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?

Catching the Cowgirl by Lacy Williams

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1903 – Wyoming

Breanna White is a tomboy who’d rather be racing her horse than waiting for a man to call on her. She’s perfectly content with who she is. Until Adam, a city-slicker who reminds her of a past she’d rather forget, shows up in Wyoming unexpectedly. Adam belongs to a society family. He has *expectations*. He can’t marry a small-town cowgirl with no connections. Can he?

Unexpected Champion by Mary Connealy

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1868 – Nevada

City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868 on a wild-goose chase to find the Chiltons’ supposedly lost grandson. But now that he’s out here, things have gotten even more complicated, mostly due to wildcat Penny Scott. She’s not like any woman he’s ever met–comfortable in the woods, with a horse, and with a gun.

When Penny and John are taken against their will by a shadowy figure looking for evidence they don’t have, both realize they’ve stumbled into something dangerous and complicated. With their friends and family desperately searching for them, Penny and John must make a daring escape.

When they emerge back into the real world, they are confronted with a kidnapper who just won’t stop. They must bring a powerful, ruthless man to justice, even as this city man and country woman fight a very inconvenient attraction to each other.

Requilted with Love by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1889 – Michigan

Find humor, family relationships, and romance blossoming at the 1889 Michigan State Fair in Lansing when a quilter finds herself literally falling for a a balloonist!
Quilter Sarah Richmond hopes to win a Blue Ribbon and the cash prize which she’ll put to good use. Sarah has requilted her wedding quilt, having suffered the loss of more than one fiancé in her young life. Grant Bentley provides rides in his balloon at the fair, but Sarah believes he is a grounds worker at the fair. When she discovers he’s involved in such a risky activity, she determines to end their fledgling romance.

*This title in paperback here.

The Shenandoah Road by Lynne Basham Tagawa

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1744 – Pennsylvania

Would a Deckert long rifle have saved her?

John Russell’s heart aches from the loss of his wife, but the Shenandoah Valley frontiersman needs to marry again for his daughter’s sake. At first he believes he has found the right young woman, despite their differences, but his faith falters when time reveals she isn’t quite what she seemed. Can he truly love her?

Unlike her disgraced sister, Abigail Williams obeys the Commandments. At least, she thinks herself a Christian until a buckskin-clad newcomer courts her. He treats her kindly but also introduces her to a sermon by the controversial preacher, George Whitefield. Her self-righteousness is shattered, and she wonders about their relationship. If she confesses her lack of faith, will John continue to love her?

Blessed Beyond Measure by Kari Trumbo

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1850 – At Sea

Lenora Farnsworth craves the adventure of the California gold rush.

In the land of her dreams, the work and community are just what she’s looking for. Though she’s drawn to her protector, she must forgive the rumors about his past, or risk her future. Victor is not a Godly man; can he still be the Lord’s choice for her?

Victor Abernathy needs to make some money and get back to England, fast. He’s never met a woman he couldn’t match, until Lenora. She’s supposed to be no more than a job, but her every nuance imprints his heart. He makes a wager with her—it’s his gambler’s nature—but he’s dealt a bad hand when his plans fall through. Lenora is a prize he can’t afford to lose, but when England calls, will he fold, or take his winnings and run?

Broken Chain by Julia David

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1881 – Wisconsin

Benjamin Graham is a wanderer, going wherever the wind may blow, only to find himself out of wind, money, and unfortunately, his new horse. With only one prospect for a job, he lands on the Von Keller’s dairy farm. Finding little motivation for milking cows, his only interest lies with their middle daughter, Nadine.

Restless, yet wanting to prove reliable, he agrees to take a journey to find the Von Keller’s oldest daughter, Margaret. Missionary, teacher, and crusader, she has convictions and fervor to serve the Lord at any cost; now it seems even to her last breath.

Desperately, Ben relies on what little he has as she wavers between life and death. As he comes to terms with his new role, he finds an increasing attachment to this astonishing young woman. One starlit evening, his desires collide with hers and he finds his own future dangling in the balance. What kind of game is he playing with these sisters? He should be disowned by this family, but there is one he’s falling in love with. A broken chain, pulled from Margaret’s neck, burns in his pocket. Can he do the right thing or the honorable thing? Is it too late?

Reckless to reliable. Friendship to love. A past pointing to a future. God’s truth-the breaker of all chains.

Her Traitor’s Heart by Colleen Hall

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1866 – South Carolina

For Coral Leigh, the Civil War took everything and everyone she loved: her fiancé, her brother, and her father. But when her mother dies of grief shortly after the war’s end, Coral’s plantation home, Elmwood, must be auctioned. Soon to be homeless, she fears becoming yet another casualty of the war.

Fortunately, help arrives in the handsome form of Clint Logan, a decorated general in the Union army, and part of the occupational forces stationed near her home. When the general kindly offers her employment, Coral decides her pride isn’t worth starvation.

As love blooms between them, Coral and Clint must contend with threats worse than the scrutiny of Southern society. Disenfranchised Confederate soldiers are causing trouble around town, and Coral has to face the possibility of Clint’s death in the line of duty, along with her own social ostracization. She will have to decide if she’s ready to trust her heart’s new loyalties, even if it means forsaking everything she’s ever known.

A Promise to Break by Kathryn Spurgeon

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1932 – Oklahoma

A head-strong, wealthy banker’s daughter. A penniless hobo. Sparks fly when they meet, but how will he fit into the world-changing socialistic dreams instilled by her father? Will their relationship survive the perils of the Great Depression, and the birth of an unwanted child?

Sibyl Trimble never expected her world to change so drastically. Waiting at the train station for her banker father in 1932, she witnesses a destitute hobo being beaten by a train conductor. The handsome young man’s clear blue eyes haunt her. As a child, Sibyl promised to support a socialistic political movement to change the world. As an adult, she dresses in fashionable clothes, cruises in a new Chrysler, and dances at the local speakeasy. Even the Great Depression can’t dampen her comfortable lifestyle—until Fremont Pope, the muscular man with solemn blue eyes, turns her world upside down. The more she gets to know Fremont, the more she learns about God and a purpose for life. He opens her eyes to a world she never imagined. Can she dare to break from her father’s beliefs and find godly love? Inspired by true events, this novel follows Sibyl through some difficult choices. She must dig deep within herself to find the strength to face her upbringing and determine which, if any, of her past beliefs can be salvaged. She must decide which is more important, love or duty.

A Woman’s Place by Carol Cox

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1870 – Texas

Headstrong Amelia Donovan can’t get anyone to pay attention to her ideas on how to track down the thieves that have been plaguing her father and neighboring ranchers. In their minds, a woman should focus her attention on keeping house and raising children, not on livestock or rustlers. But maybe the Texas Ranger who’s been called in to investigate will listen to her.

Ranger Jake Thornton has never encountered a case quite like this one. He is committed to the task of finding out who’s behind the mysterious string of cattle thefts, but he didn’t expect to have to ride herd on an unpredictable group of ranchers as well. On top of that, he has to deal with Amelia Donovan. With her wild ways, Amelia is unconventional, to say the least…and certainly not the kind of woman Jake would expect to draw his interest.

Hearts in Defiance by Heather Blanton

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1800s – Colorado

Men make mistakes. God will forgive them. Will their women?

Gritty and realistic, this is not a sweet Christian romance. It’s life in Defiance.

Charles McIntyre built the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance practically with his bare hands … and without any remorse for the lives he destroyed along the way. Then a glimpse of true love, both earthly and heavenly, changed him. The question is, how much? Naomi Miller is a beautiful, decent woman. She says she loves McIntyre, that God does, too, and the past is behind them now. But McIntyre struggles to believe he’s worth saving … worth loving. Unfortunately, the temptations in Defiance only reinforce his doubts.

Billy Page abandoned Hannah Frink when he discovered she was going to have his baby … and now he can’t live with himself. Or without her. Determined to prove his love, he leaves his family and fortune behind and journeys to Defiance. Will Hannah take Billy back or give him what he deserves for the betrayal?

A Bride in Store by Melissa Jagears

A Bride in Store

1881 – Kansas

Impatient to meet her intended groom and help him grow his general store, mail-order bride Eliza Cantrell sets out on her travels a week early. But her plan goes sadly awry when her train is held up by robbers who steal her dowry and Axel, her groom-to-be, isn’t even in town when she finally arrives. Axel’s business partner, William Stanton, has no head for business and would much rather be a doctor. When his friend’s mail-order bride arrives in town with no money and no groom in sight, he feels responsible and lets her help around the store–where she quickly proves she’s much more adept at business than he ever will be. The sparks that fly between Will and Eliza as they work together in close quarters are hard to ignore, but Eliza is meant for Axel and a future with the store, while Will is biding his time until he can afford medical school. However, their troubles are far from over when Axel finally returns, and soon both Will and Eliza must decide what they’re willing to sacrifice to chase their dreams–or if God has a new dream in store for them both.

Cowboy to the Rescue by Louise Gouge

Cowboy to the Rescue

1878 – Colorado

Though Georgia belle Susanna Anders agrees to accompany her father on a silver prospecting trip to Colorado, her heart belongs to the South. Then charming cowboy Nate Northam saves her father’s life and gives them shelter at his ranch. Feeling gratitude is only natural, but falling for a Yankee? Both of their families would be outraged. While Susanna’s father recovers at the Northams’ home, Nate can’t help being drawn to the sweet Southern beauty…and wishing he were free to think of courtship. That is until shocking revelations compel both Nate and Susanna to choose where their loyalties lie—fettered to the past or to the promise of a bold new love….

Hearts in Flight by Patty Smith Hall

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1943 – Georgia

Serving her country as one of the Women’s Army Special Pilots is Maggie Daniels’s dearest wish. But there are obstacles to overcome above and beyond the enemies in the Pacific, including her overprotective family, skeptical fellow pilots—and handsome, distant squadron leader Wesley Hicks. Whatever it takes, Maggie will prove herself to Wesley, until she succeeds in winning his admiration…and love.

Wesley can see that Maggie’s a first-class pilot. She’s also too fearless by half. The war has cost Wesley so much already. Can he let go of his guilt for a chance at happiness—and can he learn to trust in God…and Maggie…enough to believe in love for a lifetime?

Not the Marrying Kind by Kathleen Y’Barbo

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1851 – Texas

Sheriff Rafe Wilson is up to his eyeballs in trouble, starting with his father and those retired Texas Ranger cronies of his and ending right at the the door to the new dressmaker’s shop where Peony Potter has become an insufferable but intriguing irritation. Fleeing a past she’d rather forget, Peony Potter has come a long way from mending the dresses ladies in her mama’s house of ill repute and is now well respected in her new home of Cut Corners, Texas. With Rafe poised to leave town and join the Rangers like his father and Peony hiding a secret that threatens all she has worked so hard to overcome, can these two sparring souls quit their bickering and realize they’ve fallen in love before it is too late?

Glimpses of Paradise James Scott Bell

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1920s – California

A sweeping historical epic about dreams and dreamers, love and lovers, and the glitter factory of Hollywood

Two high school kids in small town Nebraska have their dreams. Zee, a minister’s daughter, wants to be a movie star. Doyle, the son of a wealthy lawyer, expects to follow in his father’s footsteps and practice law.

But World War I explodes and changes everyone forever. When Doyle ends up on the battlefields of France, though he performs ably, he comes home disillusioned. Rejecting his parents’ pleas to return to school, he finds himself in Los Angeles on the bottom rung of society.

Zee Miller is also in L. A., having run away from her father and the religion of her youth. But a stunning string of events, resulting in a charge of murder, will see their lives intersecting again in a way that may shatter them both.

Catching Katie by Robin Lee Hatcher

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1916 – Idaho

Katie Jones is committed to fighting for the cause of woman’s suffrage. She has no time for romance, especially not with her best friend Ben Rafferty. But when Katie’s column in Ben’s newspaper stirs things up, sparks begin to fly. Ben is set on winning Katie over, but Katie is just as determined to stay true to her 1916 feminist ideals. With such strong obstacles in the way, their relationship can’t possibly progress. Unless somehow love finds a way…

“You can run all you want, Katie. You still can’t run away from your feelings or from my love. Not today. Not ever.” With determination in his voice, he added, “I will catch you, Katie.”