Inspirational Fiction Reading List

Inspirational Fiction Novels

These novels contain stories that are inspirational, enlightening, uplifting, or didactic. The authors create colorful, three-dimensional, unique characters who are ordinary people trying to live right.

If you’ve already read these authors, leave a reply for me, and I’ll post more. Leave me comments letting me know what you think of the books. Enjoy!

 

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To purchase paperback or hardcover editions: Click the titles of the books to purchase the books from amazon.com.

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Stacy Hawkins Adams

Stacy Hawkins Adams is an Essence bestselling author whose books illuminate the themes of faith, forgiveness, and women’s friendships. She is the author of Speak to My Heart, Nothing but the Right Thing, and Watercolored Pearls. Adams is also a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker, and devotes considerable time to child advocacy issues. She and her family live in Virginia. Stacy welcomes readers to visit her at http://www.stacyhawkinsadams.com.

I just began reading Stacy Hawkins Adams this year, and I could not put her down. I devoured every book that she published within a week. She has a refreshing voice and perspective. Her characters are unique and colorful. I suggest you read her books in the series order indicated here.

Speak to My Heart (1st in the series)

In Speak to My Heart: A Novel, Serena Jasper is successful, sassy, and saved. Her life is going great. Her professional advertising career has hit the fast track, her future looks promising, and her mother couldn’t be more proud. But then Mama shares a devastating secret that changes Serena’s life. Feeling like her whole identity is in question, Serena decides she needs a break from everything and everyone. From Mama. And from God. Throwing herself into her budding career and her new friendship with a handsome seminary student named Micah, Serena discovers she can no longer avoid God’s voice or Mama’s secret. Can she come to terms with her mother’s past, her relationships, and the One who was always speaking to her heart, even when she wasn’t listening? Or is it too late to make amends? “Speak to My Heart is an engrossing book with a well-developed plot and believable characters that engages you from the first page to the last.”-Jacquelin Thomas, author of Soul Journey “Love triumphs in Speak To My Heart, a delightful debut novel which is sure to tug at your heart as the story weaves an emotionally charged tale seasoned with romance, despair, and forgiveness.”-Patricia Haley, best-selling author of No Regrets and Blind Faith.

Nothing But the Right Thing (2nd in a series)

In Nothing but the Right Thing: A Novel, Life seems sweet for Serena McDaniels. She has a handsome husband, a beautiful home, and a job she loves. But there are two things she can’t get out of her mind–the children she craves and a best friend trapped in an abusive marriage. With two miscarriages already, Serena’s not sure her dream of motherhood will ever come true. She can’t help her friend, Erika, leave Elliot behind without jeopardizing her own safety. And she watches helplessly as her husband, Micah, struggles for answers to a personal dilemma. Can Serena trust God to lead her life and the lives of her loved ones–no matter what? “This stirring tale of grace and adversity will keep readers turning pages long into the night. Don’t miss it.”–Marilynn Griffith, author of Made of Honor and Pink “An outstanding, heartfelt, and compelling novel about faith, love, friendship, and forgiveness.”–Kimberley Brooks, author of He’s Fine . . . But Is He Saved? “You’ll walk away with another dose of faith, a new hope for your dreams, and a realization that walking with God is nothing but the right thing!”–Tia McCollors, author of A Heart of Devotion and Zora’s Cry. 

Watercolored Pearls (3rd in a series)

In Watercolored Pearls: A Novel, Stacy Hawkins Adams assembled a colorful cast of characters in this story about friendship, faith, and strength. The different dynamics of these multifarious characters, that they would actually be friends, adds to the powerful plot.

Serena finally has the children she so fervently prayed for, but she struggles with motherhood. She has difficulty balancing her mother duties with the rest of the necessary tasks in her life. Her twin boys are adorable, but more than a handful for Serena. Wrestling with doubts about her abilities and suffering from personal attention, Serena feels low self-esteem wrap itself around her like hug. Maintaining her sanity is paramount, along with steering her friend Tawana away from self-destruction and convincing her friend Ericka to be honest with herself and Serena. So when Serena gets some news that totally shatters her world, she’ll need her friends to be strong for her.

Ericka extracted herself and her child from an abusive marriage. Three years later, her estranged husband Elliot appears to have changed. And although she’s resisted his previous attempts to reconcile, she’s surprisingly confused when he tells her that he wants a divorce because he’s found someone else.

Tawana has a scholarship to Harvard’s Law School, a daughter to care for, and a sense of self-worthlessness that spawns her to make bad decisions. She must face reality and her own demons if she wants to keep her scholarship, her child, and her self-respect.

These three women’s lives collide on the canvas of this story, which is eloquently painted by Stacy Hawkins Adams. I thoroughly enjoyed this didactic, encouraging story and its enlightening characters. If you want an uplifting story with enlightened characters, this is it.

Reviewed by Trina Love Abram for Written Magazine

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
Watercolored Pearls: A Novel Kindle Edition

 

The Someday List (Jubilant Soul Series #1)

In The Someday List (Jubilant Soul Series #1), Stacy Hawkins Adams addresses the question: What do you do when you realize you’re not who you want to be?

Rachelle Covington has it all. A fabulous home, a handsome and successful husband, two beautiful children, and a place in the upper crust that’s quite comfortable. But life is not all it’s cracked up to be, and Rachelle finds herself yearning for more. When her husband goes away on a business trip and the kids are sent off to the grandparents for a month, Rachelle heads back to Jubilant, Texas, to visit family and reconnect with her past, her purpose, and herself. But when a blast from the past shows up, Rachelle must confront feelings she thought she’d long buried. Will she give up everything to recover what could have been? Or will she find a reason to plan for the future? Fresh, sincere, and full of hope, The Someday List is an honest look at what makes us who we are.

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
The Someday List (Jubilant Soul Series #1) Kindle Edition

 

Worth A Thousand Words (Jubilant Soul Series #2)

In Worth a Thousand Words: A Novel (Jubilant Soul), life has always gone Indigo Burns’s way. She’s smart, pretty, and talented, and she knows exactly what she wants. A photography internship at her hometown’s local newspaper is the next step in her well-laid plans for her future. But her long-term goals are put to the test when her boyfriend Brian proposes–two years before he’s supposed to and in front of all the guests at her college graduation party. Too concerned about his feelings to say no, she heartily agrees, but inside she’s cringing. Indigo knows in her heart that she’s not prepared to sacrifice her dreams to become Brian’s wife–not before she has achieved any of them. Will she find the answers among family and friends in Jubilant, Texas? Or will the picture-perfect life she dreams of be left behind?

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
Worth a Thousand Words: A Novel Kindle Edition

 

Vanessa Davis Griggs

Vanessa Davis Griggs is a motivational speaker and the author of If Memory Serves, Strongholds, Blessed Trinity, Wings of Grace, and Promises Beyond Jordan. A recipient of several awards, this married mother of three adult sons and grandmother of two adorable granddaughters lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Blessed Trinity

In Blessed Trinity, three sisters…one devastating secret.
Faith Alexandria Morrell, the oldest of a mysterious trio of sisters, lives a troubled life and guards a horrifying secret. Yet few, least of all her new church family, would believe this always-impeccably-dressed woman is so utterly lost. But what lies beneath the surface of Faith’s carefully constructed veneer could completely destroy her.

Strongholds

In Strongholds (Blessed Trinity), when Pastor George Landris, the dreadlock-wearing minister of the new mega-church, Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center, urges his congregation to approach the altar and cast off their strongholds–also known as their weaknesses–it’s the start of intense soul-searching for many.

From a married couple’s twin additions to gambling and gluttony, to a female member’s adulterous affair, a computer expert’s obsession with cyber-porn and a therapist’s workaholism, the Pastor’s church family is about to open the proverbial floodgates. And that’s just the beginning. There’s also the woman whose battle with mental illness hides a buried trauma, and the religious devotee who’s so busy fearing the devil she’s forgotten what faith is really about. The plot only thickens when the Pastor’s wife lightens his load by helping him counsel–and finds herself at the center of a decades-long deception.

Insightful, witty, and always poignant, Vanessa Davis Griggs delivers another compelling novel, taking readers behind the scenes of mega-churches to show the amazing power that redemption and faith can have on people’s lives.

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
StrongholdsKindle Edition

If Memory Serves

In If Memory Serves, scandalous secrets, impossible choices,
and supreme tests of faith combine in this thrilling new
novel from bestselling author Vanessa Davis Griggs.

 

Practicing What You Preach

In Practicing What You Preach, Marcus Peeples seems like the perfect man for aspiring wedding planner Melissa Anderson. Marcus, a tall, handsome pharmaceutical salesperson, finally talks her into a date. Much to Melissa’s surprise, he doesn’t balk when she insists their first date will be at her Bible study class at Followers of Jesus Faith Worship Center. As time goes by, Melissa feels more and more drawn to Marcus. However, he’s divorced, and her beliefs won’t allow her to continue their relationship. Griggs has written a novel about African Americans trying their best to follow a faith-based life. Each of the 47 short chapters begins with a Bible verse, and questions for book-discussion groups are included. This is a romance for readers who like their books enhanced with religious teachings, and it will surely appeal to fans of Felicia Mason and Stacy Hawkins Adams. –Shelley Mosley

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
Practicing What You Preach Kindle Edition 

 

Victoria Christopher Murray

Victoria Christopher Murray’s Jasmine Larson series is both entertaining and enlightening. Jasmine was the man-stealer in VCM’s 2005 bestseller Temptation. If you haven’t read Temptation, then you might want to start with it first. The books are in chronological order, and I suggest reading them that way to get the full affect and growth of Jasmine Larson.

A Sin and A Shame

In A Sin and a Shame: A Novel, after fleeing Los Angeles when her attempt to break up her best friend’s wedding fails, Jasmine is now a changed woman…and a Christian. She’s living in the Big Apple and she’s ready to find the soul mate she is sure God has for her. But soon after she meets her dream man — a preacher who falls head over heels in love with her — a man from Jasmine’s past reappears, and an unexpected pregnancy threatens to sabotage all of her dreams. Will Jasmine’s lying and scheming continue? Or will she finally learn to be honest with herself — and with those who love her?

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
A Sin and a Shame Kindle Edition 

Too Little, Too Late

In Too Little, Too Late: A Novel, Jasmine Larson Bush returns to her devious ways in this tale of two marriages — each threatened by lies and betrayal.

She took marriage vows to be honest and true, but Jasmine’s still hiding secrets to keep her husband, Minister Hosea Bush, by her side. When Hosea’s ex-fiancée, Natasia, suddenly appears in New York, Jasmine knows it’s not a coincidence. A former manstealer herself, Jasmine is very aware of Natasia’s motives — even if Hosea is not.

Complicating Jasmine’s life is the secret she’s kept from her baby’s daddy. Luckily for her, Brian Lewis has problems of his own. His wife, Alexis, is convinced he’s cheating on her — but Brian’s real betrayal is much worse. Revealing the truth to his wife could lead him back to the biggest mistake of his life…Jasmine.

Two marriages are in desperate jeopardy. Will Jasmine be able to scheme to save her own? Or will she have to choose between protecting her past and compromising her future? Even if Jasmine and Brian find the courage to stop the lies, it may be too little, too late….

Lady Jasmine

With her own lies, she nearly destroyed her marriage to Pastor Hosea Bush. In Too Little Too Late, Jasmine was forced to reveal every secret she’d ever kept from her husband, right down to her real age, weight, and shoe size! She thought she had told Hosea everything.

In Lady Jasmine: A Novel, when Jasmine is blackmailed with a terrible truth from her past that she “forgot” to tell Hosea, more than just her marriage is in jeopardy.

Surprisingly, her first instinct is to tell the truth. Jasmine knows, however, that this is one part of her life that can never be exposed. Determined to keep the life she fought so hard to save, Jasmine is willing to commit any sin — even murder — to leave her past behind her. No one can know the truth about the First Lady of City of Lights at Riverside Church. No one can know that beneath the veneer of a redeemed Christian wife, there lies a sinner — especially not her trusting husband.

Available on amazon.com’s Kindle and on the iPhone with the Kindle application:
Lady Jasmine: A Novel Kindle Edition

© 2009 KaTrina Love Abram