Book picks similar to
The Moon in the Water by Pamela Belle


historical-fiction
historical
romance
fiction

The Crusader's Bride


Claire Delacroix - 2015
    A marriage of convenience to a widow in need of assistance is a practical solution and the newly-wed pair leave Jerusalem, entrusted with the delivery of a package for the Templars. Away from the life he has known for years, Gaston quickly realizes that little is following his plan—especially his mysterious wife, whose presence awakens an unexpected fire…Twice widowed, Ysmaine doubts she will ever wed again, let alone have a marriage of merit—until she is charmed by the gruff knight intent upon defending her. Ysmaine weds again, not only by her own choice but to a warrior whose honor she admires. She is determined to show Gaston that marriage has more to offer them both than an heir, but first she must win the trust of the wary man she has impulsively wed…Neither realize that Gaston has been entrusted with the treasure of the Templars—much less that someone in their small party is intent upon claiming the prize at any cost. In a company of strangers with secrets, can Gaston dare to trust his new bride? Can Ysmaine convince Gaston to confide what he knows? Can they solve the riddle together before the villain’s plan comes to fruition and all is lost?

Lady of Hay


Barbara Erskine - 1986
    Erskine's extraordinary romance has been translated into 17 languages and has sold well over a million copies worldwide.

Heaven In His Arms


Lisa Ann Verge - 1995
    She’ll even switch places with a King’s Girl, one of many penniless young noblewomen destined to be shipped to the savage French colonies. It’s a dangerous masquerade that comes with a high price: Once in Quebec, Genny must marry a stranger....

Middlemarch


George Eliot - 1871
    Among her characters are some of the most remarkable portraits in English literature: Dorothea Brooke, the heroine, idealistic but naive; Rosamond Vincy, beautiful and egoistic: Edward Casaubon, the dry-as-dust scholar: Tertius Lydgate, the brilliant but morally-flawed physician: the passionate artist Will Ladislaw: and Fred Vincey and Mary Garth, childhood sweethearts whose charming courtship is one of the many humorous elements in the novel's rich comic vein.

Morgan's Run


Colleen McCullough - 2000
    His life is shattered but Morgan refuses to surrender, overcoming all obstacles to find unexpected contentment and happiness in the harsh early days of Australia's settlement.From England's shores to Botany Bay and the rugged frontier of a hostile new world, Morgan's Run is the epic tale of love lost and found, and the man whose strength and character helped settle a country and define its future.Cover Artist: Tom Hallman

MacFarland's Lass


Glynnis Campbell - 2010
     MacFARLAND'S LASS by Glynnis Campbell - writing as Kira Morgan (formerly Captured by Desire) A woman on the run…a man on the hunt. He has forty days to earn her trust. She has forty days to win his heart. They have forty days to outwit their enemies. When Florie Gilder, the once-respected jeweler to Queen Mary, claims sanctuary in an abandoned church for a crime she didn't commit, huntsman Rane MacFarland, a local hero of the common folk, vows to protect her. But when his overlord charges him with preventing the fugitive lass's escape, Rane finds himself torn between duty and desire when he begins to fall for his spirited captive. And when powerful foes conspire to turn Rane and Florie against each other, they need courage, wits, and, most of all, love, to survive.

A Splendid Defiance


Stella Riley - 1985
    Famous for his romantic conquests, Justin had never before let a woman touch his heart. But Abby was no ordinary woman. She was beautiful and she was brave. She was also young and terrfied of her brother, a religious fanatic and self-sworn enemy of all Royalists.When the rebel army unleashed its might on the castle, Justin fought tirelessly to break the siege. But even his closest friends did not know what tormented him. And Abby, as she sat with the rebel commanders at her brother's table, dreamed of a man she could not, must not love...

Minette


Melanie Clegg - 2013
    To know her was to love her.Born in the very heart of the dangers of the English Civil War, smuggled out of the clutches of Parliament as a toddler and then raised in near penury in exile in France, the charming and beautiful Princess Henrietta-Anne Stuart, youngest daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria is the original Cinderella, waiting breathlessly and with some trepidation for the moment when her family’s fortunes will be restored and she can reclaim her proper place in the world.A treat for all fans of The Secret Diary of a Princess by the same author, Minette leads the reader into the flamboyant, exciting and treacherous world of Louis XIV's Paris and Charles II's raucous Restoration court as seen through the eyes of an enchanting and unforgettable heroine.This is the first book in a two part series about the youngest and favourite sister of Charles II.

A Matter of Class


Mary Balogh - 2009
    Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love—a story in which very little is as it seems.

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves


Parris Afton Bonds - 2017
     Of course, she doesn’t believe in card reading, fortune telling, palmistry and fated events like destined soul mates and such bloody rot. Still . . . . While she easily foils the Angel of Death, she is having monumental trouble with a handsome but slick, silver-tongued attorney and a no-quarter-given Texas saddle tramp. Both she has flim-flammed with her supposed matchmaking skills and more. And both would do whatever it takes to rid themselves of this capricious thorn who has burrowed beneath their skins ~ or, conversely, give their lives to keep her. But, to which will she give her Gypsy’s wild heart?

North and South


Elizabeth Gaskell - 1854
    Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

Lorna Doone


R.D. Blackmore - 1869
    He is just a boy when his father is slain by the Doones, a lawless clan inhabiting wild Exmoor on the border of Somerset and Devon. Seized by curiosity and a sense of adventure, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by the beautiful Lorna. In time their childish fantasies blossom into mature love—a bond that will inspire John to rescue his beloved from the ravages of a stormy winter, rekindling a conflict with his archrival, Carver Doone, that climaxes in heartrending violence. Beloved for its portrait of star-crossed lovers and its surpassing descriptions of the English countryside, Lorna Doone is R. D. Blackmore’s enduring masterpiece.

Carried Away


Jill Barnett - 1996
    When Eachann's two unruly children are expelled from school, he is even determined to wed. Following an old Scottish custom, Eachann decides to solve the problem for both himself and his brother ... Spying on a fancy society party, Eachann spots debutante Georgina Bayard basking in the spotlight. Meanwhile, pretty Amy Emerson is valiantly struggling to conceal her first broken heart. Swept away by this strange Scotsman, both young women become captives. Kidnapped and furious, Amy and Georgina have a choice: fight for the life they'd previously known --- or let their hearts get carried away.

Loving the Marquess


Suzanna Medeiros - 2013
    Marry the desperate Louisa Evans, saving her and her siblings from ruin, and produce an heir. But when he proposes, Nicholas doesn’t tell her the real reason they must wed so quickly.They are married when Louisa learns the Marquess doesn’t intend to father his future heir himself. Drawn to her new husband in a way she never expected, Louisa has no intention of agreeing to his scandalous proposition. Instead, she shows him that what is developing between them goes far beyond a typical marriage of convenience.Nicholas never imagined he would fall in love with Louisa. Despite the distance he tries to put between them, one thing soon becomes clear—he will never allow another man to touch her. Even if it dooms his family’s future.

A Damsel in Distress


P.G. Wodehouse - 1919
    George traces his mysterious traveling companion to Belpher Castle, home of Lord Marshmoreton, where things become severely muddled. Maud’s aunt, Lady Caroline Byng, wants Maud to marry Reggie, her stepson. Maud, meanwhile, is known to be in love with an unknown American she met in Wales. So when George turns up speaking American, a nasty case of mistaken identity breaks out. In fact, the scene is set for the perfect Wodehouse comedy of errors.