5 TBR Books That I Need To Buy (TBR Love Event)

Hello, everyone! Welcome back for day two of the TBR Love event hosted by Kate @ Once Upon an Ordinary! Today I’m sharing a list of some of my Wishlist books, with a bit of a confession while I’m at it…

Apparently, this is confession week? Lol, okay so confession #1 is that I rarely buy books that I haven’t read yet. I do enjoy buying my favorites in print, and sometimes buy ebooks on sale, but it’s not often that I buy books that I haven’t read, or that I’ve at least read the previous books in the series already. Still, this is supposed to be a fun TBR post, so I’ll try to pick a few that I *think* I’d like to own, but haven’t read yet.

Bronze and Brokenness by Christine Dillon –

Master at mending copper. Failure at mending family.
Reuel’s family have been traveling coppersmiths for generations, but it’s not enough. His Israelite customers don’t respect any Midianite, and his father only takes pride in what his older brother does. When Israel’s power wanes and Midianite raids shift who’s on top, all that could change. Has the time come when a second son can outshine the eldest?
Jael married Reuel with dreams of a home filled with love and respect, but her marriage has become as dry as the drought-plagued land they live in.
Reuel rejected all the gods, and Jael followed his lead. But is what she has all she’ll ever have? Why does her sister, Zura, find such hope in the God of Israel, even though she remains blind?
All are broken, but can they, like bronze, be recast?

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This is a later book in this Biblical Fiction series, but it was the first one I’ve found, and is perhaps the one I’m more excited for right now. I missed catching it on KU by…literally days last year, and that has only made my desire to read this one grow. I did catch the first book on sale, so I have that on in my Kindle library, and will probably start there. That said, this series isn’t so much a ‘series’ as a grouping of similar stand alones, so that can probably be read and enjoyed in any order. The author has been needing some more readers to notice this series, so if you want to support an Australian Christian fiction author and can help get the word out about her books, it would be much appreciated!

A Light Undimmed by April W Gardner –

Pawned to the besieging Butcher of Babylon, one Hebrew noblewoman determines to shine with Yahweh’s light while seeking to be of use to the innocents of doomed Jerusalem.

In besieged Jerusalem, a Judean noblewoman is thrust into the perilous role of courier. Sent to Babylon’s commanding general, she soon discovers she is more than a messenger—she’s a pawn to a wicked king and a servant to a mighty God. Most surprising yet is the curious mind of Babylon’s bloodiest general—could Judah’s Yahweh truly be the God Most High?

Faced with the impossible, Liora must be bold, speak Truth, and do so without knowing whether the Butcher of Babylon will release her in the end…or keep her as his own.

In this tale of war, deception, and betrayal, one woman emerges as a beacon, a light undimmed in the shadows of Jerusalem’s ruins.

Another Biblical Fiction by another new-to-me author. Apparently, we’re on a roll here, but these happen to be on my ‘to-be-read-but-unowned’ shelf on Goodreads, which is for books that… well, that I want to read but don’t own yet, and that aren’t available on KU (or weren’t when I checked) and aren’t at the library I used.

I found this one sometime last year, there are two in this series with a third in progress, and they all sounded interesting. I’m actually pretty picky about Biblical Fiction, more so than other genres, but I would love to give these a read and see what I think.

Sold into Freedom by Carole Towriss –

Taught to hear messages from the goddess from a young age, Elantia’s life is shattered when she is captured from her home in southwest Britannia and sold as a slave in Macedonia. She wants nothing more than to escape and return home—after she kills the man who took the only good thing left in her life.

Tossed aside by the Empire, wounded tribune Quintus Valerius ends up in sleepy Philippi to retire. Manipulated into becoming the prison keeper, he vows to return to Rome as soon as possible to reclaim his reputation and his life. He is intrigued by the quiet Jewish teacher who speaks of truth and peace, but is convinced he can never have either.

When Elantia’s shocking actions shake up the town and her life is threatened, Quintus risks what little he has left to save her—only to put Paulos and his friends in even greater danger.

You guessed it, another Biblical Fiction, although this one’s set during the New Testament age. It is another that I heard about last year and was intrigued. I actually saw the sequel being mentioned, but when I looked into it, I found this one too.

Of Faith and Dreams by Tonya B. Ashley –

When Van Buren, Arkansas, is inundated with Forty-Niners seeking to outfit themselves with horses before heading west, Justin Hogue sees it as the perfect opportunity to step out of his father’s shadow to establish a horse ranch. The same influx of prospectors ushers in a competitive horse trader who wants him out of the way. Further complicating things, Justin is challenged with a new tenant at the Hogue family boardinghouse.

Eliza Dawn is an independent, headstrong seamstress who claims to follow the prospectors west to sell her garments. Justin believes she’s hiding something. After all, a few dollars for shirts isn’t worth the risk. So, he keeps his distance until a mysterious letter and an intriguing ring unite them in searching for an unknown prospector.

Can they find one man in a thousand before the gold expeditions leave town? What will put Justin’s dreams at greater risk–conflict with the horse trader or Eliza Dawn’s secrets?

Not Biblical Fiction, but still Historical Fiction. This is another… (okay, this whole post is about books I know very little about…). As it turns out, there’s a sequel, Fireflies in Sacred Shadows, that was released last November, which I hadn’t known about until I looked at the book again on Amazon to get the links. Haha, that makes this one extra special!

No Matter What by Jennifer Carr –

Jess Hayley has always had an uncanny ability to read people, to see beyond their words. As a consultant for government agencies, her gift for discerning thoughts and emotions through body language and micro-expressions has made her an invaluable asset. But when she meets Bryan Carsen, a member of the U.S. Army Cyber Force, her life takes an unexpected turn. This encounter begins a series of events that leaves Jess questioning everything she thought she believed.

When an unexpected roadtrip pushes Jess and Bryan together, the two find themselves not only on a rescue mission but on a journey rife with love and loss. Through it all, Jess is forced to find and cling to hope that even the biggest of life’s challenges can bring about a beautiful redemption.

As Bryan and Jess figure out what the future looks like for the two of them, they are each presented with choices concerning their own careers. While working on a classified project at work, Bryan stumbles upon nefarious activity that takes him down the path of covert investigations.

Jess finds herself the recipient of a mysterious box of evidence related to Bryan’s investigation and that is when she knows everything she holds dear is about to be threatened. She turns to the only person she knows she can trust but she wonders if she can trust her heart in the process.

Some of you might know that I had the pleasure of interviewing author Jennifer Carr on my blog last year. At the time, I was also introduced to her books and realized that she had penned a couple of Christian mystery/romantic suspense books. Yep, you guessed it, I was instantly curious to know more, and now I really want to read these two! They are some of her older books; her current series is called Real American Country, and is a Contemporary Romance series about a country music band, which also sounds like a good one, but not quite as in line with my current reading tastes. I recommend checking them both out, and you can view the interview here to learn more.

I had so much fun coming up with this list. I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the books on my TBR/Wishlist with me.

Did any of them catch your eye?
Tell me which one you enjoyed hearing about the most in the comments below!