Book picks similar to
The Year of the Barbarian by Elizabeth Ann Boyles


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Escape from Saigon


Michael Morris - 2017
    The North Vietnamese Army routed South Vietnam’s forces, resulting in thousands of refugees pouring into Saigon once known as The Paris of the Orient. The world watched and waited for what many expected would be a bloodbath. Escape from Saigon a Novel follows the fears, romance, danger and heroism of ordinary people trapped in the besieged city. Among them are Matt Moran a former GI attempting to rescue his Vietnamese relatives; Lisette Vo, NBS-TV's first Vietnamese-American correspondent who chronicles the final days with Sam Esposito the hard-hitting Washington Legend journalist; an American businessman risking his life to smuggle out his employees; and the last remaining US diplomatic personnel in Saigon, including the disillusioned Ambassador Graham Martin, military liaisons, and CIA operatives, double agents and spies. The NVA onslaught is spearheaded by two officers—one intent on maintaining military restraint, the other bent on revenge and will sweep up families, friends, and comrades in this final chapter of a war that has already taken millions of lives.Escape from Saigon is a story of a city and its inhabitants struggling to survive in its most desperate hours—a tale that stays true to the historic record while recounting moments of human hardship, courage, and triumph.

Sarah, A Festive Bride


Hildie McQueen - 2017
    When she arrives, her husband-to-be is waiting, but not for her. When he disregards his mail-order bride, Sarah decides to take matters into her own hands. Not one to give up on her dream to live out west, Sarah decides to find a job and start a new life with or without a husband. The timing could not be worse. With hopes of avoiding his mother’s meddling at all costs Robert Fields had planned to get married as soon as his bride arrived. That Sarah and his parents arrived in the same coach was an unfortunate catastrophe. Not wanting to let on that Sarah was there for him, he hustles his parents home with the intent of later explaining to Sarah and going forward with the marriage quickly… and quietly. A compelling American western historical romance

Paradiso: Final Chapter to The Mistress of Auschwitz


Terrance D. Williamson - 2020
    

The Five Shilling Children


Lindsey Hutchinson - 2019
     Adam and Polly Fitch face a bleak future after being sold for just five shillings to Miss Reed's orphanage by their bullying father. Missing their mother Minnie, and their three brothers still at home, they know they must stick together to survive. But the orphanage does have one advantage – a merry band of children who soon form their own kind of family – and they're all determined to escape the clutches of the wicked Miss Reed. Adam decides to survive he'll need to fight, so he sneaks out to have boxing lessons with the famous pugilist Billy Marshall. Lessons he needs sooner than he expects when his beloved sister Polly is sold to the rich Bellamy family, and Adam decides to go to her rescue. Can Adam, Polly and their band of friends survive life with only each other to rely on, and will they ever have the happily ever after they so long for...

Heart of Gold (Hearts of the West #1)


Kate Marie Clark - 2018
    The only problem— a man is after her and will do whatever it takes to rob her of the fortune. Desperate to preserve her life and inheritance, Charlotte travels to Crooked Creek, Colorado in search of her uncle, the only man she believes can help her. Instead, Charlotte finds a young deputy in her uncle’s place, a man with uncommonly upright morals and lovely blue eyes… When Deputy Everett Myers first encounters Old Jez’s niece, he determines she’s nothing but trouble. But for the right price, Everett agrees to act as Charlotte’s protector. His only problem—Charlotte keeps getting in the way and complicating an already dangerous situation. Worst of all, Everett finds himself falling for her dark eyes and unmatched determination...

Nobody's Girl


Tania Crosse - 2017
    Perfect for the fans of Jo Cox and Rosie Goodwin. The boom years immediately after the Great War bring nothing but happiness for wealthy industrialist Wigmore Stratfield-Whyte and his wife Clarissa – until tragedy robs them of their greatest treasure. Many years later, an horrific fatal accident brings young Meg Chandler, a spirited farmer's daughter, into their lives. Meg wants nothing to do with them, but Clarissa is drawn irresistibly towards the bereaved girl and will move heaven and earth to help her. Will Meg allow Clarissa into her own shattered life, and can the two share a future happiness together? And will Meg's new acquaintances bring her the contentment she craves – or seek to destroy her? Set in the Kent countryside in the years leading up to the Second World War, this compelling saga tingles with drama, tension and an overwhelming sense of love.

Shelby's Gift


Mary Jane Morgan - 2011
    He’s all she has left of her sister, Debbie, who was killed in a car accident six months ago. She’s prepared to fight for joint custody even as she battles feelings she knows she shouldn’t have for the man who is Kyle’s father – and her sister’s husband.Ben Martin is outraged that Shelby wants joint custody of his baby. Yet after his initial anger and feelings of betrayal, Ben suggests a marriage of convenience so that together he and Shelby can provide the love and security he and Debbie wanted their baby to have. What first seems like a workable solution quickly turns into a nightmare of grief and guilt when Ben and Shelby find themselves fighting a fierce attraction – an attraction that seems the worst possible betrayal of Debbie. But Debbie has her own opinion and reaches out from the other side to Shelby and Ben, bringing them the love and healing they need to move forward with their lives.

The Wolf Cub


David Pilling - 2015
    The great city of Constantinople, last remnant of the once-mighty Roman Empire, falls to the Ottoman armies of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. An English knight named Sir John Page is taken prisoner by the Ottomans, and forced to entertain the Sultan with tales of the West. Page chooses to tell the story of his own long career as a soldier of fortune in France, Bohemia and the Italian city-states. Page’s tale begins in the year of Agincourt, Henry V’s famous victory over the French. As the bastard son of Thomas Page, a famous mercenary captain known as The Half-Hanged Man or The Wolf of Burgundy, Page soon acquires the nickname of The Wolf Cub. After slaying his cousin in a duel, Page flees his home and joins a band of outlaws in the forests of Sussex. At last - tired of the brutality of his companions - he decides to leave England and join the English army in Normandy. There he endures brutal sieges, vicious combats, torture, betrayal and imprisonment, all to win glory and redeem his father's name. Trapped in the Sultan’s prison, Page must hope his story is enough to save him from the executioner’s blade....at least for another three days...

The Other Side of the Fence


Julie Dewey - 2015
    This story begins and ends in Carville, Louisiana where in 1894, the town was transformed from an abandoned Plantation into a refuge for lepers. Children were forcibly isolated from their families and put under strict quarantine inside the confines of a twelve foot barbed wire fence. Once inside, they were stripped of their rights, their dignity, and often even their identity. Eighteen year old Frances was smack in the middle of the debutante ball season in Baton Rouge, when pale patches of skin were discovered on her arm during a dress fitting. Diagnosed with leprosy, she was seen as a blight on her family and was sent away at once. Restless and overwhelmed by her family’s abandonment, she set out on a journey through the confines of the plantation that led her to the bend in the Mississippi River. Here she discovers a hole dug under the fence; this is her chance to escape and reclaim her life, or start a new one. When Jenny, a spirited ten year old girl, and her four year old brother, Danny test positive for leprosy they also become reluctant residents of Carville. They are met with the open and compassionate arms of the Sisters of Charity who do their best to help them live normal lives among the suffering. This sweeping historical novel gracefully details the depth, strength, and stamina of the human spirit during extreme times. When lives unfold and intertwine, Faith and Jenny find one another. Together, they develop a deep affinity and unlock the key to surviving by opening their hearts and letting love in once again. This is a love story about the deep bonds of friendship, the effects of love, and the ability to overcome and thrive.

Devil's Island


John Hagee - 2001
    "I will not make your sacrifice," he announced to the Roman tribune. "There is one God, and his name is not Domitian." Standing next to john at the stone altar of the emporere's temple were other believeres, including Asia's most wealthy citizen, Abraham of Ephesus, and his family. Will Abraham follow John's example? If he refuses to make the sacrifice, the shipping magnate's vast fortune will be confiscated by Rome, and he will either be executed or exiled to Patmos-Devil's Island. This exciting historical novel follows Abraham and his family as they make their choice to worship Ceasar or follow Christ, and it brings to life the days when Christians faced the lions in Rome's Coliseum-and when the exiled apostle recieved the great visions of Revelation.Previously published in hardcover 90785267875).

In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.