I use Goodreads to keep track of all the books I read and review. My reading goal for last year was 20 books. I read 45. Here are my top ten book picks of 2013, in no particular order. All received 5 stars from me.
The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper
The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.
As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.
Made to Last
Miranda Woodruff, star of the homebuilding show "From the Ground Up," will do anything to keep the job she loves. Due to a painful broken engagement and a faith she's mostly forgotten, she's let her entire identity become wrapped up in the Miranda everyone sees onscreen. So when she receives news that the network might cancel her program, she must do the very thing she fears most: let the spotlight shine on her closely guarded
personal life. The only problem? She's been living a lie--letting viewers believe she's married--and now she's called upon to play wife to a sweet, if a bit goofy, pretend husband to boost ratings.
Desperate to help his family and prove he's not a total failure, reporter Matthew Knox is looking for a breakout story. When he's offered the opportunity to do an online serial feature on Miranda Woodruff, he jumps at the chance, even if celebrity reporting isn't really his thing. But as soon as he meets Miranda, he knows she's keeping secrets.
When Miranda's former fiance suddenly appears on the scene again, she doubts her life could get more complicated. Juggling three guys, an on-the-rocks television show, and the potential exposure of her deception is way more than she bargained for. Can the woman who makes things look so good onscreen admit it's time to tell the truth about who she is? And if she does, will the life Miranda's built come crashing down just as she's finally found a love to last?
Never Say Never
Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She's never put down roots in any one place--and she doesn't plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence. And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily--until she discovers he may be promised to someone else. Daily has always been a place of refuge for those the wind blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store--especially when Aunt Donetta has cooked up a scheme.
Fancy Pants
When Britisher Lady Sydney Hathwell's father dies, the American who
planned to wed her suddenly reneges. Stranded in America and penniless, Sydney contacts a relative in Texas who, mistaking her male-sounding name, invites his "nephew" to join him on his ranch. "Big Tim" Creighton, however, is appalled when this mincing fop arrives at Forsaken. He determines he'll turn Fancy Pants Hathwell into a man before the boss returns home. From the get-go, he has "the kid" mucking stalls, clearing and plowing a field, and assisting with a difficult calving. But when Sydney's true identity is uncovered, Tim resents being deceived. Yet in time, he also finds that he doesn't like all the attention Sydney garners now that she's wearing pretty gowns...Together Sydney and Tim will discover the importance of family and what it means to be a man--and a woman--of God.
Happily Ever After
A bookstore in a Victorian house on the shores of beautiful Lake Superior. Mona Reynolds can’t think of a better storybook setting for a happy ending. Until someone starts to sabotage her plans. Could it be the drifter handyman she hired to help her? Just what will it take to make her dreams come true?
The Jessilyn Lassiter Series:
Fireflies in December, Cottonwood Whispers, Catching Moondrops
Jessilyn Lassiter never knew that hatred could lurk in the human heart
until the summer of 1932 when she turned 13. When her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn's father vows to care for her as one of his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands. As tensions mount in the small community, loyalties are tested and Jessilyn is forced to say good-bye to the carefree days of her youth.
Noble Legacy:
Reclaiming Nick, Taming Rafe, Finding Stephanie
Everyone around Stefanie Noble is content, but it seems that her "happily ever after" has passed her by. Then two troubled girls and their older brother, Gideon, show up in town and clearly need help. Could they bring the fulfillment that Stefanie has been searching for? Hollywood hotshot Lincoln Cash has made a life playing the role of an action hero, basking in the laurels of his fame, fortune, and adoring fans. But when he's diagnosed with a debilitating disease, he knows that life will soon be over. He only has a small window of time to start a new career, one that will earn him legitimate filmmaker kudos. He soon heads to Phillips, Montana, to put his plan into action. Not everyone is pleased with the movie star's arrival, especially not Stefanie Noble. She's even less enamored when he accuses Gideon of arson and tries to run him out of town. But what Lincoln and Stefanie don't know is that neither the fire nor the other strange things that have happened around town are really accidents. Someone is out to get them . . . but who? And who is the "real" target?
Bees in America: How the Honeybee Shaped a Nation
Honey bees--and the qualities associated with them--have quietly influenced American values for four centuries. During every major period in the country's history, bees and beekeepers have represented order and stability in a country without a national religion, political party, or language. Bees in America is an enlightening cultural history of bees and beekeeping in the United States.
Songbird Series:
Sweet By and By, Softly and Tenderly, Love Lifted Me
Happily married and owner of two successful boutiques, Jade longs to begin
a family with her husband, Max. But when she discovers that Max has an illegitimate son--who he wants her to help raise--Jade's life is turned upside down.
She flees to her childhood home, a rambling Iowa farmhouse, with enough room to breathe. There-- while her mother's health grows fragile, and the tug of her first love grows stronger--Jade begins to question everything she thought she knew about family, love, and motherhood. In the wide-open landscape, Jade begins to see a future that doesn't rest on the power of her past, but in the goodness of God's tender mercies.
Barefoot Summer
Madison’s heart closed the day her twin brother died.
Since losing her twin, Michael, in a drowning incident, Madison has
rejected the faith he lived by. Instead, she’s devoted her life to fulfilling Michael’s dream—winning the River Sail Regatta in their small Indiana town, Chapel Springs.
As she trains for the regatta, Beckett O’Reilly is teaching Madison to swim. But he’s keeping a painful secret from her—and as they grow closer, that secret threatens to upend their lives . . . and the lives of both their families.
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