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Sometimes love means embracing the good, the bad. . . and even the impossible. Dear Reader -- My name is Luke Edgewood, and there are few things in life that I require. Mainly black coffee. And flannel. And lots of solitude. And my dogs, Chewy and Indie. What I don't need is romance, so I have no plans to change my thirty-year-old bachelor status anytime soon. But my youngest sister thinks that by accepting a short-term construction job in the small European country of Skymar, that I'm going to follow along in her footsteps and discover my own romantic adventure. Nope. Bah humbug. The End. This time, her rom-com-movie senses are totally wrong. Or maybe not. Because I've met a Grace Kelly lookalike who is annoying. . . until she isn't. But she is impossible. As in, nothing can happen between us because she is a literal princess. Even though that's easy to forget when we're working together to restore a castle-like orphanage in a secluded mountain town and "forced proximity" includes a small closet, a secret one-hundred-year-old journal, and the tactile memory of an off-limits royal in my arms. Basically, the whole situation has turned into an ooey gooey magical snow globe of romantic tropes complete with cute kids and an actual ball. Now, even my sentences are starting to sound like mush. Ugh. Send high levels of testosterone my way--I'm going to need it. Loyally, Luke

The Christy Awards are given each year to Christian fiction novels to honor "novels of excellence, imagination, and creativity." The award has been given since 1999, and is named for Catherine Marshall’s novel, "Christy". This year's finalists were recently announced, and they are: 

Book of the Year:

It is 1952, and nearly all the girls 16-year-old Bertha Harding knows dream of getting married, keeping house, and raising children in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Bertha dreams of baseball. She reads every story in the sports section, she plays ball with the neighborhood boys -- she even writes letters to the pitcher for the Workington Sweet Peas, part of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. When Bertha's father is accused of being part of the Communist Party by the House Un-American Activities Committee, life comes crashing down on them. Disgraced and shunned, the Hardings move to a small town to start over where the only one who knows them is shy Uncle Matthew. But dreams are hard to kill, and when Bertha gets a chance to try out for the Workington Sweet Peas, she packs her bags for an adventure she'll never forget.

He thinks she’s an elderly widow. She’s convinced he’s a grumpy old man. Neither could be further from the truth. Reminiscent of the beloved classic You’ve Got Mail comes a delightful new romantic comedy about mistaken identities, second chances, and finding love in unexpected places.

When the Day Comes: "Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. She has one conscious mind but two very different lives and bodies. In colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives -- and any hope of love -- are put in jeopardy. Libby's life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about -- women's suffrage -- is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an undesirable English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe further complicates matters and forces her to make sacrifices she never imagined. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other forever -- but how can she possibly choose when she has so much to lose in each life?" In This Moment: "Margaret Hollingsworth has been born with a gift which allows her to live three separate lives in 1861 Washington D.C., 1941 Pearl Harbor, and 2001 DC. She faces a difficult journey to discover her true self, while drawn to three worthy gentlemen, before she must choose one life to keep and the rest to lose"

Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as an infant. She has worked there since she was a wee girl and will likely die there. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.

When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant's father dies, he leaves to her the care of an adult ward she knew nothing about. The woman is supposedly a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. The woman's portrait is shockingly familiar to Vivienne, so when the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.

The Christy Awards are given each year to Christian fiction novels to honor "novels of excellence, imagination, and creativity." The award has been given since 1999, and is named for Catherine Marshall’s novel, "Christy". This year's finalists were recently announced, and they are: 

Book of the Year | General Fiction:

Along the Rio Grande: Recently widowed Susanna Jenkins has decided to follow her family to the booming town of San Marcial, New Mexico, for a fresh start and to aid in her family's sudden change in fortune. They are tasked with managing her uncle's new Grand Hotel, and it takes all her patience to try to help her parents see the good of their circumstances and relinquish their sense of entitlement. Owen Turner works as a boilermaker for the Santa Fe's train shops in San Marcial. He's immediately attracted to Susanna upon meeting her, but he hesitates to risk opening his heart again. Especially as painful memories are stirred up of his own late sibling when Susanna's brother is assigned to work under him. When misguided choices put Susanna's family in an even more precarious situation, she needs someone to rely on. But if Owen can't face the past, he'll miss out on his greatest chance at love. ************************************** Beyond the Desert Sands: After living an opulent life with her aunt for the last few years, the last thing twenty-five-year-old Isabella Garcia wants is to have to celebrate Christmas in the small silver-mining town her father and mother founded in the desert. She'd rather stay in California with the handsome Diego Morales who is courting her. Isabella is further miffed to have to bear the company of Aaron Bailey, a businessman with the Santa Fe Railroad, whom her father has sent to escort her safely home. Aaron finds Isabella spoiled, and she finds him judgmental. But she is surprised to see how much the town of Silver Veil has grown and how fragile her father's health has become. Then Diego shows up with news that her aunt has died. Isabella is saddened by the loss of not only her aunt, but also her place of escape. Faced with all these changes, she struggles to sort through her future and who she wants to be. But trouble is brewing, and there are those who hope Isabella stays just as she is, even if it costs her everything. **************************************** Under the Starry Skies: Sensible and independent, Cassandra Barton never anticipated being on her own at thirty-two. But after the death of her father and the marriage of her sister, she's found joy in her work as a seamstress. When a minor accident leaves her incapacitated, she decides to use her time to compile a book of stories about the men working on the Santa Fe Railroad. But worry begins to grow in San Marcial as Mexican revolutionaries set out to destroy the railroad--and put many lives in danger. With Europe at war and his longtime friend Cassie injured, railroad worker Brandon Dubarko is burdened by his troubles. And when a vengeful man reappears in Brandon's life intent on causing conflict, Brandon must face his past before he can move forward. As the danger intensifies, Cassie and Brandon must rely on their faith to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of a brighter future.

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in The House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history--an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial Czar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family. Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance--and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined. This modern-day treasure hunt from award-winning author Kelli Stuart transports you into the opulent and treacherous world of the Russian Revolution to unearth mysteries long buried.

2022 Carol Awards Announced!

Peggy Serrano couldn't wait for her best friend to come home from the war. But the Jimmy Barnett who returns is much different from the Jimmy who left, changed so drastically by his experience as a medic in Europe that he can barely function. When he attempts the unthinkable, his parents check him into the VA hospital. Peggy determines to help the Barnetts unravel what might have happened to send their son over the edge. She starts by contacting Jimmy's war buddies, trying to identify the mysterious woman in the photo they find in Jimmy's belongings. Seven years earlier, sensing the rising tide against her people, Gisela Wolff and her family flee Germany aboard the passenger ship St. Louis, bound for Havana, Cuba. Gisela meets Sam Shapiro on board and the two fall quickly in love. But the ship is denied safe harbor and sent back to Europe. Thus begins Gisela's perilous journey of exile and survival, made possible only by the kindness and courage of a series of strangers she meets along the way, including one man who will change the course of her life.

When Ivy Rose returns to her hometown to oversee an estate sale, she soon discovers that her grandmother left behind more than trinkets and photo frames--she provided a path to the truth behind Ivy's adoption. Shocked, Ivy seeks clues to her past, but a key piece to the mystery is missing. Twenty-four years earlier, Harvey James finds an abandoned newborn who gives him a sense of human connection for the first time in his life. His desire to care for the baby runs up against the stark fact that he is homeless. When he becomes entwined with two people seeking to help him find his way, Harvey knows he must keep the baby a secret or risk losing the only person he's ever loved. In this dual-time story from debut novelist Amanda Cox, the truth--both the search for it and the desire to keep it from others--takes center stage as Ivy and Harvey grapple with love, loss, and letting go.