Book picks similar to
The Christmas Star by Catherine Lanigan


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The Magic Hour


Charlotte Bingham - 1992
    She will not meet the handsome stable lad, Tom O’Brien, until much later.When Alexandra returns home, her father remarries and she is forced to become a maid-of-all-work. Alexandra makes a success of her new life and meets the lovely Bob Atkins. Meanwhile, Tom O’Brien has become impassioned with the beautiful Lady Florazel Compton who introduces him to the sophistications of 1950’s London. Sadly, Alexandra’s contentment with Bob is short lived and Tom comes back into her life.But the past seems destined to wreck the happiness of the present, as the still beautiful Lady Florazel is determined to re-capture her former love and destroy the magic hour of Tom and Alexandra’s meeting.

My Christmas Romance


S.J. Crabb - 2020
    True love comes once in a lifetime.A heart-warming and uplifting story about finding love at Christmas.Polly Proudlock was in a rut. Working at the cracker factory was beginning to lose its attraction and having just been dumped by her boyfriend, she had reached an all-time low.The fact he was still her boss added to her problems, not to mention having to work alongside her replacement was a step too far.A chance meeting changed everything, and Polly found herself agreeing to be a stranger’s fake girlfriend for Christmas to their mutual benefit.Miles Carlton was the perfect boyfriend. He took her to places she never thought she’d see, and Christmas soon took on a new meaning. Suddenly, she was seeing it through fresh eyes and she liked it—a lot.As the snow falls and the magic of Christmas captures her heart, Polly discovers that she’s no longer faking something that will only end in tears.Then an opportunity presents itself that could change her life. But Christmas is fast approaching and she is running out of time.Fate works in mysterious ways and their worlds are set on a collision course. Soon they are fighting for more than their own Happy Ever After and when the snow melts, who or what will be left standing?Discover the joy of Christmas in this gorgeous novel, celebrating the importance of friendship, the magic of love, and finding happiness by being true to yourself.

Dunstable Park House


Therese Stenzel - 2013
     After her fiancé’s death, Brenna Keelin travels to England, stumbles up hidden stairs in a cathedral and comes out in 1871 Yorkshire. To keep from starving, she becomes a servant in a great estate. More than anything she wants to return to her modern life, especially in time for her sister's wedding, but falling in love has changed everything. Lord Garren Buntingford left Scotland to take over an earldom. He has a lot to learn about the subtleties of being an aristocrat—and a title he never wanted. He desires to return to his vast farm and family in Scotland until a beautiful housemaid is injured by a horse and he carries her back to the estate where she works in his arms. Brenna must hide the truth about where she is from and find her purpose for being sent through time before the stairs will open again. But soon discovers that her calling is to help Lord Garren marry an aristocratic wife. Her heart is torn between fulfilling her call and a desperate passion for a braw Scotsman that society says she can never have. Both must choose between the home they long for and a forbidden love, between duty and devotion, the upstairs and the downstairs, all under the roof of Dunstable Park House.

Snowfall and Mistletoe (Christmas in Willow Falls Book 3)


Michelle Pennington - 2019
    Especially with Christmas just around the corner. For now, at least, they must keep their relationship in the friend zone.But when their boss makes a move to force himself on Holly's attention, Gavin will do anything to protect her. He just hadn't counted on the snowstorm moving in early and stranding them together in a remote cabin two days before Christmas. And not just any cabin. Their boss's cabin. Surely one kiss won't ruin everything.  A perfectly sweet Christmas romance that will make you laugh and swoon at the same time. Grab your copy today.

Wonder Women


Rosie Fiore - 2013
    Then she hits on a brilliant idea – a kids’ clothing shop with a twist – and is thrilled when it really takes off. When husband Lee offers to quit his job to look after the family while her business grows, it seems a godsend – but will their marriage stand the test of reversing their roles?Jo soon recruits Holly and Mel to help her in the shop. Designer Holly’s high-flying career has come crashing down and she’s moved back home – but is she ready to manage a major family crisis? Meanwhile, Mel worries her teenage daughter Serena is going off the rails. Is finding out more worth risking her daughter’s trust?At the crossroads of their lives, friendship could be the only the thing keeping these wonder women strong.

The Bride Price (An African Romance, #1)


Suzanne Popp - 2012
    She dreams of leaving the dusty African town of Blancville behind her and really changing the world, but she knows it will take a lot of hard work. Her hard work pays off when she is admitted to the Royal Academy – the first girl to ever be admitted to the prestigious all boys’ school.But everything changes when Myrna discovers she is pregnant. Suddenly her well-ordered life begins to unravel. When an offer of marriage from a wealthy older man is presented to her family, Myrna knows what she must do – the bride price is too great for her family to refuse. Setting her own hopes and dreams aside, Myrna accepts marriage to a man she has met only once, who will take her far from the only home she has ever known.This sweeping novel of hope and redemption follows the life of three generations of Chitundus as they discover the powerful bond of family, faith, and love is not easily broken.

Crowning Glory


Pat Simmons - 2011
    The bestselling author of the Guilty series explores the unlikely romance between a woman who has served time for an unthinkable crime and a devoutly Christian man who believes there is a price to pay for every sin committed.

Something Worth Having


C.K. Carr - 2014
     But she may have just made the biggest one of her life. She's agreed to go on a road trip with hunky Aidan Walsh, the Irish bloke she's been lusting after since the day they met. Problem is, Aidan isn't single. Never has been and probably never will be. So, as much as his smile may make her stomach flutter, she most definitely cannot go there. It'll be okay. It's just one week. She can restrain herself for seven days. Really, she can. The bigger problem will be keeping from Aidan— who's possibly her best friend and the only one who will "get it"— the fact that she may just have the same cancer that killed her mother. No biggie. She's just on the verge of a complete and total meltdown and can't turn to her best friend for support. It'll be fine. Really. It will. Now if only she could believe that...

Melody Hill


Rick DeStefanis - 2015
    Vietnam is a world away from Melody Hill, his home in the mountains of east Tennessee, and Duff quickly finds the clear moral lines of life back home are blurred in the glare of an enigmatic war. His CIA boss, who seems more rogue than company man, is dealing arms on the black market, while delivering a seemingly arbitrary and ruthless justice to the local populace. When Duff meets and falls in love with a beautiful young South Vietnamese woman, Lynn Dai Bouchet, he is left to his own instincts to decide if her advances are based on true affection or are merely a means of exploitation. Is she a Vietcong spy, as his CIA boss claims, or is she someone like himself, trying to do her part while making the best of a bad situation? Duff soon realizes he must get out before it’s too late, but only then discovers he is already trapped in a lethal game of cat and mouse.

The Marshall's Second Chance


Aurora Hanson - 2018
    They swore to be best friends forever, but could that love be rekindled and save them both after life had treated them both so badly? Mariner Jones was the new Marshall sent to clean up the town and Jenny Carson had thrown herself into building the ranch for her son after a blow that sent her into a dark place. Friendship kept them on a quest to find the truth, put them all in danger, made them fight for what was right. But could that friendship be love that had never really gone away? "The Marshall's Second Chance" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Get This Book FREE With Kindle Unlimited!

The Keeper


Marguerite Poland - 2014
    Seriously injured, Hannes is evacuated to hospital and nursed back to health by Sister Rika, to whom he haltingly tells the story of his life: of his mother’s mysterious death, of his wild young wife, Aletta, and of the desolate island inhabited only by the lighthouse keepers and guano workers – two communities confined together, yet rigidly separated in one of the bleakest places on earth. With the arrival of a figure from Aletta’s past, her own secrets erupt into the present, just as the simmering tensions and injustices endured for so long by the guano workers erupt into a single, shocking act of violence.Written in the exquisite, haunting prose for which Marguerite Poland is renowned, The Keeper is the story of two generations of lighthouse keepers – men obsessed by their duty to the light – and the wives who accompany them into a life of frightening isolation.The Keeper is a novel about the power of secrets, the power of love, and the power of stories.

All I Want is that Hood Love


Mercedes G. - 2015
    Twenty-four year old NaTaysia is convinced the only man that is capable of loving her is her handsome, sophisticated husband JaMel Taylor. JaMel is the only man she has known emotionally, physically and mentally. That is, until she runs into the notorious De’Carlos Banks, known to the streets as Mega. His cockiness, craziness, and thug demeanor is just too much for her to resist. NaTaysia finds herself head over heels for Mega when he opens her eyes to a life only one can imagine. JaMel is a businessman who has a few secrets of his own. He loves NaTaysia more than he loves himself but finds himself in a world of trouble when his manly instincts takes over and he can no longer fight temptation. Mega is a known Boss in every city he touches down in. Owning the drug game for over a decade, he has the world in his possession. The only thing missing is someone to share it with. After being captivated by NaTaysia, he is determined for them to be together by any means.

Through the Eyes of a Blind Duchess


Patricia Haverton - 2020
    Blinded in the same fire that killed her mother when she was young, marriage is not even a thought for her. Until the day her father announces her engagement to a man she has never met.Donovan Harding, the Duke of Oakhampton, has suffered many losses, with his wife and his fortune sacrificed on the altar of an illness. With no good options left, he must marry again. But his new bride’s secret might be more than he can handle.Tied together by the strings of his son’s violin, their marriage is a precarious one. When a fire claims her childhood home and a constable brings news of a murder, the strings begin to unravel. A familiar voice, awakening memories of her past, threatens to tear away all that she loves, just as it had the fateful night she lost her vision and her mother.*If you like powerful Dukes, loving Duchesses and a marvelous depiction of the majestic Regency and Victorian era, then Through the Eyes of a Blind Duchess is the novel for you.This is Patricia Haverton's 14th novel, a historical Regency romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after.Pick up "Through the Eyes of a Blind Duchess" today to discover Patricia's captivating story!

Christmas in the Scottish Highlands


Donna Ashcroft - 2021
    Will this finally be the year that Belle’s dreams come true?Thirty-year-old Belle Albany is feeling lonely this Christmas. Another whole year has passed and her life is… exactly the same as it was last December. She longs for true love and a little bit of winter magic – but she’s almost given up on finding it in the sleepy Scottish community where she lives…When Belle crashes into elderly Edina on her cherry red bicycle, it’s not the meet-cute she’d been hoping for. But she immediately recognises the lost look in Edina’s watery-blue eyes and resolves to organise a Christmas to remember for them both – brimming with mince pies, mulled wine and lots of sparkle. Although Belle hadn’t counted on Edina’s home being a crumbling Scottish castle and she certainly hadn’t been expecting Edina’s handsome long-lost grandson Jack Hamilton-Kirk to turn up on the doorstep in the middle of a snow storm…Jack is arrogant, rude and bossy and Belle is convinced he’s about to ruin the seasonal cheer she has worked hard to create. He’s basically the Grinch in human form, so why does her heart race every time they’re in the same room? They disagree on almost everything, from menu choices to music, and yet she starts to glimpse a softer side hidden behind Jack’s clipped words and brooding countenance.As they hunt down costumes for the annual nativity show and save a donkey from a snowy disaster, Belle can’t ignore their growing attraction. But will a secret from Jack’s past come between them? Or will this finally be the year Belle falls in love?This gorgeous, festive read is like a warm hug in a book! The perfect cosy romance to snuggle up with this Christmas. Fans of Nicola May, Trisha Ashley and Debbie Macomber will love this wonderfully uplifting novel.

Portrait of Stella


Susan Wüthrich - 2014
    Jemima Ashton is desperate to discover her real identity. With scant information and the burning question 'who am I?', she embarks on an incredible journey of detection. On learning of her late mother Stella's disappearance during WWII, she retraces her footsteps across the globe and at a distant vineyard, unearths a family she had no idea existed. While treading a path of narrow-minded bigotry, scandalous revelations emerge of two families inextricably linked by one woman and the drastic steps they took to hide the truth. ‘A powerful story of love and loss spanning two generations’ Frances di Plino - author of the Paolo Storey Crime Series