Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge

Reading Suggestions

If you are looking for reading suggestions, I’ve cultivated a page just for that. (Note that it is still being updated throughout the year, so feel free to message me with suggestions.) I recommend you also checking Inspirational Historical Fiction Index or the Facebook Group Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or my Facebook group Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends.

2024 Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3

Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.

January Verse:  A time to be born and a time to die.
Challenge Theme: A book with a Baby or End of Life character

February Verse: A time to plant and a time to harvest.
Challenge Theme: A book with a Rural Setting OR a Major Move/Life Change

March Verse: A time to kill and a time to heal.
Challenge Theme: A book with a serial killer or a character in the medical profession.

April Verse: A time to tear down and a time to build up.
Challenge Theme: A book with characters or plots related to construction, remodeling, demolition, or architecture.

May Verse: A time to cry and a time to laugh.
Challenge Theme: A RomCom or a book that makes you cry

June Verse: A time to grieve and a time to dance.
Challenge Theme: A book with a funeral or with a character who is a dancer.

July Verse: A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
Challenge Theme: Second Chance Romance or Family/Friend Reconciliation

August Verse: A time to search and a time to quit searching.
Challenge Theme: A mystery or a theme of someone searching for family

September Verse: A time to tear and a time to mend.
Challenge Theme: A Tailor/Seamstress character

October Verse: A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Challenge Theme: A mute/deaf character or a character who advocates for others

November Verse: A time to love and a time to hate.
Challenge Theme: An enemies-to-lovers book

December Verse: A time for war and a time for peace.
Challenge Theme: A book set at the end of a war

Prize Shelf

Historical Fiction

Shadow Among the Sheaves by Naomi Stephens – A Timeless, Beautiful Allegory of the Biblical Love Story of Ruth and Boaz (set in 1857 India/England)

That Certain Spark by Cathy Marie Hake – Gooding, Texas, is about to gain a double blessing–a veterinarian and a doctor. But when siblings Enoch and Taylor Bestman arrive, the discovery that Taylor is a lady doctor has the town up in arms. Especially Karl Van der Vort, the town blacksmith, who becomes the first patient…against his will.

Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep (3 Novellas) – 3 Page-Turners Under One Cover from Reader Favorite Michelle Griep! Can truth and love prevail when no one is as they appear?

The Lone Star Romance Collection – Enjoy two series of romances under one cover from authors Kimberley Comeaux and Cathy Marie Hake. First head to Springton, Texas, where two Texas belles—a pretty outcast and a shy nurse—find rattlesnakes easier to lasso than the hearts of the men they desire. Then join the Gregor brothers from Scotland—doctor, cobbler, lawman—as they settle in the Wild West, seeking wives to help them live out a legacy of faith that their father rooted in them. Watch as God’s love unfolds a grand design into each life.

Sarah’s Choice by Wanda Brunstetter – Widowed Sarah Turner has her hands full, raising three young children, tending the lock on the canal, baking bread, and washing clothes for boatmen. Although she’s not looking for love, she’s vowed not to lose her heart to a boatman. Yet she didn’t count on meeting Captain Elias Brooks. Will she follow her heart where it leads or accept the proposal of a handsome land-loving blacksmith?

All Through the Night by Tara Johnson – With her stammering tongue and quiet ways, Cadence Piper has always struggled to be accepted. After the death of her mother, Cadence sets her heart on becoming a nurse, both to erase the stain her brother has left on the family’s honor and to find long-sought approval in the eyes of her father. When Dorothea Dix turns her away due to her young age and pretty face, Cadence finds another way to serve . . . singing to the soldiers in Judiciary Square Hospital. Only one stubborn doctor stands in her way.

Love Inspired-Love Inspired (Suspense = LIS)

The Bull Rider’s Homecoming by Allie Pleiter – An injured rodeo rider returns home to recuperate—and rekindle an old flame—in this heartwarming Western romance.

Cave of Secrets by Shannon Redmon (LIS) – What she uncovers may get her killed…

Everglades Escape by Kathleen Tailer (LIS) – Pursued by a drug ring, she depends on a stranger to survive.

Trial by Fire by Cara Putman (LIS) – Arsonist strikes again! Her mother’s house was first. Then her bothers. County prosecutor Tricia Jamison is sure she’s next on the arson’s list. But who is after her family? and why does every fire throw her in Noah Brust’s path?

Texas Buried Secrets by Virginia Vaughan (LIS – Larger Print) – An uncovered grave reveals a deadly secret . . . 

Shielding the Tiny Target by Deena Alexander (LIS – Larger Print) – A little girl in peril and a killer in pursuit.

Falling for the Lawman by Ruth Logan Herne – Piper McKinney’s got her hands full. Busy saving her farm from developers, and her family from trouble, she has no time for love. Not even for the handsome state trooper who becomes her new neighbor. But Zach Harrison can’t ignore the girl next door. Even though he gave up the farming life years ago, Piper intrigues him, and her plight calls out to the protector in him. Piper may not want a man, especially one with a badge, but Zach will show her that he’s here to serve and protect…and love.

Falling for Her Best Friend by Lisa Carter – A friends-only pact . . . until they say “I do.”

The Soldier and the Single Mom by Lee Tobin McClain – When Buck Armstrong rescues Gina Patterson and her baby from a dark country road outside town, he intends to keep his distance. Gina and little Bobby remind the handsome veteran too much of all he’s lost. The vulnerable single mom seems equally wary of getting involved. But things change once Gina and her son settle into his sister’s boardinghouse. Being with Gina and Bobby makes Buck question his plans to leave town for a fresh start. Suddenly he has dreams of forging a new family, even though it will mean risking his heart. But can he escape his past for a chance at a happy future?

The Hand-Me-Down Family & The Maverick Preacher (2 Book Combo) – The Hand-Me-Down Family -When mail-order bride Callie Gray arrives in Sweetgum, Texas, she gets the shock of her life. Her husband is dead, and his brother proposes she marry him, for the sake of his orphaned nephew and nieces. Jack Tyler warns her this is strictly a marriage of convenience. But Callie yearns for a true partnership. Now she must convince Jack what he needs is a lifetime of love, faith, and family—with Callie. The Maverick Preacher -Once one of Boston’s most righteous ministers, now Joshua Blue is a guilt-stricken man scouring the West to find the sister he drove away. The trail leads him to Denver, where beautiful boardinghouse owner Adelaide Clark and her young son might hold the key to unlocking past secrets. Adie fears Josh’s presence could tear her family apart. But his strong faith sparks Adie’s long-buried hope for a future with a God-sent partner…

In a Mother’s Arms & The Widow’s Secret (3 Book Combo) – Three touching tales of love, family, and faith.

A Rancher of Convenience by Regina Scott (Love Inspired Historical) – Sweet mail-order bride Nancy Bennett can’t believe it when her husband is exposed as a cattle rustler—and killed. And when the banker holding the ranch’s mortgage questions whether she can run the ranch on her own, the pregnant widow has nowhere to turn. Until steady foreman Hank Snowden proposes marriage…

An Unlikely Proposal by Toni Shiloh – Their friendship can survive almost anything… For two best friends, marriage could be their greatest test yet…

The Cowboy Bargain by Tina Radcliff – A little competition…Brings a change of heart.

Contemporary

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson – Ann Silver is a cop’s cop. As the Midwest Homicide Investigator, she is called in to help local law enforcement on the worst of cases, looking for answers to murder. Hers is one of the region’s most trusted investigative positions. Paul Falcon is the FBI’s top murder cop in the Midwest. If the victim carried a federal badge or had a security clearance, odds are good Paul and his team see the case file or work the murder.

He Should Have Told the Bees by Amanda Cox – Uncovering long-held family secrets may sting at first–but the result can be sweeter than honey

A Royal Christmas by Melody Carlson – Adelaide Smith is too busy for fairy tales. She’s been working hard to put herself through law school, and she’s determined to stay focused on her goals. Then she receives a letter notifying her that she is a direct descendant of King Maximillian Konig V, the ruler of a small European principality called Montovia. What? No. That’s the stuff of cheesy made-for-TV movies, not real life. Still, curiosity gets the best of her, leading to a Christmas break trip chock-full of surprises, including a charming village, an opulent palace, family mysteries, royal jealousies, a handsome young member of Parliament, and the chance at a real-life fairy tale romance.

All’s Fair in Love and Christmas – Sarah Monzon – Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Pretty Little Pieces by Carmen Schober – Sometimes it takes everything falling apart …

Fantasy/Steampunk

Tainted by Morgan L. Busse (MP3 – book 1) – What Happens When Your Soul Dies?

Awakened by Morgan L. Busse (MP3 – book 2) – The monster has awakened.

Flight of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse (CD set – Book 2) –  Selene Ravenwood, once the heir to House Ravenwood, is now an exile. On the run and free of her family’s destiny, Selene hopes to find the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking. But first she must adapt to her new life as wife to Lord Damien Maris, the man she was originally assigned to kill.

Non-Fiction

Sweet Tea Secrets from the Deep Fried South by Jane Jenkins Herlong – Southern humorist Jane Jenkins Herlong brings joy and humor with her 50 unusual-but-true faith-filled stories of growing up in the South Carolina low country. Whether you love Southern ways of life or find their ways strange and amusing, you’ll be entertained and inspired with warm Southern-fried humor and tried-and-true tips for attaining the best version of yourself. Jane’s 50 stories address specific landmark events along with issues in a woman’s life, such as fitting into the covered-dish church culture, sacred sisterhood, sassy seasoned Southern women and why we are drawn to beauty pageant competition, and much more!

Stories from the Heart by Steve Demaree – Over fifty very short inspirational stories. Some may cause some readers to shed tears of joy. Others may put a smile on the reader’s face. Many are designed to make the reader think about what they have read.

Be the Difference Monthly Planner – Identify the issues that matter most to you, create a plan of action, and make the impact God wants you to make—locally, nationally, and globally—with this undated, guided twelve-month planner.