Book picks similar to
Garden of Stars by Rose Alexander


fiction
portugal
setting-portugal
history-historical-fiction

A Bride for the Texas Ranger


Charlotte Dearing - 2019
    He must, however, work a deal with her. She needs money to save her ranch and he needs access to the spring on her property. Seems simple, right? But nothing’s ever easy with Pearl. The woman is steely and stubborn, but she’s lovely too, with a carefully concealed, vulnerable side. As much as he tries not to notice, thoughts of Pearl distract him plenty. She stirs all sorts of protective notions. He yearns to shield her from the dangerous outlaws that lurk in the nearby canyons. When whispered rumors turn into deadly threats, Levi vows to do whatever it takes to keep Pearl safe.

1929


M.L. Gardner - 2009
    With the help of their former, outspoken, Irish maid, Maura, and a new, equally Irish friend, Shannon, the wives become even closer than before.The couples' rocky path leads to more turmoil, however, when a business rival, Victor Drayton, creates one disaster after another. From petty tricks to outright violence, Victor's nefarious mind will stop at nothing to beat down Jonathan's last glimmer of hope.Despite everything, Jonathan and his friends are fixated on surviving.Emotional and financial destruction nip at their heels, until finally, with a lucky twist of fate, they escape city life and begin anew in their hometown of Rockport, Massachusetts.A story set in the past, 1929 is full of romance, drama, and humor. Vivid, expertly crafted characters make this novel more than memorable–1929 is unforgettable.

Beggars and Choosers


Catrin Collier - 2013
    None is wealthier or more generous a benefactor than Harry Watkin Jones. His daughter Sali is about to marry her childhood sweetheart, but tragedy follows tragedy and four years later Sali is a penniless outcast, fleeing from a violent husband and struggling to support herself and her son in a world very different from the one in which she has been brought up. Sali finds work in the home of family of colliers. Here she and her son find the warmth and love missing from their lives for so long. But unrest and violence have come to the valleys. Caught up in the conflict, Sali finds herself denying her roots, her class, and even sacrificing her son's future, for the sake of the people she loves and the cause they are prepared to die for...

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.

Shadows of the Past


Elaine Shelabarger - 2010
    The young widow of the disgraced Sir Hugh Delahaye, Adeline reverts to her maiden name and is determined to leave the past behind. When she encounters Guy Ashleigh, the handsome and charismatic young ward of the village squire, they fall passionately in love, but Guy is expected to marry his childhood sweetheart. When jealousy forces them apart and the secrets of the past catch up with them, Adeline sees no alternative but to run away. Somehow, they must find a way to overcome the obstacles that threaten to destroy their future together.

Once Broken


D.M. Hamblin - 2016
    It's a story about a single mother, Jackie Martin, who has two objectives: First to raise her daughter, Gina with her self-esteem unscathed by her father’s abandonment; Second, to see her daughter’s father, Tony Salvucci suffer for his abandonment. Both objectives come to pass. With lots of twists and turns and memorable characters, Once Broken is an inspirational story about forgiveness vs. revenge and living one's life moving forward, no matter how painful the past.

A Gentle Love


Emily Woods - 2017
    He has a secret that could drive any woman away. Can they find a love to overcome it all? A Sweet Western Romance from #1 Best Selling Author Emily Wood Kate is a widow who watched her whole life go up in flames. With nowhere else to turn, she heads west to live with her aunt and start a new life for herself and her daughter. As she struggles to provide a new life for her daughter, she finds herself attracted to man who has vowed to never love again. Can she overcome her lack of faith and trust someone enough to find love again? A Gentle Love is a clean western romance from #1 Best Selling author Emily Woods. If you like clean, historical fiction about women who must overcome tragedy in order to love again, you will love this sweet romance! Buy A Gentle Love and get lost in another sweet western romance today. Always FREE on Kindle Unlimited

A Fallen Woman


Kate Harper - 2015
    He was young, personable and rich and was considered the catch of the Season. So her rejection cut deep, so much so that he abandoned England, taking himself off to the Continent to lick his wounds and recover. What starts off as a month long break to forget the love of his life, extends into three years. But he can't stay away forever. He needs to come home. Life has not worked out as Rachel Sheridan thought it would. Her first Season in London saw her hailed as the Incomparable, a creature who had everything and must always shine. But then she runs away with a scoundrel and, instead of the glorious life she had once anticipated, she is a fallen woman, a creature shunned by the very people who had put her up on a pedestal. Then Rachel's sister Charlotte falls in love with Nash's best friend Adam and past and future collide. Nash gave his heart to Rachel once and swore he would never love in such a way again. But then he saw his fallen woman and everything changed...

Isabelle's Choice


AnneMarie Brear - 2007
    On the death of her mother and sister, Isabelle Gibson is left to fend for herself and her brother in a privately-run workhouse. After the matron's son attacks her, Isabelle decides to escape him and a life of drudgery by agreeing to marry a moorland farmer she has never met. But this man, Farrell, is a drunkard and a bully in constant feud with his landlord, Ethan Harrington. When Farrell bungles a robbery and deserts her, Isabelle and Ethan are thrown together as she struggles to save the farm. Both are married and must hide their growing love. But despite the secrecy, Isabelle draws strength from Ethan as faces from the past return to haunt her and a tragedy is set to strike that will change all of their lives forever.​

Lost and Found Groom


Patricia McLinn - 2000
    --Romantic Times"While following a story in distant Santa Estella, hardheaded journalist Kendra Jenner finds herself in the middle of a vicious hurricane. . .and unexpectedly in the arms of a stranger who speaks virtually no English. Fear leads to passion leads to their making a baby, a baby which Kendra fully expects to raise on her own, since her search for Matthew's father - who she only knows as Paulo Ayudor - is a fruitless one. Then, three years later, her "Paulo" shows up out of the blue at her home in Wyoming, speaking the perfect English of an American, and identifying himself as Daniel Delligati. He announces he's come for his son. . .and for her." -- (From an Amazon review by Karen Templeton)

Tales from Stool 17: Finding Port St. Joe


Kirk Jockell - 2015
    Joe is the first of a three-part series that will leave you wanting more!“I’m not running. I’m not hiding. I’m just going. There’s a difference.”Compelled to retire from the only life he’s ever known, retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Nigel Logan discovers his only option is to disappear from a violent past and a murder, he knows will one day catch up to him.In the dead silence of night, he slips out of Norfolk, Virginia on MisChief, his 32-foot Pearson Vanguard sailboat. He set sail for destinations unknown and is ultimately drawn to Port St. Joe on Florida’s beautiful Forgotten Coast. There, he stumbles into the lap of some of the craziest and lovable people which help him to forget his past as he tries to start a new life. And while a new home and friends help distract him from his dark past, Nigel Logan will never get to completely erase it from his mind.If you like Randy Wayne White, John D. MacDonald, and Carl Hiaasen, welcome to the Dark and Crazy World of Nigel Logan!Reviewers say:“A Great Read”“Masterful Storyteller”“Wonderful Characters”“Intriguing and Interesting”“I enjoyed every bit of this book”“PLEASE WRITE MORE!”

While I Was Waiting


Georgia Hill - 2015
    Mary, HerefordshireI am really not sure why I am writing this. A foolish whim by a foolish old lady and it will probably sit in a box unread and decay much like its writer when Death makes his careless decision.But perhaps someone will find it. Someone will care enough to read and somehow I know that will happen.April 2000, Clematis Cottage, Stoke St. Mary, HerefordshireTired of her life in London, freelance illustrator Rachel buys the beautiful but dilapidated Clematis Cottage and sets about creating the home of her dreams. But tucked away behind the water tank in the attic and left to gather dust for decades is an old biscuit tin containing letters, postcards and a diary. So much more than old scraps of paper, these are precious memories that tell the story of Henrietta Trenchard-Lewis, the love she lost in the Great War and the girl who was left behind.

The First Time I Said Goodbye


Claire Allan - 2013
    In Derry they both start to realise that sometimes you have to say goodbye to what you thought you always wanted, in order to find what you have needed all along. Editorial Reviews “One of the most scrumptious books i think I’ve ever read”All Things Books“Like a hug in a book! ... ideal book for those who doubts there's such a thing as having it all” – Woman’s Way“An amazing story of first love and how, even years later, the feelings can still exist. Based on a true story, this was my favourite tale of true love in recent years. Sweet, warm and endearing, it stayed with me for weeks after I had finished it. For all of us that believe there is a soulmate out there for everyone.” Bleach House LibraryQuite simply, this is one of the nicest, warmest and moving love stories I have read in years and I found myself very emotional while reading it. It had some personal meaning to me, as it was a similar tale to a relative of mine, and I had to stop reading a few times in order to pull myself together. I didn’t want it to end and the lump in my throat remains with me, even as I write this review. Writing.ieI LOVED this book. I was completely absorbed in it ...I really couldn't put it down - At Home with Mrs M“A feel-good, touching and amusing tale which readers will find hard to put down” – Irish Independent

Raiding Forces Series Boxed Set (Books 1 & 2): Those Who Dare & Dead Eagles


Phil Ward - 2017
    Meticulously researched (the author was an instructor at the Army Ranger School), the series begins with the birth of special operations—as seen through the eyes of a young American officer who has volunteered to serve with British Forces. With over 500 reviews and a 4.3 star average, Those Who Dare and Dead Eagles are sure to appeal to WWII military historical fiction fans. Two books for the price of one—$9.99. Those Who Dare (Book1) May 1940, 10th Panzer Division has decimated France and is driving on Calais a short distance from Dunkirk. Lieutenant John Randal, a veteran of the US 26th Cavalry Regiment volunteers to serve with the British Forces and arrives on the continent three days before the town falls. What unfolds is a blend of guerrilla tactics learned in the Philippian jungles, the first small-scale Commando raid, tough training at No.1 Parachute Training School, the Commando Castle, Special Operations Executive. suspense, humor and a little romance with the drop dead gorgeous widow Lady Jane Seaborn. The author—a decorated Ranger combat veteran covers the details of war extensively putting the reader right in the middle of the action. As the novel ends newly promoted Major Randal, upon returning from the first British parachute raid of the war is alerted that Raiding Forces will deploy within 48 hours via sea transport for their next mission off the Gold Coast of Africa. Dead Eagles (Book 2) U.S.Major John Randal, Commander of Strategic Raiding Forces is back, leading a crew of British Commandos, Royal Marines and Royal Navy raiders on bigger and bolder missions to foil Hitler's Third Reich. Off the Gold Coast colony in Africa, the Germans are operating a naval intelligence ring that gathers information about British convoys in the southern sea-lane. Couriers carry the data to nearby Rio Bonita, a tiny Portuguese island protectorate, whence they are broadcast to Nazi U-boats and surface raiders from a clandestine radio station onboard one of three interned enemy ships. As a result, British convoys vital to the war effort are ravaged. Major Randal and the Raiding Forces mission is to invade neutral Rio Bonita and spirit away the three ships. Failure means either imprisonment or hanging for piracy-and that Portugal will declare war on its oldest ally. Peopling Dead Eagles are colorful characters new and old. There is Wild West showman Captain "Geronimo Joe" McKoy, the stunning Special Operations Executive operator Lady Jane Seaborn, who adopts the Raiding Forces as her own pet project; and Lady Jane's bombshell of a driver, Pamala Plum-Martin. Even Commander Ian Fleming puts in an appearance, submitting a plan for "Operation Ruthless", the goal of which is to board a Luftwaffe bomber and crash it into the English Channel in order to capture an Enigma coding device from a Nazi air-sea rescue craft. This action packed adventure story features Lovat Scout Snipers, the take down of the Vichy French fleet in English ports, daring Commando raids, an epic sea battle, beautiful spies and culminates in a deadly shoot-out in a crowed bar in Occupied France.

A Moment in Time: A Short Story


Lyn Andrews - 2015
    Each day brings worry and struggle for her mam and da and Ellen works hard as a factory girl to help her family. Together, they get by. She has never imagined any other existence until one night she joins a gathering of suffragettes. Suddenly anything seems possible. But she's soon to discover how much courage it takes to fight for better. And, just when all seems lost, Eddie Shaw walks into her world... Includes the first chapter of Lyn's captivating new novel FROM LIVERPOOL WITH LOVE.