It’s another month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away. Since this year is based on your TBR pile, I will not have a recommendations page, but I’m leaving the link here so it’s easier for me to set up NEXT year’s blog posts.
Find recommendations at Reading Challenge Recommendations, Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: September – New to you author
Next Month: October – Title from a favorite author
Their Burden to Bear
by Heather Tabors
Review by:
Endorsement:
“With rich historical details, a romance that is hard-won and beautiful, and unexpected twists, Taber has penned a debut novel that will leave you sitting not only in awe of her story-telling, but also in awe of the brave soldiers her story represents. Their Burden to Bear will leave you with a new and profound reverence for and understanding of the men who are represented by the Unknown Soldier and the men who served along those who never made it home and still remain unknown. This story will leave an indelible mark on you, and you don’t want to miss it.” – Crystal Caudill, Christy Award-Winning author and author of Written in Secret
Genre: Historical Romance
Plot:
Washington, D.C., 1921—In the shadow of Arlington National Cemetery, Elsie St. Clair yearns for her father’s approval and a love to call her own. When she’s selected as a companion to Phillip Pierce, a decorated Marine chosen to bear the Unknown Soldier to rest, she sees her chance to finally make her widowed father proud. But beneath Phillip’s decorated uniform lies a man haunted by the horrors of Belleau Wood—a hero whose most grievous wounds are invisible to the eye. As Elsie’s own scars from her father’s emotional abuse surface, she recognizes in Phillip a kindred spirit burdened by life’s cruelties. Meanwhile, the ambitious Lavinia, determined to claim Phillip for herself, strives to destroy their relationship in any way she can.
When her father’s abuse escalates, Phillip offers marriage as protection—a convenient arrangement with clear boundaries to shield her from harm and him from attachment. As they care for Elsie’s orphaned nephew together, what begins as a practical union slowly transforms into something deeper. But their fragile connection is threatened when Elsie stumbles upon mysterious ledgers and hidden documents that suggest her father is involved in something sinister. As Elsie fights for the love Phillip is hesitant to give, an anonymous blackmailer uncovers a secret from his past that could destroy everything he’s built—including his budding relationship with Elsie.
In a time when battle trauma was misunderstood and hearts were expected to silently endure, Elsie and Phillip must decide if they’re brave enough to lay down their defenses and share not just their burdens, but their love. With dangerous men closing in, mysterious connections to the Spanish embassy emerging, and secrets threatening to destroy them, they discover that our heaviest burdens were never meant to be carried alone. Set against the solemn backdrop of America honoring its fallen warriors, their journey proves that the most profound acts of courage often happen far from the battlefield, in the quiet surrender of a wounded heart.
Author Website: https://heathertabers.com/
Purchase Link: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Gleam Widget below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Gleam widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
September 2025 Reading Challenge
I read The Joy of Falling by Lindsay Harrel. It’s an amazing story of the journey through grief and finding joy after loss. I loved the New Zealand adventure and each woman’s individual struggles and victories. This beautiful cover has been on my TBR list for a while and I’m happy to finally get to it and discover a new-to-me author.
I read The Rules of Falling For You by Mollie Rushmeyer.
A fantastic book with a couples retreat based on all things Regency. So funny. I would definitely recommend it.
The book you read sounds great, I’ll have to add it to my list! 🙂 This month I read “The Colonel’s Lady” by Laura Frantz – somehow I’d never read one of her books, but I enjoyed this one. I liked that it was set during the Revolutionary War, as I haven’t read many that are. Plus I’ve been interested in that time period lately with the anticipation of America’s 250th.
I read Heart in the Clouds by Jennifer Mistmorgan. It was an enjoyable read and I’ll probably continue the series.
I read Waitin’ on Paige by Mary Pat Johns. It was a really interesting book.
I read Line by Line by Jennifer Delamere. I really enjoyed it and now can’t wait to read the others in the series.
I read Deep Blue Lies by Greg Dunnett. I’ve been following the author for awhile, but hadn’t read any of his books. This was so good I couldn’t stop reading, even when my eyes kept closing because I was so tired.