The monthly “Three for the Books” post is where I feature new (Hot Off the Presses), best selling (Topping the Charts), and award winning (Cream of the Crop) Christian fiction books. I select one title to feature in each category, as well as providing links to where you can browse additional newly released, best selling, and award winning titles. Have you read any of these featured titles? Any others you’d like to give a shout-out? Comments are always welcome!

Hot Off the Presses

Dauntless by Dina Sleiman released this month from Bethany House Publishers. It’s Book One in the Valiant Hearts series. Young Adult Historical Romance.

About the Book (from Publisher Bethany House):

Where legend and history collide, one young woman will fight for the innocent.

Born a baron’s daughter, Lady Merry Ellison is now an enemy of the throne after her father’s failed assassination attempt upon the king. Bold and uniquely skilled, she is willing to go to any lengths to protect the orphaned children of her former village – a group that becomes known as “The Ghosts of Farthingale Forest.” Merry finds her charge more difficult as their growing notoriety brings increasing trouble their way.

Timothy Grey, ninth child of the Baron of Greyham, longs to perform some feat so legendary that he will rise from obscurity and earn a title of his own. When the Ghosts of Farthingale Forest are spotted in Wyndeshire, where he serves as assistant to the local earl, he might have found his chance. But when he comes face-to-face with the leader of the thieves, he’s forced to reexamine everything he’s known.

Want to browse some more Christian fiction titles releasing this month? NovelCrossing and SoulInspirationz both feature lists of new releases, among other interesting things related to Christian fiction.

Topping the Charts

Emissary by Thomas Locke (Revell, January 2015) appears on this month’s CBA Bestseller List in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi category. It’s Book 1 in the Legends of the Realm series. Here’s the review I shared in January.

About the Book (from Publisher Revell):

In a world where magic has been outlawed for centuries, one young man discovers that he possesses powers beyond his wildest dreams. But he does not realize how pivotal this gift will be in the days to come.

To learn more about this book, check out the publisher’s full description, the book trailer, or my review.

To see what other titles are hot at the moment, check out the Bestseller Lists for Christian fiction.

Cream of the Crop

A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund (Bethany House, April 2013) won both the INSPY Award and the Carol Award for Historical Romance in 2014. It’s Book 2 in the Michigan Brides series (which starts with Unending Devotion).

About the Book (from Publisher Bethany House):

Michigan 1880.

Annalisa Werner’s hope for a fairy tale love is over. Her husband failed her in every way and now his death has left her with few options to save the family farm. She needs a plentiful harvest. That, and a husband to help bring it in. Someone strong, dependable. That’ll be enough. A marriage for love…that’s something she’s given up on.

So her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom.

Then a man appears: Carl Richards, from their home country of Germany and a former schoolteacher – or so he says. He’s looking for work and will serve on the farm until her husband arrives.

With time running out, she accepts his help, but there’s more to this man than he’s admitting. He’s also gentle, kind, charming – unlike any man she’s ever known. But even as Carl is shining light into the darkness of her heart, she knows her true groom may arrive any day.

To find more titles among the “Cream of the Crop” check out my list of some of the big awards in Christian fiction, with links to the awards’ Web sites, where you can track down some more winners.

Now it’s your turn, reader friends. Have you read any of these titles? Do you want to? Are there any other titles you’ve read recently that deserve a shout-out? Please speak up in the comments!

The monthly “Three for the Books” post is where I feature new (Hot off the Presses), best selling (Topping the Charts), and award winning (Cream of the Crop) Christian fiction books. I select one title to feature in each category, as well as providing links to where you can browse additional newly released, best selling, and award winning titles. Have you read any of my featured titles? Any others you’d like to give a shout-out? Comments are always welcome!

Hot Off the Presses

Are you a fan of suspense? Have you been following Terri Blackstock’s Moonlighters series? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then you’ll be interested to hear that Twisted Innocence, Book 3 in the Moonlighters series just released this month. I have some catching up to do myself, having only recently reviewed the audiobook edition of Truth Stained Lies (Book 1 in the series). Featuring one of three sisters in each book and a sequential storyline, this is a series you’ll probably want to read in order.  Truth Stained Lies, followed by Distortion, and now Twisted Innocence.  The good news is, if you’re just getting started, you can read them all straight through. 

About Twisted Innocence (from Publisher Zondervan):

Holly Cramer’s past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby.

Though Holly’s stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily’s father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family—she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he’s a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.

Determined to keep him out of their lives and turn him over to police, Holly uses her private investigating skills to search for him. But her bravado backfires when he turns the tables and takes her and the baby hostage. As desperate hours tick by, Holly realizes his connection to Leonard Miller—the man who has gunned down several members of her family. Creed claims he’s innocent and that Miller is after him too. His gentleness with Lily moves her, but she can’t trust a man who has held her at gunpoint . . . even if he reminds her so much of herself.

Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.

Want to browse some more Christian fiction titles releasing this month? NovelCrossing and SoulInspirationz both feature lists of new releases, among other interesting things related to Christian fiction.

Topping the Charts

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers was first published ten months ago, but it’s still way up there on the CBA and ECPA Bestseller lists.  That’s some pretty impressive staying power!

About Bridge to Haven (from Publisher Tyndale House):

To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she’s paid to finally feel like she’s somebody.

To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua—Abra’s closest friend—watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking bad boy who proclaims his love and lures her to Tinseltown. Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what’s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at an awful price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now, all she wants is a way back home.

In this riveting and highly anticipated tale of temptation, grace, and unconditional love, New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.

To see what other titles are hot at the moment, check out the Bestseller Lists for Christian fiction.

Cream of the Crop

Dear Mr. Knightley won the 2014 Carol Awards in the Contemporary AND Debut categories, as well as taking home the Inspy Award for Debut novel.  It’s also among my favorite books.  I love the emotional and literary qualities (see my review for more gushing).  Oh, and it’s among the Christian fiction titles being discussed this month by one of the book groups I follow.

About Dear Mr. Knightley (from Publisher Thomas Nelson):

Samantha Moore has always hidden behind the words of others—namely her favorite characters in literature. Now, she will learn to write her own story—by giving that story to a complete stranger.

Growing up orphaned and alone, Sam found her best friends in the works of Austen, Dickens, and the Brontë sisters. The problem is that she now relates to others more comfortably as Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre than as herself.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the things we care about most.

But life for this twenty-three-year-old is about to get stranger than fiction, when an anonymous benefactor (calling himself “Mr. Knightley”) offers to put Sam through the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. There is only one catch: Sam must write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress.

As Sam’s program and peers force her to confront her past, she finds safety in her increasingly personal letters to Mr. Knightley. And when Sam meets eligible, best-selling novelist Alex Powell, those letters unfold a story of love and literature that feels as if it’s pulled from her favorite books. But when secrets come to light, Sam is – once again – made painfully aware of how easily trust can be broken.

Reay’s debut novel follows one young woman’s journey as she sheds her protective persona and embraces the person she was meant to become.

To find more titles among the “Cream of the Crop” check out my list of some of the big awards in Christian fiction, with links to the awards’ Web sites, where you can track down some more winners.

Now it’s your turn, reader friends. Have you read any of these titles? Do you want to? Are there any other titles you’ve read recently that deserve a shout-out? Please speak up in the comments!

My monthly “Three for the Books” post is where I feature new (Hot off the Presses), best selling (Topping the Charts), and award winning (Cream of the Crop) Christian fiction books.  I select one title to feature in each category, as well as providing links to where you can browse additional newly released, best selling, and award winning titles.  Have you read any of my featured titles?  Any others you’d like to give a shout-out?  Comments are always welcome!

Hot Off the Presses

Kathryn Springer’s The Dandelion Field (Zondervan, January 2015) caught my attention while browsing the Christian fiction titles releasing this month and I’ve decided to make it my “Hot Off the Presses” book of the month.  I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but I do love contemporary romance, and this one looks like it grapples with some tough issues.  Perhaps a good book discussion group selection?

About the Book (from Publisher, Zondervan):  This handsome firefighter makes a living coming to the rescue, but Gin doesn’t need a man to fight her battles.

After Raine’s dad walked out, Ginevieve Lightly  never lived in one place too long, a rambling lifestyle that defined her daughter’s youth. When their car dies in Banister Falls, Wisconsin, Gin promises Raine they can stay until she finishes her senior year of high school. Gin will do anything to make sure her daughter has a bright future . . . a future that’s compromised when Raine reveals she’s pregnant. 

Dan Moretti has only ever called Banister Falls home. After losing his best friend in a tragic accident, Dan devoted himself to responding to fires, rescuing the helpless, and guiding Cody Bennett, his best friend’s son, through life. With Cody being the epitome of the good kid, it was an easy job. Until he says four little words: “The baby is mine.”

Knowing gossip of Raine’s pregnancy will erupt sooner or later in the small town, Gin’s reflex is to grab the suitcase and escape to a new city, a new life. But with each passing day, Gin’s feet stay rooted in Banister Falls, and she falls a little more for this local firefighter who shows her not all men abandon women at the first sign of smoke.

As Gin and Dan do the best they can to guide the two teenagers through their early entry into adulthood, they discover together that romance can bloom in the rockiest of situations. And God can turn the pieces of a broken past into a beautiful new beginning.

Want to browse some more Christian fiction titles releasing this month? NovelCrossing and SoulInspirationz both feature lists of new releases, among other interesting things related to Christian fiction.

Topping the Charts

Karen Kingsbury kicked off a new series back in October with the release of Angels Walking, and three months later it’s still way up there on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists.  I read and reviewed it at the time, and found it quite enjoyable.  If you haven’t read it yet, you just might want to check out what you’re missing!  And for the audiobook fans among us, I’d like to point out that there’s an audiobook edition available (though I haven’t tried that edition myself).  If you do, please let me know what you think.

About the Book (from Publisher Howard Books):  From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes the first in a brand-new series about second chances—a dramatic story about a washed up baseball player, the love he left behind, and the miracles that might save them both.

When former national baseball star Tyler Ames suffers a career-ending injury, all he can think about is putting his life back together the way it was before. He has lost everyone he loves on his way to the big leagues. Then just when things seem to be turning around, Tyler hits rock bottom. Across the country, Tyler’s one true love Sami Dawson has moved on.

A series of small miracles leads Tyler to a maintenance job at a retirement home and a friendship with Virginia Hutcheson, an old woman with Alzheimer’s who strangely might have the answers he so desperately seeks.

A team of Angels Walking take on the mission to restore hope for Tyler, Sami, and Virginia. Can such small and seemingly insignificant actions of the unseen bring healing and redemption? And can the words of a stranger rekindle lost love? Every journey begins with a step.

It is time for the mission to begin…

To see what other titles are hot at the moment, check out the Bestseller Lists for Christian fiction.

Cream of the Crop

This is the category where I feature an award-winning Christian fiction title.  For my inaugural post, I decided to feature the book that won not one but three Christy Awards in the most recent awards cycle.  Burning Sky (Waterbrook-Multnomah, August 2013) by Lori Benton was chosen as Christy Award winner in the Historical and First Novel categories, as well as being named Book of the Year. It is also the recipient of the 2013 Grace Award for Historical Fiction.

About the Book (from Publisher Waterbrook-Multnomah):  Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.

When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.

Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage–the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?

To find more titles among the “Cream of the Crop” check out my list of some of the big awards in Christian fiction, with links to the awards’ Web sites, where you can track down some more winners.

With all that said, it’s your turn, reader friends.  Have you read any of these titles?  Do you want to?  Are there any other titles you’ve read recently that deserve a shout-out?  Please speak up in the comments!