Book picks similar to
Garden of Stars by Rose Alexander


fiction
portugal
rrrcchallenges201<br/>8
history-historical-fiction

The Emerald Affair


Janet MacLeod Trotter - 2020
    But can love win the day?In Scotland in the aftermath of the First World War, nurse Esmie McBride meets handsome Captain Tom Lomax at her best friend Lydia’s home. Esmie is at first concerned for Tom’s shell shock, then captivated by his charm, but it’s effervescent Lydia he marries, and the pair begin a new adventure together in India.When marriage to Tom’s doctor friend Harold offers Esmie the chance to work in India, the two sets of newlyweds find themselves living wildly different lives on the subcontinent. Esmie, heartbroken but resolved, is nursing at a mission hospital on the North West Frontier. Lydia, meanwhile, is the glamorous mistress of the Raj Hotel, where Tom hopes his sociable new wife will dazzle international guests.As Esmie struggles with her true feelings for Tom and the daily dangers of her work, Lydia realises the Raj is not the centre of high society she had dreamed of. And when crisis strikes both couples, Esmie faces a shattering choice: should she stay the constant friend she’s always been, or risk everything and follow her heart?

Mr Cavell's Diamond


Kathleen McGurl - 2014
    He is in possession of a large diamond, given to him in India, which he vows he will give to the woman he loves – when he finds her, that is. Jemima Brown, sixteen, good-hearted and hard-working, comes to work for him as a general maidservant. When Mr Cavell stands up for her against the unwanted attentions of some tradesmen working in his house, she sees at once that here is a man of high morals and integrity. But it is Caroline Simpson, daughter of Henry’s house-painter, who catches his eye. She may be socially his inferior, but she is good-looking, flirtatious and knows how to use her charms. She manipulates Henry into marrying her, and only the loyal Jemima knows he’s been tricked. How can Jemima fight her growing feelings for her master, maintain her morals and stay in Mr Cavell’s employment, despite her mistress’s increasingly erratic behaviour?

A Dangerous Melody


Jane Wetherby - 2020
    After the death of their mother, the four daughters of an impecunious country vicar make a pact to improve their family’s circumstances. This is the story of the eldest daughter...From the moment plain and sensible Juliana Honeyfield takes up her position as music instructor at elegant Northington Park, she senses something amiss. From drawing room to dining hall, the great house is filled with whispers and secrets as ominous as its brooding master Mr. Thorne.Charged with instructing a silent, motherless child who communicates through music, Juliana quickly finds herself tackling a much more perilous task. Can she unravel the truth of a mysterious family tragedy – and breach the icy defenses around the heart of the enigmatic Mr. Thorne?

One of Us Buried


Johanna Craven - 2021
    She is put to work at the female factory of Parramatta; a place where the women’s only hope of food and lodgings is to offer their bodies to the settlement’s men. Nell is given shelter by Lieutenant Blackwell, a brooding soldier to whom she is inexplicably drawn. Despite warnings from the other women, Blackwell’s motives seem decent, and beneath the roof of a military officer, Nell sees a chance to become more than just a convict woman sent to the factory to be forgotten. But tensions are high in New South Wales, with the young colony teetering on the edge of a convict rebellion. And as Nell treads a dangerous line between obedience and power, she learns the role of a factory lass is to remain silent – or face a walk to the gallows.

To Taste the Wine


Fern Michaels - 1987
    Their love flowed as freely as wine. Only Fern Michaels could tell this exotic story of passionate adventure!

Murder on the Menu


Liz Turner - 2016
    Except her words seem to have run dry, and nothing she does can get the spark back.When tragedy strikes and the beloved town Mayor is found dead in his home under mysterious circumstances, Victoria’s instincts tell her there’s more to his death than meets the eye. The local RCMP don’t seem interested in the case- and it’s up to her and her friends to identify the murderer.With a list of suspects ranging from the Mayor's entitled son to his long-time political rival, it's not as obvious as she would have hoped. Armed with her insider information of the town and its long-time residents, Victoria sets out to solve the strange mystery.This new culinary, cozy mystery features an amateur woman sleuth determined to create a new life for herself, her kids and their lovable lab puppy, Vanilla.

1964


James Farner - 2014
    Through verdant fields and meandering brooks, life is simple and easy, far from the turmoil of the Cold War world. When an adventure with his older brother Peter Warren goes wrong and Richard finds himself trapped in the dark depths of an abandoned quarry, it kick-starts a chain of events that brings him into contact with work, family conflict, and the dreaded English class system. Will Richard be able to persevere and become wise well beyond his tender years? Part of the Made in Yorkshire saga: 1969 (Made in Yorkshire Book 2)

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....

Last Chance Motel


Abigail Keam - 2014
    Or, at least, she thinks so. In a wink of an eye, Eva's husband leaves her. She loses the brownstone and her career. With only the clothes on her back, she flees cold New York for the sunnier climate of Key Largo. As Eva puts it, her marriage went south and so does she. Stuck in Key Largo, it is sink or swim for the devastated Eva. Starting over is hard for anyone, but Eva wonders if she can. Determined to make a new life, Eva buys a rundown mid-century motel and renovates it. She hires Mike Bishop for her general contractor, but from the very beginning they cross swords of how to remodel the Last Chance Motel. It irritates Eva that many of Mike's ideas are betters than hers. It couldn't be that Mike bothers her because he is handsome, sexy, and rugged, could it? Eva needs is a handsome and sexy man around her like she needs another hole in her head. Yet, she finds herself drawn to Mike and is grateful for his help. In the midst of the motel's renovation and her growing feelings for Mike, her ex-husband shows up and begs for her forgiveness, saying the divorce was a mistake. He wants her back. What is Eva to do? Does she throw in the towel on the motel and go back to her ex, or does she stick with the renovation and Mike? One thing Eva does know, as the Last Chance Motel comes back to life, so does she. Step by step, Eva is determined to find purpose and happiness in life again. The question is how and with which man? Books in the A Last Chance For Love Series Last Chance Motel Gasping For Air The Siren's Call Hard Landing The Mermaid's Carol

Firefly Hollow


T.L. Haddix - 2014
    In 1960, a tragic death in the family calls young Sarah Browning back from college to her Appalachian homestead. Unable to return to school and finish her degree, she finds herself facing a future that isn’t what she’d planned. Lost and grieving, she wanders onto her reclusive neighbor’s property where she stumbles across the all-too-attractive Owen Campbell, a man hiding secrets she’d only ever thought were legend. Owen Campbell was raised on the folklore of Eastern Kentucky, tales of men and women with magical abilities from shape-shifting to healing powers. Rejected by those he loves because of his own abilities, he isolates himself from the world. When he meets Sarah, he’s faced with the tough decision of whether to let her in or stay hidden away to keep his heart safe.Please note - this book is NOT a typical paranormal romance. No rage-beast shifters or alpha dogs here. It is, however, at its heart a romance, with a few intimate scenes between the hero and heroine, as well as adult situations dealing with tragedy. "Firefly Hollow" is the first book in the Firefly Hollow series. Other titles include "Butterfly Lane," "Dragonfly Creek," "Cattail Ridge," "Cricket Cove," "Stormking Road," "Fern Valley," and "Snapdragon Way."

A Higher Duty


Peter Murphy - 2012
    Underneath a profession which proudly flaunts its integrity and traditions lies a world of hypocrisy and ruthless self-interest. When scandal threatens, self-preservation is the only goal and no one is indispensable. Ben Schroeder, a talented young man from an East End Jewish family, has been accepted as a pupil into the Chambers of Bernard Wesley QC. But Schroeder is an outsider, not part of this privileged society, where wealth and an Oxbridge education are essentials. He encounters prejudice, intrigue and scandal. Kenneth Gaskell, a rising star of Wesley's Chambers has become involved in an affair with a high-profile client and the relationship, if known, could ruin his career, and the careers of all those around him. But Bernard Wesley has some information - he knows about a student prank that went terribly wrong - but can he use this knowledge in a desperate gamble to save his Chambers and turn the tables on his old rival, Miles Overton QC?

The Viking


Marti Talbott - 2010
    Yet, the battle was not at all what he expected and he soon found himself alone and stranded in Scotland. Thirteen-year-old Kannak’s problem was just as grave. Her father deserted them and the only way to survive, she decided, was to take a husband over her mother‘s objections. Suddenly she was helping a hated Viking escape. Could Kannak successfully hide a Viking in the middle of a Scottish Clan? And why was someone plotting to kill the clan's beloved laird?

Saving Grace


Sandy James - 2013
    The victim of a violent rape at the hands of a rich politician’s son, she must “disappear” to escape his constant attempts to recapture her. Moving from cattle drive to cattle drive as a cook, she avoids her tormentor for nearly twenty years. When she discovers that the brother she gave up for adoption after their mother died in childbirth was orphaned at an early age, she is frantic to verify that he’s safe. She tracks him to a cattle ranch in Montana.Widower Adam Morgan owns the Twin Springs ranch, but finds himself falling into a life of loneliness. Although he enjoys spending time with his grown daughter and the two men he rescued when they were living on the streets, he longs to meet a woman he can love. Living in the Montana territory where men greatly outnumber women makes finding a new wife difficult. Weary of working cattle, he is ready to make some changes in his life.Grace falls ill on her journey, but she manages to make it to the Twin Springs ranch where her brother is supposed to be living. Adam takes her in, concerned for her health and the reason she’s searching for one of his adopted sons. Their chemistry is immediate and intense, but can Grace heal from her past of pain and fear? When her secrets are finally revealed, can Adam forgive her deceptions and learn to love again?

Charles Fort and the Beast of Loch Ness (Charles Fort Historical Mysteries #2)


T.E. Scott - 2016
    Together they must investigate a strange murder at Boleskine House on the banks of Loch Ness. But what dark creature lurks at the heart of the Loch? And what do the murders have to do with Boleskine’s most infamous resident, Aleister Crowley? Second in the Charles Fort Historical Mysteries series by TE Scott, for fans of Golden Age style detectives and historical mysteries.

The Love We Gave


Gretta Curran Browne
    "Part thriller, part love story … it’s hard to resist turning the pages."—BELFAST TELEGRAPH"Books are often described as 'page-turners' but this is very true of this one’ … Once started the reader will find it very hard to put down.’--- SOUTHSIDE NEWS."Succeeds in combining a fast-paced tale involving vast sums of money, immense power, women both wounded and wounding, and a variety of credible male characters from the traumatised Vietnam veteran Jimmy Overman to the seedy publisher, James Duncan … an excellent book.’ – IE BOOK REVIEWPARIS 1940 ― Sixteen year-old Jacqueline Castineau joins the French Resistance and proves herself more lethal than any Nazi.LONDON 1963 ― The music of Elvis, the Beatles, and Smokey Robinson hum through the city night and day; and the life of a shy young English waitress changes spectacularly when an off-duty American soldier comes into the bistro where she works.AMERICA1963 ― President Kennedy is in the White House and Martin Luther King is marching for Civil Rights.In this incredible and beautiful love story, jealousy and vengeance play a cruel part – set between two wars, the horror of the past come back to casts dark shadows over the present, and uneasiness about the fearful threats of the future.