New Releases for June 2012

Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

No one steps on Archer land. Not if they value their life. But when Meredith Hayes overhears a lethal plot to burn the Archer brothers off their ranch, a twelve-year-old debt compels her to take the risk. Four brothers. Four straws. One bride. Despite the fact that Travis is no longer the gallant youth Meredith once dreamed about, she determines to stand by his side against the enemy that threatens them both. But will love ever be hers? Or will Travis always see her merely as a short-straw bride?

Coming Home by Karen Kingsbury

The Baxters make plans to come together for a summer lakeside reunion, a celebration like they haven't had in years. But before the big day, the unthinkable happens. As the Baxter Family rallies together, memories come to light in the grief-stricken hours of waiting and praying, memories that bring healing and hope during a time when otherwise darkness might have the final word. In a season that changes all of them, the brilliance of family love overshadows even the valley of heartache as the Baxters draw closer to God and each other. Secrets are revealed and the truth about the Baxter Family history is finally made known.

To be reviewed. Because although I don't want to read the Bailey Flanigan books, I do want to know what happens to the Baxters.

Touching the Sky by Tracie Peterson

When Laura Marquardt first meets Brandon Reid, their encounter is anything but pleasant. But when the two are seated together at a dinner party, they soon find that they share similar interests--Laura desires to educate blacks, and Brandon, as a white officer over colored troops, eagerly supports her cause. Laura finds herself in a difficult situation when she overhears plots to kill Union soldiers. And when Brandon's motives for pursuing her come into question, her heart is even more conflicted. Where is God leading her?

Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt

Darlene Caldwell, reigning matriarch of Sycamores, a spacious Southern estate in northern Florida, is having a birthday—her fiftieth. But Darlene doesn’t know the party planners have invited her twin sister, Carlene, to come from New York for the festivities—after all, it’s Carlene’s birthday, too, and before Carlene went off to become a famous singer on Broadway she was toasted as Peculiar’s Buttercup Squash Festival Queen. Can these sisters reach an understanding and learn to live together in peace?

To be reviewed, because I couldn't resist the title.

A Season of Love by Amy Clipston

In the fifth and final novel of the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, three young women are about to change their lives. Lizzie Anne and Samuel have decided to get married, and Lindsay is about to be baptized in the Amish faith and is courting Matthew. While Katie Kauffman is happy for her friends who seem to have settled their futures, she is also finding herself something of a fifth wheel. When Lindsay's sister Jessica returns to Bird-in-Hand, she finds that Jake Miller has moved on with his life. He lost hope that Jessica would ever be satisfied to settle in rural Pennsylvania and takes comfort in becoming close friends with Katie.

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy

Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever. After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband. Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.

Mary Magdalene by Diana Wallis Taylor

Long maligned as a prostitute or a woman of questionable reputation, Mary Magdalene's murky story seems lost to the sands of time. Now a portrait of this enigmatic woman comes to life in the hands of an imaginative master storyteller. Diana Wallis Taylor's Mary is a woman devastated by circumstances beyond her control and plagued with terrifying dreams--until she has a life-changing confrontation with the Savior.

The Struggle by Wanda Brunstetter

An Amish couple from Lancaster County seeks a new future in Kentucky. When Timothy Fisher decides to move his wife, Hannah, and daughter Mindy to Christian County, where two of his brothers now reside, Hannah is very reluctant to go. Will the new home Timothy builds for them there do anything to lift her spirits? When a tragic accident occurs, Timothy and Hannah are inconsolable. Is an abrupt separation the beginning of the end of their marriage, or will they rally to seize a God-given second chance?

Waiting for Sunrise by Eva Marie Everson

Life sometimes gets the best of us. For some it's the daily pressures, for others it's the shadows of the past. For Patsy Milstrap, it's both. When she travels to beautiful Cedar Key on Florida's Gulf Coast in search of healing, she never dreams her past will be waiting for her there. With a large helping of Southern charm, Waiting for Sunrise is a touching story of family, young love, and the need for forgiveness. Author Eva Marie Everson expertly draws out the bittersweet moments of life, weaving them into a tale that envelops the soul.

When Hope Blossoms by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Amy Knackstedt hopes a new start in Weaverly, Kansas, will help heal the pain of losing her husband and provide a better future for her three children. But her new neighbor, Tim Roper, is not pleased to have an Old Order Mennonite family living next to his apple orchard. Tim left the Mennonite faith years ago and doesn't want any reminders of his former life. Yet when circumstances throw Amy and Tim together, they form a friendship that surprises them both. Will past hurts always be a barrier between them, or will this tentative relationship blossom into something more?

End of the Trail by Vicki McDonough

Brooks Morgan left home 11 years earlier and is just too stubborn to return home. In 1896 he pulls into the town of Shoofly to take refuge from a storm and befriends John Langston in the local cafe. A high stakes poker game ends with Brooks holding the deed to John's ranch with one condition - Brooks must promise to take care of Keri. Brooks agrees, assuming that Keri is a horse.

The River Rose by Gilbert Morris

Life hasn’t been easy for Jeanne Bettencourt, a widow approaching thirty and struggling to provide for her eight-year-old daughter. But hope arrives in the form of the Helena Rose, a steamboat she unexpectedly inherits from a distant, departed relative. Jeanne’s father had captained a similar vessel and taught her how to pilot a steamer along the banks of Memphis. She’s looking forward to a renewed livelihood on the mighty Mississippi. However, as plans are made, news comes of another heir to the Helena Rose - a tough man named Clint Hardin - and a clause in the will that says claimants of the estate must live aboard the boat.

Hope Springs by Kim Cash Tate

Hope Springs, North Carolina, is the epitome of small town life. Janelle Evans hasn't gone back to Hope Springs for family reunions since losing her husband. But when she arrives for Christmas and learns that her grandmother is gravely ill, she decides to extend the stay. It isn't long before she runs into her first love, and feelings that have been dormant for more than a decade are reawakened. And when Janelle proposes a Bible study a the local diner--and invites both African American and Caucasian women she has met--the group quickly forms a spiritual bond . . . and inadvertently adds to underlying tension in the community.

Faithful Unto Death by Stephanie Jaye Evans

No one knows that better than Walker “Bear” Wells, a former college football player now serving as a minister in this upscale Texas town, where famous athletes mix with ranchers and the local parish priest wants to arm wrestle. It’s a beautiful master-planned community, but people can’t be held to neighborhood restrictions, and Bear deals daily with emotional and spiritual problems, in both his flock and his own family. But never murder. Not until a man is found dead on the nearby golf course, his skull crushed.

The Director's Cut by Janice Thompson

Tia Morales is used to calling the shots. She's the director of the popular sitcom Stars Collide, and her life on set is calculated and orderly. Well, most of the time. But her life outside the studio is another matter. If only she could get her family to behave as well as her stars do! When she starts butting heads with handsome camera operator Jason Harris, it's enough to send a girl over the edge. Will she ever learn to let go and take life--and love--as it comes?

Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T Bergren

When Cora Kensington learns she is the illegitimate daughter of a copper king, her life changes forever. Even as she explores Europe with her new family, she discovers that the most valuable journey is within. The first book in the Grand Tour series takes you from the farms of Montana through England and France on an adventure of forgiveness, spiritual awakening, and self-discovery.
To be reviewed.

Lily by Diane Ashley and Aaron McCarver

Cruise down the Mississippi with Natchez belle Lily Anderson. Needing to provide for herself and her sisters, Lily is desperately trying to make a go of a riverboat venture with co-owner Blake Matthews. But they fail to find anything to agree upon. Blake is enamored of the feisty Lily. Attempts to woo her may be lost to the devious Jean Luc Champney. Will the siren song of the river evolve into a serenade or a somber lament?

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

When costume-maker Ellie Moore suddenly finds herself out of a job in the middle of a bleak Chicago winter, she uses her knowledge of theatrical disguise to secure a position as an undercover operative with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Her assignment: find the culprit behind the theft of silver shipped from the mines near Pickford, Arizona. Disguised as a middle-aged widow, Ellie begins her investigation. Soon she finds she must also pose as the dazzling young Jessie Monroe, whose vivacious personality encourages people to talk.

Rebel by Linda Windsor

With Merlin dead, the succession undecided, and the Celtic church on the defensive from Rome, intrigue sweeps the court of the High King Arthur. But it’s battlefield news that consumes Queen Gwenhyfar’s young scribe, Kella O’Toole: her fiancé is dead and her father gone missing. Determined to find him at all costs, Kella defies the queen’s orders and sets out for Pictish territory. Her foster brother Alyn, a disillusioned priest who questions his calling, agrees to help her. Brilliantly researched, vividly imagined, and movingly written—a memorable climax to the Brides of Alba series.

Thunder of Heaven by Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall

No description available.

Two Crosses and Two Testaments by Elizabeth Musser

The glimmering Huguenot cross she innocently wears leads her deep into the shadows.

When Gabriella Madison arrives in France in 1961 to continue her university studies, she doesn’t anticipate being drawn into the secretive world behind the Algerian war for independence from France. The further she delves into the war efforts, the more her faith is challenged.

The people who surround her bring a whirlwind of transforming forces—a wise nun involved in the smuggling, a little girl carrying secret information, and a man with unknown loyalties who captures her heart. When she discovers a long hidden secret from her past, it all leads to questions about trust, faith in action, and the power of forgiveness to move beyond the pain of the past.


To be reviewed.

Yesterday's Stardust by Becky Melby

This second in the Lost Sanctuary series keeps readers riveted! Journalist Dani Gallagher uncovers a mystery in an old diary and recruits chef Nicky Fiorini to help solve it. The diary leads to a hidden room and lost valuables, but in her quest for an award-winning story, Dani may lose the real treasure.


To be reviewed.