January often seems to be one of the longest and coldest months. The festive mood of the holidays has waned and spring is still months away. What to do on those cold and wintery evenings is a question many find themselves asking. Pick up a book and read! The short days and long evenings are perfect for grabbing a new book, a warm drink and spending an hour or two getting lost in the events of a make-believe world.
Pick up one of these Christian fiction titles that are being released in January and travel to the past when knights and princes still acted honorably. Or you may want to read about an amateur sleuth who just happens to be an Amish school teacher who isn't quite ready to take on all the responsibilities of being an adult yet. There are also stories about cowboys and ranches for those that prefer the Old West as a book setting. Whichever you choose, make sure to purchase your books at an independent and locally-owned bookstore.
"The Fairest Beauty" by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan) In this third title based on fairy tale characters, the author takes on the story of Snow White. Telling the story from a spiritual viewpoint, Dickerson has told the tale of Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast in a similar in two previous books. This time the princesses name is Sophie and she must decide if she should marry the man she is betrothed to or the one she loves; at the same time she deals with a stepmother's jealousy.
"The Lesson" by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell) This is the third title in the Stoney Ridge Seasons set that tells the story of Mary Kate Lapp. She is nineteen and teaching school in her small Amish community. Of course, M.K. gets involved in the mystery surrounding the death of a sheep farmer and the arrival of a stranger no one knows.
"Safe in His Arms" by Colleen Coble (Thomas Nelson) This book about Margaret O'Brien and her life on a Texas Ranch is the second book in the Under Texas Stars series. Margaret and her father seem to be quite capable of running the ranch themselves, so she grows suspicious when her father hires a ranch hand. Is this just another one of his schemes to find her a good husband so she won't have to work so hard or is something else going on that she doesn't know about?
"Secretly Smitten" by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter and Diann Hunt (Thomas Nelson) This is the second title in this series about the town of Smitten, Vermont. In this book, three siblings discover a set of dog tags in their grandmother's attic and want to know more about the man they belonged to.
"Waiting for Morning" by Margaret Brownley (Thomas Nelson) This is the second book in the Brides of Last Chance Ranch series. Molly Hatfield and her teenaged brother Danny have come to Arizona to make a new life for themselves. Molly is dedicated to caring for her wheelchair-bound brother and decides to seize the opportunity of running the ranch in Cactus Patch, Arizona if it will allow her to do that. She has no idea what's in store, however.
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