Edith Kanyagia

FictionPopular FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

Christian fiction picks for fall 2024

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

With emotionally charged scenes and endearing, authentic characters, these novels weave inspiring stories of growth, faith and love. As they bring new life to forgotten and abandoned structures, two women find healing from their pasts and hope for their futures.

 

★ Lowcountry Lost

Author of 20 novels, including acclaimed bestseller Under the Magnolias, T.I. Lowe delivers a soul-stirring, unforgettable romance in Lowcountry Lost, pairing a couple’s redemption story with the restoration of a deserted town.

Avalee Elvis is a general contractor and the owner of Lowcountry Lost, a small outfit that renovates abandoned buildings and brings businesses to struggling towns. After Avalee’s whole world crumbled six years ago, flipping houses was what made life livable again, and she’s very excited about their next project: bringing a small dilapidated ghost town in South Carolina back to vibrant life. That is, until she learns that the structural engineer assigned to the project is the man Avalee most wishes she could forget: her ex-husband, Rowan Murray.

In captivating prose, Lowe relays a moving story about grief, healing and enduring love. Avalee struggles with the broken, painful parts within her and is plagued by nightmares about the events that led up to the end of her marriage. Now that she’s finally finding a path she is passionate about and moving forward, her past catches up with her. This time, however, Avalee lets Rowan in, and they face their heartbreaking history together. As they lean on each other instead of pushing each other away, the pain that separates them begins to dissipate.

The atmospheric ghost town and its restoration provide the perfect setting for the story. Founded during the 1800s, the town had been bustling until a road bypassing it was built, leading to its isolation and decline. As Avalee and Rowan team up to restore the town and save the buildings that had been left to waste away, readers will enjoy watching them slowly rekindle what they once had.

 

Between the Sound and Sea

Two-time Christy Book of the Year Award-winning author Amanda Cox’s entrancing Between the Sound and Sea chronicles the restoration of a lighthouse and the journey of an event planner who is looking for a new start.

After a scandal ruins her family’s reputation, Josephina “Joey” Harris is forced to leave behind her event planning business in Copper Creek, Tennessee, and take on a project that entails salvaging a decommissioned lighthouse on an island in North Carolina. Undeterred by the ghost stories associated with the island, Joey sets out to restore the lighthouse to its former glory. In the process, she stumbles upon details about the former lighthouse keeper, Callum McCorvey, and his family, and resolves to uncover the truth behind their mysterious disappearance.

Joey’s enemies-to-lovers story with Finn, whose grandfather owns the lighthouse, is compelling and engaging. Through the characters’ backgrounds and their growing relationship, Cox dispenses wisdom about faith, reconciliation and embracing fresh starts. The stories of other characters, including that of Finn’s grandfather, are rewarding and full of surprises. With extraordinary finesse, Cox develops realistic, empathetic characters that are easy to connect with and root for.

The novel also covers an intriguing, lesser-known part of history about WWII activity in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Descriptions of the war are deftly incorporated into Joey’s investigation of the disappearance of Callum McCorvey, while the period before the war beautifully frames Finn’s grandfather’s childhood and his friendship with Callum’s daughter, Cathleen. With brilliant skill, Cox draws on the restoration of the lighthouse and the main characters’ lives to inspire hope.

 

Read our spring 2024 Christian fiction recommendations.

Acclaimed authors T.I. Lowe and Amanda Cox use the renovation of old buildings to parallel their characters’ pursuit of emotional repair and new beginnings.
FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

Christian fiction picks for spring 2024

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

The American Queen

Bestselling author Vanessa Miller has penned yet another moving and illuminating novel in The American Queen. Inspired by a true story, it celebrates a Black woman’s pursuit of freedom and a community’s undying courage.

It is 1864, and though President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation over a year ago, Louella is still enslaved at the Montgomery Plantation in Mississippi. Emboldened by a speech of her father’s about revolution and freedom—one that later costs him his life—Louella decides to risk her own life to become a free woman. Together with her loving husband, William, she leads her community on a journey fraught with unimaginable obstacles to build a kingdom founded on equality, justice and love.

An indestructible spirit shines through the hardship and cruelty Louella and her community face. Brutal beatings and murders are constant on the plantation, and even after they establish their Kingdom of the Happy Land, inequality, injustice and attacks by the Ku Klux Klan threaten to destroy everything they have painstakingly built. Still, they persevere and create a society where Black people can not only live freely but also pursue their dreams.

With gentleness and empathy, Miller examines the complex relationship between faith and adversity. Though she is inspired by William’s faith, Louella struggles to reconcile her circumstances with God’s promises. Having lost both her mother and father, hate settles in her heart towards those who continuously seek to subdue Black people. Louella’s spiritual journey is beautifully chronicled, and by the end of the novel, her growth is evident.

 

The Irish Matchmaker

Matchmaking season is approaching and Lisdoonvarna’s matchmakers, Catriona Daly and her father, are preparing for the 1905 Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival. Though she’s helped many in the town find love, Catriona herself has been unsuccessful. With each matchmaking season, her hopes of finding her true love and finally leaving Lisdoonvarna are reignited. When Catriona is asked to be the matchmaker for Lord Osborne’s son, Andrew, she instead hopes to catch Andrew’s eye herself, and sets out to become the bride his family wants for him.

Meanwhile, Donal Bunratty is struggling to provide for his young daughter while facing the possibility of losing his farm. Fifty years after the Great Famine, Ireland is still suffering from its impact. Donal’s farm is not as productive as it once was, and without help, he may soon be forced to give it up. Though he misses his late wife, he decides to take part in the matchmaking festival with his daughter’s encouragement.

Filled with delightful twists, The Irish Matchmaker is an immersive story about faith and finding love in unexpected places from Jennifer Deibel, the author of A Dance in Donegal, The Lady of Galway Manor and The Maid of Ballymacool. Deibel skillfully weaves Donal and Catriona’s stories, creating realistic characters and a fascinating storyline. She also takes an honest look at the crushing impact of economic hardship and explores the role of faith when all hope seems lost.

 

The Foxhole Victory Tour

With enchanting prose, author Amy Lynn Green’s endearing historical novel, The Foxhole Victory Tour, follows the intriguing adventures of a group of USO performers during World War II.

Socialite Catherine Duquette joins a USO tour set to travel across part of North Africa, hoping to escape her sheltered life and find out what happened to Sergeant Leo Wallace, a pilot she’s in love with who suddenly stopped responding to her letters. After getting fired from her dream job, musician Maggie McCleod joins the USO camp show as well. Their unit also includes a magician, a tap dancer and a singer. As the group starts to bond, they learn that the USO talent manager will be selecting only one of them for the prestigious Pepsodent Show tour, a career-making opportunity that all of them are determined to land.

Green crafts a compelling and original cast of characters. Maggie is outspoken and witty, while Catherine is sophisticated and conflict avoidant. Then there is Gabriel, the pensive, withdrawn magician; Judith, the private and skeptical singer; Howie, the experienced tap dancer; and Douglas, their businesslike talent manager. The opportunity to grow their career adds an interesting twist to the group’s dynamics. All of them want to be selected for different, valid reasons. They grow individually and as a group, and beautifully exemplify the themes of friendship, faith and resilience explored in the novel.

The Foxhole Victory Tour is an eye-opening look at the experiences of brave USO performers who helped build troops’ morale and keep them connected to their lives back home during WWII.

Three Christian historical novels laud the power of faith, love and commitment in overcoming risk and tragedy.
FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

The best Christian fiction of spring 2023

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

To continue in the face of doubt and despair, three women draw on their Christian faith in these immersive historical novels.

Code Name Edelweiss 

Stephanie Landsem’s transfixing Code Name Edelweiss is peppered with rich descriptions of Los Angeles in 1933. Amid widespread unemployment and poverty, few people in LA are fully aware of the growing threat of Nazism following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Germany. Like many, Liesl Weiss is preoccupied with her own troubles; she has just lost her job but must take care of her children, brother and mother. 

Jewish lawyer Leon Lewis is concerned about the growing threat of the Nazis and believes they plan to infiltrate the Hollywood film industry. To stop them, he is enlisting spies for a dangerous mission. Liesl finds Leon’s fears absurd, but she needs the cash, so she signs on as a spy. The more information she uncovers, the more alarmed she becomes, and she soon realizes she cannot remain neutral and must choose a side. 

From its suspenseful start to its exciting ending, Code Name Edelweiss commands attention. Landsem sustains tension throughout as Leon’s team works to outpace the Nazis. Liesl, along with the elusive Agent Thirteen, spies on members of the German American community, hoping to find clues and deter the Nazis’ plans. The central characters all have fascinating backstories, though Liesl is crafted particularly well. She is sensible and dependable, and her lovely friendships add depth to the story. The novel is also enlivened by a subtle yet vital strand of romance.

The Metropolitan Affair 

Award-winning and bestselling author Jocelyn Green kicks off her new series with a captivating, multilayered mystery in The Metropolitan Affair, set in New York City at the height of American Egyptomania. 

In 1925, Americans’ demand for forged Egyptian art reaches a fever pitch after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb and the Egyptian government’s subsequent efforts to block the exportations of antiquities. Detective Joe Caravello believes that investigating the forgeries will lead him to criminals responsible for other crimes, so he enlists the help of his longtime friend Dr. Lauren Westlake, the assistant curator of Egyptology for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Lauren’s previously absent father has recently returned to her life, and she struggles to connect with him. Even though he offers her a chance to join him on an expedition to Egypt, the past cannot be undone. She wonders, though, whether there is still a chance for their relationship in the future. 

The Metropolitan Affair offers a full sense of its main characters, including their inner struggles and processes of personal growth. Lauren and Joe are dynamic and realistic, and secondary characters are also well defined. The mystery itself is gripping, with exciting clues and shocking revelations, and the plot maintains a great balance between the investigation and Joe and Lauren’s relationship. 

This is an uplifting story of faith with many intriguing twists and ever-raising stakes, all leading to an unexpected conclusion. 

The Maid of Ballymacool 

Jennifer Deibel (A Dance in Donegal, The Lady of Galway Manor) has done it again with The Maid of Ballymacool, a hopeful historical romance novel about unrelenting faith and new beginnings with just a pinch of mystery, set in Donegal, Ireland, in the 1930s.

For as long as Brianna Kelly can remember, Ballymacool House and Boarding School for Girls has been her home. She has labored there since she was a child, though she’s never been able to meet Mistress Magee’s unending demands. But Brianna believes that there is more for her beyond the tight confines of the boarding house.

The plot takes an interesting turn when a young man named Michael Wray arrives to keep an eye on his cousin, another Ballymacool boarder. A friendship develops between Michael and Brianna, and he becomes her much-needed ally against the vicious Mistress Magee. But despite their connection, a future together is untenable, since Brianna knows Michael will soon return to his high-society life. 

When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the nearby woods, a suspenseful mystery ensues, building to a rewarding ending as long-held secrets come to light and Brianna gets a bright new start.  

With rich language and historical detail, Deibel brilliantly emphasizes the story’s central themes of love, faith and redemption as her characters surmount formidable challenges. Although heartbreaking at times, The Maid of Ballymacool is inspiring and encouraging, and Brianna’s journey is one of hope and strength.

In inspiring historical novels from Stephanie Landsem, Jocelyn Green and Jennifer Deibel, early 20th-century women find the strength to face any fear.
FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

The All-American

Review by Edith Kanyagia

Susie Finkbeiner (All Manner of Things) invites readers along on the inspiring journey of a young baseball player who dreams of playing for the first women’s professional baseball league in the adeptly crafted coming-of-age novel The All-American.

To the disappointment of her mother, and despite her home economics teacher’s warnings against future spinsterhood, Bertha Harding has no interest in mastering domestic skills like the other girls. Bertha’s true passion is baseball, and the 1952 season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) is about to begin. Bertha can hardly wait to see the Workington Sweet Peas play, but she fears that her hopes of playing for the team are crushed when her father is accused of being a member of the Communist Party. Her family flees Detroit to her uncle’s home in a small town in Michigan. Still, Bertha remains hopeful, and in time, her journey with the Sweet Peas begins. 

Told through the voices of Bertha and her sister, Flossie, The All-American offers an intimate glimpse into their lives and the challenges they face. Fitting in at school is tough for both of them, thanks to Bertha’s lack of interest in marriage and Flossie’s struggle to make friends. But their lives expand through the bonds they forge: Bertha’s love of baseball is supported by the Sweet Peas pitcher, and Flossie learns true friendship and empathy from her friend Lizzie. 

Captivating historical details contextualize the story and add conflict and tension. The Red Scare casts a shadow over everyone’s lives, straining relationships and fomenting fear of tarnished relationships. Finkbeiner also includes fascinating background information on the AAGPBL, offering a beautiful celebration of the women who broke barriers for other girls and women in baseball.

Led by relatable characters, The All-American is a moving novel, fit for inspiring any reader to dream big and believe that anything is possible.

Susie Finkbeiner offers a beautiful celebration of the women who broke barriers for other girls and women in baseball.
RomanceFictionInspirational RomanceInspirational FictionHistorical RomanceHistorical Fiction

3 Christian fiction picks for fall

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

A Beautiful Disguise

Roseanna M. White begins her Imposters series, set in Edwardian London, with the soul-stirring historical romance A Beautiful Disguise, which features a gentle, engrossing love, an eccentric cast and many surprises.

Known for her exaggerated gowns, Lady Marigold Fairfax manages to convince her peers that she is just another member of the elite. But behind her facade is a brave woman who is desperate to save her family’s impecunious estate, so she and her brother, Yates, are working as anonymous private investigators known as the Imposters. Years ago, the Fairfax mansion was host to a traveling circus, and retired circus lions and monkeys still roam the grounds. The circus performers also now live with the Fairfax siblings and are considered part of the family. Lady Marigold and Yates incorporate circus skills gained from this found family into their investigative work.

Sir Merritt Livingstone, an officer working in the War Office Intelligence Division, seeks the services of the Imposters when he suspects possible espionage that could jeopardize a soon-to-be established intelligence branch and, consequently, weaken England’s position against Germany. Along with this central political mystery, A Beautiful Disguise includes many suspenseful scenes and unexpected twists as the Imposters gather information for their various clients.

Lady Marigold struggles to balance her true persona with the false image she projects to protect their secret operations. Although she wishes to show her real identity to Sir Merritt, she is aware of the risks involved in such a disclosure. With Yates’ encouragement, she learns to let down her guard and allow her real self to shine, and soon a romance develops between her and Sir Merritt. A dramatic, rewarding finale concludes this fascinating novel.

He Should Have Told the Bees

In the triumphant contemporary Christian novel He Should Have Told the Bees, Amanda Cox explores the importance of facing childhood trauma and finding family in unexpected places.

Beckett Walsh’s idyllic life is rocked by her father’s sudden death. In addition to dealing with this powerful grief, Beck discovers that her farm, including her treasured apiary, has a new co-owner—Callie Peterson, who learns she was named co-trustee of a farm by a man she never knew. Callie is determined to build her own life while supporting her mother through her substance abuse issues. Although unsure how to proceed, she believes money from selling the farm could help her avoid plunging into debt while paying for her mother’s rehabilitation process. Cox handles difficult topics—including childhood trauma from parental neglect and substance abuse—in a gentle yet realistic way. The characters’ struggles are considered in depth: For years, Callie has grappled with her mother’s broken promises and the effects of growing up in an unstable environment, and Beck has her own painful childhood memories of waiting for her mother to return. Secondary characters have moving stories too, and readers learn more about Beck’s father’s past.

For every difficult emotion in He Should Have Told the Bees, there are just as many uplifting moments. Beck builds a friendship with Fern, a young neighbor who shares Beck’s fascination with bees. Two subtle romantic relationships also infuse the story with compassion and warmth. The facts given about beekeeping are fascinating, and family secrets add a few twists.

Cox’s hopeful, heartwarming novel touches on complicated relationships, the value of friendship and the impact of trauma with great heart and kindness.

The Wings of Poppy Pendleton

Melanie Dobson’s captivating dual-timeline novel The Wings of Poppy Pendleton chronicles the disappearance of a young girl from a castle in New York’s Thousand Islands and, years later, the investigation into her disappearance.

In 1992, Chloe Ridell is determined to safeguard the privacy of her island and protect it from public scrutiny. Eighty-five years earlier, Poppy Pendleton disappeared from a castle that still stands, albeit in ruins, on the same night that her father, Leslie, mysteriously died. Both incidents remain unsolved. When a girl named Emma with connections to the Pendleton family shows up at Chloe’s doorstep, Chloe decides to look into the castle’s past. With help from a reporter named Logan, Chloe works to unravel a baffling mystery that could save Emma’s life. Chloe’s bond with Logan also helps her to navigate difficult childhood memories and financial issues that could lead to the closure of her candy shop. Meanwhile, Logan grapples with his own past experiences, some of which have been devastating, but he stays committed to doing what is right.

The 1907 island setting comes to life through evocative descriptions of Poppy’s world and that of her parents, Leslie and Amelia, who aspire to be recognized as members of New York’s gilded society. On the night of Leslie’s death and Poppy’s disappearance, the elegantly decorated castle bustles with activity as guests await President Theodore Roosevelt’s arrival. This central mystery is layered and exciting, tracing the story as far back as Amelia’s childhood in England. After Poppy disappears, Amelia tries to build a life for herself, but her past continues to haunt her.

Dobson’s characters find redemption, discover their own strength and experience the power of family relationships to pull us down—or lift us up.

You can go home again with these heartwarming novels, in which the complexities and joys of familial relationships take center stage.
FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

Two inspirational novels seek to warm readers’ hearts

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

From the Greek isle of Corfu to Washington’s Whidbey Island, hope can always be found in friendship.

★ Where the Wandering Ends

The latest novel from bestselling author and three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and journalist Yvette Manessis Corporon is a work of incredible depth, brimming with turmoil, compassion and remarkable historical detail.

Set on the gorgeous Greek island of Corfu, Where the Wandering Ends is a multigenerational, decades-spanning story that begins in 1946, when Greece appears to be on the verge of civil war. Despite the brewing unrest, life in Katerina’s village of Pelekito remains calm. She even has the opportunity to go to school, unlike provincial girls in older generations. 

As the conflict between communists and monarchists escalates, the war eventually reaches Pelekito, and the villagers are forced to flee. Katerina is separated from her best friend, Marco, but they both promise to someday return.

Corporon’s characters are indelible and authentic. Katerina’s father, Laki, is horrified by the divisions in his country: “Greek killing Greek. Cousin killing cousin. Brother killing brother. . . . Laki never would have imagined that his own people would turn against each other the way they had.” Meanwhile, Marco’s mother, Yianna, holds fast to the stories told by her own mother, who was a maid to Princess Alice, wife of Prince Andrew, both of whom were exiled from Greece after the Greco-Turkish War of 1922.

Written with a perceptive eye, Where the Wandering Ends considers the challenges faced by people during wartime and highlights the determination to survive despite painful circumstances. Corfu’s beauty, which Corporon describes in sumptuous detail, is juxtaposed against the turbulence and devastation caused by war. Fascinating historical facts and references to mythological Greek tales intertwine with moving scenes, tension-building plot points and surprising revelations to create a powerful, soaring story. This is a spectacular novel about the enduring devotion of family and the steadfast loyalty between friends.

★ Heirlooms

Bestselling author Sandra Byrd blends romance, laughter, community and family secrets in her novel Heirlooms, a delightful story of uplifting female friendships.

After her husband’s death, Choi Eunhee, a Korean woman living in the United States, turns to Helen Devries for help. It’s 1958, and both women are Navy widows. While living together in Helen’s farmhouse on Whidbey Island, Washington, the women assist each other through their losses and develop a lifelong friendship. 

In the present day, Helen’s dying wish is that her granddaughter Cassidy Quinn will pack up the attic at the Whidbey Island house with help from Eunhee’s granddaughter Grace Kim. While going through Helen’s hope chest, Cassidy and Grace discover a family secret. 

Meanwhile, Cassidy must work to save her grandmother’s property from foreclosure, so she turns to her ex-boyfriend Nick for help. Helen’s house was the setting of many beloved summers for Cassidy, and she dreams of reinstating her grandmother’s garden to its former glory. 

Helen and Eunhee’s friendship is much like the garden, tended with loving care over many years. As the women draw faith and strength from each other, their bond becomes akin to sisterhood. From this foundation grows Cassidy and Grace’s own connection, and the two young women learn to lean on each other throughout Cassidy’s fight for her grandmother’s house and garden and as Grace begins to doubt her chosen career path.

With warmth and sensitivity, Heirlooms examines the challenges faced by immigrants living in the United States, and the difficulties for women seeking health care and financial security for both themselves and their children throughout American history. As friends become family, readers will marvel at the strength found in community and the deep connections that can exist between generations.

Authors Yvette Manessis Corporon and Sandra Byrd intertwine past and present in two stories of love, courage and survival.
FictionInspirational Fiction

Women speak up in two Christian novels

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

★ The Lady of Galway Manor

Set against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence, Jennifer Deibel’s second novel, The Lady of Galway Manor, springs from the fascinating legend of the origin of the Claddagh ring, a traditional Irish band that features two hands clasping a crowned heart, symbolizing friendship, loyalty and love. 

In 1920, Lady Annabeth De Lacy is the British daughter of the new landlord of Galway Parish in Ireland, and she is excited to begin her jewelry apprenticeship with the descendants of the creators of the Claddagh ring. Although jeweler is an unusual pursuit for an aristocrat, Anna takes on this new opportunity with great enthusiasm. 

However, Anna’s trainer, Stephen, resents the British and is irritated to have her around. He’s also lost his faith in the ideals and promises of the Claddagh ring’s imagery, especially the love it symbolizes. But as Anna and Stephen work together, their bond grows, and they begin to recognize the misconceptions in their beliefs about each other.

Deibel beautifully re-creates Galway’s sights and sounds, from the allure of the Claddagh area in Galway to the magnificence of its famed Spanish Arch and the locals’ appreciation of traditional Irish music. She also couches the bitter enmity between the Irish and British in the personal struggles of her characters. Stephen is unwilling to let go of his pain caused by past events, including atrocities committed by the British. And Anna is conflicted, torn between following her heart, which would risk alienation from her family, and accepting an advantageous marriage proposal devoid of love.

In their divided world, the characters of The Lady of Galway Manor become open to each other’s cultures, soon making way for acceptance and love.

Count the Nights by Stars

Much like privileged Anna, Priscilla Nichols, the daughter of a wealthy and influential railway investor in Michelle Shocklee’s fifth novel, Count the Nights by Stars, enjoys a cushioned life, shielded from the plight of people who are disadvantaged. In 1897, Priscilla travels with her mother to Nashville to attend the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. They stay at the Maxwell House Hotel, where she meets an Italian immigrant named Luca Moretti. Priscilla appreciates Luca’s poise and confidence but is aware of the strict societal rules that dictate who her “appropriate” partner would be. Meanwhile, she must decide whether to accept a proposal from another man who comes from a wealthy background similar to her own.

After meeting Luca, Priscilla is introduced to a new world where she learns about the challenges facing destitute young women and children who are lured into a prostitution ring run by powerful forces. She quickly becomes an inspiring lead character who fights for the rights of the underserved and advocates for raising the legal age of consent. 

The impact of Priscilla’s actions is heightened by a parallel story. In 1961, Audrey Whitfield, the daughter of the Maxwell House Hotel manager, finds Priscilla’s scrapbook. Audrey, who had previously dismissed the eccentric and now elderly Priscilla living in the hotel, is captivated by the woman’s earlier life. She draws encouragement from Priscilla’s lifelong work of activism for women’s rights.

Along with the historical intrigue of both storylines, Count the Nights by Stars also includes appealing mysteries and delightful romance. In 1897, Priscilla and Luca face danger as they try to solve the disappearance of Luca’s sister. In 1961, Audrey welcomes a striking young man into her life, and together they embark on an investigation into Priscilla’s stories and photographs—but it’s clear that someone else is set on having the scrapbook destroyed.

In Shocklee’s novel, the important lifelong work of a daring woman inspires another to follow her dreams. It’s sure to stir such feelings in the reader as well.

Across the ages, it’s always inspiring when women speak up for what is right. In these Christian novels, two affluent women endeavor to understand and rectify disparities within their societies.
Fiction

Inspirational fiction: No challenge too great

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

Two novels reflect on women’s strength, cultivated through their faith in God and in themselves.

For centuries, women’s roles have been defined for them, their voices and capacities restricted by discriminatory societal standards. In two new inspirational novels, women from different historical eras strive to overcome personal limitations in order to define their own identities. 

Inspired by a true story, Jane Kirkpatrick’s uplifting Something Worth Doing introduces Abigail Jane “Jenny” Scott Duniway, an incredibly determined pioneer woman who defies opposition to fight for women’s rights. 

From a young age, Jenny experiences the societal barriers placed before girls and women. Despite protests from Jenny’s mother, Jenny’s father decides that the family will move from Illinois to the Oregon Territory. The journey jeopardizes his wife’s health, and she dies before the family arrives at their new home. In 1853, Jenny’s confidence and intelligence lead her to a position as a teacher, one of the few professions accessible to women at the time. After marrying Ben Duniway and joining him on his farm, Jenny begins to write about women’s issues for the local newspaper. This is a big step away from her upbringing, as her father opposed any form of public expression by women.

Even in the face of devastating financial loss, Jenny never gives up, and her tenacity pulls her family through difficult times, including Ben’s injury and incapacitation. In 1871, Jenny founds The New Northwest, a newspaper that gives women’s issues a platform, including the controversial topic of women’s suffrage. 

Jenny is bold in her attempts to challenge and bring down sexist social norms, and her efforts receive immense opposition, including hostility from her influential brother. She remains unfazed, continuing to navigate the limitations of being a woman while fighting for reform. Though discouraged many times, she uses every opportunity to empower women, and her efforts become pivotal in the arduous struggle to attain the right to vote for women.

Jaime Jo Wright’s thrilling and mysterious The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus is set in the fictional town of Bluff River, Wisconsin, and intertwines the stories of two women who live a century apart. 

On the surface, Pippa Ripley’s life appears privileged. Adopted into the family of a wealthy circus owner, Pippa is surrounded by the finer things that life in 1928 has to offer. Although she remains submissive and obedient to her tyrannical father, Pippa also feels a bond with the “misfit” circus people. Still, Pippa is burdened by, even obsessed with, finding out about her origins, but her adoptive parents are unwilling to reveal the truth.

Pippa becomes entangled in a dangerous chase as she tries to get close to the man she believes has the answers to her questions. Meanwhile, the circus faces fierce opposition from an animal rights group, and a serial killer lurks aboard the circus train. Pippa’s engagement to a dictatorial man, chosen for her by her father, further complicates matters. Through it all, Pippa remains resolute about discovering her roots, and she soon learns to stand up to her oppressors.

In the present day, real estate project manager and single parent Chandler Faulk hopes to catch a break in Bluff River, where she’s been given a rare opportunity to work for her uncle. She wants to provide the best care she can for her young son, Peter, but an autoimmune disease slows her down. She soon learns that the circus train depot, which she has been hired to renovate, was the site of a string of murders that left their mark on the town’s history. Bluff River may be fraught with ghost stories, but Chandler is willing to do whatever it takes to prove her competence and take care of Peter.

With the support of amazing friends, Pippa and Chandler both display courage as they face frightening ordeals. Wright entertains with fast pacing, great writing, deep spiritual truths and just the right amount of spookiness.

Two novels reflect on women’s strength, cultivated through their faith in God and in themselves.
Fiction

Have a little faith in me

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

For readers of Christian fiction, two novels offer a bounty of hope, love and redemption.

Historical novels from Joanne Bischof and Valerie Fraser Luesse masterfully tell stories of strong-willed women who venture into the unknown.

As winter approaches, Juniper Cohen is struggling to earn enough to sustain her and her young daughter in the barren ghost town of Kenworthy, California. Though it has been months since she last saw her husband, John, who left after the town’s mine closed, Juniper holds onto the hope that he will return to them. She writes him letters even though she is unaware of his location or whether he is even still alive. More than a century later, Johnny Sutherland buys Juniper’s house to begin a new life after separating from his wife, and there he finds Juniper’s letters.

In The Gold in These Hills, Bischof’s immersive storytelling captures an immense amount of detail, especially characters’ private thoughts and emotions. As Juniper reflects on her life in Kenworthy with John and waits for answers about his disappearance, her pain is palpable, and her desperation is heightened by the dwindling population and abandoned buildings that surround her. In the modern-day timeline, Johnny clings to the unpromising remains of his marriage like a crutch, refusing to face the inevitable.

Bischof’s characters are flawed and easy to like. Juniper’s friend Edie is secretive but fiercely loyal, and she also longs for her lover. She faces painful circumstances and leans on Juniper during such times. The town’s schoolteacher is a discreet woman who becomes a wonderful help to Juniper and her daughter. As Johnny discovers the uncanny similarity between his circumstances and those of Juniper’s husband, he sees an opportunity to redeem his life and move forward. Hope and friendship provide all these characters with the strength to carry on, despite day-to-day heartbreak and fear of the unknown.

In Under the Bayou Moon, lively and creative Ellie longs to live authentically. Hoping to achieve her goal, she leaves her community of friends and family in Alabama to take a job as a teacher in rural Louisiana. In the town of Bernadette, Ellie feels unwelcome from the start, but the town’s physician convinces her to give the job a chance. She gradually wins the hearts of the townsfolk through her warmth and respect, and she soon finds a home in Bernadette.

A lovely romance blossoms between Ellie and Raphe, a Catholic man who is surprised by her appreciation of his Cajun culture. Raphe is taking care of his nephew, whom he is determined to raise despite the incessant pressure from an evangelical Christian preacher to place the boy for adoption.

Christy Award-winning author Luesse peppers her latest novel with funny, engaging conversations and situations. Readers will enjoy vibrant portraits of 1949 Louisiana’s sights and scenery, as well as descriptions of Cajun culture and cuisine. Local politics provide an exciting backdrop to the story, including discussions about teaching French alongside English in school. There are also powerful, corrupt figures looking for oil in the bayou, unconcerned about the Creole and Cajun people or protecting the waterways.

The story is also enhanced by the legend of a white alligator that is said to inhabit the swamps. Sightings of the majestic animal add thrilling scenes to the story, although political and religious forces use the legend to support their misguided and self-seeking agendas.

Under the Bayou Moon is a charming tale of romance, culture and history, filled with characters who will fascinate readers.

Christian fiction authors Joanne Bischof and Valerie Fraser Luesse masterfully portray the stories of strong-willed women who venture into the unknown.
FictionHistorical Fiction

Sisters in Arms

Review by Edith Kanyagia

In Kaia Alderson’s witty and powerful debut novel, World War II is a conflict not only between nations but also within the hearts of two Black women serving in the U.S. Army. It’s also a chance to prove themselves to their restrictive families and a prejudiced society. Sisters in Arms chronicles their story, which spans the constraints of New York City and the perils of war-torn Europe.

For Grace Steele, pursuing a career in classical music is all she has ever wanted. But when her music idol questions her commitment, she enlists in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), which she hopes will provide her with the sense of fulfillment she longs for. She enrolls alongside Eliza Jones, a lively and privileged Black woman who is defying her father to demonstrate her capacity to thrive on her own. Grace and Eliza join the women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, pioneers in a field dominated by white men.

Sisters in Arms stands out for its originality in exploring a lesser-known part of World War II and American history. The novel also incorporates the inspiring contributions of real Black historical figures including American educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Major Charity Adams (the first Black woman to be an officer of the WAAC) and Truman Gibson Jr. (a civilian aide), as well as Mary Bankston, Mary Barlow and Delores Browne, Black female soldiers who died while fighting in France.

The novel is not only a historical account of the war but also a beautifully interlacing tale of loss, friendship and romance. Despite Grace’s irritable attitude and Eliza’s sense of self-importance, the two strike up a friendship. During their service, their bond is tested, but they learn to stick together to survive, and their romantic relationships enhance their personal stories.

Both women grow during their time in the Army. From a lost and unsure woman whose future is determined by her mother, Grace develops her own perspective on what she wants to accomplish. Eliza proves that even when she is stripped of her privilege, she is capable of succeeding. They encounter and triumph against racism, chauvinism and the turbulent events of the war.

An outstanding historical novel, Sisters in Arms succeeds at celebrating the accomplishments of the Six Triple Eight Battalion through the lives of two audacious Black women.

In Kaia Alderson’s witty and powerful debut novel, World War II is a conflict not only between nations but also within the hearts of two Black women.
RomanceFiction

Endearing novels explore Christian faith amid romantic and familial love

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

Three heroines weather tremendously difficult circumstances, uncovering and navigating unsettling details about their families’ histories with admirable grace.

★ A Dance in Donegal

In Jennifer Deibel’s debut novel, A Dance in Donegal, Moira Doherty travels from Boston to Donegal, Ireland, fulfilling her late mother’s dream that her daughter would return to their breathtaking homeland. Moira endures the strenuous journey and arrives in the village of Ballymann, where the villagers’ reception is mixed. Donegal is a charming place, but despite Moira’s excitement, some of the villagers’ disconcerting remarks send her in search of the truth about her mother. In the process, a romance blossoms between Moira and a handsome, honorable thatcher who defends her against the villagers’ prejudice and hostility.

Deibel’s descriptions of Ireland’s landscape, enticing cuisine, sonorous language and vibrant culture converge to form a spectacular background for the story. A gentle thread of suspense builds throughout, beginning with a strange dream Moira has at the story’s opening, which hints at her task in Donegal and her mother’s looming secret. There’s also a love triangle that keeps Moira on her toes.

As an outsider, Moira struggles to be accepted by the tightknit, superstitious Irish community, but she wins hearts through her powerful faith and her love for everyone she encounters. While unraveling her family’s secret and becoming immersed in Irish culture, Moira discovers her roots and finds happiness.

Her Every Move

As in A Dance in Donegal, the devastating details of a family’s history form the foundation of Kelly Irvin’s latest suspense novel, Her Every Move. When a climate change debate at a San Antonio library becomes the target of a tragic bombing, the event’s coordinator, Jackie Santoro, is identified as a key suspect.

Detective Avery Wick believes Jackie’s motive was to avenge her father, who died by suicide before the commencement of his criminal trial, and whose death left his family with a deep-seated resentment toward the city’s officials who leveraged the allegations against him. While detectives look into Jackie’s past, the real attacker threatens to continue his trail of destruction if his group’s demands are not met.

As these tense events unfold, Irvin dives deeper into Jackie’s and Avery’s complex personal lives, and as the pair gets to know each other, the professional boundaries between them become blurry. Though it includes a slow-burning romance and gripping details of chaotic explosions, the novel is, at its core, a heartwarming exploration of faith and friendship.

’Til I Want No More

The past also plays a critical role in Robin W. Pearson’s encouraging, family-centric love story ’Til I Want No More. Theodore is kind and loving, the kind of man that columnist Maxine should settle down with. Even her mother approves of him. But Maxine fights to maintain control of her feelings amid her premarital counseling sessions with Theodore—and the return of her teenage love, JD, whose presence threatens to destroy her future with Theodore and expose secrets that she has concealed for a long time.

Emotional scenes reveal key events from Maxine’s childhood and turbulent teenage years, when she felt unwanted. These early experiences contributed to her decision to settle down with Theodore before she’d properly dealt with her past, but grown-up Maxine sometimes still feels unworthy. The novel also includes Maxine’s articles about her family life, upcoming wedding plans and relationship with Theodore, adding another layer of context to Maxine’s life as the drama unfolds.

With help from her community, Maxine learns that by confronting her tangled past, she can face her future and discover her true self. Uplifting faith-based messages are included throughout, and the story’s easy pace allows time to take in each lesson.

Three heroines weather tremendously difficult circumstances, uncovering and navigating unsettling details about their families’ histories with admirable grace.
FictionPopular Fiction

The Weekend

Review by Edith Kanyagia

Charlotte Wood’s honest and humorous The Weekend follows three women in their 70s as they meet to clear out their friend’s house after her passing.

Months after Sylvie’s death, her three close friends continue to grieve. Bossy former restaurateur Jude, practical intellectual Wendy and actor Adele, who’s holding on to faded dreams, all struggle to restore what is left of their friendships now that Sylvie is gone. In their short gathering at the beach house, insecurities, bitterness and secrets are revealed, shaking the very foundation of their friendships. Antagonism, which for so long has gone unexpressed, brews just beneath the surface, as the three women question what has held them together for so long.

Adele isn’t the only one struggling to adjust to her current life. Despite the sturdy image she portrays on the outside, Jude is having a hard time coping with old age. Her love life is an unspoken issue between the friends, yet all three are aware of her clandestine relationship. Wendy’s dog, Finn, is nearing death, but despite his pain, Wendy is reluctant to let him go, convinced that her commitment to him represents her unwillingness to give up on life.

The story’s pacing is steady as the friendships’ dynamics are explored, but an oncoming storm—a metaphor for an inevitable shift—throws events into high gear. Unwelcome guests introduce an additional strand of rivalry, and the three friends must come together to defend themselves against this intruder, a testament to their loyalty despite everything going on between them.

Entertaining and insightful, Wood’s impressive novel captures characters who are hard to forget. 

Charlotte Wood’s honest and humorous The Weekend follows three women in their 70s as they meet to clear out their friend’s house after her passing.

FictionComing of Age

The Girl With the Louding Voice

Review by Edith Kanyagia

A heartwarming, enlightening novel that won the 2018 Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts, The Girl With the Louding Voice examines the plight of underage girls in Nigeria, robbed of an education by early marriage.

On her deathbed, Adunni’s mother makes her father promise to continue 14-year-old Adunni’s schooling. Adunni’s mother was the breadwinner for the family, so with bills piling high, Adunni’s father quickly forgets his promise, instead viewing his young daughter as a strategic escape from his financial woes. To receive money in the form of a dowry, he marries off Adunni to the brutal, elderly Morufu as his third wife. The flame in Adunni’s heart to continue her education—now only a flicker—lives on, even after landing in Lagos and working as a domestic worker for a cruel, abusive family.

Abi Daré’s skillful examination of the causes and effects of corruption, child labor and child marriage forms the foundation of the novel. Child labor and marriage are driven by poverty, misinformation and outdated beliefs, as when Adunni’s father fails to educate her because he believes that education makes a woman headstrong rather than yielding and submissive to her husband.

The story is told in a distinctive, grammatically imperfect style by an innocent but perceptive main character who has yet to be indoctrinated by her society’s commonly held ideologies. Adunni realizes that the ability to speak English does not reflect a speaker’s intelligence, and she discovers that English, though important in her quest for knowledge, is like any other language. She also questions why far fewer African people appear on TV than white people.

Through the moving story of a girl’s persistent struggle to acquire an education, The Girl With the Louding Voice brings deep, significant issues into focus.

A heartwarming, enlightening novel that won the 2018 Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts, The Girl With the Louding Voice examines the plight of underage girls in Nigeria, robbed of an education by early marriage.

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

Sign up now

Trending Features

All Features