Book picks similar to
Ups And Downs by Mary Jane Staples


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The Promise Between Us: Mammy's Story


Naomi Finley - 2019
    Separated from her husband, Henrietta now faces an uncertain future and the possibility of becoming estranged from her child. Luckily, fortune shifts in her favor when Olivia Hendricks—the wife of a wealthy planter—purchases her as a nursemaid for their unborn infant. During her years at Livingston Plantation, Henrietta finds sanctuary and safety in the big house, eventually becoming a caregiver to both Mrs. Hendricks and her child. However, this all changes when the missus ends up dead and the master involves Henrietta in a ruse to cover up his wife's murder. Now Henrietta is vulnerable without protection from the lady of the estate, and she is left with no choice but to take action. Chained together by secrets, slave and master must fight to maintain all they hold dear. But how far will Henrietta be forced to go, and what consequences will ultimately be paid to save her daughter and herself?

Amadea: One Spring in France


Michelle Granas - 2015
    It seems that Amadea has finally found someone who appreciates her for her kindness and cultivation. She begins to enjoy her new occupation and the first human warmth she has encountered in years. Unfortunately, the village is not as peaceful as it appears and her path is soon crossed by a number of undesirables, including a charming, married lawyer and a scholarly alcoholic with a problem—and it isn’t his drinking. His son Hugo is trying to force him to sell the family land and has sent round a young thug to keep the pressure on. Hugo never expects, however, that his father will try to reform the fellow. Raymond may be an alcoholic, but like Amadea, he has inner strengths in spite of his failings, and he believes in the power of words. Hugo isn’t happy and when Amadea inadvertently gets involved matters spin out of control. This is a lighthearted story about the value of saying no and also about the sometimes unexpected nature of sustaining relationships.

Touch the Silence


Gloria Cook - 2003
    The First World War is casting its shadow over the Harvey family of Ford Farm. One brother has already been killed, and Tristan now serves at the Front. Though newly engaged to pretty Emilia Rowse – a friend since childhood – younger brother Ben is desperate to serve his country. But a horrific eye injury causes him to be declared unfit, a blow from which young Ben will never recover. Tensions mount as he is forced to remain at the farm with his elder brother Alec, a man with closely guarded secrets of his own…Filled with a rich cast of unforgettable characters and packed with period detail, Touch the Silence is the brilliant opening to the Harvey family books. For readers of Anne Baker, Maggie Hope and Daisy Styles.

Never Deny a Duke at Christmas


Harriet Caves - 2021
    But attend the Christmas festivities of the Ton she must. Even if she has to go through hell just for the sake of her father.Nothing stings more than unrequited love and Ducnan Matthews, the Duke of Reedson, learned this the hard way. And despite living in sin for the past years, his heart still betrays him at the sight of the very woman who broke it.Threatened with financial ruination, Duncan desperately needs a wealthy wife and Kendra needs a savior. With their own futures at stake, it’s finally time to confront the past, to trust in each other, and against the odds, find the love they lost—if she will only say yes.

Family Betrayal


Kitty Neale - 2008
    Set on the mean streets of 1960s South London.MENACING…The Drapers rule the streets of South London. Everyone's afraid of them – and that's just how they like it.But when tempers flare and a family feud spirals out of control, tragedy strikes, leaving eldest son Danny in charge.MANIPULATED…But he has shocking plans for the family business and Petula, the baby of the family, becomes the scapegoat for the Draper’s dirty dealings.MISSING…Years later, and the once united family has now split up. Petula returns to the place she once called home to face her family as well as her demons, unleashing a terrible secret that could destroy them once and for all…

The Bad Apple


Rosie Goodwin - 2004
    She and her son Davey escape their Coventry high-rise flat and flee to Tanglewood, the dilapidated ivy-clad mansion where her mother Dolly runs an animal sanctuary. Miserable and frightened, Louise longs to turn her back on the past, and create a happy new life for Davey. But Paul is in trouble with men more dangerous than himself. Unable to pay his debts, he blackmails Louise and those who love her, keeping a shadowy presence in their lives. Even the arrival of Charlie Fox, a stranger who becomes a true friend, cannot guarantee that the future will be safe...

The Maclarens


C.L. Skelton - 1978
    War, secrets and betrayal cast a shadow over the Maclarens from the battlefield to the drawing-room. Young Andrew Maclaren, a brave yet sensitive soldier, faces the danger of conflicts in India and China. He must choose between the regiment he serves and the woman he loves. Willie Bruce, Andrew's childhood friend and fellow soldier, discovers loyalty is not always rewarded. Maud Westburn, beautiful but damaged, is the woman who loves them both. Will this love tear a family, and a regiment, apart? A sweeping saga about passion and honour, and the senseless brutality of war.

Mail Order Bride And The Gift of Children (A Western Historical Romance Book) (Evergreen Frontier)


Florence Linnington - 2020
    

You're in Command Now, Mr. Fog (A Dusty Fog's Civil War Western Book 2)


J.T. Edson - 1973
    FOG The Yankee sharpshooter turned out to be a lousy judge of character. He had three officers in his sights, a captain and two lieutenants. If he killed the right one, the Union Army’s victory at the Battle of Martin’s Hill would be guaranteed. So he made his choice and killed the Rebel cavalry’s commanding officer, Captain von Hartz. Big mistake. He should have concentrated on the small, insignificant-looking first lieutenant instead. Because the death of Captain von Hertz put Dusty Fog in command of the Texas Light Cavalry’s hard-riding, harder-hitting Company ‘C’. And with Dusty at their head, there was going to be hell to pay for the Bluebellies. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Thomas Edson was born at Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on February 17 1928, the son of a miner who was killed in an accident when John was nine. He left Shirebrook Selective Central School at 14 to work in a stone quarry and joined the Army four years later. As a sergeant in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Edson served in Kenya during the Emergency, on one occasion killing five Mau Mau on patrol. He started writing in Hong Kong, and when he won a large cash prize in a tombola he invested in a typewriter. On coming out of the Army after 12 years with a wife and children to support, Edson learned his craft while running a fish-and-chip shop and working on the production line at a local pet food factory. His efforts paid off when Trail Boss (1961) won second prize in a competition with a promise of publication and an outright payment of £50. The publishers offered £25 more for each subsequent book, and with the addition of earnings from serial-writing for the comic Victor, Edson was able to settle down to professional authorship. When the comic's owners decided that nobody read cowboy stories any more, he was forced to get a job as a postman (the job had the by-product of enabling him to lose six stone in weight from his original 18). Edson's prospects improved when Corgi Books took over his publisher, encouraged him to produce seven books a year and promised him royalties for the first time. In 1974 he made his first visit to the United States, to which he was to return regularly in search of reference books. He declared that he had no desire to live in the Wild West, adding: "I've never even been on a horse. I've seen those things, and they look highly dangerous at both ends and bloody uncomfortable in the middle. My only contact was to shoot them for dog meat." His heroes were often based on his favourite film stars, so that Dusty Fog resembled Audie Murphy, and the Ysabel Kid was an amalgam of Elvis Presley in Flaming Star and Jack Buetel in The Outlaw. Before becoming a recluse in his last years, JT's favourite boast was that Melton Mowbray was famous for three things: "The pie, Stilton cheese and myself but not necessarily in that order."

Mountain Storms


Janice Cole Hopkins - 2019
    A friendly dog leads her to safety, but his master just might pose the most danger of all, especially to her heart. Wounded in the Civil War and deserted by his betrothed, Ian MacGregor becomes a recluse in a remote cabin in Wyoming Territory. He thinks Aileas might be an angel when she appears beside his sickbed, but even later, he’s drawn to her in ways he doesn’t understand. However, no woman would ever be interested in him now, and he needs to protect himself from another heartbreak, but is this even possible where Aileas is concerned? This book can be read as a standalone or part of the trilogy. It does have a definite ending, although the family's story continues.

The War Girls of Goodwill House


Fenella J. Miller - 2022
    

Discreetly Matched


Jenna Brandt - 2019
    What could go wrong? Lord Edwin Clarke is aimless. A fault his father insists upon correcting by way of a wife of substance, financial that is. Though Edwin stands to inherit an earldom, the title has power in name only. The family coffers have been secretly depleted by his mother’s outrageous spending habits. A rich heiress can solve all their problems, but how does a gentleman go about finding one? Julia Bennett's life is perfect, enjoying the spoils of being a darling of London society. She’s an heiress with a handsome fiancé, set to marry within weeks. When tragedy strikes, however, her future crumbles around her, forcing Julia to make new plans. With her father’s imminent death looming, Julia must find a new man to marry in order to inherit. She is forced to turn to her aunt, the premier London matchmaker. Can Edwin find his way to be the man Julia needs? Can Julia find her way to open her heart after her loss? And will the two of them agree to marry before the clock runs out for both of them?

Betting on a Lady's Heart (His Majesty's Hounds Book 14)


Arietta Richmond - 2018
     Gervaise Belmont, Viscount Woodridge, has sworn to no longer gamble – but giving it up is proving far harder than he had expected. He despairs of achieving his aims, especially as the reputation he created, two years earlier, persists, destroying his opportunities for change. Until a chance meeting with a young lady gives him a reason to hope. Miss Clarisse Weston is disconsolate. Her father has, after many, many years, married again – and her relationship with her stepmother is strained, to say the least. When she is encouraged to look for a husband, she feels trapped. Whilst her father has introduced her to a charming Earl, she finds herself uncertain – especially as the Viscount she met by accident wishes to court her too. But all is not as it seems, and a tangle of lies, deceptions and betrayals soon traps Clarisse. Is the Earl all that he seems? Is the Viscount truly a rake and a gambler beyond redemption? Is her stepmother as concerned for Clarisse’s wellbeing as she professes to be? And can Clarisse find her way through the web of deceit, to be with the man she loves, or will greed and manipulation steal her chance at happiness forever?

The Crying Game


June Hampson - 2013
    As a teenager, she covers up the terrible truth of her father's death and she and her pregnant mother go on the run. Little does she know that fate has more cruel twists in store.Determined to build a life for her herself against all odds, Trixie becomes a singer in the pubs and clubs of Gosport - but her heart is still set on finding the little brother she had to leave behind in Portsmouth years before.It will take Trixie many years and many tears before the truth can finally emerge - but will it finally give her the courage she needs to fall in love?

Dilemma in the Desert (Dane Shaw Adventures)


Dwayne Straw - 2013
    Captain Drew Matthews is sent on a mission behind enemy lines to secure vital information. He is ambushed but is able to escape. Joining a group of American soldiers, led by Corporal Dane Shaw, refugees from the recent battle, they make their way across the desert to the city of Sfax, where Drew is to meet with the mysterious ‘Monsieur Gascoigne’. They stumble across a small group of Arabs and Germans guarding a halftrack filled with treasure looted from murdered Jews and rescue their prisoner, the beautiful Frenchwoman Angelique DuBois. While driving to Sfax, Dane shares his Christian faith with his companions while trying to avoid a group of Arab raiders. Dane relies on God to direct his life while proving himself a wise and outstanding commander with ferocious fighting skills. While Dane and his men fight off the Arab bandits, Drew and Angelique enter Sfax for their meeting only to be met with a number of very unwelcome surprises. Escaping by a series of fortunate circumstances, which leads them to believe that there may be something to Dane’s God, they return to camp only to run into more trouble. Zabronski, one of the American soldiers, filled with lust for the treasure and for Angelique, subverts the other soldiers, kidnaps Drew and Angelique and wounds Dane. Forcing Drew to reveal where the treasure is hidden, they are met by the Germans and Arab bandits who have joined forces and tracked them down. Drew and Angelique are rescued by Dane, and in a wild night ride across the desert, pursued by vengeful Germans and Arabs, they attempt to reach the American lines before dawn. Will they make it, and will Angelique solve the dilemma of which man she loves and which god she will serve?