The Bannister Girls


Jean Saunders - 1990
     Louise, Ellen, and Angel Bannister have enjoyed the comforts of a wealthy upbringing, but yearn for something more exciting than their anticipated lots in life. As the times begin to change and the war rumbles through London, the Bannister girls face challenges that will test their resolve and strip them of their innocence. In a London full of speakeasies and suffragettes, will the war bring the Bannister girls closer together, or end up tearing them apart? The Bannister Girls is a poignant tale of desire, loss, and fervent love in a war-torn country set within a vital age of progress, change, and upheaval.

The Juliet Club


Suzanne Harper - 2008
    . . Shakespeare . . . but no romance?Kate Sanderson inherited her good sense from her mother, a disciplined law professor, and her admiration for the Bard from her father, a passionate Shakespeare scholar. When she gets dumped, out of the blue, for the Practically Perfect Ashley Lawson, she vows never to fall in love again. From now on she will control her own destiny, and every decision she makes will be highly reasoned and rational. She thinks Shakespeare would have approved.So when she is accepted to a summer Shakespeare symposium in Verona, Italy, Kate sees it as the ideal way to get over her heartbreak once and for all. She'll lose herself in her studies, explore ancient architecture, and eat plenty of pasta and gelato. (Plus, she'll be getting college credit for it—another goal accomplished!) But can even completely logical Kate resist the romance of living in a beautiful villa in the city where those star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet met and died for each other? Especially when the other Shakespeare Scholars—in particular Giacomo, with his tousled brown hair, expressive dark eyes, and charming ways—try hard to break her protective shell?"In fair Verona, where we lay our scene . . . "

Poor Little Rich Girl


Katie Flynn - 2002
    Hester Lowe agrees to act as governess to spoilt, self-willed, little Lonnie Hetherington-Smith when they leave India to live with Lonnie's elderly aunt in Shaw Street, Liverpool. Hester speedily realises that her new employer dislikes her niece and means to make life uncomfortable for both of them. Things improve a little when they meet the poor, but happy, Bailey family who live in a court off Heyworth Street. Hester likes Dick Bailey very much, but her employer does not permit 'followers', whilst Lonnie and young Ben Bailey are deadly enemies. Then, the regime in Shaw Street changes and Hester is forced to leave the comforts of a middle-class household to make her own way in what is, to her, a strange country... Poor Little Rich Girl is sure to please the huge and growing fanbase of one of the most popular saga authors in the country, with more than two million books sold nationwide.

Short Straw Bride


Dallas Schulze - 1996
    Tired of worrying about who to leave the ranch to when they were gone.Luke could imagine the perfect wife --- biddable, tidy and willing --- and when he saw Eleanor Williams in church one Sunday, he thought she'd do just fine. But little did he know that the practical Eleanor had a mind of her own --- and other ideas about marriage!

The Sergeant Major's Daughter


Sheila Walsh - 1977
    EVERYONE WAS EAGER TO PUT FELICITY IN HER PLACEHer cousin Amaryllis made it clear that Felicity did not belong in the fashionable drawing rooms of the great country house of Cheynings.Jamie, the six-year-old heir to Cheynings, marked Felicity as his latest victim in a long series of routed governesses.Lord Stayne, the infuriatingly handsome master of Cheynings, coldly informed her that her ideas and opinions were of no earthly interest to a supremely self-confident male like himself.And the vile Captain Hardman, whose devious designs Felicity threatened, did not bother to mask his intentions of removing her from his path by either brutal force or contemptible cunning.Felicity, however, had her own notions about what a woman’s place should be–as she set out on a campaign of conquest with only her wit and wiles as weapons, and love as a very treacherous ally….

The Nice Bloke


Catherine Cookson - 1969
    Then, at the office Christmas party, he gave in to the demands of the vivacious Betty Ray, and the scandal that followed not only split his family but ruined his career.

November of the Heart


LaVyrle Spencer - 1993
    Lorna’s father, Gideon, an avid sailor, is determined to claim victory for his own White Bear Yacht Club in the next summer regatta. Having recently suffered defeat at the hands of the rival club, Gideon is willing to do almost anything to win back the prize he sees as his. Jens, pressed into service as a waiter as an elegant family dinner party, overhears Gideon’s lament, and is sure his boatbuilding skills can be put to use on behalf of his employer. Brazenly crossing the boundary between servant and master by offering to design and build a boat that is sure to win the race. Jens incites Gideon’s ire but piques his interest too. With Lorna’s help, he convinces Gideon to finance the project.Grateful for her intervention yet wary of jeopardizing his chance to build the boat of his dreams, Jens nevertheless is powerless to face of Lorna’s growing interest in the boat and him. He soon finds himself eagerly awaiting her visits to the boatshed, and stars teaching her about the craft of boatbuilding, as well as the craft of love.Despite the rigid caste system which keeps them apart, Lorna and Jens are drawn inexorably together, and begin an affair as fresh and innocent as the summer itself. But the repercussions of their passionate idyll soon separate them against their shame to endure loneliness where it is always “November of the heart.”

Celia's House


D.E. Stevenson - 1943
    Beginning in 1905 with ninety-year-old Celia Dunne, it delightfully portrays the bustling life of her heir and grand-nephew, Humphrey Dunne, and his family of five rambunctious children. It follows the family over forty years -- through their youthful antics, merry parties, heartbreaks and loves and marriages, as each in turn comes to maturity and an understanding of the enduring satisfaction Dunnian gives to their lives.

Just Jenifer


Janet Lambert - 1946
    At the outbreak of WWII, with her father, an army general overseas, adolescent Jenifer musters her wits to housekeep for her large and lively family in the first of this famous series.

Miss Willie


Janice Holt Giles - 1951
    Although the plot is fictional, the central character is based on Giles's mother and some of the episodes are drawn from her life. This is the story of a dedicated teacher who moves to the hills of Kentucky to teach in a one-room schoolhouse at Piney Ridge. Zealously she tries to change the ways of the stubborn and proud Appalachian people - but to no avail. They listen to her crazy ideas about sanitation and other foolishness because to argue would be rude. But in the end they quietly go about their accustomed ways. Ultimately Miss Willie realizes that the hill customs have a beauty and dignity of their own and that some of her efforts to reform them were ill-conceived. Her warmth, generosity, and humor help her bridge the gap and find fulfillment in Piney Ridge. This is a story of reconciliation and the coming together of two different ways of life. Above all, it is a story of people and of the land to which they belong.

The Poellenberg Inheritance


Evelyn Anthony - 1970
    Throughout his years of exile, he’s kept a single photograph of a three-year-old girl. Now, he will set in motion a series of events that will reunite him with his long-lost daughter.   All Paula Stanley knows about her father is that he was killed in Russia in 1944, his body buried in a frozen wasteland near Stalingrad. Then she gets a call from a stranger. Not only is General Paul Bronsart alive, he wants to bequeath her a priceless treasure he claims was given to him during the war.   It’s called the Poellenberg Salt. For four hundred years, the thirty-six-inch-high gem- and gold-encrusted relic was the most priceless treasure in Germany—and someone else is after it. The matriarch of an aristocratic family whose home was looted by the Nazis also lays claim to the Poellenberg Salt. Culminating in a shocking denouement in Paris, Evelyn Anthony’s The Poellenberg Inheritance is a masterpiece of wartime intrigue and a daughter’s search for her father.

The Ring


Danielle Steel - 1980
    When her father and brother disappear, Ariana is arrested by the Reich. Facing imprisonment and repeated rape at the hands of unscrupulous soldiers who desire to humble the lovely blond, Ariana jumps at the opportunity to become a cook for a kind Nazi officer. Gradually, the two are able to put the specter of war behind them and fall in love. But calamity strikes again, leaving Ariana alone once more and running for her life. Desperately sick and pregnant, Ariana lands in New York, part of the wave of refugees brought there by relief organizations. Sponsored, then befriended, then betrayed, by the Liebman family, Ariana slowly recovers in time for the Christmas birth of her son. And Noel, a kind man who loves Ariana, gives her the strength to make a life for herself and for him, which she does, finally finding true happiness. Danielle Steel creates a tale of the phases of life and love that we all experience against a brutal background that hopefully will not be experienced ever again. --Alison Trinkle

The Storm Beyond The Tides


Jonathan Cullen - 2019
    War is on the horizon but on Monk Island, Maine life goes on as usual. As the daughter of a lobsterman, Ellie Ames’ future seems limited until a mysterious German couple comes off the ferry with their nineteen-year-old son. From the moment she meets Karl Brink, the two become inseparable and not everyone approves because locals are suspicious of outsiders. Ellie ignores their scorn, however, and the secret she learns about Karl’s family makes her even more determined to be with him. The magical summer ends when the Brinks suddenly have to go home. And although Karl promises to return in the fall, by then Europe is at war. Two years pass and Ellie has all but given up hope when she gets a letter in the mail that will change her life forever.The Storm Beyond The Tides is the story of the unlikely romance between a small-town girl and a German on the eve of the Second World War and explores a frightening time in America’s past—when U-Boats prowled the East Coast and put small, coastal communities on the frontline of a global conflict.

Down Lambeth Way


Mary Jane Staples - 1988
    Perfect for fans of Kitty Neale, Maggie Ford and Katie Flynn. PRAISE FOR THE ADAMS FAMILY SERIES! "Mary Jane Staples makes you care about her characters, which explains why her books have enjoyed so much popularity" -- Take a Break"Forget Eastenders, this it the London of old, when people knew each other's names and communities really pulled together." -- Woman's Realm"Mary Jane Staples completely capture the feel of the period and the essence of the people...has warmth, humour and charm. An ideal book for you holiday reading." Finesse "I get so engrossed in the stories I feel like one of the family." - ***** Reader review. "The story of the Adams family is just wonderful, I can't put this book down. You feel part of the family as you read all about them." -- ***** Reader review.*********************************ON THE EVE OF WAR, CAN SHE AND HER FAMILY PULL THROUGH?The Adams family were poor, cheerful and, above all, respectable.There was Mrs Adams, a widow having lost her husband in the Boer War; Boots, the bright one; Tommy, the quiet one; Sammy, a wheeler dealer in the making; and Lizzy. Lizzy was a real pearl - one of the prettiest girls in Walworth.When Lizzy falls in love it is 1914. War is coming and everyone is going to be affected. Will the Adams family - gutsy, tough and cheeky - pull through? Down Lambeth Way is the first in Mary Jane Staples's Adams Family series. Their story continues in Our Emily.

CHASE THE SUN


Rosanne Bittner - 1995
    He joins the army purposely to fight Indians – any Indians. Iris Gray is a colonel’s daughter, who joins her father in America’s Northwest Territory and tries to bring peace between settlers and the Nez Perce Nation. Circumstances bring Iris and Zack together in a memorable love story as Iris struggles to help Zack find peace in his own heart. An unlikely friendship forms between these two and a Nez Perce warrior, Strong Runner, and his wife, Morning Star, teaching all four characters about cultural tolerance. CHASE THE SUN is the true story of the last flight of the Nez Perce to Canada in 1876, and a stunning depiction of the reasons for war and misunderstandings in a land deeply torn by its own unstoppable growth. A memorable tale of real history, abiding love, and a Nation’s unique struggle through tragedy and triumph.