At the beginning of February, I was really excited for the books I had on my to-read list! Two of my favorite authors released new books on January 31st, so those two are the first ones I listed below. I didn’t read as much as I did in January, but so far I’m still on track to finish 100 books this year!

1. Happily Ever Ashten by Erynn Mangum (book 3 in the Carrington Springs series) — I’ve loved all of Erynn Mangum’s books that I’ve read, and this one was no exception! They’re all funny, sweet, and clean, and the way she writes about the heroine growing in her relationship with God always feels authentic, not preachy. This book was the third one in a series about three friends, so it was fun to catch up with the girls from the last two books and to finally see what happened with their third friend, Ashten. She’s in the middle of a busy summer working at her family’s restaurant and helping her two friends plan their weddings, wondering about her purpose in the middle of it all, and learning to trust God when her life isn’t turning out the way she imagined and when love doesn’t look like she thought it would. I think this was my favorite book in the series!
2. Rescue Me by Susan May Warren (book 2 in the Montana Rescue series) — This is the second book in the newest series by one of my all-time favorite authors. Deputy Sam Brooks’ life is orderly and structured; his girlfriend’s sister, Willow’s, life has been anything but. Her adventurous spirit and love for the kids in her youth group led to her take the group on a hike, and Sam went along to help chaperone. Neither of them imagined that the situation would take a dangerous turn, forcing them to learn to rely on God and each other to make it through. Through it all, they learned that no matter how many mistakes we make and how many times we fail, God has proven that He will stop at nothing to rescue us, and He will always be there for us when we need Him the most.
3. The Inn at Ocean’s Edge and Twilight at Blueberry Barrens by Colleen Coble (books 2 and 3 in the Sunset Cove series) — I found these books on sale, one in paperback and the other on Kindle, and since they take place in my home state of Maine of course I had to read them! 😉 These are books 2 and 3 in the series; I didn’t notice anything that made me wish I had read the first book first, but you should definitely read the second before the third. They’re classified as suspense, and they both have very unique plots and twists you would never see coming! I thought the characters were very well-developed, and both books included important spiritual lessons about our identity in Christ and finding our worth in Him. It can be kind of funny sometimes to read books about Maine written by someone “from away,” but Colleen Coble did a great job representing our state!
4. From the Start by Melissa Tagg (book 1 in the Walker Family series) — This was a fun read I found on Kindle Unlimited! Kate and Colton are both struggling in their careers, with Kate wanting to do something more meaningful than writing TV movie scripts, and with Colton recently injured and no longer able to play in the NFL. They both find themselves in Kate’s small hometown when a tornado brings her back and her brother, Colton’s friend, talks him in to visiting while he figures out what to do next. It just so happens that Kate and her family need someone to help rebuild her dad’s museum, and Colton needs someone to write his book…but their relationship ended up meaning more to both of them than just business, and taught them about God’s purpose for them in the struggles they’d faced. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m going to look for more books by this author!
5. Buried Secrets by Irene Hannon (book 1 in the Men of Valor series) — I’ve always enjoyed Irene Hannon’s suspense books, and this was as good as I expected! In this story, a small-town police chief and county detective work together to solve the mystery of remains found buried out in the country. It was written in a unique way; you as the reader know who the killer is the whole time, but it’s still really interesting to watch the main characters figure it out. It’s a fast-paced mystery without being gory or graphic, with likeable characters who are facing challenges in their personal lives as well. This is a great book if you like Christian suspense!
6. Courage to Soar by Simone Biles — I loved watching Simone Biles compete in gymnastics at the Rio Olympics last summer, so I was excited to read her book! It was fun to read her story and find out what led her to gymnastics and ultimately the Olympics. She had a rough couple of years at the beginning of her childhood, until her grandparents adopted her when she was a toddler. Becoming an elite gymnast takes an enormous amount of hard work and dedication, and having a supportive family was so important to her success, encouraging her in her setbacks and celebrating with her in her victories. Being able to read about the “behind the scenes” of her life helps you to see that even though she was born with a lot of God-given talent, it took a lot of work to become one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. She faced a lot of struggles and setbacks, even a few short years before her historic Olympic performance, but her faith and her family got her through and brought her to where she is today. This book is geared more towards younger readers, but anyone can read it and be inspired!

I have some fun new fiction books I’m looking forward to reading in March, including a new release from one of my favorite authors (When Tides Turn by Sarah Sundin), but I’m also working on reading more non-fiction. A couple of the books I’ve started on are Fervent by Priscilla Shirer and To Live is Christ to Die is Gain by Matt Chandler. Hopefully I’ll finish those this month and can tell you about them in next month’s post! 🙂

What have you been reading lately?