The Christmas Ring by Karen Kingsbury

 

The Christmas Ring  by Karen Kingsbury  196 pages

While searching for her family's missing Christmas ring, a military widow sparks a friendship with a handsome antiques dealer, who just might have the love and the lost heirloom she's been longing for.

I wanted to read this because the movie just came out.  I love that the beginning is set in World War II.  I thought it was going to be very predictable, but in the end I was surprised by what happened. 

Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

 

Unlocked  by Karen Kingsbury  323 pages

Holden Harris is an autistic eighteen-year-old who is bullied at school. Ella Reynolds is the head cheerleader who befriends Holden but has problems of her own at home.

Very sweet story about an autistic boy who finds his "voice" again through music.  I liked the way it taught many lessons about bullying, acceptance, and standing up for others.  It touches on the controversial concept of vaccinations causing autism, not sure I agree with that and I don't think it needed to be addressed in the book.  I like the way the story started when the kids were young and how they came back into each others lives. 

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury 327 pages I enjoy most books by Karen Kingsbury and I have read most of her series, but this stand alone book was above and beyond her other writing. I love to read historical fiction and this story is set in the 1940s, but an older couple is retelling the story before the wonan, recently diagnosed with alzheimers, forgets the stories of the war. I coulbn't put it down until I finished it! In 1941, beautiful Irvel Ellis is too focused on her secret to take much notice in the war raging overseas. She's dating Sam but in love with his brother, Hank, and Irvel has no idea how to break the news when the unthinkable happens - Pearl Harbor is attacked. With their lives turned upside down overnight, Sam is drafted, and Hank wants to enlist. But Sam insists Hank stay home, where he and Irvel take up the battle on the home front. While Sam fights in Europe, an undeniable chemistry builds between Irvel and Hank but neither would dare cross that line. Then a telegram comes, and the news is devastating. Hank enlists the next day and has just two weeks until he ships out. Will either brother make it home alive? Or will Irvel lose everything? And can love find a way, even from the ashes of the greatest heartbreak?"

Brush of Wings by Karen Kingsbury

Brush of Wings by Karen Kingsbury - 326 pages

 Against the advice of her doctor, Mary Catherine moves to Uganda to work at a new orphanage. Whatever time she has left, Mary Catherine wants to spend it helping children – especially since she is unable to have children of her own. The only problem is Marcus Dillinger, the Major League Baseball player she was never meant to fall in love with. But neither Marcus nor Mary Catherine’s other friends – Tyler Ames and Sami Dawson – know just how serious her heart condition is.

  Still, Marcus suspects something isn’t right. After months of silence, a divinely timed letter from Mary Catherine leads him on a desperate life-or-death mission to rescue her and get her to a US hospital before time runs out. Meanwhile, as Sami and Tyler prepare to marry, the group receives shocking news that changes everyone’s plans.

  The team of angels walking is busier than ever in this epic battle between life and death. Brush of Wings is a poignant tale of love, sacrifice, and the power of faith.

Chasing Sunsets by Karen Kingsbury

Chasing Sunsets by Karen Kingsbury - 316 pages


Growing up in a comfortable home, Mary Catherine wanted for nothing. Though she loves her wealthy parents, their lifestyle never appealed to her. Instead, Mary Catherine pursues meaning through charity work, giving away a part of herself but never giving away her heart.

Mary Catherine lives in Los Angeles with her roommate, Sami, and volunteers at a local youth center with coach Tyler Ames and LA Dodger Marcus Dillinger. Despite Mary Catherine’s intention to stay single, she finds herself drawing close to Marcus, and their budding romance offers an exciting life she never dreamed of. That is, until she receives devastating news from her doctor. News that alters her future and forces her to make a rash decision.

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury - 360  pages

In Angels Walking, former baseball star Tyler Ames suffers a career-ending injury. As he tries to put his life back together the way it was before, he discovers the devastating news that his one true love, Sami Dawson, has moved on. When a small series of miracles leads Tyler to form a friendship with Virginia Hutcheson, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, he realizes that she might have the answers he so desperately seeks. Can a team of Angels Walking restore hope and bring healing for Tyler, Sami, and Virginia? And can the words of a stranger rekindle lost love?

Growing up in a comfortable home, Mary Catherine, in Chasing Sunsets, never yearned for an extravagant lifestyle the way her parents did. Instead, she pursues meaning through charity work, giving away a part of herself but never giving away her heart. But she finds herself drawn to LA Dodger Marcus Dillinger when she volunteers with her roommate Sami at a local youth center, and she discovers an exciting life she never dreamed of. That is, until she receives devastating news from her doctor that alters her future and forces her to make a rash decision.

Finally, in Brush of Wings, Mary Catherine moves to Uganda to work at an orphanage against the advice of her doctor. She may not have long to live, but she chooses to help others with the time she has left. The only problem is Marcus, the man she never meant to fall in love with. He knows something is wrong, and after months of silence from Mary Catherine, a divinely timed letter leads him on a desperate life-or-death mission. Then his friends receive shocking news that changes everyone’s plans. The angels in their midst are doing everything they can to make sure their mission succeeds.

When We Were Young by Karen Kingsbury

When We Were Young by Karen Kingsbury - 368 pages

From their first meeting, to their stunning engagement and lavish wedding, to their happily-ever-after, Noah and Emily Carter were meant to be together. Theirs is a special kind of love and they want the world to know.

More than a million adoring fans have followed their lives on Instagram since the day Noah publicly proposed to Emily. But behind the carefully staged photos and encouraging posts, their life is anything but a fairy tale, and Noah's obsession with social media has ruined everything.

Distraught, Emily reaches out to her friend Kari Baxter Taylor and tells her the truth: Noah and Emily have decided to call it quits. He is leaving in the morning. But when Noah wakes the next day, everything is different. Emily is gone and the kids are years older. Like Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, bizarre and strange events continue throughout the night so that Noah is certain he's twenty years older, and he is desperate for a second chance. Now it would take a miracle to return to yesterday. 

When We Were Young is a rare and beautiful love story that takes place in a single day. It's about the gift of knowing what tomorrow will bring if you really walk out that door today.