Books like His Amiable Bride

A swoon-worthy love story. A handsome young man who gives you all the feels. A young woman standing her ground. A passionate kiss that is so worth the wait. 

What can I say, I am totally in love with this story. Secrets and Suitors was one of the books that made me fall in love with the regency period. It has everything I want in a good story, without the steam and inappropriate scenes. The shy main character has to learn to fight for her rights and the man she loves and not let her father dictate her life. I love a strong female lead, willing to deal with the consequences by going for what they want.

What a delightful read. Lady Patience Kendrick disguises herself as a maid to prove to her elder brother that she can work just as hard as servants, and gets hired by the staff or her brother’s former general. What could go wrong? Unfortunately for her, it isn’t the general she works for, but the general’s handsome and charming son who does not have the same standing as her and is desperately trying to impress a young woman to become his bride. As if pretending to be a maid isn’t hard enough, the young man comes up with the idea of having Patience act like a lady to convince the other young woman’s parents he is a good match. Enjoyable, humorous, and lots of romantic moments.

This book gives you all the feels, including aggression and anger toward the husband of the main character who is abusive and vile. Oh, I know that it is just fiction, but abusive swine like him exist and make me so angry. Despite that part, it is a beautiful story full of love and hope while facing the dangers of the Oregon Trail. I love the interactions between Ben and Lynn, even though he has to discover first that she is a girl, since she disguises herself as a man to escape her abusive husband. It is a good clean western romance with swoon-worthy moments and characters you either love or deeply hate. I loved reading it and I hope to dive into the author‘s other books soon.

For England's top spy, love is not an option. Well, that’s at least what the main character thinks, but Eliza quickly discovers that the partner she is paired up with makes falling in love suddenly a very possible option. It is a very interesting and captivating story with a twist because Lady Eliza happens to be the daughter of a duke, yet a secret spy for the crown. Her code name: Shadow. It is an action-packed story that keeps you on the edge of your seat while falling in love with the characters and swooning along the way. A must-read for regency lovers with the hint-feel of a thriller.

As someone who has worked with many college students, I recommend this book quite often.

Jefferson and Alyssa Bethke approached dating and marriage from two different perspectives and lifestyles, proving that it does not matter what your past contains. As long as you put Christ first in all relationships, He alone can mend brokenness and help you to create a love that will last.

I have had many deep and meaningful conversations with those preparing for marriage because of this book. 

This book was a perfect combination of on-the-edge-of-my-seat sexy and tug-at-my-heartstrings romantic.

The author created phenomenal dialogue between Fisher and Reese, so good, in fact, that their flirting was almost as hot as their eventual hookups. I really did adore this story for the plot twists that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Reese’s growth into a confident young woman who stopped thinking about how things were just happening to her and took control to make the things she wanted to happen was remarkable; their second-chance love story with all the sexy feels was exactly the heart-mind turn-on I had hoped it would be.

The best part? The effortless way Fisher and Reese not only fell in love with each other but loved their tribe, too. It made me feel just really good to be a part of this story.  

This bawdy 1958 novel reads like a bizarre porn script (or a parody of one).

Like the hapless hero of Voltaire’s Candide, Candy Christian is an intelligent and generous-minded (albeit naive) college student who lets herself be taken advantage of by all sorts of sophisticated perverts whose only goal (they claim) is to assist Candy on her spiritual journey.

It’s probably asking a lot of the contemporary reader to continue with this absurd (and sexist) premise, but I admit it – I laughed a lot and on almost every single page. 

Candy is prurient, amoral, and silly, but easy and fun reading. Such novels upend the stereotype of 1950s American society as prudish and straight-laced and herald a more relaxed attitude towards sex.

If we only had Paul to rely on for our knowledge of Jesus’ life, all we’d know is that he was born, was Jewish, had brothers and died. Written by a British academic, The Mythmaker is a break-through book that shows how Paul created Christianity by developing a mythology/theology about the significance of the death of Jesus as a Christ. Maccoby’s thought is further developed in my book, How Jesus Became Christian (2008) that demonstrates how different Paul’s religion was from that of Jesus.

A. J. Jacobs, a journalist, decides to read the Bible and try to follow it literally for a whole year, to the point of eating locusts, throwing small pebbles at couples he suspects of adultery, slaying idolatry, and speaking the naked truth… Struggling to follow archaic rules, he lives a disconcerting experience under the perplexed eyes of his family and becomes quickly out of step with the present time. The Year of Living Biblically depicts a clash of worlds with a caustic humor and I’ve burst out laughing a couple of times. I recommend it to believers and non-believers, both will be amused by this witty book that gives us food for thought.

So many women have silently suffered abuse for years in the name of trying to do what they believe God would have them do. Sadly, their well-meaning efforts, and at times misunderstanding of the Scriptures, can actually feed the destructive cycle in their marriages. In this book, Leslie Vernick reaches out to the reader with practical strategies for recognizing emotional abuse and taking steps to break free of its bondage. She outlines what needs to happen for hope to be restored in a marriage and shares how to leave if the cycle of destruction continues. Many women I’ve worked with through my groups and Peace after Divorce Workshops have cited that this book literally saved their lives.