Romance Karen Kingsbury Collection

Karen Kingsbury, #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, is America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Her Baxter Family books are being developed into a TV series slated for major network viewing sometime in the next year. Karen is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001 she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family in a matter of months. Today the couple has joined the ranks of empty nesters, living in Tennessee near five of their adult children.


The Baxters series includes the Redemption, Firstborn, Sunrise, Above the Line, Bailey Flanigan, and The Baxter Family series.

Coming Home is a "stand-alone novel" that has major spoilers for the other Baxter family books and should be read after the 22 books published before it.

 

Redemption Series
The first Baxter Family series.


Book 1: Redemption

Book 2: Remember

Book 3: Return

Book 4: Rejoice

Book 5: Reunion

The Redemption series won "Christian Retailing"’s 2005 Retailer’s Choice Award for Best Series! When Kari Baxter Jacobs finds out that her husband is involved in an adulterous relationship and wants a divorce, she decides she will love him and remain faithful to her marriage at all costs. This book shows how God can redeem seemingly hopeless relationships, and it illustrates one of Gary Smalley’s key messages: Love is a decision. "Redemption" is the first book in the five-book Redemption series that Gary and Karen will write about the Baxter family—their fears and desires, their strengths and weaknesses, their losses and victories. Each book will explore key relationship themes as well as the larger theme of redemption, both in characters’ spiritual lives and in their relationships. Each book includes study questions for individual and small-group use as well as a “teaser” chapter of the next book in the series.

 

Firstborn Series
The second Baxter Family series.

All of the books in this series should be read in numerical order due to the continuing story lines. Also, this series should be read after the Redemption series, the first Baxter family series. This series contains many spoilers for the Redemption series.

 

Book 1: Fame

A Dream Come True
Dayne Matthews is at the top of the Hollywood list—a successful, popular actor with a bright future. He has everything a man could want—fame, fortune, and friends. But his heart is pulling him toward a woman and a family who have no idea how their lives are tied to his. . . .

A Wounded Past
Katy Hart, the director of Christian Kids Theater, is immersed in her new life. Glad to move on and forget her past, she finally feels at home in Bloomington, Indiana. With a successful community theater and the love of many friends, she thinks she is content. But that changes in an instant when she meets Dayne Matthews and he promises a future she left in her past.

A Painful Promise
As Elizabeth Baxter lay dying, John made a promise that he must keep. A promise to reconnect the entire family—including the one child they never spoke of.

 

Book 2: Forgiven

A Deadly Accident
The Christian Kids Theater group is devastated by a tragedy greater than any of them could’ve imagined. Now their director, Katy Hart, must find a way to walk the kids through their grief and give them a reason to believe again. But will hatred and revenge have the final word?

An Aching Emptiness
Dayne Matthews is working on what could be his best movie yet. Still, he feels empty and unfocused, aching for real love and the family he’ll never know. Then a friend tells him about a teaching center and a way to become like God. Is this the answer Dayne’s been searching for?

A Shocking Discovery
John Baxter reconnects with an old friend and shares a buried secret, one that he and his wife kept hidden all their married lives. Now—in his wife’s honor—he decides to continue a very special search. But in the process he makes a critical mistake and one of his daughters stumbles onto a letter she was never supposed to see. For the Baxters, grace and redemption will play a greater role in this season than ever before.

A story of God’s divine leading and the realization that peace comes only after forgiveness Tyndale House Publishers.

 

Book 3: Found

A Desperate Search
Driven by his wife’s dying wish to find their firstborn son, John Baxter sets about the search. His prayer? That Elizabeth’s wish would be fulfilled before the upcoming Baxter family reunion. One strange turn follows another, but when the answers finally come, they shake John to his core. Will he agree to walk away and keep the secret of a lifetime, or will he let the truth come to light, no matter the cost?

A Tragic Loss
Dayne Matthews is questioning his adoptive parents’ faith when he receives crushing news. He was ready to take on the responsibility of having a family, but now the future is drastically altered and Dayne is desperate for answers. Wisdom and comfort come from visits with a long-lost friend and then from Katy Hart, the girl Dayne can’t seem to forget. But will he find the strength he needs to face a future laced with loss, and will that strength lead him to the greatest love of all?

A Terrible Storm
As the Baxters come together, the reunion is overshadowed by a miracle in their midst. But just as quickly, tragedy comes to Bloomington. Ashley is eight months pregnant and in the early stages of labor when a tornado rips through the community, leaving one family missing. What will Dayne do when he hears about the storm? Will he finally find peace in a God he has been running from all his life?

 

Book 4: Family

A Sensational Trial
When Katy Hart travels to Los Angeles to testify against the knife-wielding fan who tried to kill her, she is hunted by paparazzi who quickly realize she is the mystery woman photographed with movie star Dayne Matthews. Tension and pressure build to a dangerous level as Katy and Dayne seek private moments amidst the frenzy. In the end, Dayne’s celebrity life makes Katy certain that a future with him is all but impossible.

A Life-Changing Decision
As the trial comes to a close, Dayne searches for answers. Not until he talks to his childhood friend does he realize his desperate need for wisdom and direction. Ultimately, his journey leads him to an isolated beach where God makes Dayne’s future as clear as the waters of Cancún. But can he live with the decision God places before him?

A Stunning Discovery
Landon and Ashley Blake are celebrating the happiest days of their lives, enjoying Cole and their newborn son. But Ashley cannot find peace until she finds her older brother—the firstborn Baxter sibling. Her constant questions to her father, John Baxter, have netted nothing. Now she receives news that rocks her world and threatens to end her search in heartbreaking finality.

 

Book 5: Forever

A Dream Come True
Katy Hart is thrilled about her future with Hollywood’s Dayne Matthews. But as she plans a wedding and looks for a house on the shores of Lake Monroe, she receives tragic news. Now everything about the future they planned together is hanging on the brink. Only a miracle can help them find their way through.

A Public Struggle
Katy and two of the Baxters travel to Los Angeles to sort through their options. While paparazzi open fire on the Baxter family, Luke helps field requests from the media. At the same time, he must wrestle with feelings that have troubled him for nearly a year.

A Family’s Undying Love
Ultimately, the Baxter family must pull together one last time in an act of service, a labor of love to help Katy and Dayne find what they’ve always longed for—a chance at foreve.

 

Sunrise Series
The third Baxter Family series.

 

Book 1: Sunrise

In preparation for their long-awaited wedding day, Dayne and Katy are determined to keep the ceremony a secret from the paparazzi. Their relationship grows closer and stronger as they plan together, but in the end it takes the help of the Baxter family and many of the CKT kids so that they'll even have a chance at a private wedding. John Baxter is thrilled that his oldest son will be settling down a few miles away, but he isn't sure how any of his kids will handle a situation he can no longer run from—the feelings he is having for his friend Elaine. In the meantime, the Flanigan family is struggling with their young boarder, Cody Coleman, Jim Flanigan's star receiver. After an alcohol overdose, Cody fights for his life. Only God's grace and a miracle can bring him back from the brink of death—physically and spiritually.

 

Book 2: Summer

A NEW BEGINNING: Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart are married and living in Bloomington, Ind., where Dayne has found a solution to his on-camera love scenes—he wants Katy to star in his next film. Katy wins the part and is cast opposite her super-star husband. The story of a small town girl's dream come true is too much for the press to resist, and in an effort to appease them, the couple agrees to a 12-episode reality show. It seems like the perfect compromise but by the time they finish filming the movie, they feel cracks around the edges of their marriage. Now they face an uncertain future, and possibly the end of everything that truly matters to them.
AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER: The Baxter family learns that Ashley and Kari are both pregnant, but an ultrasound reveals that something is wrong with one of the babies. As the summer progresses, the sisters pray for a miracle while trying to face the unthinkable. It's in this trying season that they must all learn the lesson God has been trying to teach them—He is still in control, and He will be with them regardless of the outcome.
AN EMOTIONAL FAREWELL: The Flanigans continue to draw closer to their only daughter, yet Bailey struggles to find her way amidst the turmoil of adolescence. She has always made good decisions, but she wants to experience more of life. Her friendship with Cody Coleman—the young border staying with the Flanigans—continues to blossom in this summer after his graduation. But when Cody decides to enlist in the Army, he'll have to say goodbye to the family he's come to love and the girl he'll never forget.

 

Book 3: Someday

Pressures of the celebrity lifestyle weigh heavily on Dayne and Katy Matthews as they take on separate movie projects. Tabloid rumors talk of trouble and unfaithfulness between the two, but finally something drastic catches Dayne's attention and makes him realize the destruction they're playing with. But will it be too late? The Flanigan family recognizes the deep loss of the Christian Kids Theater program, and they lead a final effort to keep the theater from being torn down. Meanwhile, John Baxter takes the next step in his growing relationship with Elaine, giving him a season to contemplate selling the Baxter house and, along with it, losing a lifetime of memories made there. As the rest of the family considers the future and what may lie ahead, they must pull together like never before. Only their undying love for each other can help the Baxters get past the trials of today for a life they know is possible . . . someday.

 

Book 4: Sunset

2009 Retailer's Choice Award winner!
As John Baxter makes plans to marry Elaine, one of the Baxters enters into the most trying season of all. During a time of renewed love and hope for the future, the Baxters try to come together to establish the sacred ground of marriage and to chart a course for the future. Memories of times gone by meet with the changes of today in a story that proves only the support of faith and family can take a person into the sunset years of life.

 

Above the Line Series
The fourth Baxter Family series.

 

Book 1: Take One

Could they change the world before the world changes them? Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison left the mission field of Indonesia for the mission field of Hollywood with a dream bigger than both of them. Now they have done the impossible: raised enough money to produce a feature film with a message that could change the world. But as Chase and Keith begin shooting, their well-laid plans begin to unravel. With millions of dollars on the line, they make a desperate attempt to keep the film from falling apart even as a temperamental actress, a botched production schedule, and their own insecurities leave little room for the creative and spiritual passion that once motivated them. Was God really behind this movie after all? A chance meeting and friendship with John Baxter could bring the encouragement they need to stay on mission and produce a movie that will actually change people s lives. In the midst of the questions and the cameras, is it possible to keep things above the line and make a movie unlike anything done before or is the risk too great for everyone?"

 

Book 2: Take Two

Filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison have completed their first feature film, and Hollywood is buzzing with the news. In the wake of that excitement, the producers acquire rights to a novel that has all the ingredients they want for their next project. At the same time they cross paths with a well-connected player who introduces them to the right people, and suddenly every studio in town wants to talk to Chase and Keith. The producers' dreams are on the verge of coming true, but Chase's marriage is strained and Keith's daughter --- Andi Ellison --- is making questionable choices in her quest for stardom. The producers are gaining respect and are on the verge of truly changing culture through the power of film --- but is the change worth the cost?

 

Book 3: Take Three

Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison set out to change the world with their films--and they are finally seeing their dreams come true. The dedicated producers are deep in negotiations with America's top young movie star to play the lead in their next inspirational movie. But life takes a sudden turn for Chase, removing him from Jeremiah Productions permanently. In the process, Keith brings on one of the Baxter family members and the moviemaking continues. At the same time, a crisis hits Keith's daughter, Andi, and Keith feels helpless to respond. Devastated by the consequences of her wrong actions, Andi ventures out on her own and decides on a course of action that could destroy her. Meanwhile, Bailey Flanigan is caught up in her own drama with Cody Coleman. A Campus Crusade retreat gives them time alone along the shores of Lake Monroe and lets them face a possibility they've avoided for years. Will Keith keep the passion he had at the start of his filmmaking--and will there be enough passion left over for his hurting daughter? Or has their quest to change American culture become nothing more than a quest for fame?

 

Book 4: Take Four

The Above the Line Series follows two dedicated Hollywood producers as they seek to transform the culture through the power of film. In Take Four, after Chase Ryan returns to his family and a job in his hometown, filmmakers Keith Ellison and Dayne Matthews finally ink a deal to have the nation’s top young actor star in their current film. But at the same time, the actor takes a very public fall that threatens his reputation among his fan base. Meanwhile, healing happens for Andi Ellison in her relationship with God, her family, and those she loves, but is it too late? The new producers find they must truly act as missionaries in order to help save the film, their families, and the young movie star. Breakthroughs take place that the public will never know about, as the possibility of saving the world through film is finally a very real possibility.

 

Bailey Flanigan Series
The fifth Baxter Family series.

 

Book 1: Leaving

The Bailey Flanigan series begins with Bailey leaving Bloomington for the adventure of a lifetime. She has won an audition for the ensemble of a Broadway musical in New York City. She’s determined to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of the city? And what of Cody? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive. In order to be closer to his mother in jail, Cody takes a coaching job in a small community outside Indianapolis. New friends, distance, and circumstances expose cracks in his relationship with Bailey Flanigan. Love, loneliness, big opportunities, and even bigger decisions highlight the first book in the new Bailey Flanigan series that features members of the popular Baxter family and finally completes the Bailey Flanigan/Cody Coleman story.