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06 January 2015

Carrie's Favorite Christian Fiction Reads for 2014






At the Edge of a Dark Forest
OWG Bibliotherapy Book of the Year


While Love Stirs




A Match of Wits by Jen Turano



The books are listed in no particular order but I do have a favorite novel for 2014 and that story is by Caryl McAdoo and the reason is because she's one of the few authors whose "voice" seems so very similar to my own and I really enjoyed the story and characters in Vow Unbroken. All of these novels, however, are STELLAR!!! Several, too, were strong contenders for bibliotherapy book of the year! Elizabeth Camden's and Elizabeth Byler Younts's, in particular! I haven't yet reviewed Elizabeth's on the OWG blog but hope to remedy that omission soon.


 
There were SO many WONDERFUL novellas and short stories out in 2014 and I reviewed quite a few. I didn't feel I could do them justice by pulling out individual stories but I may come back later and do a recap of my fave collections for 2014 because I loved a whole bunch of them, especially the Christmas ones! I have included one novella because it is my Bibliotherapy Book of the Year - Connie Almony's Beauty and the Beast story about PTSD and addiction as well as recovery and rehab for a wounded vet. Beautifully done and a DEBUT book!!!

I'll also be announcing the Angels' Heart winner for 2014. Last year that honor went to Julie Lessman, which disqualifies her for the next five years.  We have three nominees right now from the OWG bloggers and will be deciding soon.

Why no audiobook category? In 2014 I had surgery on my heel. I had a torn Achilles tendon and other issues that had to be repaired. I listened to some audiobooks but I also ended up reading a great many with my eyes instead of listening. Love my Kindle!!!  One audiobook I suggest you avoid is the one for Tamera Alexander's LOVELY novel A Beauty so Rare because the narrator is so poor she ruins the beautiful story. Wonderful book so just read it on your Kindle or ereader and set the font size to large. I have several audiobooks I haven't reviewed on the blog yet that I may add to the post for the novella collections. In general, though, I felt it wasn't a great year for audiobooks for Christian historical romance, which is what I primarily read (because that's what I also write.) But there were some very good ones and I'll get to those in a later post!

Question: What were some of YOUR faves for 2014?

23 comments:

  1. A wonderful list, CARRIE...some of which I have read and others on my TBR list! 2014 was such a great year for Christian fiction it was very hard to narrow it down!

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    1. I accidentally clicked publish before I was finished :) tee heee heee :)

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  3. Carrie, I am covered with glory bumps and overwhelmed by your kind words of affirmation! I'm so very glad that you loved Vow Unbroken and am so honored to be included in this list of most awesome authors...elated, ecstatic, overjoyed, delighted, euphoric, jubilant, thrilled, overjoyed, tickled, pleased...did I say excited? thank you! Thank You! THANK YOU!
    ♫♪*`•. I'm just so EXCITED.•*♪¨*•♪♫ ‘Bout what the Lord is doing!!♪♫•*¨♪ I'm just so EXCITED.♪♫¸¸.•*♪*•.¸ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ¸Of what I know He will do!•*º° I'm just so EXCITED!•.¸.•✿ڿڰۣღ and He is delightedღ(̆̃̃ڿڰۣ✿♫♪*with my anticipation`º°¨•.¸.•*♪♫• of what He’s going to do!!♪♫¸•*♪♫♪*¨*♥•♪♫ PRAISE THE LORD!♪♫•*♥¨♪*•.¸ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ¸.•*

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    1. Wow, that was just beautiful :o)!

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    2. You are very welcome, Caryl! Love your comment lol! Hugs!!!

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  4. Thank you so much, Carrie! So honored you included Miss Agatha's story on your list. Have a fabulous 2015!

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  5. Carrie, this is such a wonderful, humbling honor and so exciting to be listed among such talented authors! Thank you-thank you so much! It means more than I can say to know that you enjoyed The Promise Keeper. Your opinion means the world to me. Bless you for all you do to promote Christian fiction and its authors, in addition to being a very talented author in your own right!

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    1. You are very welcome! Thanks for your kind comments, Lisa! Am looking forward to reading your next book!

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  6. How many times and ways can I say thank you for remembering At the Edge of a Dark Forest over this past year? I'm sure I'm inadequate to say it all ... especially after seeing Caryl's!!! Please know it is heartfelt just the same!!! God Bless!

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    1. You are very welcome, Connie! A great book and I pray this bibliotherapy novella will continue to bless many people, especially those with war PTSD issues! Blessings!

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  7. There is quite a few on here that I have not read. I will have to check them out and place them in my wish list. Thanks for posting this! It is always nice to find new authors and books to read.

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    1. You'll have to read them, Regina! Great books! You are so welcome. We always like to encourage special authors each year by posting these! Blessings!

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  8. Thanks for your wonderful list of fave books for 2014, Carrie!!

    As with both Diana and Noela's lists - yours contains books from some of my fave authors and which I have read, some that I have purchased and are on my TBR list and others I plan to purchase to read. As I mentioned previously, so many wonderful books published in 2014 and never enough time to read them all, yet I'm also looking forward to the new releases of 2015. I've found a couple of books in each of the 3 lists that I want to purchase and read, always enjoy reading the lists and checking for any books I may have missed seeing!!

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    1. BONNIE, I'll check with you about the 2015 ones you are interested in. These sure were great ones! So thankful you enjoyed my novella, too!!! Blessings!

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  9. A wonderful list of incredible books on your list Carrie!! Six of those were HUGE favorites for me as well. And the rest I'd LOVE to read. But two of them - Vow Unbroken and A Match of Wits, especially!! :-) And I couldn't agree more with Connie Almony's book being OWG's "Bibliotherapy book of the year!"

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    1. TY, Noela! I love that we all have a few different faves, also! We've got a lot alike but a lot that we either didn't get to read or that just didn't strike us quite the same way, which is what makes us unique. Connie's insight really scored on this book!

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  10. "With Every Breath" would make my top ten list, for sure. And I loved Regina Jennings newest! The others I will have to put on my reading list for the future! Thanks.

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    1. I haven't done the novellas yet but a great companion read is Niki Turner's "Sadie's Gift" which is set at a TB pre-sanitorium in Colorado! TY!

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    2. When are you going to send me that list, Rebecca? :)

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  11. I only read Jen's book that's on your list. Just didn't get around to as many as usual. I've sort of been in a slump for a while, but I did enjoy some great books and novellas last year, yours being one of them! I really want to read With Every Breath. I always love Camden's books.

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  12. CARRIE!!! Sorry I am so late in getting here, my friend -- I've been down in my back, but my spirits are high after reading your list!! Thank you SO much for including SBL -- I consider it a high honor since I hold you in such high regard. You are such a classy and special lady and the dearest of friends. Thank you again for ALWAYS making me smile!

    Love you!!
    Julie

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