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A Worthy Heart is a Christian historical fiction novel by Susan Anne Mason, also the second book in the Courage to Dream series. Desperately wanting to remove herself from an uncomfortable ended romance, Maggie is gleeful about leaving Ireland to visit her brother and his wife in America. Even if she does, of course, miss her family at home. Hopeful to never have to return to Ireland, Maggie intends on digging her feet in and making something of herself in America – and then she meets Adam O’Leary. Initially she thinks he is just an alluring stable hand, but soon enough she is told that he is the recently released from prison black sheep of the O’Leary family – and her brother Rylan’s brother-in-law. They encourage her to stay far away from him. Yet there is something about him, and a bond that develops between the two, that is impossible for her to ignore – despite everyone’s best efforts to destroy it… A Worthy Heart features many characters and is much ...

Through Waters Deep is a Christian historical WWII era romance by Sarah Sundin. It is the first book in her Waves of Freedom series. In 1941 Massachusetts, Mary Stirling enjoys her position as Boston Navy Yard secretary – she excels at it but happily can avoid any particular attention in her role. There’s nothing she likes less than attention… When naval officer Ensign Jim Avery comes to Boston on a new assignment, they recognize each other as childhood friends – in fact, Mary clearly remembers Jim’s infatuation with her best friend. As their friendship and camaraderie grows, events take a darker turn – someone seems to be sabotaging the USS Atwood . Tensions are growing regarding the divided opinion on potentially entering into the new war… This is a dangerous time on the Boston shipyards… I have previously enjoyed Sarah Sundin’s Wings of Glory series, as they have a rich historical background with WWII. Unlike some other historical fiction romances that brush over detail...

As Love Blooms is the third book in The Gregory Sisters Christian historical romance series by Lorna Seilstad. Though each book focuses on a different sister, reading the books out of order potentially spoils you for the other sisters’ romances. I would recommend reading When Love Calls first and then While Love Stirs before As Love Blooms . Click on the titles to be swept away to my reviews of said novels! In 1913 St. Paul, Minnesota, youngest Gregory sister Tessa is determined to put her horticulture education to good use by getting a position at prominent Como Park. When she is rebuffed for being a woman best left to garden at home, Tessa’s persistent, audacious spirit is flamed all the more. With a mixture of a little good hearted deception involving penetrating the affluent and powerful society to drum up financial support for a new conservatory for Como Park and working with a attractive male gardener at the Park to utilize her creative designs, Tessa is sure she can ...

After a Fashion is a historical fiction novel by Jen Turano. Though her dreams are to someday open a dress shop where she can refurbish gowns for working women like herself, Harriet Peabody currently spends her days in a hat shop in New York City 1882. Beggars can’t be choosers, though – because once a millinery errand to a high-strung customer goes terribly wrong she finds herself without even that position. Mr. Oliver Addleshaw witnesses the event in question – in fact, he has a role. The aforementioned high-strung lady was under the belief that they were soon to be wed, when in fact all he had been hoping for was a feminine companion on one of his biggest business deals yet. Seeing Miss Peabody’s precarious situation, he decides to offer her that position – especially as he quickly realizes her personality is far different than most simpering, wedding-obsessed ladies he’s dealt with prior. Unable to turn down such a lucrative offer, despite its oddness, Harriet decides to...

Surprised by Love is a Christian historical romance by Julie Lessman, the third book in The Heart of San Francisco trilogy. Though each book in the series focuses on a different family member, I’d still advise reading the books in order to avoid spoilers – as the characters overlap. First you’ll want to read Love at Any Cost and then Dare to Love Again . Click on the titles to read my reviews of those novels. A year ago plump, smart Megan McClare left San Francisco to study in Paris. During that year she has turned into a beauty – having slimmed down, learned some makeup tips and fashion how-to. Even her own family has a tough time recognizing her at first! With ambitions and a heart that is as strong in faith as ever, Megan embraces the opportunity to intern at the district attorney’s office. But then she finds out that Devin Caldwell will also be interning there – the boy that she had a crush on when she was younger. The boy who mocked, teased and hurt her with callous ...

Playing by Heart is a Christian historical fiction romance by Anne Mateer. After growing up as flighty “Fruity Lu”, Lula Bowman has prided herself in turning her life around – focusing on academics and achieving a prestigious scholarship in mathematics. When her mother died, Lula’s father looked to her to achieve his dream of her being the first woman with a PhD – and she longs to make him proud, even as he sits now – elderly and heartbreakingly unaware of her accomplishments. It’s when Lula’s sister Jewel calls her and desperately needs her help after a shocking death shakes the family to their core that Lula’s goals have to be put – reluctantly – on hold. Moving back home to help her sister, Lula takes a job at the local school as a music instructor and basketball coach – the only options available to her. Only problem? She has no idea how to play basketball! Good thing the handsome boy’s coach Chet seems very willing to help her learn. But her undeniable magnetic pull...

Love’s Fortune is the third novel in the historical romance generational trilogy The Ballantyne Legacy by Laura Frantz. I would strongly recommend reading all the books in order! Feel free to read my review of Love’s Reckoning here and Love’s Awakening here . In 1850s Pennsylvania there is a hint of war on the horizon – the issue of slavery has continued to boil over through the years – and the Ballantynes are in the middle of it. Rowena “Wren” Ballantyne has lived apart from her family’s great wealth and opulence in New Hope – having grown up far more humbly with her father Ansel and her now deceased mother in Kentucky. When Wren’s father receives a letter from her grandfather Silas, they are suddenly immersed in society, as Wren’s father takes them to his hometown – a place that Wren is terribly unfamiliar with – and not at all suited for. One of the few people she feels comfortable with is James Sackett – an apprentice of her father’s once and now steamship pilot of t...

In Perfect Time is the third WWII novel in the Wings of the Nightingale trilogy by Sarah Sundin. Though each novel depicts a story featuring different characters, the characters overlap from book to book. For example, you’re introduced to Kay, the main character in In Perfect Time , in the first book and all the characters we met in the first book are still shown in this final novel. Because of this, I definitely recommend reading the three books in order for maximum enjoyment. First there’s With Every Letter , then On Distant Shoes and THEN you can read In Perfect Time . Deal? Okay then! Gorgeous, red-headed bombshell flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson doesn’t hide her penchant for a good time with a boy on every shore. She makes it clear from the get-go that she has a lineup of boyfriends and likes it that way. So, when she meets handsome, prank prone pilot Lt. Roger Cooper and he resists her to-date irresistible charms, why does it bug her? Doesn’t she have enough men lining...

Death Takes a Ride is the third book in the Christian humorous mystery series The Cate Kinkaid Files by Lorena McCourtney. For your fullest enjoyment, I recommend read Dying to Read first and Dolled Up to Die second and THEN Death Takes a Ride . There won’t be terrible spoilers in this review for the first two books, but I still recommend waiting until you’re caught up with the series! On the crest of receiving her P. I. license, Cate should be feeling more capable than ever in her new career, right? Well, when a non-job related task brings her to H & B Vintage Auto Repair one evening and the night ends with one man wounded and another dead, shot in self-defense… she really wonders. But the case is cut and dry, no need for investigating on her end! Or so she tells herself. That is, until she digs a little deeper – the curse of the curious! – and starts to notice oddities that lead her to believe the shooting may not be so simple… The Cate Kinkaid Files is a fun...

Moonblood is the third book in the Tales of Goldstone Wood fantasy series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Personally, I strongly suggest reading this series in order. Even though Stengl does jump around in time a bit, giving different perspectives and stories from different angles at parallel times, it can get super confusing if it’s not in order. Case in point: I was introduced to this series with book two, Veiled Rose . Then I read book one, Heartless . Then, somehow, I totally missed book three (until now) and read book four Starflower and book five Dragonwitch (shockingly!) in order. Now I’ve read Moonblood , book three, before I’ll be reading the next book, number six, Shadow Hand . Yeah, I’ve been jumping all over the place. It just sort of happened. I do not recommend you follow my example. Anywho, a short synopsis of Moonblood : Prince Lionheart, having returned to his kingdom immediately after his kingdom had suffered a long, terrifying occupation of a Dragon, is in ...

While Love Stirs is a historical Christian romance by Lorna Seilstad and the second book in The Gregory Sisters series. Though easily a stand-alone novel, to enjoy While Love Stirs to its fullest I recommend starting with the first Gregory Sisters book When Love Calls . You can click on the title to read my review. Charlotte Gregory is determined to utilize her education at Fannie Farmer’s School of Cookery to make her dream come true: her own kitchen as a chef at a restaurant. It doesn’t take long for Charlotte to realize, though, that there aren’t many opportunities for a woman to be taken seriously outside of the domestic kitchen – until she is presented with a job at the gas company. They want someone to travel, lecture and give cooking demonstrations on the latest kitchen technology - the gas stove. It’s not quite her dream, but it seems to be the closest she’s getting to it anytime soon! Her position leads her to meet sweet, crooning singer Lewis Mathis. Yet her min...

Shadow Hand is the sixth book in the fantasy series Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. As I’ve said numerous times before while reviewing this series, it’s definitely a good idea to read these books in order. Though the time periods jump around a little, it’ll help to keep things more clear – which I’ve struggled with, as the books have not come to me in order. So, you’ll want to first read Heartless , then Veiled Rose , Moonblood (review to come in July), Starflower , Dragonwitch and finally Shadow Hand . The below review will have some slight spoilers from earlier books, so tread carefully! After Lionheart, Prince of the Southlands, was dispossessed and banished, Lady Daylily is now betrothed to his cousin Foxbrush, who has taken his place in the kingdom. Lady Daylily had come to love Lionheart – a love that never seemed to be returned – and now a life with Foxbrush seems to foretell a life just like him – awkward and reclusive. On the day of Lady Daylily’s...

The Pelican Bride is a Christian historical fiction novel by Beth White and the first in the Gulf Coast Chronicles . In the 1704 Louisiana colony, the French stronghold on the land is wavering in the face of continual difficulties with the British and the Natives. To help settle and civilize the large population of men in the colony, a frigate named the Pelican has come in from France with lovely, mannered young women as potential brides. On the Pelican are Genevieve and her sister Aimee. Unlike the other girls who are primarily from a convent, Genevieve and Aimee are hiding their persecution from their outlawed beliefs and a tragic, haunting loss in France they hope to escape in the colonies. Yet, as Genevieve finds herself drawn to Tristan – an exile mapmaker turned farmer – she comes to realize that even in this land of freedom, peace is not guaranteed. Nor can she practice her reformed beliefs without fear of suspicion. Both inside and outside the fort, danger is looming...

A Heart’s Rebellion is a Regency-era Christina romance by Ruth Axtell. Jessamine Barry has spent years of her life loving a man that was almost hers – only to have her hopes dashed when he fell in love with another woman. Well, she’s done with that. The patient, dutiful personality that caused her to waste time on a man that clearly didn’t have enough love for her to stop him from falling passionately for another is no longer wanted in her opinion. Instead, Jessamine would like to be the kind of woman that is the recipient of that ardent desire, that allure that some women seem to have. That’s why when Lancelot Marfleet, second son of an aristocrat, appears to take an interest in her during the London season, she doesn’t consider him a suitor. He’s too much of a respectable cross between her former beloved and her father. She wants zeal and intrigue, and to be the sort of woman to inspire it… But will that sort of life truly give Jessamine what she wants? Anymore I ten...

Dare to Love Again is a Christian historical romance, and the second book in Julie Lessman’s The Heart of San Francisco series. Though each book focuses on different characters, and therefore can stand alone, I’d still recommend reading Love at Any Cost first (book one, review here ) to avoid spoilers on Cassie and Jamie’s story in Dare to Love Again . This review will contain nothing about them, though, so you’re safe to read this! In the summer of 1903, wealthy socialite Allison McClare knows exactly what she wants to be: independent. After bad engagements that ended in misery and being faced with the fact that men can be terrible liars, Allison doesn’t want to have to rely on them. Yet, volunteering as a teacher at her mother’s girls’ school on the Barbary Coast stilts this desire a bit. Though she still wants to decline their chauffeured ride home and instead take the cable car alone, Allison begins to realize that there may be true danger in this part of town. Detect...

A Reluctant Courtship is the third novel in The Daughters of Bainbridge House trilogy, a Regency era historical romance series, by Laurie Alice Eakes. Though each novel focuses on a different Bainbridge sister, and therefore has its own story, reading A Reluctant Courtship before the other two books could potentially give you spoilers of events in the previous books. I recommend reading the books in order. First is A Necessary Deception and then A Flight of Fancy . Click on the titles to read the reviews. Honore Bainbridge, the youngest of the sisters, has been left to the country estate – in hopes she’ll stay out of trouble. And out of the public eye. After two scandalously bad courtships – one of whom was a traitor, the other a murderer – it seems that Honore’s taste in gentlemen constantly leads her astray. So, when she meets Lord Ashmoor – tall, dark and handsome – it’s almost a given that he also would be unsuitable. Of course he is. His American upbringing and f...

Love’s Awakening is the second book in Laura Frantz’s historical fiction series The Ballantyne Legacy . As this is a series that follows the legacy, the generations, of a family – I strongly feel that reading the books in order are important. So, if you have not already, start with Silas and Eden’s journey in Love’s Reckoning – review here – before continuing on with Love’s Awakening . Until then, I recommend avoiding this review for inevitable spoilers. In Love’s Awakening , we return to Pennsylvania – this time in 1822. Elinor Ballantyne, youngest child of Silas and Eden, is headed home – having made the executive decision that she had been “finished” enough at finishing school. Longing to see her family and friends again, she’s only slightly concerned what they will think of her choice. As the lovely, delicate, mannered daughter, she’s been blessed with the chance to get the best schooling and opportunities – and with a fortune to rival others, she is extremely eligible....

The Invention of Sarah Cummings is the third novel in Olivia Newport’s Christian historical fiction series Avenue of Dreams . The Pursuit of Lucy Banning and The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow are the first two books, and I definitely recommend reading them in order to maximize the storytelling experience, not to mention avoid some plot spoilers! You can click on the titles to see my reviews. If you’re up-to-date with this series, you should be aware of Sarah Cummings character. She takes the spotlight in this book. Here’s a little synopsis: It’s the turn of the century in Chicago, and a life of a maid – of an orphan – is not what Sarah was meant to have. She feels this through and through, every day that she mops a floor or serves a supper. With her amazing sewing skills she has managed to take her wealthy Banning employers castoff gowns and make them into fashionable garments. It’s when she’s wearing one of her creations that she meets newcomer Lillie Wagner. Lillie takes...