Book picks similar to
Gathering Storm by Maggie Craig
scotland
historical-fiction
first-reads
romance
Keowee Valley
Katherine Scott Crawford - 2012
The Southern frontier is a treacherous wilderness inhabited by the powerful Cherokee people. In Charlestown, 25 year-old Quincy MacFadden receives news from beyond the grave: her cousin, a man she’d believed long dead, is alive—held captive by the Shawnee Indians. Unmarried, bookish, and plagued by visions of the future, Quinn is a woman out of place… and this is the opportunity for which she’s been longing.Determined to save two lives, her cousin’s and her own, Quinn travels the rugged Cherokee Path into the South Carolina Blue Ridge. Defying her furious grandfather and colonial law, she barters for leverage against the Shawnee with a notorious Cherokee chief—and begins building a daring new home in the Keowee River Valley, a fiercely beautiful place. But in order to rescue her cousin, Quinn must trust an enigmatic half-Cherokee tracker whose loyalties may lie elsewhere. As translator to the British army, Jack Wolf walks a perilous line between a King he hates and a homeland he loves. Together they journey across the Appalachian Mountains and into the heart of Cherokee country. They encounter wily trappers, warring Indians, British soldiers, desperate settlers, and a contested backcountry on the brink of changing forever. When Jack is ordered to negotiate for Indian loyalty in the Revolution to come, the pair must decide: obey the Crown, or commit treason….
Someone to Love
Mary Balogh - 2016
Now she discovers that the late Earl of Riverdale was her father and that she has inherited his fortune. She is also overjoyed to learn she has siblings. However, they want nothing to do with her or her attempts to share her new wealth. But the new earl’s guardian is interested in Anna…Avery Archer, Duke of Netherby, keeps others at a distance. Yet something prompts him to aid Anna in her transition from orphan to lady. As London society and her newfound relatives threaten to overwhelm Anna, Avery steps in to rescue her and finds himself vulnerable to feelings and desires he has hidden so well and for so long.
3 Christmas Regency Romances: The Duke, the Earl, and the Joker
Charlotte Darcy - 2017
A Christmas to Remember Juliet Whitehall, is the eldest daughter of the Earl of Forbes. Being clumsy and tongue-tied she is in no rush to find a suitor. Who would risk taking on such a jinxed wife? Her clumsiness would only get worse when the Duke of Richfield comes to stay at their family home and of course he was coming for Christmas. Edward Burton, had lost his father, and suddenly found himself with the title of the Duke of Richfield. After being invited to stay with the Earl and Countess of Forbes, for the Christmas period, he found himself being cast in the role of a Duke in a play. He is hesitant in his role but then disaster strikes. Can a Christmas Miracle bring two unlikely and yet perfect people together in this sweet Regency romance? Christmas Masquerade Kate Whitehall, lost her joy for Christmas, when her sister Juliet married and left home. Life seemed duller. Christmas, was going to be even worse, until a friend suggested they attend a few masquerade balls. Dressed up, and behind a full mask, Kate was able to let go of her sadness just a little but could still not find the joy in the season. That was, until the man in the terrifying black mask engaged her in conversation… interesting conversation. His deep voice, strong body, and obvious intelligence became something Kate wanted more of. Yet he disappeared, not returning when he said he would. Left a little distraught she must wonder why he had shunned her? Had she done something to offend him? She cannot get him out of her mind and wants to know who was the man in the frightful mask …and would she get to meet him again?” Find out in Christmas Masquerade. The Best Time of Year Stella Lawson had played an integral part in arranging the courtships, leading to the marriages of her best friends, the sisters Juliet and Kate Whitehall. This year at Christmas, all was not going well. Their brother and a dear friend to her also, Adam Whitehall, was being pushed into courtships by his dear mama, with ladies he didn’t even know. Ladies he didn’t want to know. Stella agrees to aid him in putting off his mother’s future consorts by persuading them that Adam is a buffoon. Yet the more she helps, the more Adam seems like the perfect man, it’s a pity he’s only a friend… or is he? Find out in this collection of sweet Christmas romances.
Promises to Keep
Genevieve Graham - 2017
Along with their friends, the neighbouring Mi’kmaq, the community believes they can remain on neutral political ground despite the rising tides of war. But peace can be fragile, and sometimes faith is not enough. When the Acadians refuse to pledge allegiance to the British in their war against the French, the army invades Grande Pré, claims the land, and rips the people from their homes. Amélie’s entire family, alongside the other Acadians, is exiled to ports unknown aboard dilapidated ships. Fortunately, Amélie has made a powerful ally. Having survived his own harrowing experience at the hands of the English, Corporal Connor MacDonnell is a reluctant participant in the British plan to expel the Acadians from their homeland. His sympathy for Amélie gradually evolves into a profound love, and he resolves to help her and her family in any way he can—even if it means treason. As the last warmth of summer fades, more ships arrive to ferry the Acadians away, and Connor is forced to make a decision that will alter the future forever.
Bellfield Hall: or, the observations of Miss Dido Kent
Anna Dean - 2008
An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.
Again
Diana Murdock - 2010
Though secretly holding out for a love that would consume her, she acquiesces her fate to wed this knight, a man she loves no more than she could a brother. But a chance meeting with a devastatingly handsome merchant shakes the very foundation of her world, compelling her to act and think in ways she never thought possible.LOVE CAME BACK TO HAUNT HER…ERYN REXFORD, a modern-day photographer, has everything many women dream of: Beauty, wealth, a sexy and successful husband, a career she loves, and a beautiful house nestled in a community of beach homes. But passionate love, the one thing she longs for, she learns to live without, until recurring dreams and visions spark memories of a life lived long ago and of a man whose love promises to follow her through time. Eryn recognizes a whisper of that promise in the eyes of a handsome stranger who stays close enough for her to notice, but not close enough for her to remember.LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES…Two women, born centuries apart, both accept lives of obligation and responsibility; lives without passion, with men who would claim them for their own. Until, that is, a chain of events complicates things in ways they never imagined, all because of one man’s love for a woman…a love that crosses through centuries to find her again.
Sarah Mayfield
J.S. Anthony - 2020
On the strength of three letters she has traveled by railroad, riverboat and stagecoach to meet her new life out west. Grady McGuire, her intended and the author of those letters, though formally dressed and still holding a bouquet of wilted prairie flowers, is unfortunately passed out drunk in a buckboard behind the saloon.That new life isn’t beginning quite as she envisioned it. As she attempts to salvage the promises they made to each other, she finds herself involved with others in town with their own stories to tell:Addison Pruitt, Sarah’s saving grace, owns the very fine Russell Hotel and keeps the irritating John Russell close as she spends his money.Diego, the Mexican hotel cook possessed of an exquisite repertoire of French dishes, has a secret that he hopes he never has to tell.Jim, Booker and the boy Abraham, Grady’s long-suffering hands, are her new family. They run the ranch Grady didn’t intend to inherit and love him even though they can’t keep him out of trouble.Ellen, Grady’s strong-willed mother, lies under a headstone out by the river, but won’t quite stay dead.Last but not least, there is Elijah Blue, a member of the tribes, shotgun rider and horse trainer, who drove cattle with Grady from the time they were barely out of childhood, and is now waiting to see if his friend can make amends with the woman from the East, the one in the black traveling dress covered with dust, the one that he noticed the minute she stepped down off the stage.
The Fire in the Glass
Jacquelyn Benson - 2020
Lily’s visions could stop a killer… if she’ll trust a reclusive aristocrat with her darkest secret.A monster stalks the gaslit streets of Edwardian London, draining the blood of the city’s mediums. Lily Albright knows who’s next.Lily is plagued by visions of the future she can never change. When a mysterious fiend threatens someone she loves, she’s determined this time will be different.But she can’t do it alone. To save a life, Lily must reveal her darkest secrets to someone she has little reason to trust—the reclusive Lord Strangford, a man haunted by his own unusual powers.From the glittering galleries of Bond Street to the rookeries of Southwark, Lily and Strangford plunge into a dark conspiracy that lies at the heart of England’s rising eugenics movement. To thwart it, Lily must face a past rife with betrayal—and embrace the power she has spent her entire life trying to escape.
Return to Quail Crossings
Jennifer McMurrain - 2014
She had dreams of Hollywood stardom, not dirty diapers and pigs. But when Robert Smith, a country boy from head to toe, offers her and her daughter a chance at a normal life, reputation intact, Evalyn can’t help but accept. Little does Robert know, Evalyn is keeping a huge secret. While Evalyn’s family members deal with prejudice in 1940s Texas, fertility, changes of the heart, and even a ghost come back from the dead, Evalyn must fight for her family or lose everything she has grown to love.
The Earl in Winter
Kathryn Le Veque - 2020
In the village of Calvine, north of Tay Forest, along a road that leads straight into Inverness, the only tavern in town is packed to the rafters with travelers. Eight months after the disastrous defeat at Culloden, the people haven't recovered, nor has the land, and it's a bad winter. When James de Lohr, Earl of Worcester, shows up looking for clues to his brother's fate on the Culloden Moor, he gets more than he bargained for.On a night when angels walk the earth, James comes face to face with a unique young woman... and the truth about his relationship with his brother. Love isn't always shown in the most obvious way.Nor is falling in love always conventional.A blustery innkeeper, his sensitive daughter, and a cast of unique characters passing through the careworn tavern will become the setting for a tale that is as sweet and poignant as the very spirit of the holidays.If you'd like to read the story of James' brother, Johnathan de Lohr, please read The Earl of Christmas Past by Kerrigan Byrne.Other novellas related to this tale: Fiona and the Three Wise Highlanders by Jennifer Ashley One Knight's Stand by Tanya Anne Crosby The Legend of a Rogue by Darcy Burke The Highlander Who Stole Christmas by Eliza Knight
The Road Back
Liz Harris - 2012
Set against a cultural background rarely featured in novels - that of the Buddhist part of Ladakh, a country to the west of Tibet - it tells of a passion that crosses cultures, of a love that lasts a lifetime, and of hope that can only come from revisiting the past.When Patricia accompanies her father, Major George Carstairs, on a trip to Ladakh, north of the Himalayas, in the early 1960s, she sees it as a chance to step out from the shadow of her dead brother, James, and finally to win her father’s love.What she doesn’t expect to do is meet Kalden – a local man destined by circumstances beyond his control to be a monk, but fated to be the love of her life.Despite her father’s fury, the lovers are determined to be together, but their plans go tragically awry, and thirty -two years later a young woman comes knocking at Patricia’s door, looking for answers.The Road Back is a love story that spans two continents. It tells of a passion that crosses cultures, of a love that endures for a lifetime, and of the hope that can only come from revisiting the past.*Liz describes Kalden, the hero, in terms of chocolate:“Definitely a dark chocolate with a luscious soft centre.”
Where Rainbows End
AnneMarie Brear - 2017
Pippa Noble is determined to reclaim their honour by making her father’s plan for an outback farm reality, although her ambition is frowned upon by a society that has very set ideas about a woman’s place …Pippa learns the hard way about the unforgiving nature of the bush, sometimes with devastating consequences. And when unfortunate circumstance leads to Pippa tending the farm alone, it is the friendship of neighbouring estate owner Gil Ashford-Smith that helps her through.Then an unexpected visitor from England arrives, putting Pippa’s dreams in jeopardy. But she refuses to let go. She will hold onto her family’s land, even if it means losing everything else …
The Practice House
Laura McNeal - 2017
Aldine’s sister converts and moves to America to marry, and Aldine follows, hoping to find the life she’s meant to lead and the person she’s meant to love.In New York, Aldine answers an ad soliciting a teacher for a one-room schoolhouse in a place she can’t possibly imagine: drought-stricken Kansas. She arrives as farms on the Great Plains have begun to fail and schools are going bankrupt, unable to pay or house new teachers. With no money and too much pride to turn back, she lives uneasily with the family of Ansel Price—the charming, optimistic man who placed the ad—and his family responds to her with kind curiosity, suspicion, and, most dangerously, love. Just as she’s settling into her strange new life, a storm forces unspoken thoughts to the surface that will forever alter the course of their lives.Laura McNeal’s novel is a sweeping and timeless love story about leaving—and finding—home.
Spellbreaker
Charlie N. Holmberg - 2020
But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?
Secrets of Nanreath Hall
Alix Rickloff - 2016
Back in England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna Trenowyth is shocked to learn her adoptive parents Graham and Prue Handley have been killed in an air raid. She desperately needs their advice as she’s been assigned to the military hospital that has set up camp inside her biological mother’s childhood home—Nanreath Hall. Anna was just six years old when her mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, died. All she has left are vague memories that tease her with clues she can’t unravel. Anna’s assignment to Nanreath Hall could be the chance for her to finally become acquainted with the family she’s never known—and to unbury the truth and secrets surrounding her past.Cornwall, 1913. In the luxury of pre-WWI England, Lady Katherine Trenowyth is expected to do nothing more than make a smart marriage and have a respectable life. When Simon Halliday, a bohemian painter, enters her world, Katherine begins to question the future that was so carefully laid out for her. Her choices begin to lead her away from the stability of her home and family toward a wild existence of life, art, and love. But as everything begins to fall apart, Katherine finds herself destitute and alone.As Anna is drawn into her newfound family’s lives and their tangled loyalties, she discovers herself at the center of old heartbreaks and unbearable tragedies, leaving her to decide if the secrets of the past are too dangerous to unearth…and if the family she’s discovered is one she can keep.