Book picks similar to
Sword of Forgiveness by Debbie Lynne Costello


historical
romance
historical-romance
christian

The Measure of Katie Calloway


Serena B. Miller - 2011
    To protect herself and her young brother from her violent and unstable husband, she flees north, finding anonymity and sanctuary as the cook in a Northwoods lumber camp. The camp owner, Robert Foster, wonders if the lovely woman he's hired has the grit to survive the never-ending work and harsh conditions of a remote pine forest in winter. Katie wonders if she can keep her past a secret from a man she is slowly growing to love.With grace and skill, Serena Miller brings to life a bygone era. From the ethereal, snowy forest and the warm cook-stove to the rowdy shanty boys and the jagged edges of the saw, every detail is perfectly rendered, transporting the reader back to the time when pine was king, men were made of iron, and rivers were choked with logs on the way to the sawmills. Readers will have a hard time leaving the Northwoods when they turn the last page.

A Constant Heart


Siri Mitchell - 2008
    She was born with the face of an angel. Her father is a knight, and a small fortune has been lavished upon her. And now she is to be married to an earl. Her security is fixed, her destiny guaranteed. At least, she hopes.The Earl of Lytham has already been married once. But the beautiful woman only left him with a broken heart and the bitter taste of betrayal. Now, his only demand of Marget is that she help him win favor with the Queen.But when Marget's introduction to court is met with the jealous queen's wrath, the young bride fears she's lost her husband forever. Desperate to honor him, she'll risk everything by doing whatever it takes to recapture the heart of a man bound to the Queen in a world where love is the only forbidden luxury.

Love's Reckoning


Laura Frantz - 2012
    Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, Silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But Liege soon discovers that Silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in York. Silas becomes interested in both of Liege's daughters, the gentle and faith-filled Eden and the clever and high-spirited Elspeth. When he chooses one, will the other's jealousy destroy their love? In this sweeping family saga set in western Pennsylvania, one man's choices in love and work, in friends and enemies, set the stage for generations to come. "Love's Reckoning" is the first entry in The Ballantyne Legacy, a rich, multi-layered historical quartet from talented writer Laura Frantz, beginning in the late 1700s and following the Ballantyne family through the end of the Civil War.

When All My Dreams Come True


Janelle Mowery - 2011
    Raised without a mother and having spent most of her time around men, she knows more about wrangling than acting like a lady. The friendship of her new employer awakens a desire to learn more about presenting her feminine side, but ranch life keeps getting in the way.

The Border Series: Box Set


Cecelia Mecca - 2018
    All he must do is accept a betrothal to the Scottish Marcher warden's beautiful daughter. Sir Adam relishes the prospect - until he meets the woman he is to wed.Lady Cora Maxwell hates everything English, including the self-assured new lord who has claimed her hand in marriage. Desperate to return home to Scotland, Cora displays increasingly outrageous behavior in the hopes of dissuading the Englishman from the marriage. But when Adam proposes a unique challenge, Cora is forced to face her greatest fears and the burgeoning desire he has awakened in her. THE THIEF'S COUNTESS: BOOK ONE Sir Geoffrey has dedicated his life to exacting revenge on the men who killed his parents and stole his birthright. Just when he’s on the verge of success, his uncle asks him to put his plans on hold to help protect a wealthy countess. It’s a distraction Geoffrey resents, even more so when he meets a gorgeous, complicated and alluring lady who is everything he’d want in a woman—and everything he can’t have.Lady Sara Caiser's father’s deathbed request was for two lawless border reivers to serve as her protectors. Despite her misgivings, an undeniable attraction pulls her into Sir Geoffrey’s arms. The man she thought nothing more than a thief is more dangerous than she believed, for he’s noble, caring and sinfully attractive, but Sara must decide what’s more important—her duty or her heart. THE LORD'S CAPTIVE: BOOK TWO Sir Bryce Waryn has dreamed for years about the day when he will finally liberate his home from the Scots who stole his brother’s birthright, but something unexpected stands in his way—the sister of the Scot who held Bristol. Bryce takes her captive, hoping to exact an even more satisfying revenge on his enemy, except the fiery beauty is far more compelling than he would like…Lady Catrina Kerr knows a thing or two about stubborn men, but Bryce is also maddeningly handsome, brave, and kind—but no matter how compelling her captor, she’s intent on escaping him. Only then will she be able to protect her brothers. But as Bryce’s plan escalates and her feelings for him intensify, she finds herself facing an unthinkable choice between her family and the man who has captured her heart. THE CHIEF'S MAIDEN: BOOK THREE The Scottish king gives Toren Kerr a dangerous mission—kill the English Warden. When he travels to England to participate in the Tournament of the North as a cover for his mission, he’s immediately drawn to a beautiful, mysterious Englishwoman. . . only to discover she’s the warden’s daughter.When Lady Juliette Hallington's protective father agrees to send her to the tournament, she recognizes her chance to avoid an arranged marriage. But after meeting Toren, Juliette begins to realize real life is more complicated than tales of love—and the very thing she wants most might consume everything she holds dear.

Lord of Her Heart


Sherrinda Ketchersid - 2019
    When she overhears a plot to force her into vows—either to the church or a husband—she disguises herself and flees the convent in desperation to discover the truth. Malcolm Castillon of Berkham is determined to win the next tournament and be granted a manor of his own. After years of proving his worth on the jousting field, he yearns for a life of peace. Rescuing a scrawny lad who turns out to be a beautiful woman is not what he bargained for. Still, he cannot deny that she stirs his heart like no other, in spite of her conniving ways. Chaos, deception, and treachery threaten their goals, but both are determined to succeed. Learning to trust each other might be the only way either of them survives. Written for the General Market (G) (I): Contains little or no; sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language. May also contain some content of an inspirational nature.

Mercy's Heart


Grace Walton - 2013
    The world weary warrior has never backed down from a just fight. Providing sufficient coin for the clan seems finally within his grasp. Until, in a collision between his honor and his purse, he is forced to rescue the English King's baseborn daughter at a bear baiting. Burdened by the sins of his profligate past, Titus feels compelled to protect the young innocent girl. The convent raised Mercy is eager to finally meet her royal father. She yearns to earn his love. Mercy is convinced her stark and lonely life can change. There will indeed be dramatic changes in her life, just not the ones she anticipates. Titus needs a wife. His ideal spouse would be a plain and practical woman. Whimsical Mercy is neither. Courtly Love is still a novel concept in Tenth Century England, but Mercy embraces it fully. The famous Scottish knight becomes the focus of her regard. He categorically rejects any idea of romantic love, especially the ridiculous Courtly Love. Opposites in every way Titus and Mercy navigate court intrigue, blood feuds, church assassins, life altering revelations, and annulled marriage vows. Titus the Norseman has never been defeated in a tournament. He has won every challenge issued. Now against almost insurmountable odds, somehow with God's help he must find a way to win 'Mercy's Heart'. ‘Mercy’s Heart‘is the first novel in a new Medieval Inspirational Romance series, 'The ChristKeepers'.

The Return of Lord Avondale


Lucy Adams - 2019
     Now he’s back…and Eliza is nothing less than horrified. He is widowed, sorrowful and desperate to explain what happened all those years ago. Determined not to give in and holding tightly onto her pain, Eliza refuses to give him even a moment of her time and instead tries to develop an attachment with Lord Montrose. Lord Montrose is both suave and amiable, but Eliza is struggling to make herself feel as much for him as she does for Lord Avondale. Then, when Lord Avondale discovers a terrible truth, Eliza is forced to look deep into her heart, questioning everything she thinks she knows about both gentlemen. Is Lord Montrose truly the man he seems? Or will her engagement to him all come crashing down once the truth is revealed… Author’s Note London Season Matchmaker is a five-book series about four sisters and their cousin all being reluctant when it comes to love. But of course, in the end, they all do fall madly in love.

No One's Bride


Nerys Leigh - 2016
    The last thing she wants, however, is a husband.When her plan to trick the postmaster of the small Californian town of Green Hill Creek into paying her way across the country goes awry, her guilty conscience compels her to stay and find a way to repay him the cost of the train ticket. The trouble is, she's completely unprepared for the effect of Adam Emerson's kindness, charm, wit, and ridiculously blue eyes.As her dream of a new life in San Francisco begins to falter and her past catches up with her, can Amy hold onto the one thing she never thought she'd want, but now can't bear to lose?This uplifting Christian romance will transport you to a time of courageous women searching for a better life and the strong men dedicated to winning their hearts. Buy now and lose yourself in this heartwarming love story.

Before the Scarlet Dawn


Rita Gerlach - 2012
    Her dark beauty and spirited ways are not enough to win him, due to her station in life. Circumstances throw Eliza in Hayward's path, and they flee to America to escape the family conflicts. But as war looms, it's a temporary reprieve. Hayward joins the revolutionary forces and what follows is a struggle for survival, a test of faith, and the quest to find lasting love in an unforgiving wilderness.

Distant Dreams


Judith Pella - 1997
    the railroad. Frustrated by society's expectations upon her gender, she longs to study more masculine subjects and is thrilled when her father grants her a tutor.James Baldwin arrives to serve as Carolina's teacher, but of more importance, he is to court Carolina's beautiful older sister, Virginia. Will expectations--and Virginia's southern charm--elicit the hoped-for proposal? Or will James and Carolina dare to acknowledge the mutual interests and feelings growing between them?

Dusk's Darkest Shores


Carolyn Miller - 2021
    Her chances for matrimony have long since passed her by. Still, her circumstances are pleasant enough, especially now that she has found purpose in assisting her father with his medical practice in England's beautiful Lake District. Even without love, it's a peaceful life.That is until Adam Edgerton returns to the sleepy district. This decorated war hero did not arrive home to acclaim and rest, but to a new battle against the repercussions of an insidious disease. Mary's caring nature cannot stand to see someone suffer--but how can she help this man see any brightness in his future when he's plunged into melancholic darkness, his dreams laid waste by his condition?Adam wants no charity, but he's also no coward. If this gentle woman can work hard, how can he do less? Together they struggle to find a way forward for him. Frustration and antipathy slowly develop into friendship and esteem. Then a summer storm atop a mountain peak leads to scandal--and both Mary and Adam must search the depths of their closed hearts for answers if they hope to find any future path with happiness at its end.Best-selling author Carolyn Miller is back with a fresh series that will not only thrill readers eager for more of her work, but bring in new fans looking for beautiful writing, fascinating research, deftly woven love stories, and real faith lived out in the Regency period.

The Keeper


Suzanne Woods Fisher - 2012
    A farm. A heart. All in need of repair.Life on Windmill Farm hasn't been the same since Julia Lapp's father has had trouble with his heart. But that doesn't stop Julia from hoping for a bright future. She has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. But when Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding--again--she is determined to change his mind. She knows who is to blame for Paul's sudden reluctance to wed: the Bee Man.Roman Troyer, the Bee Man, travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. A mysterious man who relishes his nomadic life, Roman especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia seriously at odds with him, Windmill Farm is looking decidedly less appealing.Can Julia secure the future she's always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

Canteen Dreams


Cara C. Putman - 2017
    When her community starts a canteen at the train station, Audrey spends nearly every spare moment there, offering food and kindness to the soldiers passing through. She never expected to fall for a local boy…or face the challenges of budding love in the face of war. Rancher Willard Johnson admires Audrey’s passionate nature, but when his brother is killed in action, he feels he must avenge by enlisting himself. His father insists he stay, but Willard knows he must go. Reality intrudes, and he never expected the jealousy he experiences when he sees those in uniform. Can Willard’s budding relationship with Audrey weather the storms of war? Or will one of the other soldiers at the canteen steal her heart? Other books in this series: Sandhill Dreams Captive Dreams A Promise Kept A Promise Born A Promise Forged

The Rancher


Kelli Ann Morgan - 2012
    He'd sworn to protect her. He couldn't do that if she married someone else...COLE REDBOURNE, immersed in guilt over the accident that claimed his best friend, discovers there was nothing accidental about it. When he sets out for Silver Falls, Colorado, to fulfill his friend’s dying wish and to flush out his killer, the last thing he expected was to find hope again disguised as his impromptu bride.