Autumnal Christian fiction

Are you a seasonal reader? I've recently discovered that I'm really not, other than Christmas books at Christmas time, but I have been keeping seasonal lists lately anyway because I know some of you are! 

26 Below (suspense)... I'm a big baby about suspense these days so this was admittedly a bit much for me (it's time for me to join the Cozy Mystery Club when I'm feeling like a mystery!) but it was good and has gotten great reviews from tougher Christian book reviewers I like :)

All That We Carried (general fiction)... This is largely a sister story, full of relationship dynamics between the two. It's set during a backpacking trip so the autumn is very atmospheric at times.

Before We Were Us (romance)... This amnesia trope love story was pretty cute. It also finally got New Hampshire accounted for in my list of books by location. 

From the Start (romance)... This is the start of a family series. I decided to wait until I've finished the Christiansen family books to really dive into the Walkers but I do look forward to it.

Letters From My Sister (historical fiction)... Much of this historical Alabama story takes place in the fall.

The Perfect Rom-Com (romance)... This book really made me smile. I'm just a sucker for fun writer stories I suppose.

Pocketful of Pinecones (historical fiction, contemporary)... This diary-style novel is definitely not for everyone. This is basically a business parable kind of book, a fiction written to show homeschool moms how to execute a Charlotte Mason-style nature study. It takes place over all four seasons but it's really very atmospheric during each season since it's so nature-focused. 

Christian Fiction for Music Lovers

🎶  Because You're Mine (suspense)... This is a creepy standalone about an Irish singer whose husband was just killed. It's quite clear that she's in danger and it's a great mystery to unravel. It's also set in the Carolinas which always feels so summer-y to me!
🎶 Bespoke (Christmas, historical)... This one is very short, readable in one cozy afternoon, and follows the daughter of a famous secret symphony composer. Fans of classical music will appreciate this one.
🎶 Beyond Ivy Walls (historical)... Piano fans, this Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 1903 Iowa is for you!
🎶 A Carol for Christmas (Christmas)... This one is heavily focused on a young marriage and its struggles but the young wife is a guitar player and we see that quite a lot, too.
🎶 Long Way Gone (general fiction)... This Prodigal Son retelling is going to be a bit too gritty for dome of you but it follows a young musician who leaves home to make it big. This one is filled with talk of guitar and singing.
🎶 Love and a Little White Lie (romance)... Although I'm not a romance fan I really enjoyed this one. Our female protagonist is agnostic but accepts a clerical position at her aunt's church in an attempt to start over. Then she meets the church guitarist and her aunt's landscaper. Watching her decide who she belonged with was more fun than I expected.
🎶 The Roads We Follow (romance)... Again, not typically a romance fan... but very typically a Nicole Deese fan! I loved this story of a young woman her sisters road tripping with their famous singer mother while everyone has so much going on in the background!
🎶 Roots of Wood and Stone (historical, time slip)... This one is for jazz fans which I do believe is a rarity. Our heroine is uncovering her family history and we're slipping into that past but she happens to make jazz music on the side just for fun.
🎶 The Shunning (Amish)... This Amish fiction, the first in a trilogy, is not about music (it's about a young Amish woman finding out she's adopted snd searching for her birth mother) but talks a fair bit about guitar-playing.
🎶 Wedding Dress Christmas (Christmas)... A magical wedding dress, the owner of the wedding dress shop, and a hunky country music star all come together in this Christmas story I really enjoyed. This story would work fine as a standalone but will mean more if you've read The Wedding Dress (which I also love). 

Also, Jesus loves you ❤️ 

Summertime Christian Fiction

Are you a seasonal reader? I discovered recently that I am NOT. I like to read autumn and winter books in the autumn and winter... but then also in the summer to escape my hot reality 😅 But maybe you love to read summer stories in the summer and if so, this list is for you! 

🌞 All That Fills Us (contemporary, general fiction)... This one is heavily focused on an eating disorder so beware if that will not be good for you. We have a young woman walking her way across the country and you'll get to see quite a bit of nature along with quite a bit of personal reflection and development.

🌞 All That Really Matters (contemporary, general fiction)... I am generally fascinated by the concept of influencers-- the psychology of being one, the psychology of following one, the aftermath, the parasocial relationship aspect, all of it. I really enjoyed this Nicole Deese story about an influencers finding meaning and value in a charitable summer project.

🌞 Chasing the Horizon (historical fiction)... This Oregon Trail story is about a mother and daughter on the run. It's not in my normal wheelhouse but I did enjoy it.

🌞 In Search of a Prince (contemporary, general fiction)... This book is such a fun nod to The Princess Diaries- a young woman who suddenly learns she's an African princess and has to take over the throne... and also find a prince to marry!

🌞 The Key to Everything (historical fiction)... This post-WWII story is about a teenage boy traveling biking from one end of Florida to the other. I liked it, and I felt that it would be a good read for my kids as teenagers too. This one is on our high school lists.

🌞 I Really Do Miss Your Smile and Take a Chance on Me (contemporary,  general fiction, romantic fiction)... I love the Christiansens and these two, the prequel and book 1, take place firmly in the summertime by a lake in Minnesota.

🌞 Pocketful of Pinecones (historical fiction, fictionalized homeschool how-to)... This one, which actually covers each season, will likely only appeal to homeschool moms or nature lovers. This is a fictionalized example of how to do nature study with your children, but it's also about marriage and motherhood in the 1930s. I have the next book on my shelf and look forward to reading it, too. This was written as diary entries.

🌞 Summer of Yes (contemporary, general fiction)... I judged this book by its cover and expected it to be light-hearted fluff (which I don't really like) but I ended up loving some depth and richness I hadn't expected. This one feels extra summery to me since it's a road trip story.

🌞 Tacos for Two (contemporary, general  fiction, romance)... This Texas taco truck story had major You've Got Mail vibes and I really liked it. I feel like I've recommended this book Way too many times but oh, well. I loved it!

🌞 What Happens Next (contemporary, general fiction,  mystery)... Christina Suzann Nelson books hold my attention so well. I love her writing! This one is about a popular podcaster, so kinda fits into my influencer fascination, but it's also about a Missing child from the 80s. That part makes this book a hard one to stomach at times, at least for my sensitive mama heart, but I did finish it and I did love it. 

4 fun Christian fiction finds for foodies

The more emotionally healthy I get, the more I see how absolutely okay it is to love and appreciate the art of preparing or enjoying a meal with the people I love. It often feels like I'm not supposed to appreciate food since I've got the endomorph body type but really, food is a very big part of life. We nourish ourselves with it, we use it as an opportunity to fellowship with our people and show them we care... And, if it's done right, it's a pleasant sensory experience our brains were designed to enjoy. 

I've found many Christian nonfiction books encouraging a healthy love for good meals with our people (Bread & Wine // The Daniel Plan // The Lifegiving Table // Nourished*) but I've never found myself looking for foodie fiction. 

After finishing 🌮Tacos for Two*🌮 I wanted to tell you about it, and also about three other foodie fiction novels I've enjoyed.  

🍽 Hadley Beckett's Next Dish*... Confession: I've never watched a cooking show or contest on television. So for that reason I may not be the best person to review this little gem (which I skimmed much of) but I still found it quite charming. Bethany Turner has brought another game-changer to the ideals of Christian romance novels. This book is fresh, flirty, and fun. Hadley Beckett's Next Dish would make for an excellent beach read.

🥗 Roots of Wood and Stone*... I absolutely adored this romantic time slip, especially the rich family history thread, and would recommend it to any timeslip fan. Sloane shows us her search for her birth family and her budding feelings for a new guy while we explore historic family journals with them... Delightful! Our male protagonist's sister is a healthy food blogger and I was frequently chuckling at his disdain for her cooking, which sounds a lot like mine 😅😂

🍪 Stories that bind us*... This was such a good one! Set in 1960s Michigan, our protagonist is right away a breath of fresh air since she's 40 (it's so rare that I find a heroine who isn't between 18 and 29!), childless, and newly widowed. This book tackles family ties, mental health, and (very lightly) race. Much of this story is woven around a family bakery that makes you want to to examine your own family legacies- preferably while baking cookies. I really liked this one and have added her other books to my list too.

🌮 Tacos for Two*... Contemporary romance is not my go-to genre, but every now and then a contemporary romance synopsis really speaks to me. This Modest, Texas story was one of them. Rory owns a food truck and Jude is stuck in a family business he doesn't want to be in. They're both falling for the person they're anonymously chatting with through an online dating site, of course unaware that they're talking to each other, and then (as in any good romance) things go a little haywire. Not only does this book have all the fun You've Got Mail feelings, it even has a few YGM references. I happen to adore that movie and think this is a great read for you if you do, too. 

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Christian Fiction for Animal Lovers

🐎 Along a Storied Trail*... Tansy Calhoun is a Kentucky packhorse librarian serving 1930s Appalachia. If the horse and librarian angles aren't enough to pique your interests then perhaps the love triangle element will! I haven't read a lot of booms set in Appalachia OR the great depression but still the setting feels quite believable in my humble opinion. 

🐘 The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus*... This suspenseful timeslip isn't as animal-heavy as some others on this list but there were still plenty of circus animal mentions! (And you all know how much I love circus animals!)

🐎 The Heart's Charge*... This book is technically second in a series but I don't think you miss anything by starting with book 2. "The Hanger's Horsemen" are unexpectedly tangled up with a baby, a former flame, and a case involving missing children. Also, this one's set in Texas! This is one for those of you who love a good mixture of romance and intrigue. 

🐎 The Moonlight School*... I just loved this one! Very loosely based on a true story, this is a tale about "moonlight schools" set up to teach literacy in Appalachia. There are a couple of very interesting sub plots and I was guessing I'd like this book but surprised myself by giving it a five-star review. Lucy rides her horse Jenny out into the holler to read and transcribe letters and I was romanticizing horseback riding the whole time! 

🐕‍ Rock Harbor series by Colleen Coble... This suspense series' heroine is a search and rescue ___ along with her German shepherd. Suspense isn't my main genre these days but it was for a while and I loved this series! 

🐎 Second Chances for Trampled Hearts... Y'all know romance is not my preferred genre but Shoshanna Gabriel is such a kind soul, I had to read one of her books! This is the first in a series set in fictional Bear Creek, Idaho. Our heroine is restoring an old restaurant and is thrown into country life in the process. Our male protagonist is a horse guy and you'll see plenty of horse action through him! 

🐕 That Dog Won't Hunt by Brandilyn Collins... This southern contemporary novel, about a family meeting the youngest son's fiance for the first time, heavily features a very expressive Yorkie named Lady Penelope. I really liked it, but trigger warning- this book does contain memories of an abusive childhood. 

*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.