Mother’s Day is just around the corner. We think moms everywhere deserve a little “me time” – curled up with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and a great book. It’s the perfect afternoon escape. Whether mom likes cooking, inspirational reads, thrillers or romance, the following list of books is sure to provide her with a few hours of relaxation.

Modern Pioneer Cookbook

By Mary Bryant Shrader | Lifestyle, Cookbook (August 2023)

This cookbook, by the founder and host of the popular YouTube channel “Mary’s Nest,” shows readers how to return to simpler times right from their kitchens. Learn how to make your own bone broth, cultured dairy, sourdough and no-knead bread; how to can, pickle, ferment, and dry food, and more! This book features simple ingredients, traditional techniques, detailed instructions and practical tips, and everything you need to perfect your homestead kitchen.

Dear Dana

By Amy Weinland Daughters | Memoir, Inspirational (May 2022)

When Amy Weinland Daughters reconnects with an old friend, Dana, on Facebook and learns of her friend’s son’s terminal illness, she feels called to write letters with Dana as pen pals. The richness of the experience left Amy wondering: If my life could be so changed by someone I considered “just a Facebook friend,” what would happen if I wrote all my Facebook friends a letter? A staggering 580 handwritten letters later, Amy’s life would never be the same.

Claim Your Swagger

By Jennifer Mrozek Sukalo | Self-Help/Motivational (May 2023)

Jennifer Mrozek Sukalo is a transformational expert, performance coach, and the creator of SWAGGER U, a personal development approach to harnessing your untapped potential and becoming who you were born to be. In Claim Your SWAGGER, Sukalo helps readers discard self-limiting beliefs and enables them to move beyond surviving life so they may instead follow their passions and greater purpose.

Of White Ashes

By Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto | Historical Fiction (May 2023) 

Separated by the Pacific Ocean, two Japanese Americans navigate surviving their tumultuous childhoods after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They face displacement, incarceration, and deadly secrets that put themselves and their families in danger. When destiny brings them together in California, their love for each other is heavily matched by their shared trauma. Inspired by the true events of the authors’ family, this story makes readers marvel at the resilience of humanity… and also the risk of history repeating itself.

Texas Rose Happily Ever After

By Katie Graykowski | Romance, Romantic Comedy (April 2023)

To fulfill her grandmother’s dying wish, Princess Alexandra Louis Eleanor Von Claremont, or A-Lee, must travel to Texas to find the man her grandmother once loved, a lieutenant in the Korean War named Llewellyn Bradford. All is going well, until A-Lee’s car breaks down on the side of the highway. T-Bone, the ranch’s new lead farmer, catches sight of A-Lee and offers to help her on her mission. The two work together to search for clues, digging through the ranch looking for any trace of Lt. Bradford. 

Every Missing Girl

By Leanne Kate Sparks | Suspense, Thriller (February 2023)

In the landscape of the Colorado Rockies, FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Homicide Detective Adam Taylor must investigate the kidnappings of local girls when Taylor’s niece is taken. With each clue, a bigger, devastating truth is revealed about the missing girls, begging the question: will they be able to find Taylor’s niece before it’s too late? Perfect for fans of true crime, CSI, and authors like Melinda Leigh and Lisa Gardener, Every Missing Girl is sure to be an edge-of-your seat hit.

Pericles and Aspasia

By Yvonne Korshak | Historical Fiction, Romance (October 2022)

For lovers of Ancient Greece, this novel reimagines the romantic tale of a famous general and a courtesan. Separated by class differences, the general Pericles is fascinated by Aspasia’s philosophical and educated mind. Together they endure the social danger their relationship presents to Pericles’s reputation and try to create a better society. Pericles and Aspasia is the first novel in Korshak’s upcoming trilogy.

Return to the River

By Dave Pelzer | Inspirational, Mental Health, Self-Help, Spiritual (March 2023)

Dave Pelzer, #1 international best selling author of A CHILD CALLED “IT,” reflects on battles he’s fighting within his heart, a horrific childhood of abuse, which he was rescued from 50 years ago. By returning to his childhood utopia of the Russian River, Pelzer examines what’s needed to move forward and find peace and tenacity to carry on. This book is for anyone who needs a reminder to live with faith and  gratitude and to find resilience within you.

Sunrise: Life After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Healing Journey in Surviving TBI

By Kristin Abello | Memoir, Inspirational (November 2021)

In 2002, while on a training run in Houston, Texas, Kristin Abello was struck by a car, resulting in a traumatic brain injury that changed her life. The initial consensus was that she wasn’t going to survive, but a wave of support and prayers from her loved ones established the basis of her miraculous recovery. In Sunrise, she tells her story of faith, love, hope and healing from her TBI while navigating motherhood, and offers empathetic and sound advice for those going through a similar journey.

Falling Stars

By Julie Rogers | Fiction, Urban Fantasy (May 2023)

For lovers of urban fantasy, this novel depicts nine-year-old Tommy Lucas, who needs a bone marrow transplant to survive. But Tommy believes his disease is a curse on his bloodline; that he’s a vampire. Despite having an oncologist for a mother, Tommy’s convinced only magic can cure him—or the same synthetic blood substitute developed for urban legend Viscount Claudius Fallon, who was supposedly cured in 1939. Tommy’s quest leads him to Fallon, who is under the guise of artist and gallery owner Callan Masters. Dedicated to living off-grid and as a human, Callan must decide whether he will take the risk involved in helping Tommy.

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Cover Photo Alexandra Fuller on Unsplash