to their land at the trading post and also to her friends, the native Iroquois. When a British lieutenant arrives to expand the post to a fort, not only is Sabine key in keeping the peace for British-Iroquois trade, but she must protect her heart from a man who threatens the only way of life she’s ever known.

A Promise for Tomorrow by Amanda Barratt
Fort Boonesborough, Kentucky, 1778
Pregnant widow Rosina Whiting seeks shelter at Fort Boonesborough after a harrowing journey. She doesn’t expect her heart to be swayed by enigmatic frontiersman Captain Silas Longridge. But will the dangers that await sever their newfound love?

Homefront Heroines by Various Authors

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Patriotic Service Leads to Victories in Romance

Relive life on the American homefront as four women of the WWII era join the workforce and discover romance in surprising ways.

Moonlight Serenade by Rita Gerlach
1941, Washington D.C.
When Kate St. Claire takes over a sailor’s job at the Naval Yard in Washington, DC, she is thrown into a romance she never expected.

Only Forever by Lauralee Bliss
1943, Springville, New York
Marilyn and Arthur learn the hard way that it’s not the outside that matters, but the inward working of the heart that is precious to God and each other.

Blue Moon by Johnnie Alexander
1943, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
After humiliating each other, a WOOPs officer and an Army Intelligence agent team up to protect a top-secret atomic bomb facility from sabotage.

Dream a Little Dream by Amanda Barratt
1945, Palm Springs, California
When an army nurse and a former film star are reunited at a wartime hospital, can they move beyond their past and into a future together?

Christmas at the Circus by Joanne Bischof

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1890s – Louisiana

A Short Story from the Greatest Season on Earth

Newlyweds Charlie and Ella Lionheart are spending their first holiday season together within the circus at New Orleans. It’s Ella’s first Christmas away from her mountain home and with thoughts of family and new beginnings, see what surprises the kindhearted lion tamer has in store for her on Christmas Eve.

Sew in Love by Various Authors

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When four women put needle and thread to fabric, will their sewing lead to love?

HEARTS SEWN WITH LOVE by Darlene Panzera
Gold Bar, California, April 1850: During the California gold rush, a beautiful seamstress finds her heart torn between the men who want to marry her and the one fortune hunter who won’t.

WOVEN HEARTS by Jacquolyn McMurray
New York City, 1911: A shirtwaist factory fire survivor struggles to provide for her family despite the disastrous misguided intentions of the handsome union organizer who tries to help.

A LANGUAGE OF LOVE by Kimberley Woodhouse
New York City, 1911: A milliner with thick Irish accent and a renowned baseball player with speech impediment meet at the office of a language teacher. But the issues with their backgrounds that first brought them together will also drive them apart.

TAILORED SWEETHEARTS by Debby Lee
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Summer 1945: A parachute seamstress struggles with her faith in desperate circumstances. A fighter pilot teaches her to hope in her darkest hours.

More Than a Pretty Face by Karen Witemeyer

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Found in paperback in Serving Up Love

1902 – Texas

Rosalind Kemp became a Harvey Girl five years ago to get away from Texas and the repercussions of a youthful indiscretion. When an unexpected assignment lands her in Gainesville, she hides behind fake spectacles and strict professionalism to discourage male attention. Yet not even a prudish disguise can dissuade local attorney Caleb Durrington from pursuing her. His gentle, persistent wooing tempts her to let down her guard, but when her secret is exposed, will Caleb turn away from her shame? Or will his love give her the courage to finally face her greatest folly?

Intrigue a la Mode by Regina Jennings

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Found in paperback in Serving Up Love

1898 – Kansas

Willow finds herself drawn to the hotel’s new busboy, Graham, but little does she know he’s a railroad heir working undercover to track down criminals using his trains. As he sets out to find the truth, another truth soon becomes equally urgent–will the Harvey Girl he has come to love care for the railroad heir as much as she cared for the lowly busboy?

Grand Encounters by Jen Turano

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Found in paperback in Serving Up Love

1908 – Arizona

Finding herself the object of society’s pity after her fiancé falls for another woman, Myrtle seeks out adventure working as a Harvey Girl, content to hold fast to her vow of remaining a confirmed spinster–until she meets Jack, a self-made man and a frequent guest at the hotel who makes that vow difficult to uphold.

Grand Encounters is a novella from humorous historical romance author, Jen Turano, about a down-on-her-luck heiress who finds unexpected love working at a Harvey House restaurant near the Grand Canyon in 1908.

A Flood of Love by Tracie Peterson

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Found in paperback in Serving Up Love

1929 – New Mexico

After traveling the West for the past ten years, working as a Harvey House girl, Gretchen Gottsacker learns her next assignment puts her back in the town of her childhood. She quickly forms a friendship with a precocious girl named Katiann, until one of their visits leads her face to face with Katiann’s father–the man who abandoned Gretchen on the eve of what she was sure would be a marriage proposal. Now a widower, Dirk Martinez is intent on gaining her trust and forgiveness. Can she risk getting swept up in their strong attraction once again, or will the danger of an impending flood decide her future for her?

The Logger’s Christmas Bride by Kathleen D. Bailey

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1846 – Oregon Country

The only life Viola Chivers ever wanted was here in these Klamath Mountains, loving and serving her family. Pa’s ambitions for her were different: go back East and become a lady, in an elegant “finishing school.” But Vi’s already “finished,” and she knows what she wants: a life here with logger Stephen Miller, a man who shares her faith.

Can Vi and Steve find a way to be together, and can she make sure this isn’t her last Christmas in the Oregon Country?

A Wyldhaven Christmas by Lynnette Bonner

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1890s – Washington

Multiple townsfolk report thefts, and Sheriff Reagan Callahan is stumped as to who the culprit might be. Meanwhile, the women of the town are busy planning Christmas surprises for their menfolk—but not without challenges.
The boots Charlotte wants to buy for Reagan are too expensive. Dixie goes into labor early, misses the deadline to pick up Doc’s sleigh, and her order is canceled. The saddle Liora ordered for Joe is stolen. And the horse Jacinda bought for Zane is wilder than a grizzly! Zoe has no idea what gift to get for her friend, Wash Nolan. And Aurora can’t figure out why Parson Clay isn’t thrilled with the puppy she got him.

Through it all, Kin Davis is there, lending a helping hand to each family in need. He sure will miss Wyldhaven when he leaves, but he’s made up his mind, and nothing will convince him to stay—except maybe the new banker’s niece.

The Highlanders by Various Authors

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Never underestimate the heart of a Highlander.

Night Fox:

After the failed Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, war-weary Deven McLendon returns home to discover a thief creating chaos on his lands. But this thief isn’t like any other. When Rooney Corsen sets out to steal jewels to repay her family’s debts and keep a roof over her little sisters’ heads, never does she imagine snagging the laird’s heart instead.

A Tender Siege:

Pontiac’s War, August 1763: “I beg Ye to take me.” Wounded in battle in the American wilderness, Lachlan McRea of His Majesty’s 42nd Highlanders pleads with God, yearning to be reunited with his lost wife and child. As death hovers near, he is discovered by Wenonah, a native widow doing all she can to survive alone while avoiding the attentions of a dangerous Shawnee warrior. In aiding one another, their perils increase. If Lachlan can let go of the woman he once loved, he might find healing for both body and soul.

The Year Without Summer:

Shoved off his family’s land in Scotland in 1816, Grant Cummings looks for work in Ulster, Ireland. He needs money and a home to raise his young brother. Molly MacGregor loses her father and his income, but she has no time to grieve as she sews and spins to earn enough to keep her and her young brother alive. Renting out the hut on their land might be the answer, but only if she can overcome her prejudice against the handsome Highlander who moves in. Her heart might soften toward him, but not when he plans to set sail for America.

The Violinist:

In 1915 Idaho, homesick lumberjack Callan MacTavish despairs of ever seeing his Scottish homeland again. With kindness and patience, music teacher Rose Marchmont reaches a part of Callan’s heart he’d long ago locked away. She sees beyond his rough exterior to the artistic heart beneath. He longs for more than he can offer her, but she doesn’t know about the secret trauma that keeps him from crossing the sea.

Christmas in Cripple Creek by Sara R. Turnquist

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1890s – Colorado

Katherine and Wyatt have settled into a well-earned, comfortable life together. Until an unexpected attack threatens to bring an end to their happily-ever-after. And on the cusp of the town’s yuletide merriment.

As they come to grips with their new circumstances, they begin to realize the difficulty is far from over. And new challenges arise.

What will become of their family? Of their Christmas?

A Glimmer of Hope by Julia Ridgmont

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1881 – Oregon

She’s traveling west to help her mother begin a new life as a mail-order bride. What she doesn’t know is that she is about to become a mail-order bride, too.

Melissa Eversoll Burgess’s hope of a wonderful life with her first husband went up in smoke the day she married him. Not only was his abuse difficult to take, but she also learned that he was deeply involved in crime—on the very day he died. Now that they’re both widowed, Melissa and her mother are ready to start over in a place called Hope Hollow. When she is introduced to a handsome farmer and informed that she is to be his mail-order bride, she doesn’t know whether to hug him…or slap him.

Garret Pearce came to Oregon three years ago to claim land and nurse a broken heart. Though he’s smitten with Melissa from their very first meeting, he’s not about to fall into that trap again. That is, until it becomes obvious she needs his protection. Entering a marriage of convenience may not have been in his plans, but now that he’s got a wife—and a pretty one at that—he realizes that keeping his heart from being torn in two is going to be the challenge of his life. One that he just might lose.

Will Melissa and Garret get a second chance at love?

Welcome to Hope Hollow, Oregon, a place where hope abounds for the downtrodden and weary, and where peace and love abide amidst life’s trials.

The Christmas Gazebo by Various Authors

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The Christmas Gift by Marilyn Turk

In 1910, amateur photographer Lettie Morgan accompanies her aunt to Springlake, Florida for the annual Springlake Assembly. Jonathon Townsend, wealthy heir to the family fortune and first-time chairman of the event, wants the event to run smoothly. But when the train bringing guests to the Assembly is robbed, Jonathon, who is part-owner of the railroad, must find the robber and appease the attendees. Can the young photographer who’s captured his attention provide clues to the robbery? As Christmas approaches and the Assembly comes to a close, will Jonathon find a way to entice Lettie to stay?

The Christmas Surprise by Lenora Worth

Present Day: When Lynsey Milton comes to Springlake, Florida, to revitalize the town’s historic main street, Jon Townsend, the heir apparent, resists helping her. He’d rather return to the quiet life of a country lawyer. Lynsey needs to seal this deal since a promotion is in her future. But Jon wants to stay in his Victorian mansion, keeping his grief to himself. He won’t fall for a woman who’ll soon leave. When they make a discovery in the gazebo by the lake, Lynsey gets Jon into the Christmas spirit. Can an old gazebo and a beautiful vintage ball gown bring them together?

Serving Up Love by Various Authors

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Bestselling novelist Tracie Peterson joins Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, and Jen Turano in this collection of four novellas, each featuring a Harvey Girl heroine. From Kansas to Texas, the Grand Canyon to New Mexico, the stories cross the country with tales of sweet romance and entertaining history.

In Karen Witemeyer’s “More Than a Pretty Face,” a young woman works her hardest to escape poor choices from her youth.

Tracie Peterson offers “A Flood of Love,” where reuniting with an old flame after more than a decade offers unexpected results.

Regina Jennings’s “Intrigue a la Mode” delights with a tale of a young woman determined to help support her family, despite warnings of danger nearby.

And Jen Turano’s “Grand Encounters” heads to the Grand Canyon with a tale of a society belle intent on finding a new life for herself.

Just in Time for Christmas by Davalynn Spencer

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1875 – Colorado

She’s seventeen with a ranch to run, a fear of heights, and a cowboy intent on stealing her heart.

Abigale Millerton leaves a Denver women’s school and returns to her grandparents’ high-country ranch to find the boy she’d grown up with not a boy any longer—and butting in on her challenge with local timber thieves. If he’d stop telling her what to do, they might get along.

Seth Holt has loved Abigale since before he knew better. And now that she’s back in the high country, she’s still as bull-headed as ever. But Seth can match her, and he’s determined to keep her out of harm’s way and in his line of sight. Trouble is, he’d rather keep her in his arms.

The Hope of Christmas Past by Stephenia McGee

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Late 1800s/Time Travel – Tennessee

When a mysterious painting offers her a trip to the past, will Isla find new hope for her future?

On the brink of aging out the foster system, the last thing Isla Laird wants is to spend Christmas in an old-fashioned plantation. What’s the point of bonding with her foster mom when it’s too late to ever be adopted? But when a mysterious painting suddenly thrusts her into the nineteenth century, Isla is forced to face hurts and memories she’s long tried to bury. With time running out and her heart in tatters, can God use an impossible miracle to bring Isla hope for a new future?

Christmas at Whitefriars by Elizabeth Camden

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1910s – England

Mary Beckwith lives in a magnificent English castle during the twilight years of the gilded age. With the help of an American millionaire, she has succeeded in renovating her beloved Whitefriars castle into a splendid estate just in time for Christmas.

From across the ocean, millionaire Everett Wooten has spent a fortune propping up Whitefriars to add modern conveniences and rebuild crumbling old walls. Even though he’s never met Mary, they have enjoyed a lively business correspondence over the nine years they have been working toward a renovation. Now he has finally come to see Mary and the castle in person, but nothing is as he was led to believe.

Mary and Everett try to find a way forward, but red-blooded American entrepreneurship doesn’t always mingle with blue-blooded English tradition. Can a Manhattan business tycoon and an English lady come to an accord, or will their joint venture in Whitefriars result in heartbreak for them both?

A Gift Like No Other by Julie Lessman

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1936 – Massachusetts

Her dream is writing.
His is the perfect wife and mother.
Until God fulfills them both
with a dream like no other.

Twelve years ago, Faith O’Connor happily gave up her dream as a copywriter to become a wife and mother, clinging to her husband’s promise she could return someday. But when the opportunity arises to write for the Boston Herald again two days a week, her dream hits a snag … along with her marriage.

To Collin McGuire, family is everything because he never really had one of his own. Raised by a father who died early and a mother who didn’t care, Collin is determined to give his children the very best with a full-time mother. But when he denies Faith her dream, he soon discovers he’s denied his own as well … until Christmas day brings a healing through a gift like no other.

Unwrapping Hope by Sandra Ardoin

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1896 – Illinois

She chose the wrong man once. Can she trust her instincts now?

Phoebe Crain, an accomplished pianist, lives in near poverty to protect her five-year-old daughter from scandal. When Phoebe receives a handcrafted cigar box by mistake, her desperation to give the child something special for Christmas drives her to suggest a trade with Spence Newland, a man she views as no more principled than her daughter’s late father. But the more time she spends with the department store heir, the more Phoebe struggles to keep up her guard against him.

Spence believes the cigar box will help him gain a reclusive investor’s financial support for his proposed five-and-ten-cent stores, demonstrating his ability to manage the family fortunes. Yet he hesitates to bargain with a widow who mistrusts him for no apparent reason…until he meets a charming little girl at the train station who awaits the arrival of a prince.

Will a betrayal in Phoebe’s past and Spence’s unraveling plans derail their hope for happiness and keep a child’s fairy tale from coming true?

Home in Paradise Valley by Martha Rogers

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1890 – Texas

Leila Abbott, despaired of ever finding a husband, has one goal in mind–to raise enough money for a library and a new addition for the clinic. Jake Halliday’s goal is to find a place he can call home after five years of drifting from town to town. Leila’s attraction to the tall, dark stranger grows as he blends in with the people of Paradise Valley and lends a hand with his wood-working skills to help organize the largest fund-raising event ever seen by the town. Leila’s enthusiasm and determination strike a chord in Jake as he searches for answers about faith and forgiveness. Their hopes and dreams for the future may well drive them apart, or bring about the love they both have sought.

Crinoline Cowboys by Various Authors

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1868 – Texas

4 Women Bring Southern Charm to a Cowboy Town

A Cowboy of Her Own by Patty Smith Hall
Bookish southern belle Madalyn Turner knows what she wants—to be a cowboy and own a Texas ranch. But books are far different from real life and soon she realizes she needs help.

Josephine’s Dream by Cynthia Hickey
An inexperience Southern belle and a ranching widower must overcome their two very different lifestyles and find a way to work together. Neither of them expected to fall in love. When danger strikes, will they find out that love is worth the price?

Love’s Cookin’ at the Cowboy Café by Marilyn Turk
A refined but feisty southern belle inherits a saloon she plans to convert into a genteel café. Even though her lack of cooking skills threatens disaster, she rejects the town banker’s advice. What will happen when the two lock horns and an unlikely romance simmers on the back burner?

Bea Mine by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Preferring his horse and hound dog to human company, the sheriff’s soldier brother is not happy when he’s left in charge of the jail and the talkative woman awaiting trial. Has the Lord moved to change his mind about the course of his life, or will the little lady win his heart and her freedom?

An Old-Fashioned Texas Christmas by Karen Witemeyer

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1893 – Texas

Celebrate the joy and warmth of the holidays with two historical romance novellas from Karen Witemeyer, including a brand-new story that provides a glimpse into what the Archer clan has been up to.

“An Archer Family Christmas”
It’s Christmas Eve, 1893, and the entire family has gathered to celebrate the holiday. This day is always bittersweet for Jim and Cassie, who lost a child on Christmas Eve three years earlier. Cassie has devoted herself to being the favorite aunt of the Archer children, whisking her nieces away to a nearby schoolhouse to create decorations for the Christmas tree that the men and oldest boys are venturing out to chop down.

When an unexpected knock at the schoolhouse door reveals a desperate pregnant woman on the run from a dangerous outlaw, it’ll take a Christmas miracle–and the entire Archer clan–to make sure no danger befalls the child born on this beloved holiday.

“The Gift of the Heart”
A widow and her young daughter move to Hope Springs for a fresh start, but with no money to secure a home, Ruth must convince a wealthy resort owner to accept her heirloom brooch as collateral. Will the pin that brought love to three generations soften the heart of a wounded recluse and give Ruth a second chance at love as the holidays draw near?

Lessons on Love

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Something Old, Something New by Kathleen L. Maher
New York, 1840s
Her father’s sudden death makes Gilda Jacobs the new schoolmaster, but to teach Christian curriculum she partners with fire-and-brimstone revivalist Joshua Blake, who learns a lesson in love.

Love in Any Language by Susanne Dietze
Kansas, 1870
Mary Clarence teaches English to the children of Swedish immigrants, but when her favorite students’ widowed father, Kristofer Nilsson, is accused of robbery, she’s determined to clear his name.

In Desperate Straits by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1894
Desperate for work, Margaret Hadley dresses as a young man to secure a dray driver’s position. When soldiers at the fort threaten her, Mackinac Island’s newest teacher, Jesse Huntington, intervenes.

A Song in the Night by Rita Gerlach
Virginia, 1904
Karin Wiles longs to share the uplifting power of music with children. But when she seeks to improve a poorly run school and include orphans, Nathaniel Archer delivers harsh words of opposition from the school board.

Legacy of Love by Kristi Ann Hunter

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1827 – England

When Sarah Gooding returned a valuable brooch to the elderly Dowager Countess of Densbury, she had no idea it would lead to a job as the lively woman’s companion. Nor did she expect to admire the Dowager’s youngest grandson so much, even though the difference in their stations means nothing will ever come of her daydreams.

With two older brothers taking up the roles of heir and spare as well as his parents’ attention, Randall Everard spent much of his youth with his beloved grandmother. Knowing he’ll soon be moving away from his family estate and won’t see as much of her, he particularly wants to make this Christmas special for the Dowager.

As Sarah and Randall find themselves spending the holidays together with the Dowager, will their shared festivities lead to a bond that lasts beyond the Christmas season?

These Great Gifts by Allison Pittman

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1898 – New York

When a feisty baseball fan meets her favorite baseball hero, romance is just around the base.

Spring of Thanksgiving by Liz Tolsma

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1886 – Texas

When Ivy Cooke discovers the extent of the debt on her father’s Texas ranch, she vows to do whatever it takes to save her late brother’s legacy for his son. But when new neighbor Dell Watson and his family claim they own the Cooke’s spring, the fight gets ever harder, especially in the midst of a deep drought.

To prove his worth to his father, Dell puts a plan into motion to woo Ivy and her spring. What he doesn’t count on his falling in love with her.

Will the spring bring them together or tear them apart forever?

Thankful for the Cowboy by Mary Connealy

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1881 – Nebraska

Hero Tom MacKinnon rides up driving a wagon with a second wagon trailing him. He and his sister want to be hired to build windmills. They’ll ask for very little money and, in exchange heroine, Lauren Drummond, newly widowed mother of four nearly grown sons, will help them learn to survive in the Sandhills of Nebraska. What to grow, what to hunt, how to build a sod house.

Tom’s windmills will save her ranch. Lauren needs three windmills on this drought year or her growing herd of cattle is going to die of thirst. She agrees to teach him the ways of the Sandhills, and to give him fifteen head of cattle.

She’s not ready to think of another man. But Tom changes her mind. His little sister and one of her sons find love together before Tom and Lauren do.

The Choice by Anne Greene

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1850 – Wyoming

Felicity’s father dies, leaving her stranded at Ft. Laramie, Wyoming, one-third the way to homestead 640 acres in the Oregon Territory. She has money and supplies to continue her journey, but a woman alone cannot claim the free land. So, she advertises for a husband.

Ben’s got massive debt and Gold Rush fever and heads to California. But at Ft. Laramie he’s robbed of everything he owns, including his horse. His only recourse is to strike a bargain with Felicity.

At the fork in the trail, will he trek to Oregon to help her homestead, or will she accompany him to dig for gold in California? Can these two stubborn people with very different goals make the right choice?

Mail-Order Misfire by Davalynn Spencer

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1880 – Colorado

Mail-Order Misfire exposes the heart of a widowed lawman when he meets the bride his nine-year-old daughter wrote for without telling him.

Preacher Bern Stidham is a peacemaker—when he’s not carrying one on his hip. His little girl, Gracie, wants a helper for her preacher/sheriff papa and a mama for herself, so she writes their former pastor in Missouri asking for a mail-order bride.

Recently widowed dressmaker Etta Collier is a half-step ahead of the banker who carries a lustful eye for her as well as the note on her home. When her pastor receives a letter from little Gracie Stidham, he sees a solution for everyone’s problem and encourages Etta to answer Gracie’s request.

Running from one man’s lecherous pursuit into the home of another she knows nothing about, Etta Collier risks everything to ease a little girl’s loneliness and perhaps find a second chance at love.