They made me do it. They were just so fantastic I had no choice but to obsess over them. With their compelling storylines, witty dialogue, and heart-achingly perfect heroes, I was doomed from the start.
I’m talking about the books that lead to PDH: Public Displays of Humiliation.
After sixteen years on social media, I’ve learned what kind of posts lead to embarrassment and comments simply stating “TMI.” My general rule is to avoid those posts, for the sake of my family, my friends, my children, and my day job as a college instructor. But, man oh man, that rule flies out the window when I finish a book I adore.
What follows can only be described as sophistication-averse, tweenaged-level, eye-roll-inducing and absurdly unashamed fangirling.
Without further ado, here are seven books I’ve obnoxiously ogled over:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
This one is a given, considering I reread this every November. I will never stop proclaiming how powerful this book has been in my life. It’s what made me want to write my own stories. Most embarrassing moment: When I bought an Old West dress for a costume party that resembled Angel’s red dress on the book cover.
Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade
Ty Porter. Good looking. Confident. Smooth. Annoying. If romance novel heroes were bakery items, Ty would be a fresh everything bagel. Nice, hot, and delicious but also bad for your health. Plus, you get the poppy seeds stuck in your teeth, and they stay there all day until you find some floss. Meanwhile, the vanilla cinnamon bagel (Bo Porter) and the cranberry bagel (Jake Porter) just sit there on the shelf, wondering why their name doesn’t get brought up more. Most embarrassing moment: Admitting how much I love everything bagels.
Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano
This gorgeous Victorian novel isn’t technically a romance, but Silas and Aurelie have my vote for best couple ever. I’ve read this book five times and bought it as gifts twice that many times! Most embarrassing moment: Stalking the audiobook actor to find all the other books she voiced.
Tinsel in a Tangle by Laurie Germaine
This is one of those happy-squeal-loud-enough-to-scare-the-dog books. It is everything I love about romance and Christmas stories combined. This is one of the most adorable, heartfelt, and cheer-worthy books ever. READ IT!!!! Most embarrassing moment: Admitting to myself that I had a book crush on the 17-year-old heir to the Santa Claus throne.
Things Left Unsaid by Courtney Walsh
Crazed. I was crazed when I first read this story of high school friends reunited ten years after a tragedy. Like I immediately flipped back to page 1 after I finished it the first time. I was even able to get over the fact that the swoony but troubled hero, Tucker, shared the same name as my sister’s dog. Most embarrassing moment: Telling Courtney that I planned to write fan fiction for the side character, Dewey. It was going to involve a hot dog eating contest, and it would be a romance, obviously.
Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe
My latest obsession. I love every word of this beautiful book, especially the ones spoken between Vance Archer Cumberland (the gentlest, kindest, and most loyal man ever created in ink) to relatable heroine Austin Foster. The angst is at an all-time high with these two characters. I mean, check out this line: “He was too handsome to look so sad, and I wanted to live in a world where I was allowed to make him happy.” Ugh…my heart hurts! But that isn’t all. There’s much more to this book than a fetching love story. It’s simply amazing. Most embarrassing moment: Private messaging Joanna Gaines and telling her she needs to start a book club and this book needs to be her first read. (No reply yet!)
The entire Summer Harbor collection by Denise Hunter (Falling like Snowflakes, The Goodbye Bride, Just a Kiss)
The Callahan brothers had me tied in more knots than a Maine lobster net. Responsible big brother, Beau, and fun-loving yet heartbroken Zac each offer delightful stories. But Riley—bruised, betrayed, and brooding Riley—wrecked me! Seriously, if there was a way to climb inside a book and hug a character, I’d be there in a heartbeat. And I probably wouldn’t leave. Then, of course, there’s that one scene that has forever changed how I view pick-up trucks (wink, wink). Most embarrassing moment: Sitting next to Denise Hunter at a conference lunch, awkwardly stunted in speech, yet still managing to bring up Riley’s name a handful of times.
GIVEAWAY: Have you read any of these? What books have you loved enough to gush over? Tell me in the comments and you will be entered to win a copy of your choice from these books. (Must be over 18. Due to shipping costs, winner must be a US resident or capable of receiving an ebook sent from the US. Summer Harbor collection, if chosen, would be an ebook).
Prone to wander, Janine Rosche finds as much comfort on the open road as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her Madison River Romance series and Whisper Canyon series. When she isn’t writing or traveling, she teaches family life education courses to college students, takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs, and embarrasses her four children and husband with boy band serenades.
I’ve read Redeeming Love and Meant to Be Mine. Several of the other books are in my list to be read! The most recent book I have gushed over and cannot get enough of is All That Really Matters!
I have not read those books but I have read books by some of the authors.
I have not read any of your favs but ‘Redeeming Love’ is on y list of must reads. Books I’ve gushed over have been any by Tamera Alexander, all of Janine Rosche’s books (Madison River series and “This Wandering Heart”, Liz Johnson’s works, and countless others.
I love your embarrassing moments! They cracked me up. I’m honored you included Under the Magnolias .
P.S. Let me know if you hear from Joanna! 😉❤️
I also loved Redeeming Love. Lately I have gushed over The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery.
The only one I’ve read is Redeeming Love and I loved it! Michael is such a great hero! I should probably go back and reread it…
Agree with those authors!! Great books.
That’s on my TRB list!
I listened to Lady Jayne Disappears and loved it! One book I’ve gushed over lately is Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van.
The only one of yours that I’ve read is Redeeming Love. The ones I’ve lately gushed over are The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, The Cryptographer’s Dilemma, and a few books I’ve proofread that aren’t out yet.
I’ve read a couple of these! I LOVE Just a Kiss, so good, and so cute!
Haven’t read any of these. Redeeming Love is in my to read list, and now I want to read Lady Jane, great blog, enjoyed it immensely!
Under the Magnolias is my fave among these. It’s just so gritty, realistic and maybe just plain gutsy! Everyone says you need to read Redeeming love but I haven’t yet….one day.
I feel like my answers to any question about what books I’ve loved are like Children’s Sunday school answers (pray, read your scriptures, show love, etc). I’m on repeat with my answers. ANYTHING by Becky Wade, Denise Hunter (except her New Heights series, I actually stopped partially through the second one and couldn’t continue), YOU, Mandi Blake (I obsess over how her male and female leads find their love earlier on and then work together as a couple to overcome the obstacles…it’s such a good example of the way God wants us to work together as couples. Also, it means I’m not frustrated with the characters for being apart because someone is keeping a secret or because of a misunderstanding), Cindy Roland Anderson, Rachel Hauck’s Low Country series in audiobook version…I LOVED CiCi Dee’ as the narrator and totally DM’d her to tell her (first and only time ever reaching out to a narrator), Cindy Roland Anderson,, Kara Isaac, (especially Then There Was You). These are all authors that I obsessively recommend to people. I swear sometimes when I’ve finished a really great one I can figure out a way to recommend the book in any conversation I have with anyone! 😀 I also love Kasie West. She speaks to the teen in me. I love how she tackles mental health in just about every single book. I recommend her to all my teen girls that I lead at church. 😂 I always start by saying “don’t judge me that I like sweet teenage love stories, but you’d love this one…” 😂😂
I have not read any of your books yet. You are an author I have recently heard about. Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay is my favorite book.
I have not read any of these books😔
I LOLed at your comment on Under the Magnolias but I also think your idea is genius! They shoul totally go for it ;)
As for me, I haven’t read any of these books, but have a couple of them in my TBR list. I may or may not be adding the rest of your recs to that list…
I loved Meant to be Mine! It was awesome!
I have not read any of these books. I loved reading Just One Look.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is my favorite life-changing book too <3
Hi, Janine!
Nope, these are all new to me, too. As a guy, I obviously identify with the heroes, so any story where a struggling hero receives the heroine’s compassion tugs at my heart down deep. One of my favorite stories is “See Me” by Dawn Lee McKenna. It could probably be classed as more of a love story than a romance, but it is exquisite. The last line grabs your heart and doesn’t let go. It is all the more amazing because it was her debut novel. She has since gone on to focus more on romantic suspense.
Most embarrassing moment: Too numerous to decide. I embarrass easily. :-|
I love Kasie West !! his books also speak to my inner adolescent and I love how healthy they are! I also love how their “popular” boys and girls are not usually evil but many are popular because they are funny and friendly.
I wish I had discovered your books earlier, in my teens.
I have only read redeeming love and I am one of those few people to whom I do not reach as much although I can see why it is so popular.
Under the Magnolias I have seen that it has excellent reviews but it calls me more “Tinsel in a Tangle” I love fantasy! and one of my dreams is to write a young adult fantasy book about Christmas: magical north pole, elves, etc.
I think the first books that I went crazy about were the Chronicles of Narnia, then the Fairy Oak Saga followed (it’s about magic and witches but I would say that the concept that the author uses is even softer than that of Harry Potter for example ), later … mm..well there are a number of Japanese novels that I have been a fan of hahaha some translated into English others I had to use google translator or an app that translates images but everything is for reading! It was called “Gosick” (as it is Japanese they made an adaptation to the anime … I also love animation from anime to Disney) but the novels are very cute. Two 15-year-old friends (boy and girl) in a fictitious European country. They dedicate themselves to solving mysteries the girl is a genius but she is horrible in social relationships so her friend has to help her to be something more friendly, It’s adorable and it’s a shame it’s not all in English or Spanish because it’s really interesting and clean, the mysteries aren’t bloody at all, and it has a pretty innocent touch of comedy. Howl’s Moving Castle (the book trilogy) I read her as a teenager and loved her too! Heather Dixon’s Illusionarium! has a powerful lesson between choosing good or evil and a few protagonists who go from enemies to best friends.
P.S. I like you about Kasie West: cute and heartbreaking at the same time. Suzanne Woods Fisher’s The Moonlight school … I’ll always want to know if teenage supporting characters ever fell in love growing up. The author can have all my money if she ever writes something about Finley and Angie Cooper.
I’ve read all of these except for Lady Jayne Disappears and Tinsel in a Tangle! Out of the others, I’ve gushed plenty, but mostly about T.I. Lowe’s book! I even emailed with her about it as it hit me very close to home!
Under the Magnolias and Redeeming Love are my top favorites. When Under the Magnolias came out I had to read it right away. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about it and telling others about it. Seriously, its that good!
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I still haven’t read Nicole Deese’s stuff. I must correct that. I’ve had several people tell me I’ll love her work.
They’ve written some fabulous ones. You can’t go wrong with any of those authors.
Thank you, Vicki! Liz is a must-read author for me, too!
You know I will!! lol.
I’m late to the party on Secret Keepers! I must correct that.
Michael is a dream. Are you excited for that movie to come out?
tap, tappety, tap… That’s the sound of me searching up Suffering the Scot simply based on the title!
You’re the second person to mention Amanda’s book. I’ve gotta check it out!
Riley’s simply the best, right?
Thanks, Celina! RL starts off very tough, so be prepared. But it’s worth all of the heartache in the end!
When you get around to it, let me know! Maybe I’ll read it alongside you!
I love your enthusiasm! If we ever meet in person, we could bring the roof down! lol. I need to look up some of those names since I can trust your taste in stories :)
Knightley is an excellent book!
All are new to me, but I have read some of these authors!
You’ve got lots to look forward to then!
Let me know what you think about them when you read them, Priscila!
Ty sticks with you, right?
Who is that one by? Is it a Courtney book?
It’s in a class of its own, right?
haha. I should probably be more embarrassed than I actually am. I’m looking up Dawn Lee McKenna’s books now. Thanks for the suggestion!
You’ve given me so many books to add to my TBR stack! And if you ever write that book, I’ll be the first to buy it!
Denise Hunter’s Just a Kiss is a great story! Who am I kidding ? Denise’s books are all great!
No I haven’t read any of those books
WHEN you read LJD and TiaT, you better let me know what you think!
Exactly!! Magnolias is now my favorite book of all time.
You’ve got so much to look forward to! I wish I read them for the first time again!
PREACH!!!
You have so much to be excited about then!
Oops! Just realized my mistake. The title is “See You” (not Me). Sorry.
I have only read Redeeming Love (it’s one of my favorites), but there are many on my TBR list.
I think I was gifted a copy of Redeeming Love. I must move it up the TBR.
I have not read any of these books. I have gushed over Patti Callahan Henry’s Surviving Savannah. I am a member of Friends and Fiction, her Facebook group, as well as receive her emails. She has a new book coming out soon Once Upon a Wardrobe. It is a story about how Narnia comes from. I cannot wait to read this one too. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Oh my goodness! Along with you, Denise Hunter and Becky Wade are some of my absolute favorite authors!! Falling like Snowflakes, makes me swoon every time I read it. Beau is such a good guy, protective and perfect for Eden! And Meant to Be Mine, oh my, Ty may be my favorite man that Becky Wade has written! I love the back and fourth between him and Celia! I laugh out loud reading that book! Such good chemistry flying off the pages! Love! Such a fun giveaway!!
I’ve had a few but the big ones are “The Anderson Brothers” & “Diary of the Teen Mom 1-11”.
I find the one that really did it was “Finding Ford”.
Ooh! I didn’t know they were making it into a movie. How exciting!
Redeeming Love was the first CR I ever read, but it hooked to me!! I have read it a few times since, but I haven’t read any of the others on this list. I’ve also read a couple books each by Becky Wade and Denise Hunter and I really enjoyed them.
Pretty much anytime I gush about a book and it’s seen by the author, I get embarrassed for fangirling haha I was super embarrassed after finishing your first series in like a month and impulsively sending you a message.
Likely my most embarrassing book moment though was bringing a well-loved book to a signing, completely forgetting that my toddler had gotten a hold of it at one point and torn a page out. Luckily, the author thought it was hilarious and even signed the torn page, but I was mortified at the evidence that I had let my child vandalize her life’s work.
I’ve only read “Meant to be Mine” and Denise Hunter’s series from this list, but the others sound great, too!
Love Denise Hunter and Joanna Davidson Politano. A few other favorites are Jaime Jo Wright and Susan May Warren.
I’ve read Redeeming Love and the Porter family series and loved them all! Redeeming Love is amazing! I just borrowed the Tinsel book on KU and am excited to read it!
Well, let’s see… You forced me to read Redeeming Love and Under the Magnolias, and I lucked out and got to be on the launch team for Things Left Unsaid, but the others have been elusive. I like it when you force me to read books…you’re always right, and they’re always amazing!
Considering we are both Buckeyes it shouldn’t be hard! :) I seriously wish I was an author just so I could go hang out with author friends at writing retreats. The closest I get is good storylines, but I would be absolutely terrible at writing the story. ;) I am so grateful for A Most Storied Romance. It’s seriously the nicest place to be in all of Facebook world! I genuinely feel uplifted on a regular basis just by how sweet and respectful everyone is to one another.
I’ve read Meant to Be Mine and the Summer Harbor series. Actually, I’ve read or have all of both authors books. Along with Melissa Tagg. They definitely make me gush. I really have a hard time not making an idiot out of myself when I see Denise Hunter and writing conferences.
I absolutely love it!
You MUST! Then tell me what you think!
I know that Narnia book will be excellent!
My favorite bit about Ty is during Dru’s story when he and Celia have like 8 kids. Ty is very fertile lol
I don’t know these. I’ll look them up. Thanks!
I don’t know that one. I’ll look it up!
hahahaha. Toddlers….they make life more interesting!
They are!Check them out if you can!
They’re great, too!
Squeal!! I hope you love it!!
I’m very demanding!
you and me both!