Best New Books for Women to Read in 2015 - Top Selling

As a woman I enjoy reading well-written books with intricate story lines, developed characters, passion, and action.

However, with so many books, from so many genres, it can sometimes be hard to decide just what type of story I might like.

Each year I spend a good portion of my disposable income on books. Some of them earn a rightful place in my bookshelf, others I donate to the local charity.

Here is a list of a few books that have ended up on my shelf for 2014.

1. The Help

Kathryn Stockett portrays a heartwarming story of black and white characters during the civil rights movement. The maids are dealt all kinds of treatment from their white owners and their stories and reactions are tear jerking, to humorous.

This book contains both personal and political history in Jackson Mississippi. It is a great read for any age of woman. A story for women who have lived it and remember, and for those that need to know the kinds of things that happened during the civil rights movement, it is sure to entertain and enlighten.

2. Blind Faith

CJ Lyons depicts a woman who witnesses the execution of the man who confessed to murdering her son and her husband. They were just two out of many. After she witnesses his death, she is torn with not having any closure because she wants to know where her beloved boys were buried by the killer who refused to reveal that information.

She makes a vow to find them no matter the cost and while she searches, she finds a new killer. Follow the story of this heartbroken woman and her quest for closure. Any woman will sympathize with the character since they have such big hearts and most have families they love, and would hate to lose.

3. Mama Does Time

Deborah Sharp does herself justice in this book about Mama. Mama is a southern woman with three daughters whom she drives crazy! She seems to find trouble no matter where she goes. One night she actually finds a body in the trunk of her car and she is innocent.

Luckily, she has a good detective who is determined to prove how guilty she is, but the problem is that he is so very handsome. Her daughters must find the real killer before the detective puts their Mama in jail. So if you are that type of Mama, or know someone who is, this read is sure to keep you entertained for days.

4. A Time to Heal: Quilts of Lancaster County

Barbara Cameron writes about a wounded soldier who just wants some peace and quiet. He wants that, but doesn't seem to believe that he is the kind of man who can have it. Then he meets a woman. He starts to hope that someday he can find the life he desires and the healing he so desperately needs.

With a secret to hide, there is someone in the town that wants him gone. At first he thinks the solution is to leave, but then as his enemy is revealed, he knows he must stick around and face the music. This is a romance to melt the heart this winter season.

5. Summer of Fire

Single mother, Clare Chance, lives in Yellowstone Park in 1988 while it is on fire. Author Linda Jacobs tells the story of this remarkable young woman who has lost her friend to a fire and is trying to forget. But she isn't the only one who struggles with the threat of the fire; a helicopter pilot is drawn into the story as well as a park ranger.

These three people are pulled together and deal with their personal demons while maintaining a supportive friendship while the fire rages on and threatens their homes and lives.

6. The Preacher's Bride

Author Jody Hedlund writes a story about the chaos and personal challenges that come with someone who is devout in their faith. Elizabeth Whitfield is a young Puritan woman who is intent on taking on the home and children of the minister who just recently lost his wife. He turns her down time and time again. But Elizabeth has someone stalking her with dark intent and it is then that the minister admits his true feelings for her. Any Christian woman can relate with the torment that this devout young woman goes through as she tries to claim the love of the man who won't have her until it almost too late.

7. Sons of Thunder

Susan May Warren is an acclaimed author and writes this book of a love triangle. Sophie Frangos is torn between two men who love her deeply but they are all entwined together. A soldier loves her from a distance while his brother admires her close to home.

They both offer something she wants and the book is fraught with her emotions between the two. It entails betrayal, sacrifice and redemption for all characters and in the end, Sophie must make her choice.

8. The Murder at the Vicarage

Agatha Christie tells a haunting tale of a murder that is committed in the vicar's study. Unfortunately for the heroine of the story, sleuth Miss Marple, everyone seems to have a motive for the murder.

The vicars wife, his daughter, visitors in the town, and others are under scrutiny as she does her best to unravel the truth and get to the bottom of this horrible crime. For those that love a classic murder mystery, this story is truly able to deliver.

9. The Hot Girls Friend, 5 Romantic Short Stories

Plain girl Jane, has a gorgeous friend, and so she thinks no man will ever want or notice her next to her very sexy girlfriend. She is the one who fends off all the men who are after Miranda. A bartender, who listens to her outrageous excuses to these lusting men, decides to hook Jane up with one of his friends. But Jane actually, and quietly, likes the bartender. With romantic angst that any woman can relate to, follow along and find kinship with Jane.

So whether you are a bleeding heart or a hard core murder mystery kind of gal, you are sure to find something to read among this list.

I'd love to know what's on your reading list this year. Leave me a comment with the author's name, title of the book, and a small summary of it.