. . Evie spent her early years left outside on the step. With a drunk for a father and a neglectful mother, all little Evie has ever craved is a safe home and a normal existence. Her young eyes had seen so much but this never tainted her spirit. If it wasn't for her best friend Gary, and friendly dog called Whisky - Evie might never have made it to the sixteenth birthday.At sixteen she meets Ken, a sweet brown-eyed boy, not much older than she is. Perhaps her fortunes have changed? But no sooner does she give over her heart, she is betrayed, not for the first time in her young life... Will Evie ever find the love and warmth she's always craved?

    Ruby is always hungry, but she will go without if it means her young brothers can eat. 1930s Bermondsey might be called the larder of London, with its pie, pickle and jam factories, but for the poor working classes, starvation is often only a heartbeat away. When Ruby's neighbour suggests she ought to go to the Methodist Mission for free food, Ruby knows her father will be furious, but that she has no other option. It is a decision that will change the course of her life forever, split her family and in the end lead her to face a terrible choice between duty and a great love.

    Moving on from a first love is never easy though and it's further complicated by the fact that Timmy's mother is the headmistress at Evie's school and can't hear a bad word said against him.Luckily, Evie has two sisters and a close circle of friends to help her through the tough times and as the war brings British RAF officers and American GIs to the once quiet and calm village - as well as evacuees, Land Girls and wounded servicemen - life is going to be anything but dull.

    Kirsty Barnes, an orphan indentured to a lecherous old farmer, escapes from his advances with the help of her childhood sweetheart, Craig Nelson. With little money and still strangers to each other, they travel to Glasgow. Marriage takes second place to survival, although their fortunes improve when a churchgoing widow befriends Kirsty. Still not legally married, Kirsty gives birth to a son, and Craig establishes his reputation as a policeman. Ambitious and impatient to get on, Craig falls in with a gang of sly and vicious thieves and soon sinks into a life of drink and crime. Meanwhile, Kirsty has met the handsome and charming David Lockhart, a medical missionary soon to return to China. But she is bound by loyalty to Craig, a less than ideal husband who can only bring her hardship and heartbreak...

    With her husband, Tom, away fighting in the Second World War, she has only her unreliable sister to help her and she has almost given up hope. She is completely devastated when Tom is reported missing, presumed dead. As the months pass and she struggles to come to terms with her loss, Flora is swept off her feet by a handsome American soldier. But he cannot offer the stability that Flora and her family desperately need. And when another terrible tragedy strikes the family, Flora must decide what is really important…

    Or so she thinks. An unimaginable betrayal by those she loves causes her to flee her home and family one snowy night. Crushed and heartbroken, Ruby vows that despite the odds stacked against her she will not only survive, but one day will show the ones she left behind that she’s succeeded in making something of herself. Brave words, but the reality is far from easy. Dangers Ruby could never have foreseen and more tragedy threaten her new life, and love always seems just out of reach. Can a happy ending ever be hers?

    They've been friends since they were toddlers and now they've become young ladies and left school. Joan finds work at Dunlop's tyre factory, while Ginny's dream comes true when she is taken on as a counter assistant at Woolworths. But things don't work out as she had expected, and she carries around a dark secret...

    A motley crew of friends has replaced the family she’s not spoken to in years. That is until the evening Kate’s sister Sarah walks back into her life. Sarah has a favour to ask: she needs Kate to return home to Dorset for one month to look after her daughter, Lizzie. Reluctantly Kate agrees, even though it means facing the troubled past she hoped she’d escaped. Kate is confronted once again by the prejudice and scrutiny of the townsfolk, including the new village vicar. As the war continues, Kate must fight her own battles and find not only the courage to forge a future but perhaps, at long last, love.'Milly Adams' readers will find the story and its rich cast of characters very appealing.'Lizzie Lane

    They find somewhere to live in the industrial part of the city, full of glue and tanning factories, paint manufacturers and back-to-back housing along the river - the sky is filled with acrid smoke. For young wife and mother Ellen, it's the complete opposite of what she's used to . . . but at least here her husband finds a job in a seed-crushing mill to support them and their small children.But there are many others in search of a home too - in the late nineteenth century many refugees were escaping from Poland and Germany, landing in Hull and either settling there or moving on to other cities or ships bound for America. Ellen befriends one family and offers them shelter . . .Everyone is looking for a place to call home.Val Wood's wonderful historical sagas are perfect for readers of Dilly Court, Maggie Hope and Rosie Goodwin.

    Meet Maud, the formidable Irish-American suffragette; sulky Patricia, whose unhappy childhood leads her to a dangerous love affair; vivacious, flame-haired Colleen; Mary, who struggles to bring up children beside her wayward husband - and Arfer, whose quick mind lifts him out from the world of poverty in London's East End.

    L. Gardner, includes five novels and one novella: 1929 Elizabeth’s Heart 1930 Drifter Purgatory Cove 1931 1929 When Black Tuesday triggers financial despondency, three young couples in New York City trade their lives of luxury for poverty. From back-breaking jobs to a shabby, rundown apartment, the couples’ rocky path leads to more turmoil when a business rival creates one disaster after another. A story set in the past, Gardner’s first novel is more than memorable—1929 is unforgettable. Elizabeth’s Heart Institutionalized in 1929 for having prophetic visions, Simon Sinclair narrates from inside the Massachusetts Asylum. There he meets Elizabeth, a young woman with a shadow personality and a traumatic past. As their lives become entwined, their attachment for each other grows. Their actions set off a chain reaction that directly touches the lives of the characters from 1929. 1930 A memorial service for Aryl Sullivan isn’t enough closure for the 1929 characters. Claire, now a pregnant widow, is too devastated to cope, Caleb drowns his sorrow in a bottle of whiskey, and Jonathan awaits the birth of his child. Maura is put to work to see them past the worst of it, facing setbacks of her own. As the gears of life slowly start to move again, new friends are made and old enemies return. Claire finds refuge through a common bond with widower Gordon, finally allowing her to move on and accept her new life. Until she’s met with a shocking surprise. Drifter Richard Sloan, a Massachusetts missing person’s detective, is losing his touch. After six months, he hasn’t found anyone alive and becomes desperate to redeem his reputation. Aryl Sullivan, who suffered amnesia in a boating accident, finds himself caught up in a series of events that land him in London. While in the hands of Gina, a secretive and controlling woman, Aryl is forever changed as he does what he has to in order to survive. Purgatory Cove Elizabeth William’s mind is full of fissures and hairline fractures held together by the love of fellow patient, Simon Sinclair. But when the staff at the Massachusetts Asylum informs her that her soul mate, Simon, has died, she instantly shatters. Retreating within the depths of her mind, she must confront the fractured personality that’s tried to control her for years. But Elizabeth discovers that she’s outnumbered and must live in the shadows of her own personal purgatory until she finds the strength to change her fate. 1931 The saga of the 1929 Series continues as Aryl’s battle with opiates forces Jonathan and Caleb to take drastic measures in an effort to save him. Claire clings desperately to the hope that the man she fell in love with—and lost—will reemerge from the depths of his addiction. Ava confronts a dark secret from her past that sends her spiraling deeper into her postpartum depression. Instead of reaching out to Jonathan, she withdraws. While Arianna is expecting their third child, Caleb finds himself ensnared in Marvin’s tangled web of deceit and blackmail. He struggles to keep his family safe as he maneuvers his way out of the nightmare. Will they have the tenacity to overcome their obstacles? Or will this forever destroy their friendships as they know it? Get all six novels in one digital boxed set.

    

    But is she a match for Babs, a 'Baby Girl' in this house of ill repute? Babs has her own agenda, and in order to fulfil her dream of a decent life, she must first overcome Madam Eve.Meanwhile, a deranged killer walks the Dock Road. 'Inspired' by a vision, he seeks to clean up Liverpool. When he finds Eve's farm, he plans to cast his net on what promises to be a great catch.

    Growing up without a father, Merryn is used to barely scraping a living and her mother has always instilled pride and honesty in her. But she dreams of one day having more in life.So when she gets the chance at a job in a nearby city she jumps at the chance, despite her mother's reservations. However, once out of her village she begins to uncover long-buried secrets about her past that threaten to unravel everything that she thought she knew.

    Rosie is having a difficult pregnancy, while Johnny has fallen and fractured his skull on a trip to Orkney with the Home Guard. Meanwhile, Ann Neill is looking forward to meeting Greg again when he gets a much-needed break from his work at Bletchley Park, but she soon realizes that they are drifting apart. When the war finally ends, Danny Ryan does not return, although they think they see him on a cinema newsreel one day...and when Granddad becomes ill they are in crisis once again.