Book picks similar to
Lily of the Fields by June Hirst


historical-fiction
freebies
aa-mom
drama

A Mansion by the Mersey


Anne Baker - 2003
    She thought she was about to lose her job but instead the business's new owner, Mr Wyndham, wants to keep her on. Lorna's mother, though, is horrified by the news and finally confesses that Lorna was the result of an affair with Oliver Wyndham, whose family cast her out when Oliver died and the pregnancy was revealed. Shocked to the core to learn that the man she has always thought to be her beloved father simply adopted her at birth, Lorna resolves to find out everything she can about the past and especially about the tragic death of Oliver Wyndham. Working with the Wyndhams, she soon begins to stir up old secrets and the truth starts to emerge. But Lorna hasn't reckoned with falling in love with a member of the family she should hate...

Enduring Passions


David Wiltshire - 2007
    He’s a lot more interesting than most of the men in Fay’s usual set.They would never normally have met. And they certainly should never have fallen in love.But as Neville Chamberlain announces that the country is at war with Germany, their differences turn out to be the least of their worries.Tom joins the RAF and Fay volunteers as a nurse.Theirs was love at first sight, but now it seems that fate might not be on their side.A COUPLE SEPARATED BY CLASS AND WARIn a stunning conclusion Tom must risk everything to rescue the woman he loves.A totally breathtaking wartime saga perfect for fans of Kate Eastham, Pam Howes, Dinah Jefferies, Tania Crosse and Josephine Cox.

A Family Saga


Patricia Keyson - 2014
    She has big dreams and a warm heart. But when her first love affair ends badly, she finds herself struggling to deal with the consequences. A Family Saga charts Bea’s highs and lows over the decades, with family secrets, changing relationships, raising children, and the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life. Despite all the pressures of a large family and little money, Bea still works hard to pursue her dreams and desires. Finally, Bea seems to have found the recognition she has always hoped for, but an old lover threatens to snatch it all away. Will Bea find recognition and happiness? Or will the mistakes of her youth continue to haunt her? Find out in 'A Family Saga,' a book you won’t want to put down Patricia Keyson is the bestselling author of LADY HOPE, THE MAGIC TOUCH, LAW OF ATTRACTION, HOLIDAY ROMANCE, SNOWBOUND WITH A STRANGER, CHERRY BLOSSOMS, and SUZI LEARNS TO LOVE AGAIN all available on Kindle.

The Fragile Hour


Rosalind Laker - 1996
    Assuming a new identity, she lived among the Nazis whilst carrying out highly dangerous acts of sabotage, risking her life and the lives of her loved ones.Despite the constant danger she faced, Anna found love – or love found Anna.But as the war drags her away from those she loves, can this passion outlast Germany’s occupation of Norway?Or will it be just one more casualty of the conflict?

Celia's Puppies


Claudia Hall Christian - 2009
    Over the course of her life, she gathered those who needed her special brand of love. Nine years after her death, Celia's puppies are facing themselves and their lives. Exciting, heart-warming, and always fun, Celia's Puppies is the second installment of the Denver Cereal. An Internet sensation, Denver Cereal is a serial fiction grounded in Uptown Denver, Colorado. "I am completely addicted to this series." - P. Cooper "Claudia Hall Christian brings life to each of these characters, a life that you long to be a part of, that you just can't get enough of." - C. Sund "I love Denver Cereal." - L. Richards Crunchy, sweet and always addicting - you deserve a little Denver Cereal in your life. DenverCereal.com

Good Girls


Joycey Ann Crutchley - 2006
    Good Girls is a feel good, fast paced, thought provoking novel about four heroines. Four best friends who epitomise the newly evolved 21st Century Woman. The woman who dares to be different, the woman who dares to rebel. Straight-laced Cat steps out of character when she secretly flies all the way to Sydney to 'boil her soul mate's rabbits ' Jules embraces single-dom and commitment phobia, so when she falls in love with an actor ten years her junior, in the space of twenty-four hours, a spanner is well and truly thrown into her perfect life. Kizzy also meets the man of her dreams and much to her mother's chagrin they plan to spend all summer together. Unfortunately unbeknownst to everyone the man is actually her father. There's only so much sexist behaviour a woman can take. So bitter and twisted, Em leaves Japan and her boyfriend behind and embarks upon a journey that will not only avenge the male race but hopefully put her back on her correct and spiritual path. "Absolutely disgusting." Grandma. "Funny as f*#%. If Jackie Collins and Helen Fielding got it on then Crutchley would be their love child." Emma Twigge, The CP Gazette.

Don't Look At Me In That Tone Of Voice!: Memories of a Confused Sixties Childhood


Alex Cotton - 2014
    She spends her days stuck between a mother with permanent PMS and a desire to create a spectacle wherever she goes and a father determined to blend into the background and avoid being noticed at all costs. When you add to the mix strange childhood friends, sadistic teachers, haircuts from hell and events that had to be lived to be believed and it makes for some amusing reading. If you remember sitting in tin baths in front of the fire, outside toilets in freezing backyards and doing PE in your knickers then this book might bring back a few memories and make you smile. "Our first term at Junior School saw the whole class caught up in a sex scandal. Not that any of us realised it, we were all still as clueless as each other." "We were very excited to be at the City Hall, as for the first time we wouldn't be dancing in our underwear." "Me and Johnny went everywhere together, we were like Forest Gump and Jenny, only with Yorkshire accents" A must read for everyone that ever had to grow up wearing their mother's dubious knitting and enduring humiliating visits from the nit nurse! Volume One : Volume 2 Dont Tell My Mum! available for download now.

A Sprig of Lavender


Susan Ralph - 2012
    Since her viscount father passed away, the family’s resources have dwindled, and she dreads becoming a destitute spinster. But when she’s invited to the Duke of Mumshire’s country estate—where she’ll be considered for the heir’s hand—hope returns.A trip to the country will also take her mind off the crime she’d witnessed at the last event of the season—an unbearably handsome stranger stealing a lady’s purse. Catherine and the thief locked gazes in the middle of the act, and while she was quickly been swept away by the crowd, later that night she was introduced to the thief, Henri LaFleur. Now he knows her name and can force her silence.Catherine shakes the memory…until LaFleur shows up as a fellow guest at the Duke of Mumshire’s estate. This time, though, she finds herself terribly, inexplicably drawn to this thief. But is LaFleur who he seems?

Love Letters in the Sand


June Francis - 2015
    But Marty is trapped in an unhappy marriage and nothing can come of it. Meanwhile, Peggy is desperate to marry her long-term boyfriend Pete. But Peggy’s staunchly Catholic parents would never accept a Protestant son-in-law, and she decides the only way to resolve her issues is to escape to a place where nobody can find her.With no job, no family to stay for and no hope of a future with Marty, an unexpected job offer from America offers Irene a lifeline. But it would mean never seeing Marty again. Will Irene and Peggy solve their problems by running away – or should they follow their hearts back home to Liverpool? An inspirational tale of love and friendship, perfect for fans of Kitty Neale and Lyn Andrews.

Under the Hidden Sun


MW Kennard - 2012
    Under the Hidden Sun will keep you turning the pages late at night until the very end.(from Amazon.com)

Learning to Dance Again


Frankie Valente - 2013
    Her friends rally to support her, but with her sons away at Edinburgh University she still feels isolated in her grief. She is unemployed but has no wish to return to her old job as the manager of a care home; but she cannot decide what to do instead. With the approach of her fiftieth birthday that she has no desire to celebrate, together with the gloominess of her mood which will only get worse when winter arrives, Julia knows she needs to take drastic action to heal her broken heart. It was Duncan’s last wish to take her on a second honeymoon to Sicily. So Julia books herself a holiday for the whole of October; much to the surprise of her friends and to the horror of her sons, who are convinced she will be kidnapped by the Mafia. Julia ignores their warnings and rents a villa in the coastal town of Cefalu. The villa is owned by the charming Tony Hugo, a widowed English crime writer; who wastes no time in helping Julia feel at home.Sicily is everything Julia expected it to be – hot, sunny and exotic; but her holiday turns out to be far more of a life changing adventure than she could ever have imagined.

Pam of Babylon


Suzanne Jenkins - 2011
    Pam and his two lovers discover secrets and lies, and each other. The first book in the series. Book #10 available for preorder.

Sisters at War


Clare Flynn - 2021
    The pressures of war threaten to tear apart two sisters traumatised by their mother's murder by their father.With her new husband Will, a merchant seaman, deployed on dangerous Atlantic convoy missions, Hannah needs her younger sister Judith more than ever. But when Mussolini declares war on Britain, Judith's Italian sweetheart, Paolo is imprisoned as an enemy alien, and Judith's loyalties are divided.Each sister wants only to be with the man she loves but, as the war progresses, tensions between them boil over, and they face an impossible decision.A heart-wrenching page-turner about the everyday bravery of ordinary people during wartime. From heavily blitzed Liverpool to the terrors of the North Atlantic and the scorched plains of Australia, Sisters at War will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart.

The Lost Vintage


Ann Mah - 2018
    She’s failed twice before; her third attempt will be her last. Suddenly finding herself without a job and with the test a few months away, she travels to Burgundy, to spend the fall at the vineyard estate that has belonged to her family for generations. There she can bolster her shaky knowledge of Burgundian vintages and reconnect with her cousin Nico and his wife Heather, who now oversee the grapes’ day-to-day management. The one person Kate hopes to avoid is Jean-Luc, a neighbor vintner and her first love.At the vineyard house, Kate is eager to help her cousins clean out the enormous basement that is filled with generations of discarded and forgotten belongings. Deep inside the cellar, behind a large armoire, she discovers a hidden room containing a cot, some Resistance pamphlets, and an enormous cache of valuable wine. Piqued by the secret space, Kate begins to dig into her family’s history—a search that takes her back to the dark days of the Second World War and introduces her to a relative she never knew existed, a great half-aunt who was teenager during the Nazi occupation.As she learns more about her family, the line between Resistance and Collaboration blurs, driving Kate to find the answers to two crucial questions: Who, exactly, did her family aid during the difficult years of the war? And what happened to six valuable bottles of wine that seem to be missing from the cellar’s collection?

The Crippled and Beaten Bride Saved by His Love (Mail Order Brides for A Town Called Hope #4)


Indiana Wake - 2016
    Each day she has more offers of marriage but none of them are sincere. After all, who could love a woman who only has one good arm? What sort of wife would she make in this remote town where hard work is a way of life? Then there is Tyler, the man who makes her heart beat faster. He is a handsome horse breeder who has never sent her a letter, not that it matters, what good would she be to him?Brenda is a beautiful and fiery woman who has set her heart on Tyler. Is all lost for Nana? Should she forget her heart and marry someone else?Danger, courage, and love will be needed if Nana is to survive in a Town Called Hope and find the man who is the right husband for her. Ride along with her and see if her faith and spirit can conquer all.This is a sweet, clean and wholesome, historical romance.