Book picks similar to
Against the Tide by Theresa Tomlinson
historical-fiction
young-adult
historic
university
The Jrystal Sword: Knights of Aquinas Book 1
Dave Villager - 2020
Now he and three friends must embark on an epic quest, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.A new epic fantasy story from the creator of the Dave the Villager series.
The Visitors
Rebecca Mascull - 2014
Unable to interact with her loving family, she exists in a world of darkness and confusion; her only communication is with the ghosts she speaks to in her head, who she has christened the Visitors. One day she runs out into the fields and a young hop-picker, Lottie, grabs her hand and starts drawing shapes in it. Finally Liza can communicate.Her friendship with her teacher and with Lottie's beloved brother Caleb leads her from the hop gardens and oyster beds of Kent to the dusty veldt of South Africa and the Boer War, and ultimately to the truth about the Visitors.Rebecca Mascull's first novel is the tale of a wonderful friendship, but it is also a thrilling adventure, a heartbreaking love story and a compelling ghost story.
Annexed
Sharon Dogar - 2010
Frank's workplace in a few hours. We're arriving separately, all of is. We'll walk into the building just like it was any other visit - only this time we'll never walk out again.What was it like hiding in the Annex with Anne Frank? To be with Anne every day while she wrote so passionately in her diary? To be in a secret world within a world at war - alive on the inside, everything dying on the outside?Peter Van Pels and his family have lost their country, their home, and their freedom, and now they are fighting desperately to remain alive.Look through Peter's eyes.He has a story to tell, too.Are you listening?
Deep in the Heart
Gilbert Morris - 2003
They fought for the land they'd come to love. An unforgettable saga of faith, love and loyalty that will find its place deep in your heart. In the days when Texas was the northern edge of Mexico, when Bowie and Houston and Crockett were men and not yet legends, when the Alamo was still a scruffy mission on the banks of the San Antonio River, this unorthodox family struggled to make a wild but beautiful land their own. This is the tale of Jerusalem Ann, who is willing to take whatever life dishes out in order to make a life for her family. It's the story of Clay, who finds himself protecting another man's family - and in love with another man's wife. It's about Jake, who loves two women and can't do right by either... and Julie, who'd rather be free than respectable... and Bowie, who can handle war but might not survive his first love. It's the story of Comanches and fiestas, hunting parties and courting parties, of battles and massacres and beautiful calm nights under a canopy of stars. Wide as the prairies, warm as a San Antonia breeze, spiced with adventure and romance, this Texas-sized saga of faith from a beloved storyteller will quickly find its place deep in your heart.. and never let you go.
Bitter Greens
Kate Forsyth - 2012
At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...After Margherita's father steals parsley from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off, unless he and his wife relinquish their precious little girl. Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death. She is at the center of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition.Locked away in a tower, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does.Award-winning author Kate Forsyth braids together the stories of Margherita, Selena, and Charlotte-Rose, the woman who penned Rapunzel as we now know it, to create what is a sumptuous historical novel, an enchanting fairy tale retelling, and a loving tribute to the imagination of one remarkable woman.
Redeye Fulda Cold
Bill Fortin - 2013
This piece of history is set in 1969 West Germany. The reality of what happened in the Cold War on the border between the opposing forces of East and West makes this a great read; it's an important part of our military history. Rick Fontain, the main character, is found just out of high school working for Bell Systems when he is summoned by his friends and neighbors. During his induction into the US Army he is given an aptitude test. The test results change the path of his life forever. He is encouraged to become an officer but the extra time, in addition to his two years, is a no go for Rick. He opts for training on the Redeye, the first ever hand held surface to air missile system designed for close combat for the infantry. What Rick doesn't know is that he is being watched from afar. His progress is being scrutinized and he is being evaluated for recruitment into the CIA. The style of the author, Fortin, is written in the first person. We travel with Bill on a journey that follows the army life of Rick though short snippets of his, at times, humorous and MASH-like journey. The style of headers detailing the timeframe of where and when things were taking place are unique and are always appreciated by the reader always pushing to find out where and when what would happen next. His journey from boot camp continues when he is stationed near the Fulda Gap. Not a well known place, but its stragetic position to the free world was an important post that kept Europe safe during those tense 30 plus years. Rick and his team would become one of the greatest deterrents to an invasion from Mother Russia. Fortin brings all the key elements together to make a fabulous story: mystery; intrigue; love; suspense; bravery and reality. It is a snap shot in history back to when the world was at the brink. Redeye Fulda Cold is a historical expression of our military tradition. The story ends leaving the reader wanting to see a sequel novel to find out where Rick goes next. Author Bill Fortin has deftly combined fictional characters and people he served with in the United States Army to recount some important but little-known events during the Cold War. His story takes the reader to the people and places of the late 1960s European Military Community and a series of carefully crafted CIA military operations designed to thwart a possible Russian invasion through the infamous Fulda Gap.
Skin
Ilka Tampke - 2015
Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is not permitted to marry, excluded from tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly, forbidden to learn. But the Mothers, the tribal ancestors, have chosen her for another path.Lured by the beautiful and enigmatic Taliesin, Ailia embarks on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced.Set in Iron-Age Britain on the cusp of Roman invasion, Skin is a thrilling, full-blooded, mesmerising novel about the collision of two worlds, and a young woman torn between two men.
The Last Magician
Lisa Maxwell - 2017
Steal the book. Save the future.In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
Fire Weed
Terry Montague - 1992
Living with her father, sister, and brother in a cramped apartment in Berlin, the small family shares what seems to be an unbreakable spirit of love and security. However, with the rise of the Nazi party and approaching dark clouds of war, any kind of future grows increasingly uncertain. Knowing little of hate and destruction, Lisel is ill prepared as the storms of battle erupt in full fury and loved ones are taken from her as her beautiful city is reduced to rubble. With fear and despair rising within, it is through her quiet, compassionate father that Lisel discovers faith and hope. Now, in a desperate journey to find her sister, Lisel and her neighbor flee Berlin and the advancing Russians for Frankfurt, a city under the protection of the Allies. But their flight to safety is filled with pain, hunger, and terror. However, with spiritual lessons and blessings from her father, the support of departed loved ones, and her tried but undying faith in a loving Heavenly Father, perhaps Lisel can emerge like the fireweed—rising strong and beautiful from scorched ground—transforming bitterness and despair into a charity that never faileth.
Cruel Beautiful World
Caroline Leavitt - 2016
It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.
Another Beginning
Lauren James - 2017
It makes an odd sort of sense, actually,” Clove said.Clove is working as a maid in the Finchley household while she spies on Katherine Finchley and Matthew Galloway. But her mission is briefly interrupted when fellow maid Ella persuades her to help steal a valuable historical document from the main defence in the city – the castle. The two girls embark on a risky adventure involving scaling castle walls and hiding in the most unlikely of places!A fast-paced and fun read, perfect for Lauren James’s existing fans, and readers who enjoy historical fiction and romance.Includes the first chapter of Lauren James’s third novel, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe.
Longbow
Wayne Grant - 2014
He has learned the art of making a longbow and the skill to use it with deadly accuracy. Why must this be kept secret? The Normans rule England with their armored knights and a well-aimed longbow can pierce that armor. Possession of the weapon is a hanging offense and when Roland takes the wrong deer on the wrong Lord’s land he has to flee for his life. His flight will take him from the high hills of the English midlands to the wild frontier with Wales and on to the court of Richard the Lionheart. Along the way he is hunted by a paid killer, aided by a strange monk named Tuck, and taken in by a gruff Norman knight, who values his skill with the bow. That skill and his courage will be sorely tested as he fights to earn the trust of his new master. As King Richard celebrates his coronation, Roland faces old enemies he thought he had left behind and must test his skill at a royal archery tournament against the greatest bowmen in England, to include the favorite, Sir Robin of Loxley. A mix of history, myth and high adventure, LONGBOW follows the journey of Roland Inness as he seeks to find a place for himself in a restive kingdom and become a man in a brutal age.
The Reluctant Heiress
Eva Ibbotson - 1982
No one there knows who she really is, or that a fairy-tale castle is missing its princess, and Tessa is determined to keep it that way.But secret lives can be complicated, and when a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage, Tessa's two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny. . .Magic Flutes is an enchanting story of love, music and secret princesses from Eva Ibbotson.
A Thief in Time
Cidney Swanson - 2016
She can't let him go.Halley, stuck covering house-sitting jobs for her self-absorbed mom, has Hollywood dreams but no real life. Until the day covering for her mom leads to a tumble back to London, 1598, where Halley meets a hot, rich earl named Edmund. And accidentally brings him to the 21st century.Her dull summer just got a whole lot more interesting as she tells Edmund to keep his hands off tech he doesn't understand and a deadly sword he can't use in public brawls. All while trying to keep from falling for him, which definitely can't happen.Now Halley's job is to get Edmund back where he belongs--while preventing a very scary scientist from suspecting she messed with his time machine. If the evil scientist finds out about Edmund, Edmund's as good as dead. And what might that do to history? Not to mention, Halley would be next in line ...Summer's not boring anymore.Halley just needs to keep from getting killed, save Edmund (and history) before it's too late, and not fall for a guy who can't stick around.No matter how much she want him to.A THIEF IN TIME is a sweet, clean, time-travel romance with an HEA and no cliffhangers, packed with danger and historical detail.
The Shore: Shirt and Shoes Not Required
Todd Strasser - 2007
Both have the same summer-tastic setup: total strangers sharing a house. No one sleeps, no one cleans, and everybody parties. And to pay their ways, each housemate slags through crappy summer jobs while recuperating from the night before. Ah, summer shares! In the Jersey house, cheating and misleading are the name of the game as roommates hook up and hash it out. And at Laguna Beach, surfing is just one of several popular, uh, pastimes. But some of the people in this share are keeping secrets—dangerous ones that could blow the roof off their massive house on the beach. How will these clashing personalities survive two months together? With plenty of drama to share!