Book picks similar to
Between Two Worlds by Cheyenne van Langevelde


historical-fiction
ancient-rome
christian
fantasy

Court of Swans


Melanie Dickerson - 2021
    The youngest is only ten years old, but this doesn't stop the guards from hauling them off to the Tower of London. There they await a grim fate, as child-king Richard II is executing anyone who poses a threat to his throne. Delia is their only hope for pardon and freedom.Sir Geoffrey did not expect his first assignment as captain of the guard to be the arrest of boys so young. He dutifully imprisons the brothers, but he can't ignore the sense, rooted in personal experience, that injustice and treachery are at work.Determined to rescue her brothers, Delia secures a position as a seamstress for the queen. Her quest is all but impossible as the executions continue. Sir Geoffrey offers to be her ally, but should she trust him in a court where everyone has an agenda?From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a tender retelling of The Wild Swans, where the virtues of loyalty and love face a harrowing showdown with power and fear.

Veil of Fire


Marlo Schalesky - 2007
    In the aftermath of the fire, the town of Hinckley rises from the ashes, its people determined to rebuild their lives.But in the shadows, someone is watching, someone is waiting, someone who knows the secrets the fire lay bare. A rumor spreads of a mysterious figure that haunts the hills; monster, a ghost, or a memory?

The Sacrifice Stone


Elizabeth Harris - 1996
     Legend tells that a young boy was killed by a Roman officer on a moonlit night at the pagan temple of Mithras, a victim of sacrifice. Arles, AD 175: Walking the same streets is Sergius Cornelius Aurelius, an ex-legionary and the officer accused. Haunted by his past and by a perilous enemy which skulks in the shadows and will not show its face, he has his own story to tell. At first Beth dismisses the tale and is irritated by Joe who consistently reminds her that she is only there to help him with his notes. So why, then, does she feel a tangible, mysterious presence wherever she goes? Joe doesn’t think she should get too involved and firmly believes that women are nothing more than cooks and secretaries. Beth, determined to prove him wrong and full of confidence from a recent promotion back home, becomes increasingly involved. Then she meets Adam, a film researcher, who is driven, inexplicably, to find the truth behind the legend. As they explore the beautiful Provence countryside together, they are both moved and disturbed by the story of St Theodore. A mystifying tale of love, honour and religion begins to unravel... Soon their interest intensifies into obsession and dangerous emotions are unleashed as the ancient world, both magnificent and barbaric, becomes terrifyingly real ... A miscarriage of justice has become legend and a force from the past is desperately trying to communicate the truth.

Daisy Chain


Mary E. DeMuth - 2009
    In this first book in the Defiance, Texas Trilogy, fourteen-year-old Jed Pepper has a sickening secret: He’s convinced it’s his fault his best friend Daisy went missing. Jed’s pain sends him on a quest for answers to mysteries woven through the fabric of his own life and the lives of the families of Defiance, Texas. When he finally confronts the terrible truths he’s been denying all his life, Jed must choose between rebellion and love, anger and freedom. Daisy Chain is an achingly beautiful southern coming-of-age story crafted by a bright new literary talent. It offers a haunting yet hopeful backdrop for human depravity and beauty, for terrible secrets and God’s surprising redemption.

Surrender the Heart


MaryLu Tyndall - 2010
    Without the money, her mother can't receive medical care and her sister will be destitute. But Noah Brenin needs to sail his cargo to England before the war commences in order to prove his worth to his father and make enough money so he won't have to marry at all.Defying his father's wishes, Noah loathes the idea of marrying a woman he finds plain and pompous. Marianne wants nothing to do with the rogue who taunted her as a child, yet she must convince him otherwise or her mother will die. But when Noah walks out on their engagement party, Marianne chases him down and ends up on his merchantman out at sea. The situation worsens when Noah's ship encounters a British man-of-war and the couple are impressed into the British navy. While a young lad's prophecy of destiny looms over them both, Marianne and Noah are forced to face their darkest fears as they desperately try to find a way to escape and fulfill their destinies-destinies that could change the course of the war and history forever.

Skip Rock Shallows


Jan Watson - 2012
    Her beau, Paul, is doing his residency in Boston and can't understand why Lilly would choose to work in a backwater town. But having grown up in the mountains, Lilly is drawn to the stubborn, superstitious people she encounters in Skip Rock--a town where people live hard and die harder and where women know their place. Lilly soon learns she has a lot to overcome, but after saving the life of a young miner, she begins to earn the residents' trust.As Lilly becomes torn between joining Paul in Boston and her love for the people of Skip Rock, she crosses paths with a handsome miner--one who seems oddly familiar. Her attraction for him grows, even as she wrestles with her feelings and wonders what he's hiding.

Bread of Angels


Tessa Afshar - 2017
    The foundation of an influential trade in a Roman world dominated by men. One woman rises up to take the reins of success in an incredible journey of courage, grit, and friendship. And along the way, she changes the world.But before she was Lydia, the seller of purple, she was simply a merchant's daughter who loved three things: her father, her ancestral home, and making dye. Then unbearable betrayal robs her of nearly everything.With only her father's secret formulas left, Lydia flees to Philippi and struggles to establish her business on her own. Determination and serendipitous acquaintances--along with her father's precious dye--help her become one of the city's preeminent merchants. But fear lingers in every shadow, until Lydia meets the apostle Paul and hears his message of hope, becoming his first European convert. Still, Lydia can't outrun her secrets forever, and when past and present collide, she must either stand firm and trust in her fledgling faith or succumb to the fear that has ruled her life.

The Shrine


Ben Kane - 2015
    A Roman centurion discovers that Fate will always hold him in her power. The German frontier, spring 6 BC. When Lucius Cominius Tullus, a recently promoted centurion, gambles on a foot race between rival legionaries, he has no idea that his wager will endanger his very life, and that the streets of an Empire border town can be as deadly as the bloodiest battlefield. A prequel to Ben Kane's dramatic new trilogy, Eagles at War, The Shrine also includes a sample chapter from the first book in the series.

Pompeii: City on Fire


T.L. Higley - 2011
    But when the rich patrician Cato escapes Rome, intent on a life of leisure, he is unprepared for the hostility he encounters. In the same place, but at the opposite end of society, Ariella has disguised herself as a young boy to be sold into a gladiator troupe. Survival is her only ambition.But evil creeps through the streets of Pompeii, and neither Ariella's secret nor Cato's evasion is immune to it. Political corruption, religious persecution, and family peril threaten to destroy them, even before an ominous mountain in the distance spews its fire.As Vesuvius churns with deadly intent, Cato and Ariella must bridge their differences to save the lives of those they love--before the fiery ash buries Pompeii, leaving the city lost to the world.

Pistol Daisy (Pistol Daisy, #1)


Natalia Leigh - 2020
    Accompanied by strangers in pursuit of the same outlaws, Daisy takes to the Colorado plains with an old revolver and a hunger for revenge. But the Hopkins gang isn’t easily found, and as their pockets run dry and the trail goes cold, Daisy and her companions may be at the end of the road. She must learn how to survive in this dangerous world of outlaws and gunslingers, or her only chance at avenging her family may be lost.Don’t miss Whiskey City, the next book in Daisy’s cutthroat quest for revenge. Praise for Pistol Daisy! "The voice was amazing, easily the best part of the book. I felt so immersed in this world and really loved how the voice was able to convey so much of the shift in emotion of our main character." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review"I usually don't read westerns, but this one really intrigued me. I was drawn into Daisy's world from page one and stayed through to the last page...and I didn't want to leave! The end left me wanting to dive right into the sequel, Whiskey City, as soon as it becomes available!" ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review"Natalia Leigh writes her characters with such effervescence that you can't help but be swept up in the whirlwind of their world, their wants, and their journey."★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Review

Shadows of Swanford Abbey


Julie Klassen - 2021
    It is there she encounters Sir Frederick--the man who broke her heart. When a mysterious death occurs, Rebecca is one of the suspects, and Frederick is torn between his feelings for her and his search for the truth.

The Dress Shop on King Street


Ashley Clark - 2020
    But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her to sew. As she rethinks her own future, secrets long hidden about Millie's past are brought to light.In 1946, Millie Middleton boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston and the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they've both dreamed of. But it's not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

Dare


Tricia Mingerink - 2015
    Third Blade Leith Torren never questions his orders or his loyalty to King Respen until an arrow wound and a prairie blizzard drive him to the doorstep of the girls whose family he once destroyed.Their forbidden faith and ties to the Resistance could devastate their family a second time. Survival depends on obedience, but freedom beckons. How far does he dare go to resist the king and his Blades?No matter what Leith chooses, one thing is certain.Someone will die.

February 1809


Karen Charlton - 2012
    He lurches from one crisis to another, stubbornly refusing help from his anxious brother, William. When his creditors become increasingly violent, Jamie's desperation reaches breaking point. How will he and his family survive? Based on real events, 'February 1809' is a prequel to Karen Charlton's novel, 'Catching the Eagle' and is a day in the life of the main characters of that book.

Refiners Fire Pack, #1-3


Lynn Austin - 2004
    Each book in this powerful Civil War trilogy from award-winning novelist Lynn Austin's powerful Civil War trilogy offers a unique and shattering perspective on the conflict while exploring the deep affect the war had on the faith of a nation.