Kirjahaku

Loneliness felt safe...Blaming himself for the death of his father, college junior Shawn Carpenter is all about taking care of his family, working hard, and paying penance. Friendship and romance? Not for him, not while his family pays for the sins of his past. He has to make up for everything he lost them. Then a stranger introduces him to God and invites him to join a college youth group, and his world turns upside down. He barely remembers this stuff-friendship, laughter, conversation? It's wild. And then there's the boss's daughter, completely unobtainable, but wow. She makes a guy dream, and he's pretty much forgotten how to do that, too.But with all the people in his life comes disclosure. Secrets get exposed. Reality steps in, and his reality isn't pretty. What if they all find out the truth about Shawn Carpenter? Is it worth the risk? He thought God had a great plan for his life, but some days it feels like he's just been set up for disaster.Adventure, danger, romance... Welcome to the Boys of Summer, a contemporary Christian series for teens and anyone who appreciates the challenges of stepping into adulthood.

All Matt wanted was to ride a few horses... His parents are imploding, and he's feeling the blame. What better way to escape the mess than to join his uncle in Mexico for a summer leading horse rides for children? College junior Matt Tucker is looking forward to a little sun, a lot of horses, and an excuse to leave the country before the parental fireworks. Somehow Matt never counted on teammates. The brooding guy? The angry girl? It was all so clich , so high school, so human. Matt doesn't want human right now. He wants to hide. He sure doesn't want to share bucket baths and midnight secrets with strangers. What if they discover his own secrets? What if they discover he's not exactly the fun-loving Matt he wants them to see? And then there's the God part. Once that meant something, but now it's just about guilt and failure. One of his team wants to become a missionary. Can that be more awkward, since he isn't sure he wants to think about God at all? What did Matt get himself into, anyway? The summer might heal him. The summer might kill him. Whatever happens, the Matt Tucker who got on a plane in June won't be the same guy who gets off in August. And to think he just wanted to ride a few horses... Adventure, danger, romance... Welcome to the Boys of Summer, a contemporary new adult Christian series for teens and anyone who appreciates the challenges of stepping into adulthood.

He was on a journey of discovery, tears, and healing. Since his mother's death four years ago, Eric Van der Haas has spent two weeks with his brother Aaron. The guy is a stranger-an angry stranger-and yet Eric finds himself delivering an RV across the country with said brother. Let the fighting begin. And then there's his brooding young cousin, who has somehow become his dad's ward for a few months. She might be a beauty, but she's also a bear. Finally throw in his best friend Samantha, who is always cheerful and really gets in the way of a bad mood. Those two can drive a person crazy, although they might kill one another in the back of the RV before the trip ends. Mostly there are miles of regrets and questions and heartache, stretching across an entire country and half a decade. If God wants the Van der Haas family to heal, this is the place to do it. Or maybe it's time for the family to separate for good. It's a toss-up which it will be, and Eric isn't sure which outcome he's rooting for. Mostly he just wants this ridiculous summer to end. Adventure, danger, romance... Welcome to the Boys of Summer, a Christian new adult series for teens and anyone who appreciates the challenges of stepping into adulthood.

School's back in session, and it may be a year to remember... When he asked his best friend and his cousin to be his new college roommates, Tom Van der Haas thought he was pretty clever. What could go wrong? Rooming with friends had to be easier than living with strangers. Well, apparently friendly roommates fight sometimes. They make messes and dig into painful pasts and expose failures and simply make a guy feel as human as he really is. But sometimes they light up the path to self-discovery, and they lead a guy to places he needs to go but was always afraid to venture. Sometimes they make a guy feel like a superhero and not a disaster. Along the way, they might melt down, get kidnapped, or run away from home. Tom has a few lessons to learn about trusting God, who he is, and what role he plays in the life of these friends, and lessons are never easy. Maybe it's not too late to get some strangers for roommates. Adventure, danger, romance... Welcome to the Boys of Summer, the Christian new adult series for teens and anyone who appreciates the challenges of stepping into adulthood.

The new stable boys are causing a stir... When two new stable boys show up at Hawthorn Castle, everyone knows they aren't who they say, but laundry mistress Valerie has no idea their secrets will change her entire life. The deity TrueGod, though, has planned this crossing of paths for many years, and before all is revealed, Valerie and her friend Harmony will lose everything they always knew, travel dangerous paths, and try to find life in a new world filled with danger. For Faraday and Alex, the plan is simply to protect Valerie and the secrets she doesn't know about herself. Instead, they tip their hands and end up dragging the girls into danger to escape an old enemy. But even they don't know the depths of the secrets surrounding them, and TrueGod will use these secrets to change not only the lives of stable boys and house maids but the fates of entire kingdoms. Filled with romance and adventure, this installment of the Tales of Balia series takes readers to yet another corner of the lush land of Balia as TrueGod changes lives and heals hearts while bringing lost people home. Historic fantasy with a Christian worldview.

One fateful day changes everything for Christianna Habersham, daughter of a wealthy jewelry guilder. After an attack leaves her unconscious and injured at the side of the road, an exiled gypsy man finds and cares for her, then leaves her in her provincial Boreal town on his quest to find his place in the world. TrueGod, though, sees fit to put the pair together, for Christi's attacker has left her with child, and nobody else will have her, so she and the gypsy man are wed with no real knowledge of one another or the worlds in which each was raised. Christi fights to tame the wandering gypsy, and Marcus fights to learn about the heart of a woman, and it becomes all too easy to drift apart for the sake of peace. Eventually, though, they must learn to put each other and their love for TrueGod above all else, or they will lose something they love and themselves in the process. Take another trek into the rich world of Balia in this installment of the Tales of Balia, the Christian romance/fantasy series. Readable in any order, grab a Balia book and enter a new world today.

High school wasn't supposed to be like this... Junior year had been a bust. Holly had a new chronic illness, her parents split, and her mom moved her to a new state. Since she home schools, she figures she'll stay at home senior year and come out again for college. Nope. Mom insists she try the local youth group. She is welcomed by one Jason Birch, a handsome baseball player who asks too many questions and disrupts her plans not to speak to the world until graduation. Somehow she ends up at all kinds of crazy youth events, and at every one Jason is there, being charming, being secretive, being human. Seems popularity and a good throwing arm don't really fix a broken life. Together they struggle with their own issues as well as those of the other. Will Holly figure out this new life, facing death on a daily basis? Will Jason's family issues ruin his chances for the future he's dreamed of? God has the answers, but this time he's making them work for it, and it might just take every second of senior year to get them ready for their future. Girls Aglow, a Contemporary Christian teen/new adult romance series. With a little adventure, faith, and friendship, these girls take the first steps into adulthood, and it's going to be a wild ride.

Walk the most dangerous path in Balia... Meandering around a volcanic ridge, through jungle lowlands, and over salt flats, Dusk Lane is a route only the most desperate travelers find, and without strong guides nobody can survive the path through the beautiful and dangerous interior of Chimelu. Rika is one such guide, but this group of travelers might prove to be more than he can handle, for each has suffered great loss. Young Aaden has lost his music; beautiful Suri has lost her voice; bold Annora has lost her future, and all three hope something on the path can restore them. Rika finds he has lost his detachment, and as he sinks more deeply into the lives of his travelers, he realizes this trek down the Lane may change his entire life. Of course, they're traveling in the rainy season when the path is most dangerous, so there's a good chance they won't survive to change at all. Enter Balia, a world not so different from our own. Explore lush landscapes and rich cultures as Balia's creator, TrueGod, moves through many times and places to find lost and broken people to call his own. Fantasy with a Christian worldview.

She's hiding from her future. When Nita Welles' mother is committed, Nita runs. Not that she tells anyone that. No, her reason for coming to school and being Holly's new roommate has to do with her and Holly's shared dreams of creating a fashion design business. But the reality is she's scared to death of turning out just like her mom, and she doesn't see any way to avoid it. Worse, what will happen to friends or boyfriends if she gets close and then hurts them? Scott works in her apartment building, a great-looking guy with a heap load of issues. Together the pair of them will drag each other down, she's sure. But the more she gets to know him and his heartbreaking inability to see how amazing he is, the more she wonders if two fearful, broken souls might be able to lift one another up to a better place, if together they're worth the risk. Girls Aglow, a Contemporary Christian teen/new adult romance series. With a little adventure, faith, and friendship, these girls take the first steps into adulthood, and it's going to be a wild ride.

For Vion Yorraan, marriage had gotten old, but as the son of a woman who married six times, he never expected much from the institution in the first place. As for Dianna, who lost her mama young and had a papa who never got over the loss, her attempts to keep the peace in their tired marriage weren't helping.When Dianna takes a little time away from her husband, neither of them realizes they have set into motion a journey that will keep them apart for months while TrueGod chases them to some of the most unusual locations in all of Balia.For TrueGod wishes for their hearts, and to do that he shows them the strength and beauty of marriage using mythical cat creatures, people from their pasts, and even a sea monster as he leads them across the Salted Sea. If they learn the lessons he teaches and embrace him as the author of their lives and their love, perhaps one day they will finally get home.Check out this installment of the Tales of Balia series and visit more lush landscapes and rich cultures from the world of Balia, a place not unlike our own, and the god who pursues people across time and continents to bring them home.

Growing up, falling in love, avoiding alligators.Princess is only nine when her mother abandons her, leaving her in their swamp home with her absentee dad, who travels to make a living. That same day she meets Cree, the boy two houses down on their tiny patch of dry land. He invites her to dinner with his baby brothers, for Cree, like Princess, has little family to help him.Alone most of the time, Cree and Princess work together to survive and raise Cree's brothers. Occasionally hindered by Cree's abusive father, they learn about life and growing up through her dad's extensive library and things they figure out on their own.Life in a swamp isn't easy for two kids, though. They endure flooding storms, illness, and alligators along the way. Cree longs to care for his brothers-and the girl he's falling in love with-by traveling the swamp, but Princess is terrified he'll never return, just like her mother never returned. Tensions between them grow, but without each other, they know they can't survive.In this coming of age romance, follow Cree and Princess as they learn about love, family, and, of course, how to avoid alligators. Book one of the Trilogy on the River. Sweet romance.

Like many kids on the river, Emilie and Luc are married for the benefits of their families. Emilie considers Luc an attractive boy, and she hopes to find the happiness her parents had. Luc, however, has no understanding of women or wives, and he just wants Emilie to care for his ailing grandfather so he won't lose his farm.Emilie is determined to show Luc how helpful a wife can be to him, and she supports him regardless of his cold, silent demeanor or the hurtful antics of his family. Luc's father, though, is determined to convince Luc that a wife is a problem to be returned to her family when his grandfather dies. Eventually both Luc and Emilie's families are working against them, and the pair will need to be united if they are to survive alone in the swamps. Emilie only hopes she can reach Luc's heart before his papa destroys it-and possibly both of their lives-entirely.Swamp Wife is book two of the Trilogy on the River. Drift down the river and enjoy a sweet romance from a simpler place and time.

When Yeardleigh's papa murders her mama, an unlikely pair steals this city girl to the swamp for safety. Twelve year-old Yeardleigh finds herself left with a family with two boys and a girl, and she has to learn all the ways of river life, nothing like her city existence.As Yeardleigh grows up, she develops feelings for one of the boys, but he makes a decision that leads him away from her and estranges him from his entire family, forcing Yeardleigh to think about family, city life, and what she wants from her future. Tragedy and danger come to both Cy and Yeardleigh, and they have another chance to determine if they could be more than friends. Assuming, of course, they survive the attacks against them.The final book of the Trilogy on the River, Swamp Song is one more trek into the simpler-but never safer-life of a group of folks who live away from the world on the river. Sweet romance. Look for the companion series Triplets on the River.

Finn isn't broken... Finn: I'm not broken. Yes, I lost my mom. Yes, my dad and brother have some issues. But I'm good-athletic, popular, okay in school. My brother is the broken one. The one who thinks it's me is my best friend's sister. She's always looking at me, and because she's the smartest kid in school-even though she's a year younger than everyone there-she seems to see me. Truth? She scares me. I know I'm not a good person. I carry darkness that would kill my brother if he knew. But Piper-she might know. She's just that smart. I hope she never tells anyone what I'm really like. Piper: Finn Jansen is broken. I don't know why nobody else sees that. The guy is sinking fast, and not one soul cares. He tells them he's fine, and all his fans believe him. But then, what do I know? I'm terrible at making friends. I'm too young, too smart, and not very brave. Mostly I watch him and pray for him and hope he's okay. But he isn't okay. He's going down a path that can only end in disaster. It's scary what God has planned to rescue Finn's life and his heart. And the role I get to play? Well, this time God isn't playing fair. Except maybe it has to be this way. The wall around Finn's heart and the lies he believes about himself-it will take a miracle to get through. I just hope both of us are strong enough to survive it. Terry's Garden, stories about a huge family, an enchanting garden, and a love story that touches generations. Christian coming-of-age/romance novels for teens and anyone who remembers what it's like to take those first wobbling steps into adulthood.

Sometimes he forgets to close his eyes... Even in elementary school, Neville was an artistic prodigy. Nobody understood him. He vibrated with life and energy, and he saw the world in colors and lines. His fingers never stopped moving, either drawing or going through the motions of drawing. Not everyone could handle his way of processing the world, but I did. Even young, I saw him, and he was my best friend. Unfortunately, my parents are strict. Like crazy strict. When they realized my best friend was a boy, they changed churches and schools just to keep me away. I missed him, and I secretly kept every drawing he'd ever made for me. Nobody meets two Nevilles in her life, so I cherished memories of mine. God put a wrench in my parents' plans, and I had to go back to public school in high school. And yes, he was still there. Calmer now, at least on the outside. Darker, wounded by a world that couldn't understand him. He still remembered me and wanted me around. Except... If we're going to stay friends, we have to hide the fact. That won't be so hard, right? Surely Neville will be on board with that. I mean, what about lying to all our friends and families could possibly go wrong? Read Emmie and Neville's story in this Terry's Garden book, stories about a huge family, an enchanting garden, and a love story that touches generations. Christian coming-of-age/romance novels for teens and anyone who remembers those first wobbling steps into adulthood.

Sometimes Colt gets lost in the chaos... Colt: Fiona lost her dad to cancer. I didn't know her well, but I felt this urge to help. Turned out her family owned a nearby B&B, and her dad's dream had been to fix it up. Fiona and I decided we could do it. She needed to see her dad's dream happen. I needed to get out of my life. Mom had a new husband, and he's cool, but sometimes they forget me. He has another son, and they're about to have a new baby, and I know how this story ends. The old son gets lost in the mess. Fortunately, Fiona is great. I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend time outside with her fixing their huge property. Fiona: Colt saved my life. When I was sinking in sadness, he showed up and offered to help me make my dad's dream happen. He's fun and easygoing, and at the farm I see a side of him nobody at school gets to see. He's my best friend in the whole world. Then tragedy hit Colt's family. I understand that, since I had one in mine, but Colt keeps things to himself. He let me be selfish. He let his family get away with it, too. While all of us floundered, he held on and kept us afloat. We never noticed he was slowly going down. We didn't realize just what a blessing Colt was in our lives until we risked losing him... Terry's Garden, stories about a huge family, an enchanting garden, and a love story that touches generations. Christian coming-of-age/romance novels for teens and anyone who remembers those first wobbling steps into adulthood.

They lived for the magic of summers, until one disastrous winter took them down. After my parents split, I spent summers with my dad, who lived next door to this huge family. Savannah was the first to find me, one of the girls my age, and she was sunny and happy and never let me get sad about my family. She made adventures, and her yard was magical, and summers became the best part of my year. Nobody knew what my winters were like, and I didn't plan to tell them. Why would I want Savvy to stop smiling? And Dad tried, but there wasn't much he could do. Mom was a little crazy, and school was awful, but I could handle it because I knew summer would roll around again. I lived for summer, which fed my entire year. Then Dad got married. There was a new baby on the way, and I had a new brother, a year older. I wished more than ever that I could live in my summer world with my good family, with Savvy next door, with magic all the time. Then Mom... Well, Mom did a few good things, and then she followed it up with a few bad, and winters got even darker. Lately I don't know if summer is enough to carry me. Winters get longer every year, and summers aren't long enough to warm up the ice they leave in my life. But if I disappear in this world, Savvy will stop smiling. How can I live in my life and still keep Savvy smiling? Sometimes it all just feels impossible... Read Sebastian and Savvy's story in book four of Terry's Garden, stories about a huge family, an enchanting garden, and a love story that touches generations. Christian coming-of-age/romance novels for teens and anyone who remembers those first wobbling steps into adulthood.

Nobody knows why Shanna Grayson works so hard to be invisible, but some days it gets old, and she wishes someone in the world understood her, that she had the courage to come into the light and be known. Then a new maintenance man shows up in her friends' apartment building, a guy more invisible than she is, and she sees herself in the man, another human lost and alone. Landon walked into his new life with nothing, and he barely has the energy to care, let alone make friends. Shanna watches from afar and realizes if anyone's going to help him, it will have to be her, the girl whose mother taught her not even to talk to guys, let alone save their lives. But digging into his life and his pain isn't easy for someone who shies from people, and Shanna may have to face a lot of her own hang ups before she can reach out and grab hold of another soul. Girls Aglow, a Contemporary Christian teen/new adult romance series. With a little adventure, faith, and friendship, these girls take the first steps into adulthood, and it's going to be a wild ride.

He just wants to breathe the air... After losing his mom to cancer, Kincade McClanahan plans a trip across the country where he can breathe the air, see the sights, and forget his pain. A friend gives him a few destinations to begin his journey, sending him to friends and family in the hope someone can help Kincade see that he needs to rest and grieve his loss. Along the way he realizes he's not ready to be part of anyone's story yet, and he longs to travel anonymously, sinking no roots and letting himself feel nothing. Yet the stories he encounters suck him in-a proposal, a search for a lost child, a girl recovering from surgery-and he has no idea how he's going to find his way in the world with his heart so fragile and isolated. At one stop he meets Priscilla, a woman who plans her life to the smallest degree and thinks Kincade's plan to go walkabout is crazy. God shoves them together again and again, because Priscilla is secretly doubting her plan, and Kincade's desire to find a new life fascinates her. It isn't until Priscilla goes walkabout herself that the pair starts to understand one another, for God intends for them to pull each other along in the journey of maturing, losing, and finding new life again. Check out book one of the Casa Flanigan series, Contemporary Christian romance stories of a farm where lost people find their way.