It’s that time of the month when I share the new releases that are coming up in Christian fiction. Load up those e-readers, and stocky your bookshelves, here are some Christian fiction books that will release in May 2023. I’m sure you’ll find one or two (or half a dozen) to add to your TBR list.
Sage, by Sharon Srock (May 1)
Sage Hoffman wants what her sister has. A normal life. A husband. The works. But moving on from the trauma she survived during her late teens proves more than she can bear—especially when she’s haunted by the sound of a tiny heartbeat she never knew existed.
Because of the one young woman he couldn’t save—his twin sister—Levi Tillis is on a mission to rescue others. He shouldn’t have time for romance… but he can’t help falling for beautiful and enigmatic Sage. Levi knows there’s a part of her she’s keeping locked away. And he wants to know all of her.
But Sage thinks her secret is the one thing Levi could never understand or forgive. Is the God who brought Levi and Sage together big enough to heal two broken hearts?
***Possible trigger warning: main character dealing with emotional trauma from a past incest/rape. No graphic/explicit portrayal
The Castle Keepers, by Aimie K. Runyan, J’nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan (May 2)
Leedswick Castle has housed the Alnwick family in the English countryside for generations, despite a family curse determined to destroy their legacy and erase them from history.
1870. After a disastrous dinner at the Astor mansion forces her to flee New York in disgrace, socialite Beatrice Holbrook knows her performance in London must be a triumph. When she catches the eye of Charles Alnwick, one of the town’s most enviably titled bachelors, she prepares to attempt a social coup and become the future Marchioness of Northridge. Then tragedy and scandal strike the Alnwick family, and Beatrice must assume the role of a lifetime: that of her true, brave self.
1917. Artist Elena Hamilton arrives in Northumberland determined to transform a soldier’s wounds into something beautiful. Tobias Alnwick’s parents have commissioned a lifelike mask to help their son return to his former self after battle wounds partially destroyed his face. But Elena doesn’t see a man who needs fixing—she sees a man who needn’t hide. Yet secrets from their past threaten to chase away the peace they’ve found in each other and destroy the future they’re creating.
1945. Alec Alnwick returns home from the war haunted but determined to leave death and destruction behind. With the help of Brigitta Mayr, the brilliant young psychoanalyst whose correspondence was a lifeline during his time on the Western Front, he reconstructs his family’s large estate into a rehabilitation center for similarly wounded soldiers. Alec’s efforts may be the only chance to redeem his family legacy—and break the curse on the Alnwick name—once and for all.
Three beloved authors share stories of the Alnwick family through the generations, revealing how love and war can change a place—but only its people can unshackle it from the misdeeds of the past. Multiple historical timelines following generations of one family.
His Runaway Princess, by Carol Moncado (May 2)
Of all the things Princess Johanna Betlinde Amalia of Øyanord thought she would do in her life, sneaking away from her protection detail wasn’t one of them.
At least not once she’d outgrown her slightly rebellious teenager phase. But she does anyway, hoping to spend a few days as just Amalia, without the stress – or trappings – of her everyday life.
Ryker Drasil of Eyjania is almost finished with his long overdue holiday to Ravenzario. As he prepares to return to his daily life, he recognizes someone who should have security with her at all times – but doesn’t. He tries to convince himself she’ll be fine, and he should just head home.
She wasn’t his protectee, after all.
They weren’t even from the same country.
But when Ryker realizes she’s not as alone as she seems, he knows none of that matters.
Ryker’s personal and professional reputation depends on keeping Amalia safe, but falling head over heels in love with a princess from another country borders on treason. When Amalia professes her feelings, will Ryker walk away or confess he’s found the one his heart longs for in His Runaway Princess?
In This Moment, by Gabrielle Meyer (May 2)
Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them—forever.
In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.
While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?
In Feast or Famine, by Mesu Andrews (May 9)
Thrust into an arranged marriage, the daughter of ancient Egypt’s high priest plays a pivotal role in Joseph’s biblical narrative in this powerful novel from the award-winning author of Potiphar’s Wife.
After four-year-old Asenath’s mother is murdered by Egypt’s foreign rulers, the child is raised to be a priestess by her overprotective father—high priest of Egypt’s sun god. For fifteen years, Asenath is sequestered in the upper levels of Ra’s temple, convinced it is her destiny to heal the land by becoming queen to the next Egyptian pharaoh. But when Egypt’s foreign king instead gives her as a bride to the newly appointed vizier—a Hebrew named Joseph—her entire world is shaken.
Beyond the walls of her tower, Asenath discovers treachery, deceit, and conspiracy that force her to redefine her destiny and weigh where her true loyalties lie. Can she still trust the gods of Egypt? Or is Elohim, the foreign God of her husband, the one who will heal her nation during the feast and famine to come?
The Thing About Home, by Rhonda McKnight (May 9)
Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.
Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.
What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.
Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind.
Love in the Headlines, by Penny Zeller (May 9)
Can paper and paw prints draw these two nemeses together?
All Carleigh Adams wants is a relaxing evening. But Sullivan Theodore IV, her wayward shih tzu, has other plans. After escaping from home, Sullivan Theodore unlawfully enters what Carleigh assumes is a stranger’s house via a doggy door. Much to Carleigh’s horror, it is actually the home of her coworker and nemesis, Trey “The Irritating” Montgomery.
Trey Montgomery has competed with “Quirky Carleigh,” his top competitor, for the best articles at The Oakville Daily for the past two years. It’s safe to say that she and her criminally-minded pet are his adversaries. Trey’s attempts to keep his distance from her are demolished when their boss thrusts them together as The Oakville Daily Duo, forcing them to work as a team on every. Single. Article.
Petty crimes and crazy shenanigans in Oakville soon draw Carleigh and Trey into doubling as detectives. When dogs, including their own pets, begin to mysteriously disappear, Carleigh and Trey join forces to uncover the culprit. As they work to report the daily news and solve the crimes in Oakville, can these two stubborn reporters find love in the headlines?
Faith, plentiful humor, and tender romance round out the latest Christian contemporary romance novel by Author Penny Zeller.
Bullseye Bride, by Kari Trumbo (May 10)
When Kitty’s father disappears, she and her family must find a way to pay for their house.
Another payment missed and they lose everything. Kitty has one shot to save them, the winning prize would earn her freedom from a dastardly uncle, if only she had the chance to make it.
Thad is setting up the Deadwood annual shooting tournament and thinks he’s solved Kitty’s problem by setting up a women’s division. There’s no prize, but she can compete. With her continued pressure, he realizes there’s more to the story, but his hands are tied. If he allows a woman to compete against the men, all the donors could pull out and he would be a laughingstock.
Especially if she wins.
And, he’s not so sure she wouldn’t.
Can their new friendship bud into more if Kitty hides who she is to save her family or will they both lose everything if she’s found out?
Just a Cowboy’s Fairy Tale, by Jessie Gussman (May 12)
Former firefighter Hines Cannon saved a life. But in the process, he lost his own.
Disfigured from the scars “earned” in an act of heroism, Hines moves to his grandparents’ hometown, content to work from home. His reclusive life-style has worked for a decade. But it’s threatened when a snoopy reporter is stranded along the highway in a snowstorm. He doesn’t want to take her to his place, but he can’t leave her to die.
Eliza Walton never got to thank the firefighter who saved her life. She’d heard the rumors that he had moved to Sweet Water and often looked for him when she visited her aunt who lived in the area.
Then, an early winter snowstorm leaves her stranded along the road. It seems like the worst of luck, but could it turn out to be the best of God’s timing?
Famous for a Living, by Melissa Ferguson (May 16)
She’s Insta-famous. He uses a flip phone.
When her business partner is accused of serious financial crimes, superstar influencer Cat Cranwell—an engineered marvel of beauty, energy, and fun—falls from her penthouse perch. Desperate to get away from the online trolls and paparazzi documenting her disgrace, Cat accepts her uncle’s offer to work with him in Kannery National Park, Montana. About as far as possible from life as she’s known it.
Cat’s world shifts from the swirling haze of likes and comments to literal blizzards of frostbite temperatures and waist-deep snow. In place of negotiating brand deals, she finds herself negotiating at the ledge of a frozen lake with her die-hard Polar Bear Plunge coworkers. Instead of padding through the marble kitchen of her Manhattan loft, she’s sharing a tent-sized cabin with a roommate eager to bond like characters in sitcoms. But something curious is also happening in this overwhelming breath of fresh air as she reacquaints with the most honest parts of herself and begins to ask the hard questions. Can Cat love herself with, and without, the world watching?
Then there’s that other tiny problem—she’s falling for Zaiah, the ruggedly handsome park ranger—and he hates anything remotely connected to social media, quite possibly her included.
Written with bestselling author Melissa Ferguson’s signature wit and charm, this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy of opposites attract is full of hilarious romp and a romance that will melt readers’ hearts.
The Heart’s Choice, by Tracie Peterson; Kimberley Woodhouse (May 16)
They must uncover the truth before it’s buried forever.
After witnessing a wrongful conviction as a young girl, Rebecca Whitman–the first female court reporter in Montana–is now determined to defend the innocent. During a murder trial, something doesn’t sit well with her about the case, but no one except the handsome new Carnegie librarian will listen to her.
Librarian Mark Andrews’s father sent him to college hoping he would take over the business side of the family ranch, but Mark would rather wrangle books than cows. When a patron seeks help with research in hopes of proving a man’s innocence, Mark is immediately drawn to her and her cause.
In a race against time, will Rebecca and Mark find the evidence they need—and open their hearts to love—before it’s too late?
Expired Promise, by Lisa Phillips (Author), Emilie Haney (May 16)
She won’t stop until she’s proven her worth.
He promised to always protect her.
EMT Andi Crawford is close to achieving her goal. She’s reached probationary status as a firefighter with the Eastside Firehouse and only needs to convince her older twin brothers—and herself—that she’s cut out for the job. Yet the daily challenges of a female firefighter fade to the background when her family becomes the target of a dangerous drug cartel with ties to a client Andi’s mother represented as a defense attorney. Andi will stop at nothing to protect her family.
Even if that means accepting help she doesn’t think she needs.
ATF Agent Jude Brooks is back in Last Chance County tasked with uncovering information on the family that took him in during his summers as a teen. It seems impossible the Crawfords are connected to a dangerous cartel leader, but Jude’s by-the-book attitude won’t let him approach his job any other way. As he wades through a web of leads, the feelings he tried so hard to avoid resurface. Andi’s as headstrong as she was as a teen, but her acceptance of him is a balm to the hurts from his childhood. He’s determined to uncover the truth—for her and himself.
If the secrets of the past don’t tear them apart.
Operation: Return, by Kari Trumbo (May 19)
Cole Bradley isn’t who he says he is.
As an intelligence officer, Cole faked his death then went undercover to find the spy in their group. When the dust settled, Cole discovered the government had mistakenly notified his next of kin of his death, though he was very much alive.
Through anger and resentment at having no identity other than the one they gave him, he comes home with a chip on his shoulder. He loves his country, but he has nothing.
Until Conner Kincade offers him a job at Wayside Ranch.
That job comes with one stipulation, he must face his one regret. That would be the woman he left behind. The woman who would now think he’s a ghost.
Erica Jameson can’t make ends meet. Her five-year-old son thinks the world of her and she’s let him down one too many times. When she gets the notice that her lease is expiring and they refuse to renew her and the camp where her son had a scholarship changed their minds, all on the same day, she’s pretty sure her life can’t get worse.
Until the man she thought was dead shows up on her doorstep.
He’s just as handsome as ever and offers her solutions to all her problems without even knowing they were there. But what about when the month ends and she has to face her life again?
Especially if she doesn’t tell him . . . that her son is his.
Tracking the Tiny Target Kindle Edition, by Connie Queen (May 23)
Catching a kidnapper takes teamwork
…and a K-9’s help.
When a three-year-old boy is kidnapped, deputy sheriff Chandler Murphy and his search-and-rescue K-9 partner are on the case. And when the child’s mother, Bristol Delaney, insists on helping, he can’t turn her away. But someone is dead set on stopping the investigation. Can Chandler guarantee Bristol’s safety and rescue the missing child before the trail goes cold?
The General Prince and the Nerd, by Cami Checketts (May 24)
The prince who will always put duty first; the computer genius who flips his military world upside down. A forbidden love that could tear the kingdom apart.
When Macey Thompson is asked to fake an engagement to a crown prince as part of a protection detail, she knows she’s not cut out for the royal world. No other female warriors are available at the moment so she agrees.
When she kisses his twin brother instead of the crown prince, she throws the entire royal kingdom into a tailspin.
Will undeniable attraction, secret rendezvous, and forbidden love create a happily ever after or only cause a shattered brotherhood and longing for something they’ll never have?
A royal family grieving and in danger. A centuries-old curse resurrected. Will the daredevil princes believe in an archaic curse, or will they take a chance on love that could save or destroy their nation?
The Unwanted Amish Twin, by Samantha Price (May 25)
The Unwanted Amish Twin is a novel-length retelling (and replacement) of Samantha Price’s Amish Twin Hearts series of 2014.
Emma and Isobel are identical twins, yet they know nothing of each other’s world.
Emma was raised Amish and is meek, while her bold twin Isobel was raised away from the Amish community.
Isobel has a wild plan to switch places for a little while, and reluctantly Emma agrees.
However, the plan goes awry when Isobel meets a certain young Amish man.
Could this man come between the newly-reunited twins and destroy their relationship forever?
You will love this sweet Amish romance that will capture your attention and keep you reading until the very end.
Just a Cowboy’s Love Song, by Jessie Gussman (May 26)
After losing his country music superstar sister in a plane crash, Jones Dunn brings his niece to Sweet Water so they could stay where no one will recognize or bother them. He doesn’t intend to stay in town long, but a marriage proposal from an unlikely source makes him think that maybe his plans should change.
Mallie Woods couldn’t be more embarrassed when her daughter proposes marriage to the handsome stranger she’d been singing with in the evening on their back porches. She’s never even seen his face! But their shared history makes him seem less like a stranger and more like a friend.
Then, an unexpected offer forces them to make a decision neither of them were ready for. Could the cowboy’s love song become family harmony?
His Perfect Family by Aminata Coote (May 26)
She needs a husband to keep her son; he needs a chance to win her heart.
Gabrielle Wallace is a strong and determined single mother fighting for custody of her son, but complications arise when her former flame, Theodore McPherson, enters the picture.
Theodore is a 6ft 2 inches firefighter who once let Gabrielle slip away and is now determined to make up for his past mistake.
When he discovers Gabrielle needs to be married to retain custody of her son, he volunteers to be her groom, hoping to convince her they can have a forever kind of love.
Their path to ultimate happiness is filled with struggles and hurdles they must overcome to unearth the profound love that God has prepared for them.
Will they be able to put aside their past and find happiness together, or will their differences tear them apart once again?
Find out in His Perfect Family. Follow Gabrielle and Theodore on their journey of second chances, love, and redemption in this heartwarming tale.
Always By My Side, by Iola Goulton (May 30)
A hardworking introvert meets a handsome adventurer longing to settle down.
Tabitha Thomas longs to leave Trinity Lakes and travel the world in honor of the beloved grandmother who raised her and her siblings. But she’s needed at home—she’s the responsible triplet, the one who stayed home to run the family inn while her brother and sister left to live their dreams.
Kiwi Logan Wylde doesn’t call any place home. When an injury frustrates his travel plans, he accepts an invitation to return to Trinity Lakes and recuperate at the Lakeview Inn, where he hopes to rediscover his purpose in life.
When Tabby and Logan find a property deed while cleaning out Gran’s rooms, Tabby embraces a new challenge—to solve the mystery of the floodplain and renovate the old boatshed. Working with Logan reignites long-suppressed feelings, but will their differences drive them apart?
An opposites-attract, friends-to-more, small town contemporary Christian romance.
A Heart for News: Year One, by Susan K. Beatty (May 30)
Will a heart for news get a scoop on love?
Though Margo Durand invests her whole heart into working for her family’s newspaper, her father refuses to modernize, and she harbors a secret fear of approaching interviewees and all things dangerous—except riding her Vespa everywhere. But when Margo follows evidence that two government officials are corrupt, Margo discovers danger, intrigue, and a legal sort of blackmail.
Professional race car driver, Steve Grayson, arrives to finish recuperating and overcome his fear of getting back on the track while pursuing his desire to open a race car driving school on Le Cadeau Île. If he can find the money and convince the owner to sell.
When Margo’s best friend sets Margo up with Steve as a tour guide, conveniently forgetting to tell him Margo is a reporter, they tour the islands until Steve is willingly dragged into the investigation. The investigation only opens new questions, creates new trials, and has the potential to destroy their budding romance.
Does pursuing a relationship just before he leaves to take part in one last racing season even make sense?
Take a trip to the Suamalie Islands where palm trees sway, the sand and sea pulse with life, and the people will steal your heart.
One Shot at Love, by Linda Broday (May 30)
Amid danger and secrets, she struggles to resist a handsome stranger who needs her help. But can she trust him?
The challenge of raising her siblings is one Mariah Bartee willingly bears. She’ll keep them together at all costs – And safe from the danger lurking on the mountain. A handsome stranger’s arrival raises the stakes when he asks for her help. She doesn’t trust easily.
Dax Nolan, a cowboy from the lowlands, hesitates to involve Mariah but no one knows the mountains like her. Desperation drives him. Can the bones recently uncovered be his missing sister?
Mariah reluctantly agrees to guide Dax and they encounter danger and secrets. As they search for truth, she finds herself falling for him. He can offer security – and love. But can they build a life on promises and the folklore of a legendary pink pistol?
