If you’re like me, you enjoy reading year-round. It’s said that people read more in the summer, but I think any time of year is a great time to dive into a great book. Spring is the perfect time of year because the weather is warmer, and you can read outside if you prefer. If you’re looking for some new reads for your bookshelf, here are some recommendations that will keep you turning the pages.
1. Heart of a Cowboy by Alexa Verde
I’m currently reading Alexa’s Cowboy Crossing series, and I love it. She is a fantastic writer. If you love cowboys and the beach, this is the box set for you. It features the first five books of her Seaside Cowboys series, plus a bonus novella, and is about a family of cowboy brothers. These books all contain the tropes we love, like romance, family, humor, mystery, and suspense.
2. Heart of a Cowboy Too by Alexa Verde
If you loved the box set Heart of a Cowboy, you’ll love Heart of a Cowboy Too. This set contains the final five books in the Seaside Cowboys series plus a bonus novella. This series is Christian and clean.
3. Dark Star by Creston Mapes
I love rockstar romance, but each time I’ve started reading this trope, it turns into something gross and disgusting. So when I came across Dark Star and saw that it’s a clean, Christian suspense book, it caught my attention. This is a fantastic book. It’s about a rock star named Everett Lester who is living the dream but falling apart from depression, alcohol, and drugs. He is desperate to find something to bring peace to his soul. In search of answers, he consulted a psychic medium. What starts as a quest for answers soon turns into something sinister.
Then the letters come from a young woman in Kansas who says she’s not a fan, but a friend. She says she’s praying for him and that her faith may be the only thing standing between Everett and destruction.
Then a mysterious murder shocks the country, and a high-profile trial unfolds in Florida. As the nation watches, the truth comes to light amid fame, deception, and spiritual warfare.
4. Full-Tilt by Creston Mapes
Full-Tilt is the second book in the Rock Star Chronicles. Everett Lester has turned over a new leaf and has given his life to Jesus. His new tour takes him back on the road to perform for a new cause. But he soon learns he can’t outrun his dark past.
His wife, Karen, has received news that has rocked their world, and his brother Eddie, who is addicted to gambling, and the rest of their family have reacted to his new journey with hatred and disdain. When the mob closes in on Eddie, Everett and Karen are dragged into his nightmare as well.
To make matters worse, Everett’s nephew, Wesley, blames Everett for the death of his brother. Soon Wesley hooks up with a psychotic meth head named Tony Bandino, and both boys and their gang won’t stop until they take Everett down, or anyone else who stands in the way.
I read this book in several days, and it was fantastic.
5. The Seaside Sisterhood by Jessie Gussman
Jessie Gussman is one of my favorite authors, and her brand-new release sounds great. It’s about a woman named Quinn whose husband leaves her with nothing but a suitcase and a broken heart.
She has to start over again on the Outer Banks and live with her mother-in-law, who is facing financial ruin and has a husband who is sinking deeper into dementia. Quinn is worried she’s jumped on another sinking ship.
While cleaning vacation rentals and avoiding her critical sister-in-law, Quinn meets a group of women, Sharon, Ruth, and Cindy, who are going through their own storms.
When Quinn starts cleaning for mysterious loner Jack Sullivan, the walls she has rebuilt begin to crack. He seems like a normal beach drifter, but there’s something she can’t put her finger on. As they slowly uncover each other’s secrets, Quincy has to decide if she’s ready to take a chance on love again.
6. Steele Family Saga Box Set Collection: Books 1-3 by Carrie Lowrance
Escape into the heartwarming and emotional world of the Steele family as they navigate love, loss, and second chances. The Steele Family Saga box set includes the first three books in this captivating, clean romance series.
Book 1 - Someone to Catch My Teardrops
All country superstar Grantland Steele wants is a break from the spotlight after a personal tragedy. Meanwhile, Chef McRae Torrinson is facing her own struggles. When they both end up back in their hometown of Peachtree, Illinois, fate brings them together. But with past hurts and a twist of fate, will they finally realize that what they've been missing all along is each other?
Book 2 - Belonging Season
Merrick Taylor is desperate to escape his toxic home life, while Hollyn Steele is a survivor of abuse at the hands of her biological father. They meet online and quickly become friends, but when Merrick suddenly disappears, Hollyn is left with more questions than answers. A phone call changes everything and sets them on a journey of healing and love.
Book 3 - Finding Home Again
Larsyn Steele's life is falling apart. After losing a patient and discovering her husband's infidelity, she returns to her hometown of Peachtree, Illinois, with her six children. Doctor Creighton Lane, still grieving the loss of his wife and daughter, also finds himself in Peachtree. As they both try to heal from their pasts, they form a strong bond. But with secrets and unresolved feelings between them, can they truly find a new home in each other?
7. Love Undercover by Mandi Blake
Zach Wilson abducted Lauren Vincent to get answers. Then his brother took things too far. Rescuing Lauren is the only decent thing Zach has ever done. However, that doesn’t erase a lifetime of bad choices. When he gets out of prison, he’s shocked to see Lauren waiting for him with forgiveness in her eyes.
That night has haunted Lauren for years, never understanding why Zach spared her, but being thankful she is still breathing. Her cousin has been missing for years, and Zach is the only one with the resources and connections who can find her.
Now living next door to Lauren, Zach does his best to keep his distance. Still, Lauren sees he’s working hard to become a decent, honorable man. Zach doesn’t want to risk her safety, but she’s determined to find her cousin, even if she has to trust her heart to the man who held her life in his hands all those years ago.
8. Chasing the Clouds Away by Debbie Macomber
Debbie Macomber is another one of my favorite authors. I fell in love with clean romance when I read her book, This Matter of Marriage, as a teenager. Her new book, Chasing the Clouds Away, sounds like another great read.
Maisy Gallagher has many dreams, but when her father passes away, she puts them aside to help her family. Knowing it’s the right thing to do, she still longs for what might have been.
Chase Furst is a hardened heir to a financial empire and focuses primarily on his own life and work as a bank executive. Growing up in a traumatic childhood because his mother struggled with addiction has left him cynical and emotionally distant.
When Chase meets Maisy, he comes face to face with a kind woman who can see past his defenses. Her offer to help him in a time of need surprises him and annoys him at the same time. Declining his offer of payment, she tells him to pay it forward through an act of selflessness. The thing is, Chase, doesn’t even know where to begin.
9. Coming Home to North Dakota by Jessie Gussman
These are the first Jessie Gussman books I ever read. I have loved her writing ever since. This set contains eight clean, heartwarming romances set in the small town of Sweet Water, North Dakota.
10. Retying the Knot by Liwen Y. Ho
This book is about two friends, Piper and Peter, who get married so that he can inherit his inheritance. On paper only, and wind up going their separate ways. It’s going to take a lot of work to find their way back to each other.
If you’re looking for some great reads this spring, these books will not disappoint. Grab one or two, or a few, sit out in the sunshine with a glass of tea or a mug of coffee, and escape.
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