Best Christian Historical Fiction
I’m in love with the characters, I can’t sleep because I’m too busy reading, I have learned more than I ever thought possible, and I’ve been inspired to become a better person. Storm Clouds Rolling In is the first book in the ongoing Bregdan Chronicles historical novel series. Book Description: Carrie Cromwell comes of age as the dark clouds of the Civil War swallow the country. The activities of the Underground Railroad and her close friendships with the Cromwell Plantation slaves create agonizing choices. But when her decisions put her at odds with her heritage, and challenge her dreams, will she be able to give up all that is precious to her? You'll experience the Civil War era (and all the years to come) through the eyes of both White and Black, free & slave, Southern & Northern - and you'll fall in love with every character. I would finish one, and immediately hop online to go get the next one....sometimes in the wee hours of the morning, when my tail should have been asleep. Thank you Ginny Dye...not only for an amazing journey....but for those light bulb moments,throughout each book, that reached beyond the pages, and made their home inside the soul. Well, let me put it like this: these books are like... "Gone with the Wind" meets up with "Eat,Pray,Love"; then whispers some "Secret life of Bees", forges some "Steel Magnolia's", and at times, wraps itself with the "Color Purple." She has managed horse ranches in Texas and Oregon; worked with teenagers all over the country (she love them! Her heart is at home there with the snow covered mountains; the glistening waters of the Pacific; the eagles and Orca whales; the towering fir trees surrounding her home; and the miles of trails on her own Magic Mountain. This fabulous organization is committed to creating a world-wide community of people with a passion to make a difference and live their best life - using the multitude of FREE resources provided.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I have read Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" 4 times from cover to cover, and in my opinion, this book and the following 3 books in this series rank right up there with that masterpiece of historical fiction."
"This is the first book in the series."
"I also learned a lot I didn't know about slavery and how the plantation owners justified this abominable practice of owning other human beings."
"The characters are so well written, bringing joy and sorrow, it felt as if I was there sharing in their lives."
"Excellent series. The other great grandfather fought for the Confederate army."
"But as the title says, storm clouds are rolling in for not only the country but also her, as she questions her lifestyle and the treatment of slaves. Although this is historical fiction, it is packed with facts of how the country, Virginia in particular was handling the disturbing trends that are sweeping the South. If you are looking for a good fictional series involving the Civil War, this one is off to a great start!"
"History had never been my forte but after getting involved with Carries' open mindedness I had to follow her like a fly on the wall."
Love calls across the centuries in the River of Time Series.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Different and interesting."
"I loved all of the books."
"I loved this series!"
"Is some of the writing a bit silly at times in the wording, yeah, but hey it's about teenage girls!"
"love this series, put on my kindle and great that all three are together, so when I am done with one, can read and find out what happens next."
"I read the whole series a long time ago but know I loved them or wouldn't have purchased, read & gave them this rating on my kindle!"
"I give this series 10 stars!!!"
TOP 10 ECPA Bestseller Amid war and the fading dream of the Confederacy, a wounded soldier and a destitute widow discover the true meaning of Christmas - and of sacrificial love. Recently widowed, Aletta Prescott struggles to hold life together for herself and her six-year old son.With the bank threatening to evict, she discovers an advertisement for the Women's Relief Society auction and applies for a position - only to discover it's been filled. Set against the backdrop a nd history of the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee, Christmas at Carnton is a story of hope renewed and faith restored at Christmas. ~ Francine Rivers, New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind "With heartwarming humor, romance (and recipes) to savor, Tamera Alexander delivers a sweet, second-chance love story between a widow and a wounded soldier. After seventeen years in Colorado, Tamera and her husband now reside in Nashville, Tennessee, where they live a short distance from Belmont Mansion and Belle Meade Plantation, the setting of Tamera's two USA Today bestselling Southern series.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"But this novella by Tamera Alexander has set a new standard for the genre."
"What sets it aside is the hero is a sharpshooter who has received and injury and can no longer see, he gets sent”to help a bunch of women” for a relief effort, he meets and falls in love with a war widow."
"That interested readers seek out Widow Of the South for an unbelievable, yet true , account of how Mrs.McGavvock spentyears of her life. after the war deve!oping a cemetery o the property of Carnton and corresponding with families of the fallen."
"If we could peel back the curtain of the Civil War era and peek behind the scenes of battles and look into the homes of women left behind to somehow maintain the towns, homes, etc., we’d find confused children, overworked women, and hope deferred."
"Another great one."
"She brings her characters to life and it is easy to visualize both the people and the scenes in her novel."
"A Confederate destitute widow with a small son finds a temporary job at Carnton Plantain in Franklin, Tennessee."
"I can't get enough of Tamera Alexander's books!!"
Best Christian Futuristic Fiction
Noah has tried to avoid the subject, but when charges are filed against him for deviating from the approved curriculum in his school, he quickly understands the seriousness of the situation. The signs can no longer be ignored, and Noah is forced to prepare for the cataclysmic period of financial and political upheaval ahead. Watch through the eyes of Noah Parker and Everett Carroll as the world descends into chaos, a global empire takes shape, ancient writings are fulfilled, and the last days fall upon the once-great United States of America. Mark Goodwin is a Christian constitutional author and the host of the popular Prepper Recon Podcast which interviews patriots, preppers, and economists each week on PrepperRecon.com to help people prepare for the coming storm.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love most fictional stories that involves prepping and being able to recognize the signs of an approaching apocalyptic event."
"Just finished this first book of the series."
"Mark Goodwin has displayed his awesome ability to combine a riveting storyline with tips about what to expect and how to prepare for disaster."
"I just finished book one and my only regret is book two will not be delivered until tomorrow!!!"
"I kind of listened, but really couldn't believe our world could fall apart as we know it."
"A well told story of the final days of America."
"Great book!"
"I tried twice to read this book."
Best Christian Short Stories
Bring Five Cowboys Home for the Holidays with New Stories from Best Selling Christian Romance Authors. The Cowboy's Christmas Wish by Kristen Ethridge. Sarah Murdoch knew bringing her daughter, Jamie, halfway across the country to Port Provident, Texas would cause more anxiety than feel-good Christmas memories. Can this big-city mom learn to embrace small-town simplicity and let a heart-scarred cowboy make a little girl’s Christmas wish come true? Memories + Mistletoe = Love by Danica Favorite. Mallory McPherson’s act of desperation in accepting a long-lost relative’s Christmas invitation brings up difficult memories she doesn’t expect.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A woman who has run from a violent man meets a nice guy. She is afraid her former.lover will find her and hurt her and their children and anyone else who is around."
"Just the right amount of tension and sweet romances."
"I like each of these individual stories."
"Up on the Housetop is the only story in this set that I have read."
"Loved these stories, about second chances and opposites attracting."
"Archer and Emery are quite the pair."
"Up On the Housetop - This was a really sweet, clean romance."
"I've only read "Up on the Housetop" so far and I loved it."
Best Christian Romance
When an opportunistic land developer threatens to seize The Hideaway, Sara is forced to make a choice—stay in Sweet Bay and fight for the house and the people she’s grown to love or leave again and return to her successful but solitary life in New Orleans. “Two endearing heroines and their poignant storylines of love lost and found make this the perfect book for an afternoon on the back porch with a glass of sweet tea.” — Karen White , New York Times bestselling author. 'Denton’s first novel charms readers with her idyllic settings and wonderful cast of characters, making Sweet Bay and the Hideaway places readers will dream about. Her exquisitely lyrical writing and character-driven story is a must-read, especially for those who loved Beth Moore’s The Undoing of St. Sylvanus.” ( Library Journal -- Starred Review, DEBUT OF THE MONTH ). In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I enjoyed the parallel storylines in this book, and found these narratives to hit just the right balance of depth and lightness - illuminating the needs and desires of these two women, while revealing their quirks and - yes, even their playful sides, in a beautiful ode to the human experience."
"The storyline focuses on Maggie's love affair with William and ends with Sara finding a love of her own."
"I appreciated the wholesome way she chose to write this love story and if she gives in to the pressure to write smut I will no longer be a fan."
"It isn’t maudlin, but it irritated me the way the author broke the novel into segments; usually a short part about the grandmother, and her painful life, then about the granddaughter and some difficult decisions she had to make."
"This book is a special."
"Her life of privilege didn't prepare her to be independent and strong."
"I liked the history and unfolding story of lives well lived but taking different turns."
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its well thought out characters."
Best Christian Poetry
This book features vivid, full-color layouts with Kindle Text Pop-Up Eric hates taking a bath. Thankfully, Eric's mom and dad have the perfect plan to help their little boy. How to catch a monster is a fun and beautifully illustrated book with a surprisingly sweet ending that all readers will surely enjoy. One of the most professional looking indie ebooks I've seen and on par (or above) with published children's books. Every day I read a lot, and out of every children's book I have seen...well, ever...this is hands down the best of the best. My kids fell completely in love with this book from the very first page. I have bought a lot of kids books for the kindle in the last year and been disappointed with a number of them because the story was too short or too long or the pictures looked lousy on the kindle, but this one was perfect.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The twist at the end is super cute... And now my son is asking me to make cookies so every night he can call a monster to play with him before bed :). I'll be purchasing more books from Michael Yu in the future."
"Simple story line with unexpected twist."
"This book is fun, my son liked it."
"A very amusing book with colourful illustrations."
"This is one of my 4-year-old grandson's favorite bedtime books."
"Eric is your typical 4 year old who doesn't want to follow a normal bed time routine. One night his mother comes up with the idea that if Eric brushes his teeth, washes his face and puts on this pajama then climbs into bed and recites: "Monster, monster, one, two, three... won't you come out and play with me?"
"The first time I read this book to my grandson, he asked me for some chocolate chip cookies for his "monster"."
"The pictures are great and the story is the perfect length for a little one not to get bored."
Best Christian Fantasy
Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. A captivating story with sword-bearing rabbits, daring quests, and moments of poignant beauty, The Green Ember is a tale that will delight and inspire young readers to courage and creativity. --Sarah Mackenzie, Author of Teaching From Rest, Host of The Read-Aloud Revival Podcast. S. D. Smith lives with his wife and their four kids in Grandview, West Virginia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was surprised to find something that reminded me, powerfully, of Edith Nesbit, CS Lewis and George MacDonald - while being something completely different at the same time. But, this, like Lewis, somehow lets us forget that Heather and Picket are animals and instead we relate to the heroes in these interesting characters. I have waited weeks to write this review because I want so badly to communicate the profound value of this humble and tender little story. Heather and Picket are unwitting participants in an adventure that transforms them into the very best versions of themselves - in the old fashioned way. Smith is the creative force behind Story Warren - a website dedicated to being the horns of Rohan in our lives as we seek stories of truth, goodness and beauty that point our children to the Maker. Stories which inform the moral imagination and continue to speak to the reader long after the book has been returned to the shelf. I think that it is fair to say that the intensity progresses as follows: Narnia. The Green Ember/The Black Star of Kingston. The Hobbit/The Wingfeather Saga. The Lord of the Rings."
"Smith's debut novel stands in stark contrast to most contemporary middle school fiction. Their journey begins as their parents are visited by mysterious strangers, and their father hints that the family history may be tinged with intrigue, betrayal, and great pain. Within the first few pages, Smith launches the reader along with Heather and Picket on a fast-paced flight away from their home and headlong toward something momentous. Along the way they meet wonderful characters like the unexpectedly capable Smalls whose own path may be more dangerous than theirs. There is the dark and mysterious Helmer whose mastery of the arts of war draw Picket out from the prison of crippling self-indulgence and sets him on a trajectory of great danger and self-sacrifice. Despite living in a blighted world surrounded by foes and treachery, Heather, Picket, and their new friends hold firmly to that hope."
"It's full of intrigue, adventure, action, mystery, surprise and struggle, but with a good mixture of humor and playfulness. The characters (the good guys) depict personal growth, sacrifice, humility, loyalty, trust, wisdom and dedication. You'll easily recognize and identify with the characters, the strong, the weak, the frustrated and the struggling."
Best Christian Suspense
Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. --Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. "The Shack" cuts through the cliches of both religion and bad writing to reveal something compelling and beautiful about life's integral dance with the Divine. Through my tears and cheers, I have been indeed transformed by the tender mercy with which William Paul Young opened the veil that too often separated me from God and from myself. With every page, the complicated do's and don't that distort a relationship into a religion were washed away as I understood Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the first time in my life. -- Church Times 20081125 'This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. -- Mike Morrell, Zoecarnate.com 20081001 'Reading THE SHACK during a very difficult transition in my life, this story has blown the door wide open to my soul.'.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I didn't read this book when it first came out , I didn't have the interest."
"Both this book and the movie sure made me see that and made my heart so full. My only wish, if for more books and movies to come out like this."
"A lot of this has helped me cope with my struggle with religion, life, sexual orientation, yet developing a relationship with God."
"I don't normally review books but this one deserves my praise."
"I bought this book for a lady that I work for she reads many books a week."
"A beautiful story that I loved so much I bought one for my sister as a gift."
"I thought the was going to be another smarmy story about a stereotypical God but what a pleasant surprise!"
"It helps me personally to understand the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this context."
Best Christian Classics & Allegories
With a light-hearted introduction by bestselling author Anthony Horowitz, creator of the highly successful Alex Rider novels, most recently Snakehead . In the history of English literature, Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol , which has been continuously in print since it was first published in the winter of 1843, stands out as the quintessential Christmas story.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Pip's story is really a 19th century soap opera--love, loss, fights, tears, mystery, death, criminals, friends...pretty much whatever you could come up with."
"Although Oliver Twist experienced some rough times, and was an Orphan and left motherless, I suggest you read if you don't believe that Charles Dickens does do happy endings."
"This period of history, and the relationship between England and France during the terrible years of the Terror interest me, especially to discover how Charles Dickens, a social reformer, would read it."
"Charles Dickens knew how to write a book and I recommend it to anybody who's seen any of the programs rebroadcast each year on television."
"I can read the book with or without the narration or just listen to the narration."
"If Charles Dickens Were a Playwright, I'm Sure He Would have Written Some Magnificent Plays, But His Works Were Meant to be Read Not Visualized on the Screen. A Tale of Two Cities Was Written By English Author Charles Dickens (1812-1870. Dickens Received Most of the Background on the French Revolution From his Friend Thomas Carlyle. This is a Historical Fiction that Spans nearly 20 Years From the Time Preceding and During the French Revolution. The Main Storyline Characters Involve: Miss Lucie Manette (Main Character) "Spoiler Alert" (She Falls in Love and Marries Charles Darney). Doctor Alexandre Manette (Lucie's Father) "Spoiler Alert" "She Thought He Was Dead. He Was In Prison For 18 Years". Miss Pross (Lucie's Governess). Mr. Lorry (Dr. Manette’s Associate). Mr. Ernest Defarge (Dr. Manette's Former Servant). Mr. Charles Darney (Kidnapped French Aristocrat) "Spoiler Alert" "Abducted and Stashed on a Ship-Later Rescued, Charged With Murder, Marries Lucie Mannette." Mr. Stryver and Mr. Carton (Barristers Representing Charles Darney) "Spoiler Alert" "They Worked Tirelessly Trying To Get Charles Acquitted of Murder-And They Did". France Seems to Be Pretty Cold Blooded in this Era of Time, but I Guess History Backs That Up."
"As a middle school student, many years ago, this was required reading."
"It was hard to trust people during that time period."