Another appropriate name for this might be Carla’s Top Ten Five-Star Reads—but then I’d have to go through the whole process of explaining who Carla is and why you should care. Okay, maybe I’m going to tell you anyway. These are the books that made me jump up and down, clap, ugly cry, grin, laugh, and basically increase the strength of my Retin-A to control all the lines these books created on my face. They were borderline causing me to consider fillers, because my skin – at my age -just cannot take all of these muscle movements. If you’re young, perhaps you’ll latch onto these because you want to look older. Or, if you’re older, maybe you won’t care about one more line. After all, it just shows experience, a life well lived, and books well loved.
So Into You by Kathleen Fuller
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: December 3, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Review
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Artist Britt Branch has a successful online channel where she teaches a variety of art lessons. Obsessed with the 1970s, she has a style all her own. But she also has a huge problem–severe social anxiety. She lives with her mom, and while she pays her own bills, she wonders if she’ll ever have the courage to move out and move on. When her best friend announces she’s getting married, Britt decides it’s time to make a change.
Gorgeous Hunter Pickett has always skated by on his model looks, applying very little effort to anything except sports, and even that was iffy at times. The third son of extremely wealthy and successful parents, he dealt with being the black sheep of the family by drinking and using drugs. By his third year of sobriety, he’s still dealing with aimlessness. Late one night he catches Britt’s channel and ends up watching her videos. He’s not interested in art . . . at first. And when he sends her an online message, he’s surprised she responds. Before long they are chatting every day, and once they start meeting in person, a spark-filled friendship begins.
But both of them are keeping secrets. Big ones. When all truths are revealed in one pivotal moment, Britt and Hunter are at a crossroads. Will he fight for the happiness he’s worked so hard to obtain? And will she continue to hide from life, or can she finally step out of her own shadow?
Season of Hope by Sara Jane Jacobs (Author), Lisa Lynn Sandlin (Narrator)
Series: The Seasons Series – Book 1
Publisher: Rose Cottage Books
Publication Date: January 5, 2022
Genres: Christian Romance | Contemporary Romance
Length: 6 hours and 47 minutes
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Memories of his abusive father fuel Tyler Armstrong’s desire to make the world a safer place, so Tyler will do whatever it takes to become a Navy SEAL. Falling in love with his best friend, Amanda Jarvis, though, wasn’t part of his plans.
Maybe his failed attempts to confess his love turned out for the best. Even if their shared faith helps them navigate the demands of SEAL life, he fears asking her to live with the uncertainties of his career. Amanda deserves better.
When Amanda’s plans for college fall through and her summer job in New York catapults her into a modeling career, she welcomes the distraction. Not only is she falling for her best friend, Tyler, but his impending deployment is also turning her world upside down.
The more she learns of Navy SEALs, the more her dreams of finding out Tyler’s in love with her fade behind the fear that she’s not strong enough to spend her life with him. Will Tyler and Amanda let go of their fears and give love a chance before it’s too late?
Her Secret by Shelley Shepard Gray
Series: The Amish of Hart County – Book 3
Publisher: Avon Inspire
Publication Date: March 14, 2017
Genre: Amish Romance
Pages: 272
Note: I read this many years ago and don’t have a review. It’s not even on my Goodreads list because I can’t even recall what year I wrote it. This entire series will get you hooked on Amish romance, Amish suspense, and Shelley Shepard Gray. This is my favorite in the series.
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray begins a new series—The Amish of Hart County—with this suspenseful tale of a young Amish woman who is forced to move to a new town to escape a threatening stalker.
After a stalker went too far, Hannah Hilty and her family had no choice but to leave the bustling Amish community where she grew up. Now she’s getting a fresh start in Hart County, Kentucky…if only she wasn’t too scared to take it. Hannah has become afraid to trust anyone—even Isaac, the friendly Amish man who lives next door. She wonders if she’ll ever return to the trusting, easy-going woman she once was.
For Isaac Troyer, the beautiful girl he teasingly called “The Recluse” confuses him like no other. When he learns of her past, he knows he’s misjudged her. However, he also understands the importance of being grateful for God’s gifts, and wonders if they will ever have anything in common. But as Hannah and Isaac slowly grow closer, they realize that there’s always more to someone than meets the eye.
Kate Landry Has a Plan by Rebekah Millet
Series: Beignets for Two – Book 2
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Pages: 368
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Forty-year-old Kate Landry’s carefully planned life has become as messy as the powdered sugar on her famous beignets. Juggling the responsibilities of running her café, raising her teenage niece, and the emotional baggage from her breakup, Kate finds her world once again turned upside down when her first-ever crush, Micah Guidry, returns to town as the hunky local librarian.
As Kate struggles to implement her plans to expand her café amid the New Orleans Mardi Gras madness and the meddling of her conniving ex-fiancé, Micah becomes the unwitting hero of her misadventures, stirring up feelings she thought she’d long buried. How can falling in love in the Big Easy be this hard?
A Is for Amish by Shelley Shepard Gray
Series: Amish ABC’s
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: June 25, 2024
Series: Amish ABCs – Book 1
Genres: Amish Romance | Christian Romance
Pages: 282
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Siblings Martin, Kelsey, Beth, and Jonny are as different as can be, but they have one thing in common. They’re all longing to reinvent their lives. Raised by their divorced lapsed-Amish father and English mother, they only knew real stability and a sense of family when visiting their Old Order grandparents, Josiah and Sylvia Schrock, in peaceful Holmes County, Ohio. Now the four want to try living with them and joining their faith—much to the Schrocks’ surprise . . .
Martin, the eldest, is reeling from a bad breakup, so he’s especially determined to make a fresh start. When he meets his grandparents’ neighbor, Patti Coblentz, he’s immediately drawn to her outgoing, helpful nature—but is so overwhelmed that he appears blunt and rude. Is there any way he can drop his defenses enough to admit she’s captured his heart?
Always self-conscious about the birthmark on her temple, Patti is resigned to never marrying and busying herself with the responsibilities of the large home and property she has inherited. Besides, Martin’s ill-mannered behavior and disconcerting directness make him the last man she’d ever want to wed—no matter how handsome he is.
Yet given time and patience—and adhering to their grandparents’ unexpectedly challenging rules—the whole family might just find what they’re looking for, even Martin and Patti.
Shooting Sunshine by Wendy Rich Stetson
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: September 30, 2024
Genres: Amish Romance | RomCom
Pages: 374
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On assignment in Green Ridge, PA, New York photojournalist Darcy King will stop at nothing to bag a prestigious staff position at Hudson Magazine. Just one problem: her subjects are Amish, and they shun having their pictures taken.
As a wild teen on his Amish Rumspringa, Samuel Rishel fell prey to a photographer who splashed his face on a romance novel and left him with trust issues. Older and definitely wiser, he wants nothing to do with cameras until a pretty young photographer arrives in the family’s farmhouse B&B. Eager to support his mother’s fledgling business, he’ll help Darcy on one condition—no pictures of faces allowed.
Will Samuel and Darcy go from enemies to something more? Or will a single photograph shatter their trust forever?
The Hunted Heir by Jayna Breigh
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: January 28, 2025
Genre: Romantic Legal Drama
Pages: 272
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After a tragic loss, private investigator Nona Taylor swore off romantic entanglements and distanced herself from the world. Once a year, on New Year’s Eve, she attends church to beg God for forgiveness, haunted by the guilt of driving her twin sister to her death.
Attorney DeMarcus Johnson is determined to climb the ladder to partnership by winning high-profile cases at his Los Angeles law firm, harnessing his ADHD hyperfocus to excel. He’s everything Nona knows to steer clear of–an overconfident ex-jock willing to do anything for success.
Their worlds collide when Nona’s pastor receives a mysterious letter claiming he’s the sole heir to a substantial estate. Desperate for answers, Nona infiltrates a lavish charity ball, only to be found out by a suspicious stranger–so she latches onto DeMarcus and concocts a fib about being his fiancée.
Now bound by a false engagement, the pair reluctantly join forces to discover the truth about the inheritance. But when an unseen enemy strikes, they realize the stakes are higher than they thought. Can Nona and DeMarcus overcome their differences to keep the pastor safe, secure DeMarcus’s partnership, and preserve a future for themselves?
A Stolen Kiss by Mindy Steele
Series: The Heart of the Amish – Book 7
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Publication Date: December 01 2024
Genres: Christian | Amish Romance
Pages: 256
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Full of faith, hope, and romance, the series takes you into the Heart of Amish Country.
LeEtta Miller has never done anything spontaneous before, but when a girl is the last one at everything, sometimes she has to take the reins into her own hands. What harm could come from kissing a stranger she’ll never see again?
Benuel Ropp isn’t sure he can ever forgive his father for giving away his inheritance. Taking work far from home, Ben hopes to earn enough to build his future, but nowhere in his plans did he predict being kissed by a beautiful stranger – or having to marry her. To save both their reputations he has little choice but to accept the elder’s demands. Well. . .if LeEtta thought he’d flinch, letting her boldness ruin the future he had all mapped out, she was mistaken. He has a dream to work for, and if he has to make sacrifices to reach them, so will she.
Who kissed who first? He couldn’t even remember anymore.
Fa-La-La-La Faking It by Teri Wilson
Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition
Publication Date: Oct 22 2024
Series: A Comfort Paws Romance Book 2
Genres: Contemporary Romance | Holiday Romance
Pages: 272
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It’s beginning to look a lot like kiss…er…Christmas!
Matchmaking services as a Christmas gift? No thank you! It’s bad enough that, to save her grandmother’s feelings, Adaline Bishop fibs and says she’s seeing someone. It’s worse when Jace Martin, her grade school crush turned nemesis, volunteers that he’s the someone. Now Adaline will have to fake it until Jace’s flannel-shirted, piney-scented goodness leaves town in a couple of weeks.
Jace would like to make up for his past transgressions and for his elderly uncle’s meaner-than-the-grinch behavior during Adaline’s therapy dog visits. In the spirit of peace and goodwill toward all, Jace will happily be her fake boyfriend. It’s just that what began as a lie as big as Texas is starting to feel like the magic of a Christmas wish come true.
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness
The Lightness of Water by Toni Cabell (Author), Lisa Lynn Sandlin (Narrator)
Series: Water Witch – Book 1
Publisher: Endwood Press LLC
Publication Date: September 3, 2024
Genres: Young Adult | Fantasy
Length: 8 hours and 14 minutes
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Solace is beautiful, strong-willed, and called the water witch by her neighbors. She divines for water in the arid hills of her home—a dangerous pastime across the border, where the king controls access to all the water.
Rhees is brooding, bitter, and hiding a deadly secret. But he’s determined to find a way to help the thirsty people of his land—even if it means kidnapping the last living water diviner.
But divining for water is against the law, punishable by death. Should Solace risk everything—including her heart—in a daring race to find water, or flee across the hills at her first chance of escape?
What are some of your favorite books?
Thank you to The Artsy Reader Girl for hosting Top Ten Tuesday!
Carla's Book Crush 
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