Book picks similar to
His Brother's Wife by Val Wood


fiction
4-star
cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater
historical-books

The Royal Lacemaker


Linda Finlay - 2014
    Hundreds of miles away, in London, Queen Victoria is preparing for her wedding. She will wear the most exquisite wedding dress in history, bearing the famous Honiton lace. When Lily is asked to be one of the select few to work on this top-secret commission it is the answer to her prayers.Lily quickly makes an impression, both as an expert seamstress and a natural leader of the women working day and night to ensure their families' survival. But there are others who want to see Lily fail, including Squire Clinsden who issues her with a terrible ultimatum - work for him, and be subject to his unwanted advances, or lose the family home.Torn between her duty and her dreams of a better life, Lily must remember where she came from or risk losing those most important to her.

The Flashman Papers: The Complete 12-Book Collection


George MacDonald Fraser - 2013
    Spanning from 1839 right through to 1894 the incorrigible Flashman fears all evil and when it comes to voluptuous queens and princesses he has be known to waver from his mission. Filled to the gunnels with escapades of unwavering excitement THE COMPLETE FLASHMAN PAPERS will quench even the most ravenous appetite for Flashman.

Lily's War: An uplifting WWII saga of women on the home front


Shirley Mann - 2019
    1942, Manchester World War Two is in full swing and Lily Mullins is determined to do her bit for the war effort. Her friends and sweetheart have all joined up and Lily's sure there must be a role for her that goes further than knitting socks for the troops! When she decides to volunteer for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Lily soon discovers that she has a talent as a wireless operator. Helped along the way by a special gang of girls, she finds strengths she didn't know she had and realises that the safety of the country might just be in her hands . . . Meanwhile, Danny is determined to marry Lily, but his letters home become more and more distant. Will a long separation mean the end of their love story?An uplifting and inspiring novel of women on the home front. '[The story] read so true to me and I really didn't want to put it down . . . It may be fiction but those things could, and did, happen.' Vera Morgan, wartime WAAF 'An impeccably researched and uplifting story of love, loss and courage: a heartwarming read that will captivate all those who love a good war story.' Clare Harvey, author of The Gunner Girl'A wonderful, inspiring story. I can't wait to read more from Shirley Mann.' Sheila Newberry

Lights Of London


Gilda O'Neill - 1998
    Until the feisty young prostitute, Tibs Tyler, takes her under her wing, and the two girls, one dark, one fair, set themselves up as a music hall act. As they desperately try to break free from Tibs's violent pimp, and to avoid the educated and wealthy yet sinister Dr Tressing, they are also hoping to make a new life for themselves as the new century breaks.

Of Noble Birth


Brenda Novak - 1999
    Thinking Alexandra is his half-sister, pirate captain Nathaniel Kent takes her hostage on his ship to exact revenge on his cold-hearted father. But the pirate and the beautiful seamstress can barely contain their strong desire for each other.

The Electric


Andrew David Barker - 2013
    Absorbing, resonant, emotionally satisfying and quite magical' - Stephen Volk 'Eloquent, shimmering writing unfurls a haunting story of childhood, grief and obsession' – Simon Clark'I adored every line. I can’t recommend it highly enough... Book of the Year!' - The Eloquent Page ‘The Electric is an impressive first novel. Andrew David Barker’s style is whimsical and nostalgic, and the work reads like the haziest recollections of a childhood long since gone.’- Starburst Magazine‘The Electric is more than a book – just as its namesake is more than a cinema – it’s an experience to dive into and wallow in. It’s a link to the past and a way to think about what’s really important about life. Its heart beats beautiful pulses of nostalgia and grief, but it is full of affirmation too: the joy of discovery; the value of insight; the depths of friendship, love and family ties, and the powerful cement of a shared experience.’- Geek SyndicateIn the summer of 1985, fifteen-year-old Sam Crowhurst discovers an old abandoned cinema that screens movies made by ghosts, for ghosts. Sam, along with his friends, Emma and David, find themselves drawn into a world where the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney and Theda Bara are still making pictures; where Harold Lloyd and John Belushi team up for roustabout comedies, and Karloff and Lugosi appear in films scripted by Edgar Allan Poe. Sam comes to learn the mysteries of the Electric cinema and his part to play in its long and strange history. With shades of Ray Bradbury, the more nostalgic work of Stephen King, and the early films of Steven Spielberg, THE ELECTRIC is about movies, ghosts, and that ephemeral moment in all of our lives, childhood.

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.

Seven Killers I


Ash Lingam - 2018
    The man who will help him is U.S. Marshal One-Eyed Jack Black, a one-time famous gunslinger with an unquestionable reputation who has realized the times are changing and the need for his kind is dwindling – that is until outlaw Steele Hellstrom turns up on the scene. Action-packed with a dash of romance and humor, Seven Killers is Amazon’s bestseller author Ash Lingam’s best novel to date.

The Ragged Hatmaker


Faye Godwin - 2019
    1854. For years, Fern Hall has lived in an orphanage in the East End of London. It’s a brutal life of endless chores and punishments—for even the smallest infractions. She’s able to escape it for a time when she’s hired out as a temporary maid to the wealthy Hawk family, but a servant’s lot is little better. Gerard Hawk, the second son of the prosperous merchant, is drawn to Fern from their very first meeting when she comes to work for his parents. When Fern is falsely accused of a crime, Gerard is the only one who believes her innocence. She is forced to flee, leaving behind everything—and everyone—she has ever known. A year and a half later, Fern and Gerard meet again accidentally, but the gap between their circumstances is wider than ever. Now in love with Gerard, Fern despairs of anything ever changing in her life. Then something mysterious from Fern’s past surfaces. Can Fern gather the courage to see it through? Is change really a possibility at last?

Born a Workhouse Baby: Victorian Romance


Dolly Price - 2021
    Deserted by a selfish man, and driven to the workhouse, young Annabel and her midwife mother face a harsh and hopeless future.A critical situation for the workhouse governor then opens a door of deliverance for them both, but it seems that revenge and bitterness hound their every step.A harrowing story of stolen love, rich and poor, faith, family, and fearful odds, Born A Workhouse Child, will keep your heart pounding and your hopes soaring to the end.Join Dolly Price for her most heart-warming Victorian romance yet, and follow Annabel’s courageous quest to discover the real meaning of love, faith, and family.

The Prime Ministers We Never Had: Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn


Steve Richards - 2021
    

Paradise Park (Potter's S)


Iris Gower - 2002
    She gains a respectable post as housekeeper to an elderly man, but when he dies his waspish sister throws her out onto the streets where she faces destitution. At the entrance to the notorious Paradise Park Hotel she encounters Sal, a young street girl whom she tries to rescue. Her attempt ends in failure and Sal returns to her old life on the streets, leaving Rhiannon is even more determined to become respectable. She obtains a job as maid to unhappy Janey Buchan, who takes a liking to Rhiannon and teaches her ladylike ways. Her rascally husband Dafydd, once the lover of Llinos Mainwaring, causes Janey great unhappiness, and eventually she runs away, leaving Rhiannon once more without a job or a home. In desperation, knowing that little stands between her and a return to her old life, she finds herself back at the Paradise Park Hotel. Once scarcely more than a bawdy house, it has now changed hands and Rhiannon starts working there, helping gradually to transform it from a place of ill-repute into one of the finest hotels in Swansea. The only thing lacking in her life is love, and with Bull Beynon married to sweet, gentle Katie, she fears that she may have to live out her life alone . . . Paradise Park is the triumphant finale to Iris Gower's Firebird sequence, set amongst the romantic clay potteries of South Wales.

Doctor Rose


Elvi Rhodes - 2012
    Rose - who had the added disadvantage of being young and pretty - found she had to cope with elderly male prejudice from those above her, and apathetic ignorance and poverty from those she was trying to help.

Mary Beth's Mail Order Cowboy (Mail Order Husband)


Christy Chapel - 2014
    She needed a hero, and quick. But what she had hoped was that at least one person would have answered her plea for help. As the months wore on she had all but given up on finding the husband she so desperately needed, and resigned herself to a lifetime imprisoned by her cruel stepfather. Rancher Wes Roberts couldn’t get the thought of Mary Beth out of his mind, and the desperate nature of the ad she had placed. He figured it wasn’t unusual that he hadn’t received a reply to his letters, given that she had probably already chosen her husband and moved on with her life, but something nagged at him. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t find out for sure that she was safe, even if it wasn’t with him. When Wes arrives, not only is Mary Beth still there, she is more in need than ever. After he rescues her from the desolate life she has been living he realizes that he needs her just as much as she needs him. Please enjoy this sweet, clean, historical western romance novella of 21,128 words (about 90 pages).

Without Sin


Margaret Dickinson - 2005
    Worse still, her father abandons them outside the workhouse, leaving Meg to care for her devastated mother, Sarah, and little brother as tragedy continues to haunt the family.Isaac Pendleton, Master of the workhouse, rules the lives of all those within its walls but when Sarah becomes his latest mistress, Meg is disgusted. Her loyal friend, Jake, born and bred in the workhouse, has a maturity and understanding beyond his years. Yet it is Meg’s fiery independence that encourages Jake to leave the workhouse and seek employment on Middleditch Farm. His future is assured, but who will take care of Meg? The pretty, vivacious girl, once so innocent, becomes a calculating and manipulative young woman who will stop at nothing to get her own way even if it means betraying those she has loved.