September 2023 New Releases
More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website
Contemporary Romance:
A Louisiana Christmas to Remember by Morgan Tapley Smith, Betsy St. Amant, Lenora Worth — Three heartwarming, interconnected stories of faith, love, and restoration, brought to you by three Louisiana-native authors. Will a rare snowy Louisiana Christmas bring restoration and hope to the hometown and hearts of three women from the town’s founding family? In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith, meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learns to forgive and finds love in unexpected places… In Restoring Christmas by Betsy St. Amant, meet Jolene: An artist and prodigal daughter who discovers love exists in the very place she once called home…
In A Christmas Reunion by Lenora Worth, meet Adale: A beautiful widow who finally dares to love again… (Contemporary Romance from Barbour Publishing)
Redeeming the Cowboy by Lisa Jordan — Five years ago, bull rider Bear Stone lost everything. His best friend. His fiancée. His career. And Piper Healy, his best friend’s wife, never forgave him for the rodeo accident that killed her husband. Now they’re working together to save his family’s ranch. But can this cowboy choose between his last chance at the rodeo…and the woman he’s falling for? (Contemporary Romance from Love Inspired/Harlequin)
Where Love is Planted by Dawn Kinzer — A beautiful horticultural therapist.A handsome social worker in a woman’s prison. Will their loyalty to others cost them their own happiness? Or will something beautiful grow where love is planted? (Contemporary Romance from Morningview Publishing)
Historical Romance:
A Counterfeit Betrothal by Denise Weimer — A frontier scout, a healing widow, and a desperate fight for peace. At the farthest Georgia outpost this side of hostile Creek Territory in 1813, Jared Lockridge serves his country as a scout to redeem his father’s botched heritage. If he can help secure peace against Indians allied to the British, he can bring his betrothed to the home he’s building and open his cabinetry shop. Then he comes across a burning cabin and a traumatized woman just widowed by a fatal shot. (Historical Romance from Wild Heart Books)
Francine’s Foibles by Linda Shenton Matchett — World War II is finally over, and America is extra grateful as the country approaches this year’s Thanksgiving. But for Francine life hasn’t changed. Despite working at Fort Meade processing the paperwork for the thousands of men who have returned home, she’s still lonely and very single. Is she destined for spinsterhood? Grateful that his parents anglicized the family surname after emigrating to the United States after the Great War, first-generation German-American Ray Fisher has done all he can to hide his heritage. He managed to make it through this second “war to end all wars,” but what American woman would want to marry into a German family? Must he leave the country to find wedded bliss?? (Historical Romance from Shortwave Press)
The Legacy of Longdale Manor by Carrie Turansky — In 2012, art historian Gwen Morris travels to England’s Lake District to appraise the paintings and antiques of an old family friend, hoping to prove herself to her prestigious grandfather. When Gwen stumbles upon a one-hundred-year-old journal and an intricately carved shepherd’s staff similar to one in a photo of her parents, she’s left searching for answers. In 1912, after her father’s death, Charlotte Harper uncovers a painful family secret she can only confess to her journal. As Charlotte grows closer to shepherd Ian Storey and rebuilds her shattered faith, she must decide whether she will ever trust in love again. (Historical Romance from Bethany House)
Wooing Gertrude by Jodie Wolfe — Enoch Valentine has given up finding peace for his past mistakes. He throws everything he has into being the new part-time deputy in Burrton Springs, Kansas while maintaining the foreman position at a local horse ranch. But when trouble stirs on the ranch, he questions whether he’ s the right man for either job. Peace has been elusive for most of Gertrude Miller’s life, especially under the oppressiveness of an overbearing mother. She takes matters into her own hands and sends for a potential husband, while also opening her own dress shop. Gertrude hopes to build a future where she’ ll find peace and happiness. Will either of them ever be able to find peace? (Historical Romance from White Rose Publishing)
Literary/Contemporary:
The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner — After years of drifting, fifty-year-old Pete Ryman has settled down with his potbellied pig, Pearl, in the small Montana town of Sleeping Grass–a place he never expected to see again. It’s not the life he dreamed of, but there aren’t many prospects for a high-school dropout like him. Elderly widow Wilma Jacobsen carries a burden of guilt over her part in events that led to Pete leaving Sleeping Grass decades ago. Now that he’s back, she’s been praying for the chance to make things right, but she never expected God’s answer to leave her flat on her face–literally–and up to her ears in meddling. (Literary/Contemporary from Bethany House)
Split Time:
Fall Back and Find Me by Sarah Hanks — Two resilient women separated by over 150 years are linked forever by their challenges, values, and determination. (Split Time from SonFlower Books)
Thriller/Suspense/Romantic:
Facing the Enemy by DiAnn Mills — When the long-awaited reunion between Risa and her brother, Trenton, ends in tragedy, Risa is riddled with guilt, unable to cope with the responsibility she feels over his death. On leave from the FBI, Risa returns to her former career as an English teacher at a local college, only to see her past and present collide when one of her students, Carson Mercury, turns in an assignment that reads like an eyewitness account of her brother’s murder, with details never revealed publicly. Alarmed by Carson’s inside knowledge of Trenton’s death, Risa reaches out to her former partner at the FBI. Special Agent Gage Patterson has been working a string of baby kidnappings, but he agrees to help look into Carson’s background. Risa and Gage soon discover their cases might be connected as a string of high-value thefts have occurred at properties where security systems were installed by Carson’s stepfather and children have gone missing. There’s a far more sinister plot at play than they ever imagined, and innocent lives are in danger. (Thriller/Suspense/Romantic from Tyndale House)
Seeking Justice by Sharee Stover An agent and her K-9 partner risk their lives in the ultimate mission.
With her partner gravely injured in the line of duty, FBI agent Tiandra Daugherty has one shot to complete her mission. She’ll have to convince her partner’s twin brother, Officer Elijah Kenyon, to take his place undercover in a deadly drug ring. Together they must find justice for his brother and dismantle the gang. But the target is now on them, and the mission could prove fatal. (Thriller/Suspense/Romantic from Love Inspired/Harlequin)
Young Adult:
The Text by Julane Fisher — In 2048, 25 years after a pandemic killed one-third of the world’s population, America is flourishing under the department of Safety Threats and Reinforcement (STaR). STaR keeps citizens safe and healthy STaR’s social media app, Allicio, boasts two billion users. The a power outage shuts down STaR’s health monitors and disables millions of mobile phones. Sixteen-year-old Rami Carlton earned a starting spot on the varsity volleyball team. For fun, she races tech-genius Finley Drake to decipher the online identities of their techie friends. The game is harmless. So they thought. Rami receives a chilling text message that she’s being watched. That night, her mother disappears. Despite thousands of city-wide monitors, STaR’s Reinforcement Division cannot locate Rami’s mom. And Rami’s stalker threatens to kill her brother if she talks to Reinforcement Officers. When Finley hacks the nation’s cellular provider, Connect Mobile, he discovers STaR has a secret. STAR isn’t just watching. They’re manipulating Allicio. And Rami is their next target. (Young Adult from Infinite Teen)
Plus check out these recent additions to Fiction Finder published within the past month:
Sacred Rest by Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Recover your life, renew your energy, restore your sanity
I purchased this book after hearing Dr. Dalton-Smith speak about rest. I realized after listening to her that most of us are living a burned-out life. Everyone needs rest but there are many types of exhaustion.
Discussed in the book are physical rest, mental rest, emotional rest, spiritual rest, social rest, sensory rest, and creative rest. What you must do to achieve each type of rest differs.
It amazed me how much there is to learn about each type. For example, physical rest can’t restore mental rest. The author offers suggestions for readers to begin the process for each one.
What an amazing, helpful book! I just finished it and have already promised to lend it out to two others.
I also suggested it to my Sunday School class as an optional study.
Recommended for exhausted, weary readers searching for rest.
The Third Path by Eva Marie Everson
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Finding Intimacy with God on the Path of Questioning
What a wonderful, thought-provoking book!
The author has dug deeply into her faith and the Bible to write this book that naturally draws readers closer to God.
Each chapter digs into a story from the Bible, flawed people who make mistakes just as we all do. There is a Path of Silence, Path of Memory, Path of Questioning, and a Path of Prayer in each chapter that invites readers to pray.
Interesting. Probing. Inspiring. Well done!
I will reread this book when I can take time to absorb it more fully.
Highly recommend!
Loving the Dog Groomer by Cindy Ervin Huff
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Dog Groomer Bria Willis doesn’t trust men. The former model has plenty of reasons to maintain her distance from Marc Graham but it’s her job to train new owners to care for their dogs. Aaron, her brother and co-owner of their dog grooming business, will be near if Marc crosses a line.
After the death of his estranged wife, Marc’s priority is helping his son Tyler recover from her death. He’d been in the same car accident that killed his mother and his counselor suggested getting a dog to help Tyler. Having Brownie around has helped his son, but the pet didn’t obey Marc. He needed Bria’s help.
Believable characters recovering from lingering wounds from past relationships put up obstacles and even threaten their friendship.
I enjoyed this contemporary romance intertwined with plenty of doggie challenges to make pet lovers swoon! Tyler tugged at my heart as much as Bria and Marc. The story moves quickly.
Plenty of cute doggie moments and challenges to thrill pet lovers!
I was given a copy of the book by the author. A review was not required. The thoughts expressed are my own.
How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer by Taryn Souders
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Camp can make you crazy
Chloe McCorkle doesn’t want to go to summer camp but has no choice. Her parents are going on a cruise and Chloe needs someplace to go. Chloe just wants to make enough money during the summer to buy a new bike to ride to school in the fall. She dreams up a scheme contingent on taking the baking course at camp.
She immediately meets a new friend, Pogo, and is happy to see a couple of school friends at camp. One of them is her secret crush.
Victoria, one of the girls in Chloe’s cabin, is constantly getting her in trouble.
Add to the that a very troublesome goat and you’ve got the makings for a fun novel geared to children 9 – 13.
Definitely recommend this chapter book for children!
In Feast or Famine by Mesu Andrews
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
The Egyptian Chronicles, Book 2
This is the story of Joseph just before his release from prison—for a crime he didn’t commit—and up through the famine.
It’s a beautifully written story told in multiple viewpoints. The author’s attention to historical detail and tradition amazed me. I’ve read the Biblical account that is the background for this story many times and the historical and cultural insights brought me a whole new perspective.
Those familiar sections of Joseph’s Biblical story were the parts that gripped me most in this novel. Characters are well-developed and believably true to the times. The setting is a turbulent period in history that moves quickly. Well done!
Recommended for readers of Biblical fiction!
Freedom’s Price by Pegg Thomas
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Path to Freedom, Book 1
By 1798, Gwen Morgan has been an indentured servant for two years, with five more years until she earns her freedom. She’s a maid to a businessman’s spoiled daughter, who becomes pregnant with a ship captain’s child while courting a rich aristocrat.
Gwen had been sold to a different family than her sister when the orphans arrived in America. Gwen’s greatest desire is to find her sister.
Thomas and Betsy Baldwin can’t abide in New Bern any longer. Laws now prevent the Quakers from buying slaves to grant their freedom. They make preparations to go western territory around the Ohio River where slavery is prohibited.
When Gwen is given a chance for freedom in exchange for an oath, she jumps at the chance. Maybe she can finally find her sister. She doesn’t plan on falling in love with Micah.
But the oath comes with high price when an enemy from the past threatens her new life.
My attention was riveted from the first chapter. Likeable characters deal with believable problems from the beginning. The mother and her baby tugged at my heart. The grandparents who quickly accept them both into their home made me love them.
I enjoyed this poignant story that held many surprising twists. Not everything was completely resolved in this first book in the series, leaving me to wonder what happens in the next book. The ending is both exciting and satisfying.
Faith is a strong component in this story. The author blends that easily a part of the plot. This book was a page-turner for me!
Recommended for readers of inspirational historical romances!
I was given a copy of the book by the author. A positive review was not required. The opinions expressed are my own.
Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
My young grandchildren love for us to tell them knock-knock jokes. We remembered a few but then drew a blank.
So when I found this delightful joke book geared to children 6 – 9, I snatched it up. The children have enjoyed it as much as I’d hoped. In fact, the seven-year-old reads them to us!
I recommend this fun book for children 5 – 9.
Hoping for Treasure by Bettie Boswell
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
A Sequel to On Cue
Current Day—Ginny discovers a hidden compartment in an old desk soon after her marriage to Scott. The ancient typewriter and some manuscripts inside snagged my interest immediately.
In 1946—A WWII soldier boards in the boarding house where Betsy lives and works. She likes Dale but his family owns a farm. No way is she returning to the farm life that was her childhood. Yet she secretly is attracted to him.
There’s also a Civil War element to this story. That’s not part of the time slip element yet is still a thread in the story.
I enjoyed this time slip story. The author weaves a multi-layered tale that binds the present to the past through a beautiful historic home. Each era holds its own tragedy. Realistic, lovable characters snagged my interest from the first chapter and held on.
Recommended for readers of historical romance, time slip, and nostalgia.
Our God is Bigger Than That by Michelle Medlock Adams and Eva Marie Everson
Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
I love this sweet story!
Different animals on the farm have real fears and their mamas remind them that God is bigger than all their fears.
A little girl is frightened of the dark and her father reminds her that God is bigger than all her fears.
A great book to read to young children at bedtime!
The book is geared toward children 2 – 8.
Sandra Merville Hart 