Book picks similar to
Broken Hero by AnneMarie Brear


historical-fiction-ww2
tortured
war-military
wounded-hero

The Typist


Michael Knight - 2010
    When Francis Vancleave (Van) joins the army in 1944, he has every reason to expect his term of service will pass uneventfully. After all, the war is winding down and Van's one singular talent-typing ninety-five words a minute-keeps him off the battlefield and in General MacArthur's busy Tokyo headquarters, where his days are filled with paperwork in triplicate and letters of dictation. Little does Van know that the first year of the occupation will prove far more volatile for him than for the U.S. Army. Bunked with a troubled combat veteran cum-black marketer and recruited to babysit General MacArthur's eight-year-old son, Van is suddenly tangled in the complex-and risky-personal lives of his compatriots. As he brushes shoulders with panpan girls and Communists on the bustling streets of Tokyo, Van struggles to uphold his convictions in the face of unexpected conflict-especially the startling news that reaches his barracks from his young war bride, a revelation that threatens Van with a kind of war wound he could never have anticipated. Though grounded in the history of Japan's reconstruction era in the wake of World War II, The Typist is unmistakably contemporary in its portrayal of military occupations and of individual experience in an immensely complicated time. At once spare and captivating, it is a book about unlikely kinships, good intentions gone awry, and the many forks in the road to manhood.

When the Nightingale Sings


Suzanne Kelman - 2021
    Based on a true story, this powerful novel about wartime courage and extraordinary friendship, tells how two women changed the fate of the Second World War and the course of history.When an impossibly shy young woman named Judy Morgan finishes her studies in Physics at Cambridge University, it is with dreams of changing the world for the better.Meanwhile, a beautiful, young Jewish woman decides to flee her beloved Austria, changing her name to Hedy Lamarr, and risking everything to get to America, as far away from the Nazi threat as possible.A powerful friendship is formed when the two women meet in pre-war London—with Judy’s passion for science a perfect match for Hedy’s brilliant talent for invention. So when the world is gripped by a war that nobody could have imagined in their worst nightmares, both Hedy and Judy know they must act now.As their lives repeatedly collide, in Cambridge, California, Pearl Harbor and beyond—throwing both their lives into danger and tragedy—Judy and Hedy both find themselves seeking ways to end the war.But neither of them will know that one of them is on a path of tragedy. A path that could change the outcome of the war, but also threaten their friendship forever…Fans of The Ragged Edge of Night, My Name is Eva and Beneath a Scarlet Sky, will love this unforgettable story about love, courage and devastation set in World War Two Britain, Hollywood and Pearl Harbor. Based on two true stories of amazing ‘hidden women’ who changed the world, this novel shows the power of friendship in the darkest hours of history.

The Measure of Gold


Sarah C. Patten - 2020
    It is 1940, and Germany has just invaded France. Across the ocean, in Sweetwater, Tennessee, Penelope, a beautiful alchemist, receives a letter from her childhood friend, Naomie, urging her to France. Bereft from the loss of her widowed father, Penelope leaves her life and travels to German-occupied Paris. There, she meets Naomie's brother, the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli and his mysterious apprentice, Lucien.Falling headlong into the alchemy's esoteric world, she helps Fulcanelli and Lucien resist the Nazi forces. She trains as a spy and infiltrates a powerful brothel, Le Chambrement. As the horrors of war close in around her, Penelope must seduce a murderous Nazi officer in a desperate calculation to save her lover, Lucian. Through the devastating magic of life, Penelope learns that alchemy has far more to do with the person than the element.The Measure of Gold is an epic story of alchemy, betrayal, courage, and transcendent love.

Reluctant Warrior


Michael Hodgins - 1997
    It's almost something out of a Clancy novel, yet it's true. The best thing I can say about it is I didn't want it to end."--Col. David Hackworth, New York Times bestselling author of About FaceBy the spring of 1970, American troops were ordered to pull out of Vietnam. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel "Wild Bill" Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. The Marines of 1st RECON Bn operated in teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, the teams fought a multitude of  bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy.Michael C. Hodgins served in Company C, 1st RECON Bn (Rein), as a platoon leader. In powerful, graphic prose, he chronicles his experience as a patrol leader in myriad combat situations--from hasty ambush to emergency extraction to prisoner snatch to combined-arms ambush. . . ."THIS MEMOIR IS GRIPPING."--American WayFrom the Paperback edition.

The Earl's Wagered Bride


Cerise DeLand - 2018
    A house. A home! One they can call their own. After their father gambled away their dowries and drank away the family reputation, the three young women have lived with their Aunt Gertrude. While that lady’s generosity is most kind, her charity chafes their pride. This Christmas at their aunt’s house party, Marjorie plans to employ the one talent she learned well from her notorious papa. She’ll gamble at cards and dice against every wealthy guest—and win. But she encounters one big problem. The man she’s craved all her life appears on Aunt’s threshold and challenges her. Tested by combat, he’s bolder. Dashing. A distraction. And suddenly too charming to resist.A gentleman weighs the odds.Griffith Harlinger, the war-weary fourth earl of Marsden, returns home from his duties in Paris with the Duke of Wellington to celebrate the joys of the Season. At urgent request of his step-mama, he must stop her niece Marjorie from creating a scandal by fleecing her house guests! Griff’s thrilled to engage the one woman who’s tormented him and beguiled him all his life. So he makes Marjorie a bet she can’t refuse: he’ll play her for enough money to buy the house she wants.But can he let her win if he loves her too much to let her go?And who really wins when both want what’s best for those they love?If you love swoon-worthy historical romance, starring endearing heroes, sassy heroines and a house full of rogues and cardsharps, this book is for you! Buy THE EARL’s WAGERED BRIDE to attend this Christmas house party!

Mistletoe Rules


Stacey Joy Netzel - 2009
    10K words is available in the Romancing Wisconsin Volume I boxed set. It is also FREE to newsletter subscribers who sign up at Stacey Joy Netzel’s website.**When Benedict Riley first meets Susan Whitcomb at a college holiday dance, she’s engaged to be married to another man. In this story where mistletoe rules, you’ll learn how the Riley Family Mistletoe Rules all began one fateful Christmas, not too long ago…Romancing Wisconsin, a USA Today Bestselling Series To everything there is a season...Love finds a way during the four seasons in the Romancing Wisconsin Series. Starting with the Christmas holiday/Winter, then moving on to Autumn, check out this bestselling, heartwarming series set in small town Wisconsin. Meet the Rileys, the Walshes, the Sullivans, and best of all, Butch...a.k.a. Santa Butch. The mischievous matchmaker makes a cameo in each story—adding a touch of magic to the lives of everyone he loves, and even those he's just met.Romancing Wisconsin SeriesMistletoe Mischief, book 1Mistletoe Magic, book 2Mistletoe Match-Up, book 3**Mistletoe Rules – short bonus story Autumn Wish, book 4Autumn Bliss, book 5 Autumn Kiss, book 6 **Autumn Glimmer – short bonus storySpring Fling, book 7Spring Serendipity, book 8 – early 2016

A Store at War


Joanna Toye - 2019
    But her burgeoning friendship with young salesman Jim draws her into a swirl of secrets within the store. And with the war progressing to crisis point, Cedric Marlow and his staff must battle nightly bombings and the absence of loved ones to keep going.From a former writer of The Archers comes a novel that weaves together a powerful sense of community and a vivid evocation of a time when every man, woman and child was doing their bit. 'Jo writes with a sure hand and a light touch…It's a real page-turner with a spirited heroine who will worm her way into readers' hearts. A sparkling new voice in fiction.' Sunday Times bestseller Veronica Henry

Sergei and Hans


Dennis Santaniello - 2015
    Set on the Eastern Front of WWI, on a cruel and unforgiving mountain, and later in a terrifying German prison camp, this fascinating story encapsulates real men and their struggles to survive a war unlike the world has ever seen. Both soldiers have their own stories to tell.They are “SERGEI AND HANS”.

Beauty and the Beastly Marquess


Lisa Campell - 2020
    When a scandalous encounter ruins her reputation, Eliza is condemned to spend the rest of her life in isolation.Then, like in fairytales, the man of her dreams rescues her from shame. But Eliza’s hopes for a happy marriage will rise only to fall once again…Sebastian Campden might have perfected his fame as a notorious rake, but that's not the most dangerous thing about him. In truth, no one knows the real reason why he must remain a bachelor and can never have a family.When his childhood friend Eliza is threatened by disgrace, Sebastian is determined to save her. His offer? The protection of an unconsummated marriage. Despite his limitations, she will try her best to seduce her husband, only to discover the shocking truth about him…For who could lay with a beast without getting wounded?She dreamt of his touch, he feared for his lust…*If you like seductive Earls, Dukes, and Barons with a soft heart but a strong will, and romance stories depicting the Regency period, then Beauty and the Beastly Marquess is the perfect novel for you.Dive into the epic world of the Regency Era Ladies, Governesses, and Bluestockings while Lisa takes you on a suspenseful journey full of passion and true love!"Beauty and the Beastly Marquess" is a Historical Regency romance novel of more than 40,000 words (around 200 pages). STANDALONE, no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Fighting Scared


Robin Horsfall - 2002
    He served with the SAS during the Falklands War and on subsequent counter-terrorist operations. He tells his personal odyssey from boy-soldier to paratrooper with insight and wisdom. His enemies were not just terrorists: he fought the institutionalized brutality of the Parachute Regiment -- and his own inner demons. He learned the difference between physical and moral courage; between officers who expect you to be ready to die for them, and those who actually want you to get killed so they can win a medal. It's an action-packed narrative, but much more than another RAMBO-style romp. Robin reveals some painful truths, not least the ordinary SAS men's view of General de la Billiere and his orders for a kamikaze mission to Argentina. This is the best, no-holds barred, personal account of an SAS trooper ever published.

The Ranchman


Charles Alden Seltzer
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Babe in Paradise: Fiction


Marisa Silver - 2001
    Marisa Silver's singular voice makes us care deeply about their everyday desperations and hard-won hopes.

Over the Line


Tom Palmer - 2014
    Jack is to make his debut as a professional footballer, but it's 1914 and the world is at war. Talk of sportsmen's cowardice leads to the formation of a Footballers' Battalion and Jack has little choice but to join up. Jack and his team-mates will have to survive a waking nightmare if they are ever to play again.

Dash for Dunkirk


Denis Caron - 2017
     May 1940: Royal Air Force pilot Harry Fitzgerald is one of millions of heroic Allied troops fighting against Nazi Germany. In the pitched heat of battle over the skies of Northern France, Fitzgerald is shot down by an enemy plane and captured. Miraculously, he escapes certain death but must make his way back to the Allied evacuation at Dunkirk to get back home. However, Fitzgerald is in the middle of a warzone. At a chateau turned hospital, he encounters two of his wounded comrades. Too sick to reach Dunkirk by themselves, they helplessly lie in wait as the German army advances. Fitzgerald knows he must save them, and with the assistance of the French nurse Solange, the refugees attempt to reach Dunkirk-before the Nazis can reach them. It’s a life-or-death mission through dangerous territory where nothing is guaranteed. In Dash for Dunkirk, authors Denis Caron and Fran Connor explore a world where loyalty and bravery face off against an unforgiving enemy. Bound together by duty and honor, war heroes push themselves to the limit through refugee-crowded streets, mechanical setbacks and enemy attacks. Will they reach safe harbor, or will the ultimate evil finally prevail? Praise for Dash for Dunkirk > "A wildly entertaining, action packed story not only about the reality of war, but also of loyalty, friendship, and romance. A must read! - Jordan Ebare, Avid Reader & Historical Fiction Enthusiast

Claire, After All


Karen J. Hasley - 2014
    Commissioned by her widowed father, she descends on the green Sussex hills with three assignments. Ready Loden Hall for her father's arrival as the new earl. Find the perfect husband for her gorgeous half-sister. Acquire a tutor for her rapscallion twin brothers. At twenty-eight Claire--now Lady Claire--has had years of experience running an orderly household in India and cannot imagine England will be any different. Older. Wiser. That's Claire.But England refuses to cooperate with Claire's well laid plans. How did beautiful Loden Hall become such a ruin and how will she make it right in time? Why is her usually cooperative sister so resistant to Claire's recommendation for a husband? Why are her brothers so unhappy that stowing away on a merchant ship holds more appeal than her loving care at home? Really, if it weren't for the unexpectedly practical advice of her neighbor the Marquis of Symonton, she would feel quite alone.For Claire, focused on the tangled knots of her own family, Symonton is the perfect ally. Who better to offer guidance than a man savvy enough to maneuver his way through society for six and thirty years without being trapped into matrimony? And how fortunate that the man is entertained by her family's exploits! But even with Symonton, Claire manages to get it wrong. It's not her family he's interested in and amusement is not what he feels. The man has other plans entirely. Maturity and experience are all well and good, but Claire will learn that neither is as valuable as love.Book I of The Penwarrens, a series of 3 light-hearted Victorian romances.Claire, After All   ~   Listening to Abby   ~   Jubilee Rose