Recommendations based on "Dearly Departed"

Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.Upon her arrival, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man hired to renovate the house. Kate can't help being drawn by both his good looks and something else she can't quite put her finger on. He's clearly wounded, yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light . . . whether he likes it or not.When the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart--or asking her to give up more than she ever dreamed?

Five starred reviews!From New York Times bestselling author Ashley Woodfolk, Nothing Burns as Bright as You is an impassioned stand-alone tale of queer love, grief, and the complexity of female friendship.Two girls. One wild and reckless day. Years of tumultuous history unspooling like a thin, fraying string in the hours after they set a fire.They were best friends. Until they became more. Their affections grew. Until the blurry lines became dangerous.Over the course of a single day, the depth of their past, the confusion of their present, and the unpredictability of their future is revealed. And the girls will learn that hearts, like flames, aren’t so easily tamed.It starts with a fire.How will it end?

Ex-Army Ranger, Brand Killien, has always been good. A good friend, a good soldier, a good everything. . The problem is, good hasn’t gotten him anything but a crushed heart. So after licking his wounds, he decides to move on. And moving on doesn’t include being good anymore. Jaded and detached, Brand is determined to never open himself up to anyone again. It’s not worth the pain. Instead, he becomes closed, hardened, aloof. But then he’s called back home for a family emergency… a family that he is estranged from. A family that he put out of his mind a long time ago for very good reasons…reasons that involve secrets and pain. Reasons he tried hard to forget. But home is where the heart is, and it just might be where Brand finds his again. Why? Because home is where Nora Greene is. A fiery, red-headed spitfire, Nora is a thing from his past. A beautiful, feisty thing. When Brand left, she was away at boarding school. But she’s back now. And she wants Brand, scars and all.

Full of grief and jaded by love, corporate philanthropist Egan MacGuire is given two options by his boss: take a leave of absence or kiss his job goodbye. A road trip with a friend is just the distraction Egan needs to figure out how to get his life back on track.Celeste St. Angelo left the bright lights and big city for the mountains of North Carolina to open the next phase of her flourishing Angel Therapy business, a healing and wellness center. With the grand opening looming she has no time for distractions, especially love.When divine timing sparks an unexpected romance, will Egan and Celeste be able to leave their troubled pasts behind and find the courage to have a little faith in love?

Gia Duncan has turned her back on her family's wealth in order to run a community organization. That's why giving in to her desire for powerful, charismatic Keith Washington is a mistake she can make only once. Keith is the mayor's campaign manager and son, a workaholic whose only goal is to get his father reelected. Gia knows he's an opponent she can't trust with her agenda, let alone her heart.At first, seducing Gia is just a way to keep her from derailing his father's reelection campaign. Until Keith starts to realize what everyone—especially matchmaker Mamma Lou—already knows. Nothing compares to the passion that keeps drawing him to Gia. But can he convince her that the only thing he truly wants from her is the promise of forever?

Witemeyer Returns with Her Trademark Blend of Adventure, Romance, and HumorGrace Mallory is tired of running, of hiding. But when an old friend sends an after-hours telegraph transmission warning Grace that the man who has hunted her for nearly a year has discovered her location, she fears she has no choice. She can't let the villain she believes responsible for her father's death release his wrath in Harper's Station, the town that has sheltered her and blessed her with the dearest friends she's ever known.Amos Bledsoe prefers bicycles to horses and private conversations over the telegraph wire to social gatherings with young ladies who see him as nothing more than an oddity. His telegraph companion, the mysterious Miss G, listens eagerly to his ramblings every night and delights him with tales all her own. For months, their friendship--dare he believe, courtship?--has fed his hope that he has finally found the woman God intended for him. Yet when he takes the next step to meet her in person, he discovers her life is in peril, and Amos must decide if he can shed the cocoon of his quiet nature to become the hero Grace requires.

Brady Collins is juggling full-time fatherhood with the booming auto repair business he runs out of his barn. His ex-wife's sudden death has shaken him, but the devastating news that follows leaves him reeling: Sam is not his biological son. When Sam's wealthy maternal grandparents decide they want custody of the child, Brady knows he's in for the fight of his life. Brady's attorney tips him off that one major life change would virtually assure him of winning guardianship of baby Sam at the final hearing: the stability of an impending marriage. And his friend Hope is willing to step in as the loving and devoted fiancée. Local radio celebrity Hope Daniels has been driven by a solitary goal her entire life, and she's finally been offered her dream job—in Atlanta. Unfortunately, her arrangement with Brady requires her presence in Copper Creek, and she is faced with missing the chance of a lifetime or standing in the way of a dear friend’s dreams. Both Hope and Brady would give their lives for beautiful Sam. But can they give their trust to one another? With this new novel in the Blue Ridge Romance series, Honeysuckle Dreams shines light on the complicated and beautiful angles of love.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The horror that rocked my small town last winter also brought Noah Wilkes into my life. The first almost broke all of us, but the second changed everything.He stomped into my classroom all angry scowls and rudeness, the big-shot lawyer who was always too good for this small town. But the moment his smile softened toward his niece, it was me that melted. The heartbreak that brought him back also brought me closer to him, to the man he hides from the world behind his swagger and aggression. The man I couldn't help but fall for. But life has a way of throwing a curveball when you least expect it, and this one could cost me everything--even him.Turned out, our fates were written in the sky before we ever met-Before we fell.

In the last stages of a genetic disease, Ellen Creighton has decided to live out her remaining days at the estate of her longtime friend Harrison Burlington. Harrison cares deeply for Ellen, but as a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, he's never allowed himself to get serious in a relationship. However, he's desperately trying to save her by finding the holy water that is believed to heal any disease.When he locates two flasks, Ellen refuses to drink one of them because she believes the holy water killed her sister and father. In an effort to convince her to take it, Harrison ingests the contents first, and when Ellen witnesses the effects, she can no longer deny the power of the substance in the bottles. Dangerous criminals are also seeking the holy water, and Ellen soon learns they will go to any lengths to get the powerful drug--including sending her back into the past to find it for them.Bestselling and award-winning author Jody Hedlund plunges you into the swiftly flowing river of history in a race against the clock in this breathtaking, emotional second Waters of Time story.

Leah Williams is back in the quaint town of Heritage, Michigan, and ready to try again to make her business a success. But blank slates are hard to come by, and a piece of her past is waiting for her there. Heir to the Heritage Fruits company, Jonathan Kensington is the guy who not only made Leah's past difficult, he also seems determined to complicate her present as well.Jon is trying to prove to the Heritage Fruits board that he, not his manipulative uncle, should be running the business. The board insists Jon find a new owner for the building that will house Leah's business. To avoid forcing a buyout of Leah's part of the building, Jon strikes a compromise with Leah, and the two go into business together. With her vision and his know-how, it might work. And Leah might realize he's loved her since high school. If only he didn't keep on shooting himself in the foot by boxing her out of important decisions.Sparks fly in this romantic story of two people who must learn to trust both each other and the one who called them to this journey."A welcome homecoming for series fans, this is also recommended for all who love small town romances."--Booklist