Historical romance is a very healthy genre for writers at the moment as evidenced by these 2011 releases from Thomas Nelson. Enjoy having a look for ones to add to your wishlists.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the cover art. I’ve been chatting with some of my dear blogging friends about the similarity of so many Christian Fiction covers, particularly a real penchant for historical novels to have the female protag emblazoned on the cover.

What do you think? Are covers starting to all look the same to you? Do you love these kinds of covers or prefer something else?

My favourite cover out of these would be Colleen’s as I prefer not to see the full face of a character on the cover. It is more intriguing when things are hidden as I actually like covers that make me ponder what the story might be about.

So we are clear, I’m really looking forward to reading a lot of these stories and wonder what the new or new to CF authors have to offer! My comments about covers are preferences only.

Do you have a favourite cover?

Fairer than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott

Ann dreams of a marriage proposal from her poetic suitor—until she meets a runaway apprentice who knows what a truly noble man is.

In 1826, Ann Miller travels to Pittsburgh with her widowed father and two young sisters, only to find that a mysterious man has pursued them all the way from Ohio. Is Ann’s father just a circuit minister, or is he hiding something that may endanger them all?

Will Hanby indentures with a Pittsburgh saddler maker, only to discover that his master is a cold-hearted tyrant. After years of abuse, Will becomes a prisoner of his own mind. But then lovely Ann Miller comes to stay next door and her compassion lights a long-dark part of Will’s soul. His renewed courage puts his life in jeopardy as he begins to assist fugitive slaves.

Will’s murderous master and Ann’s questions about her family may keep both of them bound in the shadows forever. Or will they find freedom—together?

May, 2011

The Lightkeeper’s Ball by Colleen Coble

Olivia seems to have it all, but her heart yearns for more.

Olivia Stewart’s family is one of the Four Hundred—the highest echelon of society in 1910. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Olivia leaves their New York City home for Mercy Falls, California, to determine what befell Eleanor. She suspects Harrison Bennett, the man Eleanor planned to marry. But the more Olivia gets to know him, the more she doubts his guilt—and the more she is drawn to him herself.

When several attempts are made on her life, Olivia turns to Harrison for help. He takes her on a ride in his aeroplane, but then crashes, and they’re forced to spend two days alone together. With her reputation hanging by a thread, Harrison offers to marry her to make the situation right. As a charity ball to rebuild the Mercy Falls lighthouse draws near, she realizes she wants more than a sham engagement—she wants Harrison in her life forever. But her enemy plans to shatter the happiness she is ready to grasp. If Olivia dares to drop her masquerade, she just might see the path to true happiness.

May, 2011

A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley

Trouble may follow Lucy wherever she goes, but with the help of God and the rugged, reclusive David Wolf, she’ll never face adversity alone.

Lucy Bradshaw dreams of working as a photographer at the Rocky Creek newspaper. If she can earn money making photographs, then maybe her father will see that what she does is worthy, more than just a distraction. And her deepest hope is that he’ll see her as an artist, the way he thought of her deceased mother, a painter. But trouble follows Lucy on every photo shoot: a mess of petticoats and ribbons, an accidental shooting, even a fire.

When Lucy meets David Wolf, a quiet, rustic man who lives on the outskirts of town, she thinks she can catch the attention of the town with his photograph. She doesn’t count on her feelings stirring whenever she’s near him.

Two things happen next that forever change the course of her life: Lucy meets someone who sees her as no one else has—as the compassionate, creative young woman that God made in His image. And Lucy helps David uncover a secret that forces him to change his perspective on an event that left him deeply-scarred.

God’s arms are around this unlikely couple as they discover the truth about long-held assumptions and the importance of forgiveness.

June, 2011

The Promise of an Angel by Ruth Reid

In Mescota County, Michigan, an angelic visitor’s words inspire Judith to a future she never imagined.

After a barn raising accident, Judith Fischer’s convinced she’s met an angel. However, her attempts to convince others end up frustrating her Old-Order Amish community. Only Andrew Lapp believes her, but the rest, including Levi Plank, the man’s she’s waited to marry, demand she forget the nonsense. Meanwhile, her younger sister Martha has taken a fancy to Levi and sees her sister’s controversy as a perfect distraction for turning Levi’s head.

In a dream, the angel tells Judith she must choose her path. As her faith continues to grow, so do her feelings for Andrew. Will she continue to place her hope in the angel’s message, even if it means losing all she knows and loves?

June, 2011

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love

Unless she can trust God’s love to cast out her fears, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.

Ada Wentworth, a young Bostonian, journeys to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, in the years following the Civil War. Alone and nearly penniless following a broken engagement, Ada accepts a position as a lady’s companion to the elderly Lillian Willis, a pillar of the community and aunt to the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell. Ada intends to use her millinery skills to establish a hat shop and secure her future.

Haunted by unanswered questions from her life in Boston, Ada is most drawn to two townsfolks: Wyatt, a Texan with big plans of his own, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who resides at the Hickory Ridge orphanage. Ada’s friendship with Sophia attracts the attention of a group of locals seeking to displace the residents of Two Creeks, a “colored” settlement on the edge of town. As tensions rise, Ada is threatened but refuses to abandon her plan to help the girl.

When Lillian dies, Ada is left without employment or a place to call home. And since Wyatt’s primary purpose for staying in Hickory Ridge was to watch over his aunt, he can now pursue his dream of owning Longhorns in his home state of Texas.

With their feelings for each other growing, Ada must decide whether she can trust God with her future and Wyatt with her heart.

June, 2011

Love by the Book by Cara Lynn James

A sweet marriage-of-convenience story set in the lavish homes of 1901 Rhode Island.

Melinda Hollister’s sister and Nick Bryson’s brother tragically die in a train wreck, leaving behind three-year-old daughter Nell. Much to Melinda’s surprise, she and Nick become co-guardians of the child. The three of them spend July and August at Summerhill, a seaside mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, where they try to get better acquainted and work out a solution to their dilemma with the help of missionary friends.

Though neither loves the other, Melinda and Nick marry to provide a stable home for Nell. But when Nell is kidnapped, they put aside their differences to search for her. Their emerging feelings for each other soon strengthen as they focus their attention on the rescued child they mutually adore.

Although Melinda and Nick are both Christians, they’ve never before taken the Bible as a serious guidebook for their lives. But now they admit they love each other and that their love is based “on the Book.” Following principles written in the Bible they’ve both learned to put each other’s needs ahead of their own. “Let no man seek his own good, but the good of

every other man.” Accepting this precept gives them much more in common and the hope of a passionate future grounded in mutual love.

July, 2011

Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond

When Susannah goes to Dakota territory as a mail-order bride she finds something she never dreamed she would—true love.

With no prospects for marriage and her parents recently deceased, Susannah Freemont agrees to go west to the Dakota territory to marry her minister’s homesteading brother, Jesse. But Susannah is painfully shy, doesn’t see herself as worthy of love from either a husband or from God, and lives in constant fear that Jesse is going to ship her back to Detroit.

In spite of her petite size and the fact that Susannah doesn’t look like she could survive on the prairie, Jesse quickly discovers that his new wife is a greater blessing than he even hoped for. The years she spent as her father’s veterinary assistant allow her to save Jesse’s ox and twin calves and to help neighboring farmers with their animals.

But Susannah’s feelings of unworthiness are deeply rooted, and she can’t believe that Jesse’s praise—or the tenderness and love he shows—could possibly last. The thawing of her heart seems almost as distant as Spring in the midst of the winter blanketing the Dakota prairie.

July, 2011

A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf

An inspiring re-imagining of the tale of Esther, a young Jewish woman thrust from a life of obscurity into a life of power, wealth, intrigue . . . and tender love.

See the story of Esther in an entirely new way—with all the political intrigue and tension you remember, but told as a passionate and tender love story between a young man and woman. Misunderstood by many, King Xerxes was a powerful but lonely man. Esther’s beauty caught the eye of the young king, but it was her spirit that captured his heart.

Imagine anew the story of Esther, one of our faith’s great heroines, destined to play a key role in the history of Christianity.

July, 2011

Healing Hearts by Beth Wiseman

Beth Wiseman’s Amish novellas are now available for the first time in one collection.

“Healing Hearts” ~ Levina Lapp and her husband Naaman are alone for the first time in 30 years. When Naaman left to visit cousins in Ohio, Levina wasn’t expecting him to be gone a year. Now that he’s back, will they be able to move beyond this estrangement and fall in love again?

“A Change of Heart” ~ Leah is a writer in a community that does not encourage such fruitless endeavors. She lacks the skills necessary to be a good Amish fraa. Aaron knows these things about Leah, but his heart is captured by this spirited young woman.

“A Choice to Forgive” ~ Lydia has loved two men in her life. Daniel disappeared one Christmas Eve long ago, leaving only a note saying he wanted to live in the Englisch world. And Elam, Daniel’s brother, to whom she has been happily married for 15 years. When Elam dies, Lydia gives up on ever loving again. But she is shocked when Daniel wants to return to the Order and her life.

These novellas previously were published in An Amish Love, An Amish Gathering, and An Amish Christmas.

August, 2011

Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller

Emma has put everyone else first in her life. Now at nearly 25, has she missed her chance at marriage?

Emma was Adam’s first love but circumstances made them both choose different paths in life. Emma’s heart breaks all over again when Adam returns to the Amish community of Middlefield, Ohio, years later.

For the past ten years, Emma has been raising her siblings after their parents’ untimely death. She’s put their needs above her own and now, with them grown, she can focus on herself and her dream of opening a yarn store in the vacant cider house on her land.

With Adam’s return come feelings Emma’s long buried. They’re older and life hasn’t turned out the way they thought it would. Adam’s feelings for Emma are stronger than ever, but will he be able to convince her to put others aside and give their love a chance?

August, 2011