Results by "Melody Carlson" in All categories

Kendall's managed to wrangle her grandmother's house free and clear except for the rules. No male roommates. But that's ok; with the right ad she'll pull in some girls, their rent and, if she's lucky, she won't have to go to work any time soon. For their part, Anna, Lelani, and Megan all have...

Once you visit the charming village of Acorn Hill, tucked away in rural Pennsylvania, you’ll never want to leave. Townsfolk relax on their porch swings or gather to discuss the day’s events at the Coffee Shop over homemade pie. It’s the kind of town where friendship and faith flow together...

After losing her husband, Honey McKerry isn't sure where she fits anymore. With her daughter, Jewel, running the Honey B&B, she needs a renewed sense of purpose. Driving away from everything in her old pickup, the last thing she expects is car problems--or to be rescued by a soft-spoken wanderer...

When Madison McDowell returns from several years teaching overseas, she has high hopes of picking up where she left off at her family's Christmas tree farm in Oregon. But between damage from a recent wildfire and the neglect due to her sister Addie's unwillingness to invest, the farm is in sad shape. In fact, Addie is intent on selling the property. And to top it off, her former high school flame, the now-widowed Gavin Thompson, has plans to break Madison's heart again by turning his neighboring property into a dusty, noisy dirt bike track for his daughter.

If you lived in a different place and had a different job, couldn't you have a different life? Ginny Masters manages a popular boutique hotel in Seattle and manages it with aplomb. But the daily challenges and irritations of a fast-paced job and a demanding boss are starting to get to her. Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather’s fishing lodge in Idaho because it was the only job she could find after graduating with her hospitality degree. She’s grateful for the work but longs for a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan life she’s just not going to find in this backwoods town.

Adelaide Smith is too busy for fairy tales. She’s been working hard to put herself through law school, and she’s determined to stay focused on her goals. Then she receives a letter notifying her that she is a direct descendant of King Maximillian Konig V, the ruler of a small European principality called Montovia. What? No. That’s the stuff of cheesy made-for-TV movies, not real life. Still, curiosity gets the best of her, leading to a Christmas break trip chock-full of surprises.

When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless, cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself. With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home décor shop called Romancing the Home.

Christmas should be celebrated with family. But for Vera Swanson, that's not an option this year. Widowed and recently relocated, she is lonely in her condo-for-one—until little Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help. With her mother seriously ill and her father out of town, Fiona enlists Vera's help, and when she finds out her new neighbor is a quilter, she has a special request—a Christmas quilt for Mama. Vera will have to get a ragtag group of women together in order to fulfill the request. 

When she receives the news in late 1944 that her baby's father was shot down in the South Pacific, Amelia Richards loses hope. Jobless and broke, she has nowhere to turn for help but her infant's paternal grandparents. The only problem is, they don't know that she—or their grandson—exists. When Amelia discovers that the family is wealthy and influential, dare she disclose the truth of her relationship with their son? Or could the celebration of the arrival of another unexpected baby nearly two thousand years ago be the answer to her dilemma?

Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. There's church, of course. But who can she bake for these days? And who would care if she pulled out the decorations? Her new neighbor just adds to the problem. He's doing home improvements that don't appear to be improving much of anything. When Betty looks out the window, she sees a beat-up truck, a pile of junk, and lots of blue tarps. But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn a very important lesson about what Christmas is all about.

After years abroad, Garrison Brown returns home to Vancouver to build a new life. When his beloved grandmother passes away a few weeks before Christmas, he goes to her house to sort out her belongings—including six cats who need new homes. While Garrison hopes to dispense with the task quickly, his grandmother's instructions don't allow for speed. She has left Garrison with some challenging requirements. Garrison's job is to match the cats with the right owners without disclosing the surprise monetary gift. Along the way, he may just meet someone who can make him stay.

Personalities clash and friendships shift between six very different girls in this audio collection of the first five books in Melody Carlson’s Carter House Girls series. YA readers will enjoy the juicy storylines, new romances, and hidden secrets of each girl, as well as the changes each...

Kate Burrows has a life many would envy—a good job at a design firm, a huge house, beautiful memories of the late husband who gave her everything, and two grown kids doing well for themselves. But it's all begun to ring hollow as she wanders around a house that's too big for her. So when she gets caught up in binge watching a show all about tiny homes, something clicks—something that soon has Kate embarking on a whole new life.

It’s official: Brynna Phillips is done with men. They only break your heart. But just when she makes this declaration, her friend Jan convinces Brynna to join her on a camping vacation in Sonoma Wine Country. As they wind their way toward their destination, spanking-new mini camper in tow, Brynna recalls her teenage camp romance with a boy named Leroy. How can it have been nearly thirty years ago?

Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her 85-year-old neighbor Joy, that's exactly what she's getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix - in the dead of winter, no less - the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Besides, a crazy trip with Joy would be more interesting than another Christmas home alone.

Hannah Josephson had always been the “perfect” daughter. Kiera couldn’t live up to her before, and she certainly can’t now that her older sister has died in a car accident. But the image she carried resentfully of Hannah is challenged when she finds her dead sister’s diary and begins to read.

Following her mother's funeral, and on the verge of her own midlife crisis, widow Anna Larson returns to the home of her youth to sort out her parents' belongings, as well as her own turbulent life. For the first time since childhood, Anna embraces her native heritage, despite the disdain of her vicious mother-in-law. By transforming her old family home on the banks of the Siuslaw River into The Inn at Shining Waters, Anna hopes to create a place of healing - a place where guests experience peace, grace, and new beginnings.

In the final story of The Inn at Shining Waters, Anna Larson's granddaughter Sarah is beginning to find her independence. But her relationship with her parents suffers as a result and she travels away from all that is familiar. While the solace of the river calls Sarah back, surprises await upon her return. Three generations of family heartbreak and disappointments converge at Shining Waters, as Sarah finds God right in the center of it all.

Anna Larson's daughter, Lauren, is confused, brokenhearted, and misguided. It's the turbulent 1960s, and feeling alienated from her mother, Lauren chooses to stay with her paternal grandmother. However, repelled by the woman's manipulative and spiteful ways, Lauren returns to her mother, the river, and the Inn at Shining Waters. There, Lauren begins to appreciate the person her mother is becoming - and she loves the river. However, romantic interests throw a wrench into the works.

Five women from different walks of life have become close friends through their book club - enjoying one another's company even more than they enjoy the books. So when the leader of the book club unexpectedly passes away on the cusp of the Christmas season, the four remaining friends are stunned. They relied on Abby for inspiration and motivation. She was the glue that held them together, and they're sure that without her the group can't continue.