As I've done for the past few Mondays, I wanted to share a few of my favorite books with you. This week, I'm featuring several books that were nominated for a 2012 Christy Award as part of the "Road to the Christys" blog tour you may be seeing on other blogs. I've read all five of these books and thought they were just incredible. So excited that they have been nominated for such a prestigious award! I posted a complete list of the finalists
here, and the winners will be announced next Monday (July 16). Have you read these or any of the other finalists? What did you think? Which books would you vote for?
My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren
Available April 2011
Tyndale Publishers
Nominated for Contemporary Romance
(
My Review)
Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her
nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio
show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love,
unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when
it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she
doesn’t realize lives right next door.
Caleb Knight served a tour of
duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity,
so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job
as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches
his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from
My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast.
Before
he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused
than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . Or the one
next door?
Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock
Available February 2011
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group
Nominated for Contemporary Stand Alone
(
My Review)
Eleven-year-old Roz (Rosalind) Anthony and her family have just moved to
Mills River, Illinois, to escape an abusive situation. Only days after
settling into their new home, they are surprised to find the previous
owner, Tillie Monroe, on their front porch reading the newspaper. Though
her sons have sold the house and sent her to a facility for the aged,
she is determined to die in the place she lived her life, and somehow
manages to find her way "home" day after day. Feeling sympathy for the
elderly woman, Roz's mother allows Tillie to move back in.
Mara
Nightingale becomes Roz's first friend in Mills River. In spite of their
many differences, the girls discover they have something in common that
binds them together--both are hiding secrets. So they make a
promise--"cross my heart and hope to die"--never to tell anyone else.
When
danger stalks the Anthonys, Tillie exhibits unimaginable courage and
selfless love in her determination to protect the family she has adopted
as her own.
Words by Ginny Yttrup
Available February 2011
B&H Publishing Group
Nominated for Contemporary Stand Alone & First Novel
(
My Review)
"I collect words. I keep them in a box in my mind. I'd like to keep them in a real box, something pretty, maybe a shoe box covered with flowered wrapping paper. Whenever I wanted, I'd open the box and pick up the papers, reading and feeling the words all at once. Then I could hide the box. But the words are safer in my mind. There, he can't take them."
Ten-year
old Kaylee Wren doesn't speak. Not since her drug-addled mother walked
away, leaving her in a remote cabin nestled in the towering redwoods-in
the care of a man who is as dangerous as he is evil. With silence her
only refuge, Kaylee collects words she might never speak from the only
memento her mother left behind: a dictionary.
Sierra Dawn
is thirty-four, an artist, and alone. She has allowed the shame of her
past to silence her present hopes and chooses to bury her pain by trying
to control her circumstances. But on the twelfth anniversary of her
daughter's death, Sierra's control begins to crumble as the God of her
childhood woos her back to Himself.
Brought together by Divine design, Kaylee and Sierra will discover together the healing mercy of the Word-Jesus Christ.
A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander
Available November 2011
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group
Nominated for Historical Romance
(
My Review)
To create something that will last is Claire Laurent's most fervent
desire as an artist. It's also her greatest weakness. When her fraud
of a father deals her an unexpected hand, Claire is forced to flee from
New Orleans to Nashville, only a year after the War Between the States
has ended. Claire's path collides with that of Sutton Monroe, and she
considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But
when they meet again and he refuses to come to her aid, she realizes
she's sorely misjudged the man. Trading an unwanted destiny for an
unknown future, Claire finds herself in the middle of Nashville's elite
society and believes her dream of creating a lasting impression in the
world of art may finally be within reach.
All that Sutton Monroe
holds dear lies in ruin. He's determined to reclaim his heritage and to
make the men who murdered his father pay. But what he discovers on his
quest for vengeance reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever
imagined.
Set at Nashville's historical Belmont Mansion, a
stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, the richest
woman in America in the 1860s,
A Lasting Impression showcases the
deep, poignant, unforgettable characters that set Tamera's stories
apart and provides an inspiring love story that will capture readers'
hearts and leave them eager for more.
The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen
Available January 2012
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group
Nominated for Historical Romance
(My review will be posted this week.)
Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to
marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she
takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a
suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother.
Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first
real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will
gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt--and sweet independence. But
can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit
Fairbourne Hall?
Observing both brothers as an "invisible"
servant, Margaret learns she may have misjudged Nathaniel. Is it too
late to rekindle his admiration? And when one of the family is nearly
killed, Margaret alone discovers who was responsible. Should she come
forward, even at the risk of her reputation and perhaps her life? And
can she avoid an obvious trap meant to force her from hiding?
On
her journey from wellborn lady to servant to uncertain future, Margaret
must learn to look past appearances and find the true meaning of "serve
one another in love."