Summer Inspiration for Spiritual Seeker Reader Types
Faith-Filled Books to Uplift Your Spirit All Season Long
Summer offers a chance to slow down, reflect, and reconnect—and for Spiritual Seekers, it’s the perfect time to dive into meaningful reads that nurture faith and hope. At Bookfinity, we help match you with books that speak to your soul, whether you're reading in quiet mornings or peaceful evenings.
This season’s Christian fiction and nonfiction picks are filled with encouragement, grace, and heart. From soul-stirring stories to powerful devotionals and reflective reads, these books will accompany you through a summer of spiritual renewal and growth.
August New Releases
Last Light Over Galveston
by Jennifer L Wright
Amid the 1900 Galveston hurricane, one woman's perseverance is tested in this captivating story from the author whose work has been called "intelligent and arresting" (Foreword Reviews) and "historical fiction as it is meant to be told" (Library Journal).
"Old Galveston shines in this beautifully written tale of a woman's quest to both lose herself and find herself."
Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shelterwood
Galveston, Texas. September 1900. Only months ago, Kathleen McDaniel returned from finishing school in Switzerland to her family home in New York's Hudson Valley with a future of promise and privilege set before her. But one horrific event shattered her picturesque life. Now she has fled as far as the train line and a pocketful of money would take her, finding refuge at the St. Mary's Orphan Asylum on Galveston Island, where she helps the nuns care for their young charges and prays her past will not find her. Despite her tenuous standing at the orphanage--and the grief and betrayal that drove her from home--Kathleen slowly begins to make friends. There is Emily, the novice nun she rooms with; Maggie, the tempestuous young girl who only bonds with Kathleen; and Matthew, a kind, handsome man recently employed by Isaac Cline at Galveston's office of the US Weather Bureau.
Then in one fateful day, Kathleen's fragile new life begins to crack as it becomes clear that she can't run far enough to escape the reach of her former life. Meanwhile, as troubling news about a storm crossing the Gulf from Cuba swirls in the Weather Bureau offices, Matthew holds fast to Cline's belief that no hurricane can touch Galveston. But as darkness falls on the island, Kathleen must gather her courage and reach for a strength beyond her own if she--and those she loves--are to survive.
- A stand-alone historical novel about the 1900 Galveston hurricane
- A gripping read inspired by true events
- Features themes of resilience, found family, and redemption
- Includes discussion questions perfect for book clubs
When the Road Comes Around
by Katie Powner
Only trouble can bring about the beauty of redemption and grace.
In the small town of Grady, Montana, twenty-four-year-old Tad Bungley has a reputation for trouble. When he lands a job at Come Around Ranch, however, his life seems to take a positive turn. As he develops a soft spot for Sam, the ranch owner's disabled son, and a special bond with TJ, a rescue horse with a poor reputation of his own, Tad becomes determined not to bungle it up this time.
Forty-eight-year-old Anita Wilson is too young to feel so old, but rheumatoid arthritis limits her ability to work on the guest ranch she owns with her husband. It was a risk to hire Tad for the summer, but Anita is convinced he just needs a bit of encouragement to find his footing. What she doesn't anticipate is that Tad's presence at the ranch will change everything, including her relationship with her son. And when Tad finds himself in more of a mess than ever, he and Anita must learn when to hold on, when to let go, and what grace really means.
"Katie Powner is my go-to author for multigenerational tales that take a tender and honest look at the human condition. . . . This is my favorite Powner book yet!"--AMANDA COX, Christy Award-winning author
"When the Road Comes Around is a stick-with-you testament to why nurturing hopeful perseverance in ourselves and others is always the best route to take."--SARA BRUNSVOLD, Christy Award-winning author
For fans of Fredrik Backman, small-town stories, middle-age characters, redemption arcs, and second chances, a clean, gently humorous contemporary novel by Katie Powner set near the mountains of rural Montana.
The Bitter End Birding Society
by Amanda Cox
A forbidden romance, a fractured family, and one woman's journey to piece it all together
Hometown hero Ana Leigh Watkins ventures to Bitter End, Tennessee, to help her great-aunt prepare for retirement. A town called Bitter End seems an ironic place for Ana to refresh her weary spirit, but she's desperate for respite from the attention and unwarranted admiration of her community. While on a hike in Roan Mountain, a ragtag group of amateur bird-watchers takes her under their wing--a little against her will. However, she quickly warms to these genuine souls seeking solace in the great outdoors.
But when Ana's adventures in Bitter End lead her to a severed branch of her family tree--one that involves the forbidden love between a moonshiner's daughter and a preacher's son--what began as a getaway to help her great-aunt becomes a transformative journey that binds together two women who, though they live on the same street, have been estranged for sixty years.
An immersive faith-based novel of finding belonging, reconciliation, and new beginnings for fans of southern fiction. This narrative of friendship and community makes for a perfect book club selection.
Overbooked and Overwhelmed: How to Keep Up with God When You're Just Trying to Keep Up with Life
by Tara Sun
Popular podcaster Tara Sun shows readers how to intentionally keep Jesus first in the middle of all that is vying for their attention when life does not slow down.
In a world of packed calendars, constant pings, and every battery running low, many Christians feel they are squeezing God into their lives rather than focusing on the best thing of all. How can we stop the busyness long enough to pursue what we know we need the most?
Overbooked and Overwhelmed is a hopeful and practical guide for readers who want to be fully present with God but are overbusy, overnotified, and overwhelmed. Popular blogger and podcaster Tara Sun comes alongside readers to explore how to
- adjust their speed to walk at Jesus' pace instead of trying to keep up with the world's hustle,
- understand why distraction is not rooted in a disordered schedule but a disordered heart,
- develop spiritual resilience for the times they feel stuck in their faith, and
- trade habitual busyness for intentional rhythms of rest, even in seasons when life does not slow down.
For everyone who feels behind before the day even starts, Overbooked and Overwhelmed gives ideas and inspiration for putting distractions in their place and embracing the true rest your soul longs for--crazy-busy life and all.
The French Kitchen
by Kristy Cambron
"In The French Kitchen, award-winning author Kristy Cambron weaves multiple characters and storylines into a tapestry of secrets, betrayals, and redemption. Full of mouthwatering culinary scenes and peppered with several appearances from famed chef Julia Child, who worked in intelligence during World War II, this story of spies and lovers zips between the coast of northern France during the war and Paris in the early 1950s . . . Delicious!" --Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
As Paris rebuilds in the aftermath of World War II, Kat Fontaine never expected the skills she learned in a French chateau kitchen to be the key that unlocks the secrets swirling in her new post-war life.
Paris, 1952--Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, ex-pat Kat Fontaine, now living in Paris, finds a simple cookery class led by indomitable chef Julia Child unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war. Determined to find her brother who went missing during the war and is presumed dead, Kat questions everything, especially her high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own. But when the puzzle pieces start to come together--and her carefully crafted Paris world begins to fall apart--Kat must confront her own secrets against the mounting suspicions of the husband she thought she knew . . .
Rue, 1943--Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier shifts between working for the enemy by day--as a French chef at the famous Chateau du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list--and running with underground networks against the Vichy regime at night. Working undercover to filter critical information to agents within the burgeoning OSS presence in France, Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. But when an intriguing stranger appears at the chateau claiming to work with the French Resistance, Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm--even as a terrifying discovery tests her resolve to continue the fight.
From the heights of culinary cuisine in 1950s Paris society to the underbelly of a WWII spy network embedded deep within Nazi-controlled Vichy France--and the spy backstory of the world's most famous would-be French chef, Julia Child--The French Kitchen turns up the heat on the pasts of women whose worlds collide, and forces each to question what she thought she'd planned for a perfect future.
The Anxious Generation Goes to Church: What the Research Says about What Younger Generations Need (and Want) from Your Church
by Thom S Rainer - Ryan P Burge
A new generation is going to church. But is the church ready?
Church consultant and researcher, Thom Rainer, believes God is at work in this generation, and he believes that this moment in time has created unique opportunities for churches to grow, thrive, and revive.
The culture is at inflection point. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers reported experiencing at least one mental health problem in the past two years. This statistic was lower for all older generations, including Millennials (51%), Gen Xers (29%) and Boomers (14%). Gen Z is the loneliest generation of Americans, lacking deep relationships and offline connection. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z feel like nobody knows them well. That is one reason why this generation is called the anxious generation. Researchers have identified everything from social media to pandemic lockdowns as the prime culprit of why Gen Z is struggling with issues like mental illness more than other generations.
Thom Rainer views the church as God's Plan A for helping this generation discover their true calling and thrive in a purposeful and genuine faith community. In this book, Thom explores research that reveals that the anxious generation is yearning for meaningful community and is waiting to be invited in.
The Anxious Generation Goes to Church
- presents research on the anxious generation that engenders hope for the future of the church
- describes the unique challenges for the anxious generation as well as their dreams and goals
- provides strategy and inspiration for church leaders who want to prepare believers to provide help and hope
With the unique challenges of our times, the anxious generation needs the church more than ever. Is your church ready?
Better Ways to Read the Bible: Transforming a Weapon of Harm Into a Tool of Healing
by Zach W Lambert - Sarah Bessey
How can we read the Bible in ways the lead to healing and wholeness?
"A wide-ranging and cogent guide to seeing scripture in a new light. Disenchanted Christians will be energized."--Publishers Weekly
As a pastor for more than ten years, Zach Lambert has seen the Bible used countless times as something far from the "Good Book"--both in his own life and in the experiences of others. He has seen the Bible weaponized to subjugate women, justify racism, bash LGBTQ+ people, cover up abuse, and exclude people who speak out against these injustices.
If you've been hurt by harmful interpretations or feel disconnected from Scripture, this book offers a path forward to reclaim the Bible's life-giving message. This accessible resource will help you
- break free from harmful interpretations that distort Scripture's true message,
- develop Christ-centered reading practices,
- renew your relationship with Scripture,
- apply new frameworks to challenging Bible passages that have historically been misused to cause harm, and
- connect with Christians who embrace Scripture's call to abundant life for everyone
In this compassionate guide, Lambert dismantles four common lenses for reading the Bible that lead to harm, then offers four new lenses that promote healing and wholeness. This book welcomes all Christians--regardless of background, doubts, or wounds--to reengage Scripture in life-giving ways.
Augustine the African
by Catherine Conybeare
Augustine of Hippo (354-430), also known as Saint Augustine, was one of the most influential theologians in history. His writings, including the autobiographical Confessions and The City of God, helped shape the foundations of Christianity and Western philosophy. But for many centuries, Augustine's North African birth and Berber heritage have been simply dismissed. Catherine Conybeare, a world-renowned Augustine scholar, here puts the "African" back in Augustine's story. As she relates, his seminal books were written neither in Rome nor in Milan, but in Africa, where he had returned as a wanderer during a perilous time when the Western Roman Empire was crumbling. Using extant letters and other shards of evidence, Conybeare retraces Augustine's travels, revealing how his groundbreaking works emerge from an exile's perspective within an African context. In its depiction of this Christian saint, Augustine the African upends conventional wisdom and traces core ideas of Christian thought to their origins on the African continent.
july new releases
Sands of Sea Blue Beach
by Rachel Hauck
Can anything rekindle the summer love between former sweethearts facing old wounds and a divided town?
Emery Quinn finds herself at a crossroads between her career and complex family dynamics. Struggling to connect with her blended family and ready for a fresh start, Emery accepts the position of editor-in-chief at the Sea Blue Beach Gazette. Upon her return to the Sands Motor Motel, she is flooded with bittersweet memories of her late mother and past regrets from a long-ago summer.
Architect Caleb Ransom has returned home to Sea Blue Beach, a place filled with cherished memories and potential opportunities. He means to make a difference for his family and his hometown by caring for his troubled sister's son and preserving the history of the town as the leader of the new Main Street initiative. He certainly never expected to run into Emery Quinn, the girl who captured his heart sixteen summers ago.
Designed with Love
by Tracie Peterson
Love weaves together two determined hearts through even the most unexpected paths.
After being widowed on her wedding day, Emma Johnson moves to Cheyenne with her sister-in-law to start over. Emma's life has been marked by wild living and a desire for fun, but the death of her husband forces her to reconsider her priorities. Her brother-in-law Colton Benton travels with them, intending to help Emma get established, but she becomes wary of Colton's intentions, wondering if he is genuinely interested in her or merely after his brother's inheritance--which is now hers.
Vanished
by David Jeremiah - Sam O'Neal
The end of the world . . .
As leader of a special military unit charged with stopping potential pandemics before they spread, John "Haggs" Haggerty has a front-row seat to the sharp increase in natural disasters that precede the Rapture--including plagues, earthquakes, famines, wars, and rumors of war. And each crisis is becoming more intense.
Chosen: Your Life Is Marked for Distinction
by Joel Osteen
From a New York Times bestselling author, this powerful guide will help you discover the life you were designed to live.
Before you were born, the Most High God not only knew you but He chose you. He handpicked you and put a calling on your life. He's already equipped you and empowered you to accomplish your purpose. He stamped His approval on you and destined you to leave your mark. He says you are His most prized possession.
June New Releases
The Codebreaker's Daughter
by Amy Lynn Green
"Readers will thrill in peering behind the curtain of US-based intelligence during the world wars."--ERIKA ROBUCK, bestselling author
In the heart of the US capital, Dinah Kendall's role for the Office of Strategic Services isn't the thrilling espionage career she dreamed of. Instead, she spends her days crafting rumors aimed at undermining Axis morale. As Dinah navigates her duties, she uncovers a startling revelation: Her mother, Lillian, was once a codebreaker, cracking military ciphers during the Great War alongside some of the nation's most brilliant minds. The deeper Dinah dives into her mother's past, the more secrets come to light--including the heavy cost of high-stakes codebreaking.
The Atlas of Untold Stories
by Sara Brunsvold
A literary journey beckons them . . . and may profoundly rewrite their stories.
Chloe Vance, dreamer of the family, needs to tell her pragmatic mom, Edie, that she has accepted a low-paying art instructor role at a Christian school in Prague. Her older sister, Lauren--the "responsible one"--is doing all she can to hide the fact she's been fired for a foolish mistake and is desperately seeking her next career move. Meanwhile, Edie, estranged from her own sister following their mother's recent death, is frankly in no mood for anything else to change.
Mid-Faith Crisis: Finding a Path Through Doubt, Disillusionment, and Dead Ends
by Catherine McNiel - Jason Hague
Navigating the Storm: Understanding the Crisis of Faith
Many of us embarked on our spiritual journeys filled with hope and certainty, only to find ourselves questioning the very foundation of our beliefs as life unfolded. The faith that once seemed unshakeable may falter in the face of broken trust, unanswered prayers, and the harsh realities of worldly suffering. But you're not alone-mid-faith crises are a shared human experience that can feel isolating yet are a crucial part of our spiritual journey.
In Mid-Faith Crisis, authors Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague provide a compassionate exploration of this challenging phase. With backgrounds in theology and personal narratives of their own spiritual upheavals, they guide readers through the complex landscape of doubt and disillusionment. Mid-Faith Crisis candidly addresses the often-unspoken realities of faith's evolution, offering solace and practical insights for navigating through turbulent waters.