Steele brings the fake-dating trope to Amish country for this fun sequel to Hunting for a Husband. After failing to make her first crush fall for her, Salina Stolzfus is 22, single, and subject to her meddling mother’s attempts to marry her off by inviting each of Havenlee, Ind.’s eligible men to dinner. Seth Weaver has recently arrived in Salina’s hometown from Kentucky to nurse his broken heart after being dumped three days before his wedding. He can’t help noticing cheery, upbeat Salina, who is determined to help Seth smile again. The two become friends while establishing a consignment shop to help a nearby community recover from a tornado, and Seth soon agrees to fake a relationship with Salina to curtail her mother’s matchmaking efforts. Just as they begin to wish their pretend courtship were real, an emergency draws Seth back home, leaving Salina feeling rejected and wondering if her happily ever after will forever remain beyond her grasp. Readers will have no trouble rooting for Steele’s leads—especially boisterous, good-natured Salina—as they overcome past rejections in hopes of starting over. The result is a clean, feel-good romance sure to satisfy Steele’s fans. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

A true crime podcaster and a wilderness guide try to outmaneuver a criminal empire and a disastrous storm in Mentink’s high-octane follow-up to Fire Mountain. After building a career analyzing unsolved mysteries, Mackenzie Bardine returns to the cold case that started it all: the murder of her older brother, Aaron, who she believes ran afoul of Bullseye, an elusive and powerful drug dealer. A lead on Bullseye’s identity brings Mackenzie to the remote Washington State town of Oakleaf, where she encounters Gideon Landry, a wilderness guide and her late brother’s former best friend. Despite being convinced that he could have done more to prevent Aaron’s death, Mackenzie recruits Gideon to help with her unfolding investigation. The pair wind up stranded in the wilderness during a raging rainstorm, but Mackenzie’s determined to connect with a new informant back in town, forcing them on a harrowing quest through a landscape rife with Bullseye’s minions and threatened by rapidly rising waters. Before long her growing closeness with Gideon has her wondering if vengeance is truly what her heart needs to heal—and if faith might be enough to help her forgive him and, ultimately, herself for the tragedy. The action starts on the first page and never lets up, with a tightly plotted series of twists and turns building to an explosive finale. It’s a plunge worth taking. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/23/2026 | Details & Permalink

Gould’s sweet second entry in the Letters from Lancaster County series (after The Shop Down the Lane) sees polar opposites slowly find their way to each other. Adam Slaybaugh and Joanna Grebel meet in Lancaster County, where they’re both staying with their grandparents. The chemistry is instant, but outgoing Adam comes on too strong and reticent Joanna rebuffs him, worried she’s not ready to start courting. She begins seeing Jacob Byer instead, and Adam moves to Pinecraft, Fla. After several years—and a trip to Pinecraft during which their chemistry reignites—Adam returns to Pennsylvania to take over his grandparents’ construction company. When Jacob breaks up with Joanna, Adam sends her anonymous letters of encouragement but later lies about it, potentially risking his future with her. Though the buildup drags on a bit, readers will have no trouble rooting for the charming leads as they tackle plenty of humorous hurdles and miscommunications on their way to a happy ending. This small-town Amish romance delights. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/16/2026 | Details & Permalink

Addiction, loss, and recovery animate this affecting contemporary from Lowe (Lowcountry Lost). After serving time in jail for a DUI, Juniper “Junie” Wilder is determined to rebuild her life and regain custody of her daughter, Fern, who’s now living with Junie’s older brother, Cy. She retreats to her late grandmother’s South Carolina seaside estate, which she’s just inherited, and sets about trying to get back on her feet. Thankfully, the road to sobriety isn’t a solitary one, and she leans on the tough love of her 73-year-old sponsor Gilbert; the Magnolia Nephalist Society, an eclectic addiction recovery group; and handsome neighbor Henry, who offers a glimpse of a future beyond her mistakes. As Junie tackles recovery, a custody battle, and the process of starting a dog-walking company, she grapples with deep fears about whether her daughter might be better off without her and whether she’s worthy of God’s forgiveness. Lowe’s character work is nuanced, and she excels at depicting the unglamorous, day-to-day grind of recovery. It adds up to a resonant testament to the power of community to help one make a fresh start. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

Peterson (A Moment to Love) pairs two do-gooders divided by a thorny family history in this solid series starter. After meeting at a charity event in Philadelphia in 1866, Judith Ashton Stanford and Dr. Roman Turner bond over their shared desire to help the needy, especially orphans and widows of the Civil War. Four years later, the pair cross paths again in Minnesota, where Judith has traveled to meet her wealthy estranged grandfather, who is dying. Roman’s shocked to discover that Judith’s the granddaughter of James Ashton, a corrupt businessman who once swindled his father, and is unaware she plans to use the inheritance for charitable purposes. As James tries to reconcile with a skeptical Judith, she and Roman discuss their faith and consider what it means to forgive others. Just when it starts to look like a happy ending might be on the horizon, a greedy lawyer determined to steal Judith’s inheritance threatens to wreck the relationship and their plans to finance a new hospital and orphanage. Readers will have no problem rooting for plucky, idealistic Judith as she works to do good in a society ravaged by war and class divides. This satisfies. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/09/2026 | Details & Permalink

A grieving widow opens up her heart and home in this cozy contemporary from Carlson (Welcome to the Honey B&B). Riva Owens, 61, has been struggling to pay off medical bills and keep up on her mortgage payments since her husband Paul died of cancer more than a year ago. Over the protestations of her daughter Kenzie, who wants her to move to a senior center across town, Riva decides to stay put in her Victorian home and rent out several rooms. As a result, she ushers plenty of drama into her quiet life. Her new boarders Laurel, Windy, Fiona, and Kitty—all independent, opinionated seniors—clash over the space, their secrets, and eventually their romantic interests. As Riva grapples with the challenges of sharing her home—including an incriminating secret one of the women is hiding, and the possibility of a new romance—she turns to God to help her make the most of her new beginning. Carlson’s cute, cheery premise gains depth from resonant descriptions of how grief strikes at unexpected moments and the conflicting excitement and guilt that can accompany a fresh start. This is sure to tug on readers’ heartstrings. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Hannon (Over the Edge) wraps up the Undaunted Courage series with this pulse-pounding contemporary. Anthropologist Cara Tucker is taking a sabbatical in rural Missouri, where she’s helping Natalie Boyer, a local woman, translate family journals written in Paw Paw French, a nearly extinct dialect once spoken by French settlers in the region. Natalie hopes the journals will shed light on her thorny family history, including the suspicious circumstances surrounding a relative’s death in the 1930s. But a series of too-coincidental disasters—a fire set on Natalie’s property, her handyman’s mysterious death—soon has both women wondering if someone might be determined to keep the journals’ secrets buried. After local sheriff Brad Adams gets involved in the case and seeks Cara’s help extracting clues from the diaries, he begins to suspect the real culprit might be closer to home, even if he can’t yet discern their motive. Hannon keeps the tension high as Brad and Cara harness their faith to unravel a mystery that’s rooted in an intricate web of long-ago affairs, contested inheritances, and buried jealousies. Readers will be on the edge of their seats until the very end. (Oct.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

Dickerson follows up Lady of Disguise with a charming rags-to-riches Regency romance. Charlotte Robbins, 25, lives in a small English village but dreams of traveling the world and writing novels. When a governess position at Lowndesbury House becomes available, she’s excited to take it; she’s even more thrilled to discover that the mansion’s owner, the handsome but purportedly cold Earl of Brookhaven, is actually a sensitive, faithful man disillusioned by the superficiality of his social circle. As their friendship deepens, Charlotte is thrust into high society when she inherits a fortune from a mysterious uncle and must contend with hordes of eager suitors who seem more enchanted with her money than her heart. She pines for Lord Brookhaven but worries she’s mistaken his kindness for something more, while Brookhaven, haunted by a former fiancée’s betrayal, hesitates to open his heart again. Dickerson injects fresh life into this riff on the “Cinderella” story by setting it against a richly detailed 19th-century British backdrop rife with class tensions. Fans of Julie Klassen will want to dive in. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/02/2026 | Details & Permalink

An avalanche in the Colorado mountains propels this uneven pair of mystery novellas from Pettrey (Blind Spot) and Eason (Target Acquired). In Pettrey’s “Buried in Shadows,” autopsy assistant Cassie Parker returns to the same ski resort where, one year ago, she was blackmailed by a stalker into leaving her best friend Izzy’s brother, Joel, at the altar. Now reunited at Izzy’s wedding, Cassie and Joel have time to talk things out, especially after an avalanche forces them to shelter at the ski lodge. Just as they start confronting their unresolved feelings, Cassie’s stalker resurfaces, determined to keep the pair apart at any cost. In Eason’s “Snowbound Secrets,” trauma surgeon Maya Sullivan is on a much deserved getaway when the same avalanche strands her at a ski resort without cell service. Things start looking up when she runs into her teenage crush, Gideon Price, but then a series of mysterious “accidents” befall her, and it becomes evident Maya is the target of a sinister plot. As their chemistry builds, Maya and Gideon harness their faith to uncover who has it in for Maya—and why—before it’s too late. Unfortunately, the latter third of Pettrey’s novella feels rushed, while Eason undercuts her narrative tension with long blocks of exposition-heavy dialogue. These wintry thrillers fail to deliver the chills. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/05/2025 | Details & Permalink

The latest from Strong (Fiancé Finale) is a frothy romance starring a former ballet dancer who’s seeking a fresh start. After an injury ends her professional dancing career, Claire Holloway lands a flight attendant job based in Seattle and leaves her longtime boyfriend, Wyatt, behind in California. Immediately after arriving she bumps into handsome pilot Nathan Stuart, who helps her get acclimated to the job. The chemistry between the two builds on flight assignments, but both carry emotional baggage: Claire’s mourning her failed ballet career and trying to decide whether to stay with her supportive boyfriend, while Nathan’s reeling from a recent breakup with an unfaithful ex. When a new flight attendant position opens up in California, Claire must decide whether to play it safe and marry Wyatt or embark on an exciting but uncertain new life in Seattle. The dual-perspective narration steadily ratchets up the romantic tension as the leads work to trust God to lead them in the right direction, even if it’s far from the path they’d planned. This sweet contemporary satisfies. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 12/05/2025 | Details & Permalink