Celia's Gifts

A shocking job loss will force Renee to remember the beauty of new beginnings. Summers at Whispering Pines defined Renee's childhood. Days meant swimming and sun. Nights meant ghost stories and campfires. Best of all, Whispering Pines meant time with Celia, her favorite aunt. Through the years, Celia would remain Renee's most steadfast confidant, but trips to Whispering Pines would fade to memories. Raising kids alone and a demanding career consumed Renee's life. Now Celia is gone and Renee's career is in shambles. Promising herself she'll look for a new job in January, Renee is determined to make the most of her unexpected time off. But when mysterious events begin to swirl around her kids, her worries compound. A spontaneous trip, meant to lessen the growing pressures and soothe Renee's battered pride, could turn out to be so much more when she finds herself alone on a moonlit beach, half-a-world away, with a handsome stranger. How can Renee keep her family safe as she works to rebuild their lives? Does she dare take another chance at love? Celia's final gift may provide answers, but there are risks. Renee wishes she could seek comfort and advice from her dear aunt, but Celia's recent death has left a void. Why can't things be simple, the way they were when she spent her summers at Whispering Pines? Whispering Pines, the first book in Kimberly Diede's uplifting Celia's Gifts series, will introduce you to a special place and a remarkable family. Discover how Celia's legacy can live on if her family is willing to seize the opportunities she leaves to each of them.

Often the most difficult choices can lead to the greatest joys, but what if the stakes feel too high? Jess is ready for a fresh start. Her twenty-five-year marriage is over, her youngest is heading off to college, and all she wants to do is retreat to Whispering Pines, a place of peace and solitude, to start rebuilding her life. She's watched her sister Renee make the most of second chances, and now it's her turn.But when her estranged husband crashes a family gathering, broken and distraught, he asks her to do the unthinkable. His mistakes again threaten to undermine her chance at happiness. She owes him nothing, but this could impact the lives of her whole family. Long-buried secrets and new accusations tangle together, threatening to ruin reputations and lives. Jess may be the only one who can find out the truth. She feels her fresh start slipping away. Even the tranquility she usually finds at Whispering Pines might not be enough to help her stay true to her own path. Can she do what her ex asks? Can she protect a dear family member's reputation before it's too late? Does she even have a choice? In Tangled Beginnings, the sequel to the bestselling Whispering Pines and the second book in the ongoing Celia's Gifts series, Kimberly Diede brings more of her trademark family intrigue and moral dilemmas. Threaded with romance and mystery and ghosts from the past, this novel is bound to make you fall in love once more with the prospect of life and love and forgiveness. Come along as Jess learns to open her wounded heart to new possibilities.

A father rethinks his vision of the perfect family, true friendship, and what home really means. When Ethan's wife walks out, his first priority is to protect his three teenagers from further heartache. He could have been a better husband. It's time to be a better dad. Ethan grew up in a loving, supporting family, and his kids deserve the same. Besides, he doesn't have to go it alone. Rex, Ethan's best friend, is more than willing to step in and help keep chaos at bay. Ethan hopes he's doing a decent job juggling the responsibilities of business owner, landlord, and recommitted father. Does he dare squeeze in a little romance? He hadn't intended to start dating again . . . though an unlikely friend seems interested, and he's intrigued. But a devastating fire changes everything. Suspicions and doubts threaten to undermine all that Ethan holds dear. When trust is shattered, will old friendships guide him home again? Rebuilding Home, the third book in Kimberly Diede's heartwarming Celia's Gifts series, follows Ethan's emotional journey from fractured illusions, through tangled paths of hope and despair, to the renewed possibility of happiness. What started with Whispering Pines continues. Get swept up once again in the ongoing story of how one woman's family continues to honor her legacy by seizing opportunities to reinvent lives.

In the stillness of a warm summer evening, she'll choose to change her life. Val loves being a wife and mother, but something is missing. She understands romance takes a hit when there are kids to raise and money is tight. One careless act magnifies their problems, but they'll figure it out. They always do. Until the shrill ringing of a telephone in the dead of night splits their world into before and after. As her husband drifts away, torn by the harsh reality of life, Val worries her marriage is falling apart. With their home in chaos, she seeks refuge at Whispering Pines, the lake resort where she spent summer vacations as a child. Recreating old family recipes in the lodge kitchen renews her passion for cooking. Keeping her boys out of the emergency room is Val's biggest challenge...until new friendships offer unexpected temptations. When well-meaning advice leads to a crushing revelation, Val is devastated by the long-buried secret that threatens to tear her family apart. Is she destined to make the same painful mistake? Regardless of what she decides, this summer will change everything. A tight-knit family's saga continues in Choosing Again, the fourth Whispering Pines novel in Kimberly Diede's addictive Celia's Gifts series. If you enjoy beautiful settings that evoke days spent at summer camp, relatable characters, and stories that read like real life, explore this series. It will remind you it's never too late to start again. Now is the perfect time for feel-good fiction.

Fierce friendships, a fragile family, and a young woman's only sanctuary. Intent on escaping the far-off echoes of war, plus the heat and humidity of a Minnesota summer, Celia tags along with college friends to a tranquil lake resort. She quickly realizes that one glorious month at Whispering Pines-filled with sun-splashed days and crackling bonfires under starry night skies-will never be enough. Something about the resort pulls at Celia. Heartaches back home fade away. Here, she can be herself, even if she doesn't quite fit in. Her friends hint at dreams of exciting careers, but their focus is on nabbing the perfect husband. Not Celia. Her own father left them destitute, and she's vowed to never follow in her mother's footsteps. But Celia can feel her steely resolve soften as she twirls across a crowded dance floor in the arms of a man she barely knows. Their whispered conversations last until pink washes a pre-dawn sky, causing Celia to reexamine everything. She's intrigued-tempted, even. But when catastrophe shatters the serenity she's found at Whispering Pines, she'll face an agonizing decision. Travel back to 1942 as Kimberly Diede introduces you to a loyal, ambitious young Celia in this fifth book in her heartwarming series, Celia's Gifts. Immerse yourself in the loves and losses Celia experiences at Whispering Pines. Will unthinkable loss destroy her, or will she emerge stronger than ever?

She only has one chance to leave the legacy her family deserves. Celia sacrificed too much for her dream career, but retirement means freedom. She plans to relax and have fun at Whispering Pines . . . unless haunting memories threaten that dream, too. Old friends make the best friends, and when Eleanor suggests it's time to walk away from Whispering Pines, Celia is afraid she might be right. She used to fantasize about seeing the world. Should she travel instead, while she's still young enough to enjoy it? Every choice comes with a cost. Celia will have to fight to keep her heart open through the hurt and loss that comes with aging. She may grow old alone, but she refuses to be lonely. She's learned valuable lessons along the way, and her family needs her hard-earned wisdom more than ever. Can she help Renee, Jess, Ethan, and Val avoid the regrets that tarnish her golden years? This sixth book in Kimberly Diede's uplifting family saga will take you along on Celia's journey to build a legacy that's sure to live on for generations. What more could a woman want?