Book picks similar to
One Last Letter by Pema Donyo


historical-fiction
bookkins-que
fiction-romance
romance

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.

Gentle Savage


Jeanie Johnson - 2015
    However, along the way, she is captured by a Sioux War Chief, Silver Fox. At first she fears him, even though she is irresistibly drawn towards him, against her will. When she is forced to spend more time in his village, Dianna, now dubbed White Fawn, by him, starts to learn more about the mystic people who have taken her captive. She begins to accept their way of life, as her love and understanding, for Silver Fox grows. Being torn between her mystic War Chief, and her past love of Captain Stanley Miller, there is always the concern of what she will do, if Stanley ever comes to rescue her?

Smolder on a Slow Burn


Lynda J. Cox - 2014
    But there is no romance in being pursued by a man who wants her dead for educating the children of former slaves. Unlike the heroines she reads about she doesn't have a trusty companion to rescue her...until she literally runs into A.J. Adams, a former Confederate cavalry officer. Now, she just has to convince A.J. he really is the honorable man and hero depicted in the dime novel she is reading.Branded a "traitor" for more than ten years, scarred by harsh treatment in an inhumane prisoner of war camp, A.J. Adams wants revenge. Allison Webster's arrival into his life provides the bait to destroy the men who murdered his wife and daughters and kidnapped his little brother. The men pursuing Allison are the very same men he has sworn to kill. Falling in love and admitting he might actually be a hero means surrendering his need for vengeance. Surrender is not part of A.J.'s battle strategy.

His Wagon Train Sweetheart


Catherine Kennedy - 2020
    

A Rancher's Woman


E. Ayers - 2013
    A series of events soon prove she’s capable of standing on her own two feet. However, she’s not prepared to follow her heart and accept marriage from the one man who truly loves her. Many Feathers' chance encounter with a blue-eyed blonde woman sets him on a path that lands him between the white man's ways and the traditions of his people. Determined to protect his people and prove his worthiness as a suitable husband to a white woman, he stakes claim to land and establishes a ranch. But there's one outlaw focused on destroying Many Feathers and everything he's trying to accomplish.

Daniel McClintock (McClintocks Book 4)


Caroline Clemmons - 2018
    Now, at twenty-two, she is one of the best heilgymnast in the new field of mechanotherapy. When her supervisor receives a request for someone to travel to Texas in America and help a patient, Clara is pleased to accept. On her arrival in McClintock Falls, she is surprised that the patient she thought would be a teenage boy is a very handsome man her age. A desperate man… Two years ago Daniel McClintock was paralyzed from the waist down. He is deeply discouraged and wonders if he is bound to live his life an invalid. Each week he becomes more depressed although not idle. He keeps books for the ranch and paints landscapes with sales donated to the church. The local doctor learns of a new type of treatment developed in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Daniel can’t go there, so his family writes for a therapist trained in the new treatment to come to them. A surprise arrives… Everyone is expecting a man when Clara Van Hoosan arrives. As she and Daniel work together, they become attracted. She believes his is the normal attachment a patient feels toward a therapist and will fade once he’s healed. She tries to hide her feelings for him. Daniel knows she’s The One if only he can convince her to remain in McClintock Falls.

Last Vow of the Unyielding Duke


Hazel Linwood - 2021
    Ever. So when her father announces that she must wed a Duke she has never met before, she is more than a little furious. And while she might be forced to marry him, no one can force her to love him.Thomas Mccarthy, the Duke of Egerton’s dreams of marrying for love are crushed when his late father’s debts force him into an arranged marriage. And his new bride’s cold demeanor does not foreshadow a happy union .Just as Olivia’s walls start to melt like ice, her worst fears come alive before her own eyes. A note written in secret fills her heart with doubt. And when she goes missing, Thomas realises that no one can be trusted. For in the heart of their own home, enemies are disguised as friends, and revenge is disguised as justice…

A Moment on the Lips


Phyllis Bourne - 2006
    Wall Street wizard Melody Mason holds the key to both. All she has to do is accept his job offer. Trouble is, she flat out refuses. With his coveted promotion on the line, Grant's game plan is to do whatever it takes to change her mind. Melody has abandoned big business and her old pressure-cooker lifestyle in exchange for the serenity of small town living. There's no way she's accepting Grant's proposal. But their instant attraction and off the charts chemistry can't be denied. And soon Grant's wondering if he is really offering the sexy recluse a job or his heart.

Farewell Bergerac: A World War II Thriller (World War II Adventure Series)


Fredrik Nath - 2012
    Fredrik Nath is one of those few."- The Masked PersonaFrom the author of wartime adventure novel 'The Cyclist', the Historical Novels Society editor's choice February 2011.A reluctant hero in war-torn France...A teacher in St Cyprien, a small town in Aquitaine, France, descends into an alcoholic daze, after his son dies in the Spanish Civil War. His life seems meaningless and he moves to Bergerac where he survives by poaching and fishing. Isolating himself from the world, he ruminates over his hatred of the Fascists who killed his son. He is dragged back to reality when, after the occupation of France by the Nazis, he witnesses Security Police beating a young Jewish girl. He reacts by killing the Germans and hides Rachelle, the young teenager. She breathes life into the world in which he has hidden himself and gives him a reason to go on.Dufy begins a path of revenge on the occupying Germans. A sniper in the Great War, he uses his skills to devastating effect, always posing as the town drunk.Then the British drop supplies and a beautiful SOE agent whom Dufy falls in love with. But as the invaders hunt down the partisans in the deep, crisp woodland, nothing works out as Dufy had hoped.Farewell Bergerac is an unforgettable wartime tale of fragile love, loss and redemption.

An Inconvenient Grand Tour


Lisa H. Catmull - 2021
    He’s tired of being overlooked. It’s going to be a long two years.Eleanor Barrington has one rule: don’t draw attention to yourself. Her father does that far too often. She has one goal: marry a Peer with enough social status to protect her family from embarrassment. When her father decides on a last-minute Grand Tour, Eleanor finds herself spending time with the one man who cannot help her: a younger son who draws attention to himself everywhere they go. Her brother’s best friend.As the younger son of an earl, Percy Hauxton has to fight for everything. A Grand Tour is the perfect opportunity to pursue his ambition to work for the Foreign Office. But traveling with Eleanor and her parents wasn’t part of the plan.When circumstances draw them apart and a secret from the past threatens to unravel everything, Eleanor has to rethink her goals and decide one thing. Can she marry for love, or does she need a marriage of convenience?

The Carson Brothers of Kansas


Carré White - 2015
     Desperate for grandbabies and cursed with four wayward sons, Maggie Carson concocts a scheme to impersonate them in letters sent back east for mail order brides. Charlie Rebecca Hart is the first ensnared, romanced by sweet words, poetry, and the promise of a new life. When she arrives in Topeka, she is eager to marry the man she thought she had come to admire, but the groom, Grant Carson, is nowhere to be found. It is his younger brother, Charlie, who greets her at the train station. Charlie is appalled after discovering his mother’s deception, yet jealous that Rebecca is meant for his older brother, who, in his estimation, does not deserve her. Grant reluctantly makes an effort to romance Rebecca, but his heart is elsewhere, as he is involved with a married woman in town. Rebecca and Charlie find themselves thrown together often, and a friendship emerges. An unexpected kiss confuses Rebecca, and she questions if it is Grant she really wants. Bronson Fleeing from an abusive marriage, Charlotte Mills and her five-year-old son, Dudley, travel to Kansas in the hope of securing a better future. While on the train to Topeka, the passengers are robbed by a band of outlaws. In the midst of the chaos, one of the bandits, a tall, rugged man in a bandana, shamelessly steals her last ten dollars. Injured after a robbery, Bronson Carson is forced to return to the Carson Ranch to recuperate. His mother has once again schemed to find a wife for his younger brother, Grant, having brought in a woman from back east. But there is something about Charlotte that catches his eye, as she nurses him to health. Falling in love was the last thing he expected or wanted, preferring to live wild and unencumbered. As the blonde with the sweet smile softens his heart, he finds himself in a quandary. His lifestyle as a hardened criminal is hardly appropriate for a woman and her son, but his feelings will not be denied. The past is never far behind, and Charlotte’s day of reckoning is at hand. Her husband has found her, and he is not a forgiving sort of man. Wyatt Hired for a cattle drive, Wyatt Carson is surprised when his boss, Mr. Hardin, expects him to transport his mail order bride, Sofia Parker, from San Antonio, Texas to Abilene, Kansas. Little does Wyatt know that the real Sofia Parker has just passed away from blood poisoning. Her roommate, Eugenia Madsen, has taken her place, determined to escape poverty by marrying a rich cattle baron. While on the Chisholm Trail, Eugenia’s drawn to the handsome trail boss, but Wyatt Carson, oldest of the Carson brothers, has no plans to settle down just yet or anytime soon, preferring his freedom. Eugenia is a raven-haired beauty with big, dark eyes. Her fun and flirty manner begin to wear him down, especially after she dons a pair of men’s denim pants and learns to ride and shoot. Two months on the trail is a long time—far too long to be spent with a woman like Eugenia and not touch her. The flirtatious vixen tempts him like no other, and his good intentions begin to evaporate. As the cowboys pull into Abilene, Wyatt must let Eugenia go. This could be the biggest challenge of his life. Grant Eva Caldwell is on the hunt for the gunslinger who attacked her sister, Cora, vowing to kill the man when she sees him again. The orphaned sisters have never had an easy life, struggling to fend for themselves by any means possible. A pickpocket by profession, Eva brazenly robs several men on the train to Topeka.

Shadows of the Past


Elaine Shelabarger - 2010
    The young widow of the disgraced Sir Hugh Delahaye, Adeline reverts to her maiden name and is determined to leave the past behind. When she encounters Guy Ashleigh, the handsome and charismatic young ward of the village squire, they fall passionately in love, but Guy is expected to marry his childhood sweetheart. When jealousy forces them apart and the secrets of the past catch up with them, Adeline sees no alternative but to run away. Somehow, they must find a way to overcome the obstacles that threaten to destroy their future together.

The King's Courtesan


Suzan Tisdale - 2015
    Living a quiet life with her children and grandchildren, she believes she has put her past behind her. That is, until one peaceful summer afternoon when a stranger arrives at her door with news of the death of an old friend. The stranger knows her secrets and threatens to turn her world to chaos by revealing them, if she refuses to give him what he wants. It is not money he seeks but something far more valuable: the truth about his own past. Many, many years before, Fate and desperate circumstances lead a young girl into the life of a courtesan and the arms of a man she could never have—or even name. Just as he could never have her. But their love was pure and formidable. Powerful enough to endure all efforts to destroy it? Powerful enough to defeat a queen? It is time for Francesca Ginori to tell her story—her own passionate, enthralling truth.

The White Empress


Lyn Andrews - 1989
    She's full of hope, determined to make her fortune and be someone. Joe Calligan, a deckhand who saves Cat's life, can't bring himself to tell her, the most beautiful girl he's ever set eyes upon, that Liverpool is full of people walking the streets, looking for work. As soon as Cat sees the luxury liner the White Empress her heart is set on becoming Chief Stewardess. Despite her lack of money or education, Cat sets about achieving her incredible dream. Whilst doing so, she discovers that having a good man by her side will bring her more happiness than she could ever have hoped for.The White Empress is the story of a young woman who is determined to make her own way in life - and see the world whilst doing so.

The Journeyman


W.A. Patterson - 2013
    You won’t find any dazzlingly handsome, wealthy action heroes or beyond belief beauties here, but real characters … hard working, Irish country folk who grow to depend upon each other through a dangerous and oppressive time in Ireland’s history … a time of hardship, fear and persecution.Liam Flynn travels across Tipperary, his destination the shores of Lough Derg, his objective to fulfill a lifelong dream. The perils he encounters on the road are only the beginning for this young itinerant carpenter. He finds himself thrust into an impossible situation when, with the help of an old Franciscan priest, he tries to save the tiny Irish village of Gortalocca. If he is discovered by the authorities, he faces almost certain execution for treason and, when the villagers discover what action he has taken in his efforts to help them, he becomes the object of their contempt and hatred.These are dangerous times in Ireland and, as the country struggles to piece itself back together after a hundred years of conflict, the very fabric of society has changed. English Parliament has begun to impose harsh Penal Laws in Ireland which will ban Catholics from voting, from receiving an education, even from practicing their own faith. Catholics can no longer own their own land. More than ninety percent of Ireland’s land will be confiscated and given to English and Irish Protestant landlords, who will charge the rightful owners rent as they try to eke out a living on land which their families have worked for generations. Liam and Father Grogan risk their lives in an effort to save their peaceful Irish village from dissolution.A consummate loner, Liam has led a solitary life so far but he finds romance in Gortalocca, not with a retiring Irish lass, but rather with the feisty daughter of Michael Hogan, the owner of Gortalocca’s only store and bar. Roisin grew up in a man’s environment and has seen enough to know that she will never wed if it means compromising herself by marrying a man she doesn’t love. Now, at the age of nineteen, Roisin Hogan is a spinster.There is plenty of fast-paced action in our story and villains abound, from Gortalocca’s homegrown bully, Sean Reilly, and his gang of thugs, to the menacing dark man who appears from nowhere, posing a threat to Liam’s plan and adding a further complication to his life.You will meet Moira, the ancient and mysterious old hag who lives alone in a tiny cottage, hidden deep inside the forest. Moira is one of the ‘wise ones’, a healer, with her own blend of the spiritual and the ritualistic, the Christian and the Pagan. She is feared by the villagers who think her a witch and do not dare to gaze upon her … unless one of them is ill, and then she is beckoned for help. Moira becomes the source of wisdom for Liam and a strange and shadowy, yet important, part of the plot.Of course, an Irish story would not be complete without humor, and there is plenty of ‘craic’ to be had here. In Hogan’s bar, you will experience, first hand, the humor which epitomises the character of the people of Ireland, and sustains them, especially in times of crisis … an unconscious humor, one of habit. You will sit at the bar with Paddy Shevlin, the pig farmer and Ben Clancy, the shepherd, whose banter provides a welcome respite from the tension, and who never let the truth spoil a perfectly good story.Allow yourself to be stirred into this cauldron of Irish stew.