Happy Monday, Reader Friends!
I wanted to share some awesome International Reads Contemporary style. Some I’ve read and others I’m hoping to.
Happy adding to the TBR pile!
Jennifer Slattery’s Healing Love
Setting: El Salvador
Snippet of the Blurb: “A news anchor intern has it all planned out, and love isn’t on the agenda.
Brooke Endress is on the cusp of her lifelong dream when her younger sister persuades her to chaperone a mission trip to El Salvador. Packing enough hand sanitizer and bug spray to single-handedly wipe out malaria, she embarks on what she hopes will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Kara Isaac’s Can’t Help Falling
Setting: Oxford, England
Snippet of the Blurb: “Emelia Mason has spent her career finding the dirt on the rich and famous. But deep down past this fearless tabloid-reporter façade, there’s a nerdy Narnia-obsessed girl who still can’t resist climbing into wardrobes to check for the magical land on the other side. When a story she writes produces tragic results, she flees to Oxford, England—home to C.S. Lewis—to try and make amends for the damage she has caused.”
Pepper Basham’s Second Impressions
Setting: Bath, England
The Blurb: “He likes streamline. She prefers embellishments. His forte is business. Hers is atmosphere. Will they realize each has what the other needs most to create the perfect romance with a touch of Jane Austen flair?
When a country girl travels to Bath, England to visit Jane Austen country, will a serious businessman ruin her regency-dream?”
Toni Shiloh’s A Life to Live
Setting: Nottingham, England
The Blurb: “Mia is headed to the famed Nottingham for a month long vacation. She never imagined she’d run into her high-school sweetheart thousands of miles away from her home town. Why would God throw them back together?
As Mia and Caleb work through old hurts and broken hearts will they let the blessing of forgiveness redeem their relationship?”
Marion Uckermann’s Helsinki Sunrise
Setting: Helsinki, Finland
The Blurb: “HE NEEDED THE ISLAND TO HIMSELF. SO DID SHE.
Three weeks alone at a friend’s summer cottage on a Finnish lake to fast and pray. That was Adam Carter’s plan. But sometimes plans go awry.
On an impromptu trip to her family’s secluded summer cottage, the last thing Eveliina Mikkola expected to find was a missionary from the other side of the world—in her sauna.”
Meg D. Gonzalez’s Sketchy Tacos
Setting: Mexico
The Blurb: “Mila’s summer in Mexico is going to be perfect. She has a plan. If only life would stick to it.
After facing everything from a flash flood to Moctezuma’s revenge, from a romantic date for two to a gaggle of snide girls, teenage artist Mila Gulick finds the biggest challenge comes from the war within herself. Her heart, her art, and even her safety are at risk as she struggles to find a balance between cultural differences, old assumptions, and strange romance. Will her trip end in disaster or will she find the strength for which she’s been searching?”
Sarah Monzon’s The Esther Paradigm
Setting: Somewhere in the Middle East
Snippet of the Blurb: “Hannah Pratt dreams of starting a school for the Bedouin clan she grew up with as a missionary kid, and finally her hopes are coming true. But shortly after she returns to the desert from her college years in the U.S., she discovers her parents have received threats from their Muslim neighbors. As the danger escalates, Hannah finds she’s in the middle of a battle no one seems to understand. She must decide to what lengths she’ll go to stay faithful to the mission to which God has called her. Even if it costs her everything.”
Kara Isaac’s Close to You
Setting: New Zealand
Snippet of the Blurb: “Allison Shire (yes, like where the Hobbits live) is a disgraced academic who is done with love. Her belief in “happily ever after” ended the day she discovered her husband was still married to a wife she knew nothing about. She finally finds a use for her English degree by guiding tours through the famous sites featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. By living life on the road and traveling New Zealand as a luxury tour guide, Allison manages to outrun the pain of her past she can’t face.”
Jan Elder’s Manila Marriage App
Setting: Manila, Philippines
Snippet of the Blurb: “It all began as a lark. Shay Callahan’s life was just fine, thank you, but when the seemingly misogynistic missionary, Timothy Flynn, places an advertisement in a Christian magazine for a wife, Shay decides to give it a whirl. Why not? After all, she’s not currently seeing anyone, and this man truly needs to be taught a lesson.”
Marion Uckermann’s A Time to Laugh
Setting: South Africa
Snippet of the Blurb: “At sixty, Elizabeth is past child-bearing age. She’d long ago given up wondering whether this would be the month she would conceive. But when her best friend and neighbor jokes that Elizabeth’s sudden fatigue and nausea are symptoms of pregnancy, Elizabeth finds herself walking that familiar and unwanted road again, wondering if God is pulling an Abraham and Sarah on her and Brian. ”
What about you? What contemporary reads have you read in international settings?
Toni Shiloh 
Oh, there are some really great stories on this list! 😀
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I’ve read all but 2.
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Have you read Sarah’s? I’m looking forward to getting my hands on that book!
I’ve read two on this list. But at least two others have been on my #TBR. Now I’m adding more!
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Yes, I read Sarah’s. It’s fantastic!! Order it now. 🙂
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