Book picks similar to
Pengelly's Daughter by Nicola Pryce
historical-fiction
historical-romance
romance
historical
With Every Breath
Elizabeth Camden - 2014
A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and she's bewildered at the way he suddenly seeks her out. Surprising even herself, Kate agrees to Trevor's entirely unexpected and risky proposal to work side-by-side with him in his quest to rid the world of tuberculosis, a contagious and deadly disease. As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor's past, she realizes there is much more to him than she could have imagined. His hidden depths may fascinate her, but his most closely guarded secrets and a shadowy enemy lurking in the background carry a serious threat to their future. When the truth of the past comes out, threatening to destroy everything they hold dear, how will Trevor and Kate ever overcome all that stands in their way?
Annabelle Enchants the Rejected Earl
Hanna Hamilton - 2017
Annabelle's life is turned upside down when her father declares that he has found an excellent suitor for her, Lord Watson Ashdown. What he does not realize, is that Watson is cruel and inappropriate for the Hathaway reputation. But that is not the only problem... Annabelle did not mean it to happen, but she has fallen for Floyd Brewer, the stable boy who works on her family’s land. Or so she believes about him… He is kind, loving and caring and nothing like the horrible Lord, but he is not a man that her father will find acceptable. How will Annabelle get out of her marriage? And what will happen when she discovers that Floyd has some secrets about his real status? ♥ A historical romance novel full of twists that'll keep you turning the pages ♥ *Annabelle Enchants the Rejected Earl is a historical standalone story of 80,000 words (around 350 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after. Get this book for free with Kindle Unlimited!
Those I Have Lost : A heart-wrenching and unforgettable World War 2 historical novel
Sharon Maas - 2021
Seas crawling with Japanese spies. A terrible war creeping ever closer…India, 1940. and Rosie is devastated by the sudden death of her beloved mother. The parties, smiles and games disappear, and although Rosie is desperate to stay in her home, her father cannot look after her. All alone in the world, she is sent to Sri Lanka, to live with her mother’s friend Silvia and her three sons.Time passes and Rosie flourishes in her new home amongst the mango trees and canna lilies. And one day, under the heat of the Sri Lankan sun, she falls in love for the first time. But her happiness is short lived, for the brutal war that has devastated families and torn Europe apart is creeping closer to their island. One by one the men depart Sri Lanka leaving Rosie with just memories and a broken heart she must hide.As Rosie waits for letters that never come, tortured by stories of torpedoed ships and massacres of innocent families, she realises that she cannot just sit and wait for news. She volunteers to help the army, working in military intelligence to protect her island paradise. But then her work brings shocking news that makes her blood run cold. The man she loved is missing, feared dead. Yet Rosie cannot lose hope – even as more women are left widows, more children left without fathers. But when the much longed-for news comes that the war is ended, and a limping wasted figure returns home, will one final devastating revelation tear Rosie’s world apart?An emotional and heartbreaking read with rich historical detail set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka during World War Two. Fans of Hazel Gaynor, Fiona Valpy and Kristin Hannah will be swept away by Those I Have Lost.
The Legacy
Jill Rowan - 2011
Her search for answers leads her into an encounter with the eighteenth century and to the love of her life, but when the final, devastating secret is revealed, she is forced to choose between love and sacrifice.
The Duke's Secret
Allie Kensington - 2021
Her only source of comfort is her sweet cousin for whom she acts as chaperone and companion. Enduring a London Season seems daunting, but with matrimony far from her mind, she is content to hide in the shadows until the season is over.James Berkeley, Duke of Cheshire, is the most eligible bachelor in London. At least, he would be if he had any intention to wed. Before he can think about matrimony, he has a secret and solemn duty he must fulfill. The last two London Seasons have come to naught; he is hoping a third will hold more promise, allowing him to solve a mystery and regain his freedom once and for all.James is intrigued when he meets the beautiful Miss Gray; she is elusive, mysterious, and cares little that he is a duke. But when James discovers Miss Gray could be the very woman he is honor-bound to find, he is torn between duty and desire. She might be the key to solving all of his problems, but he’d rather she be the key to his heart. And one thing is certain: she cannot be both.
The Shipbuilder's Daughter : A beautifully written, satisfying and touching saga novel
Emma Fraser - 2017
. . Perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Rita Bradshaw and Nadine Dorries.5-star reader reviews for The Shipbuilder's Daughter'Beautifully written with a great deal of empathy, very satisfying plot. Lovely mix of old Glasgow and the western Isles''A definite must-buy''A lovely read''Fabulous reading'Glasgow, 1928. Margaret Bannatyne lost both of her brothers in the Great War and is now the last remaining child of wealthy and powerful shipyard owner William Bannatyne. Without a male heir to carry on the family business, William expects his daughter to do her duty, marry well and provide him with a grandson to inherit his business.Margaret cares deeply for her father but she has ambitions of her own: after witnessing a horrific accident when she was sixteen, she's determined to become a doctor. Her father, convinced she will never practise medicine, permits Margaret to complete her training. But he doesn't count on her falling in love with Alasdair Morrison.Alasdair, a union man at the shipyard, has been a thorn in William's side for years, and he didn't become one of the richest men in Glasgow only for Alasdair to take it all away - even if it means destroying his only daughter's happiness by forcing her to make a heartbreaking and impossible choice . . .
Beheld
TaraShea Nesbit - 2020
Seemingly established on a dream of religious freedom, in reality the town is led by fervent puritans who prohibit the residents from living, trading, and worshipping as they choose. By the time an unfamiliar ship, bearing new colonists, appears on the horizon one summer morning, Anglican outsiders have had enough.With gripping, immersive details and exquisite prose, TaraShea Nesbit reframes the story of the pilgrims in the previously unheard voices of two women of very different status and means. She evokes a vivid, ominous Plymouth, populated by famous and unknown characters alike, each with conflicting desires and questionable behavior.Suspenseful and beautifully wrought, Beheld is about a murder and a trial, and the motivations―personal and political―that cause people to act in unsavory ways. It is also an intimate portrait of love, motherhood, and friendship that asks: Whose stories get told over time, who gets believed―and subsequently, who gets punished?
The Second Life of Mirielle West
Amanda Skenandore - 2021
Based on little-known history, this timely book will strike a chord with readers of Fiona Davis, Tracey Lange, and Marie Benedict.Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century. For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.As a registered nurse, Amanda Skenandore’s medical background adds layers of detail and authenticity to the experiences of patients and medical professionals at Carville – the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. A tale of repulsion, resilience, and the Roaring ‘20s, The Second Life of Mirielle West is also the story of a health crisis in America’s past, made all the more poignant by the author’s experiences during another, all-too-recent crisis.
The Tobacconist's Wife
AnneMarie Brear - 2020
And besides, Ernie Goodson has secrets – secrets that even his wife cannot share.But in Victorian Yorkshire, appearances must be kept up, so Thea goes on powdering her bruises and forcing a smile as she toils in Ernie’s home and tobacco shop. There seems to be no other option.That is, until a handsome and well-bred stranger arrives to set up shop next door…Can Thea escape her misery and break from the conventions of society? Or will the clutches of her abusive husband confine her forever?The Tobacconist’s Wife is the latest book from AnneMarie Brear, the highly acclaimed author of bestselling The Slum Angel. Perfect for fans of Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.
A Wish and a Prayer
Robin Lee Hatcher - 2014
Her prayer is heard and an angel is dispatched to assist Felicity in finding the answer to her heart's desire. Prescott Jones arrives in Appleton, Idaho with plans to build a cannery, find a woman to marry, and settle down. He and his partner have managed to acquire all the property needed—except for a plot of land owned by an old-maid seamstress. With the help of a large white cat named Angel, Prescott sets out to change Felicity's mind. About the cannery … and about him. A NOTE TO READERS:A Wish & a Prayer is a bit different from my usual fare. It was written for fun and is pure fantasy. It isn't meant to be anything more than that. It definitely isn't theologically correct when it comes to angels. The angels of the Bible are portrayed as quite different from Angel Emeline. Whenever angels appeared to mankind in the Bible, they did it in a human form, and the Bible is what we should trust for an understanding of all things spiritual, including angels.Still, I hope you'll enjoy reading this romantic bit of whimsy. It's a story that made me smile as I wrote it.Robin Lee Hatcher
Proper Scoundrels
Laura Landon - 2016
Shattered Dreams by Laura LandonBrentan Montgomery, Earl of Charfield has one love - his stable of Arabian horses. When he’s offered breeding rights to the Marquess of Fellingsdown’s prize Arabian if he acts as companion to Fellingsdown’s sister, he doesn’t care if the reclusive Lady Elyssa has three chins and a dozen hairy moles. The prize is worth anything he has to endure. But when he meets the elusive Lady Elyssa Prescott, all thoughts of gaining a prize Arabian colt disappear. He realizes he’s met the woman of his dreams - if he can keep her from discovering his deceit and convince her that her imperfections don’t matter to him.Lady Elyssa Prescott knows what it’s like to be ridiculed and shunned. But when Brent Montgomery lets her glimpse a world where her limitations aren’t important, she believes it’s possible for her dreams to become a reality. Until she discovers the man with whom she’s fallen in love was ‘hired’ to offer her everything she’s dreamed of having.The cruel reality of a love built on deceit shatters both their dreams and threatens to destroy their lives forever.Wagers Gone Awry by Collette Cameron Brooke Culpepper resigned herself to spinsterhood when she turned down the only marriage proposal she'd likely ever receive to care for her family. After her father dies, a distant cousin inherits the estate and becomes their guardian but permits Brooke to act in his stead.Heath, Earl of Ravensdale is none-too-pleased to discover five young women call the dairy farm he won and intends to sell, their home. Desperate, pauper poor, and with nowhere to go, Brooke proposes a wager. His stakes? The farm. Hers? Her virtue. Brooke loses, and her devastation is compounded when the cousin arrives, intending to haul the Culpepper misses off to London. Heath astounds himself and proposes in order to apply for guardianship of the other girls. Does Brooke dare marry the handsome stranger who'd been bent on compromising her? Will Heath regret his impulsive gesture, or will unexpected love flourish?Lord Ruthven's Bride by Tarah Scott Love is always sweetest the first time around…A harmless attraction leads to a friendship that forces Lady Annabelle to choose between the two men who love her. One saved her from a killer. The other is her future husband.James Waterson, newly titled Viscount Ruthven, is hunting a killer. When Lady Annabelle steps into the killer’s sights, James will do everything in his power to protect her. Even if that means letting her go.The Most Unlikely Lady by Barbara Devlin Book Three in the Brethren of the Coast Series.Woo a young lady with a fishing rod and a bucket of worms? Oh-so dashing--but untitled--Everett Markham seeks a bride, and he has charged the field of Miss Sabrina Douglas, a woman who prefers trout to truffles.Unabashed and unapologetic, Sabrina sets her cap for a second son, one who will smile patiently when he comes home to find she's misplaced their children. But marriage changes her in ways she never imagined, as the awkward debutante surrenders to a very real, very womanly, all-consuming love.An irresistibly handsome English rogue, Everett plots his future with ruthless detail, but his future wife is anything but predictable, resulting in the zaniest courtship London society has ever seen. When a family tragedy upends his life on his wedding day, he must chart a slippery course with his most unlikely lady--as the new Earl and Countess of Woverton.Loving the Hawke by Lana WilliamsTwo wounded souls, a wallflower and a war hero, stumble upon each other time and again in slums and ballrooms, realizing they fight a common cause and share an unbridled passion. Will the curse they fight be their downfall? Or will love win the day?
A Summer Promise
Katie Flynn - 2015
Growing up in the Yorkshire Dales, Maddy Hebditch can't imagine the changes that war will bring when she joins the ATS.1938: Maddy Hebditch has been living in poverty with her cantankerous grandmother since she was orphaned when she was just five, and it’s a constant struggle to stay out of the workhouse. However, though life is hard, Maddy has her friends Alice, Marigold and Tom to help her. Together the four spend their summers exploring the Dales and making plans for the future. Until war breaks out and everything changes.As the four go their separate ways, Maddy joins the ATS, where she is recruited for one of the most dangerous jobs a woman could do in wartime: the Ack Ack sites. All four face dangers as the war worsens, but when Tom is terribly injured, Maddy’s world falls apart…
The Blizzard Brides
Christine Sterling - 2020
Welcome to Last Chance, Nebraska!
When the freak blizzard of 1878 kills most of the men in a small Nebraska town, what does it mean for the surviving women and children?Realizing they need to find men of honor to help rebuild, the women place an advertisement in the Matrimonial Times.Choosing a husband is more difficult than they thought, when there is an overwhelming response to the ad.Will these Blizzard Brides find the second chance at love in a town called Last Chance?This story is loosely based on the Blizzard of 1873 and the Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888, where many men, women and children died in the unexpected storm.
The Spitfire Girls
Soraya M. Lane - 2019
Three brave women who know their place is not at home.
At the height of World War II, the British Air Transport Auxiliary need help. A group of young women volunteer for action, but the perils of their new job don’t end on the tarmac. Things are tough in the air, but on the ground their abilities as pilots are constantly questioned.There is friction from the start between the new recruits. Spirited American Lizzie turns heads with her audacity, but few can deny her flying skills. She couldn’t be more different from shy, petite Ruby, who is far from diminutive in the sky. It falls to pragmatic pilot May to bring the women together and create a formidable team capable of bringing the aircraft home.As these very different women fight to prove themselves up to the task at hand, they are faced with challenges and tragedies at every turn. They must fight for equal pay and respect while handling aircraft that are dangerously ill-equipped; meanwhile, lives continue to be lost in the tumult of war.Determined to assist the war effort doing what they love, can May, Lizzie and Ruby put aside their differences to overcome adversity, and will they find love in the skies?
The Evening and the Morning
Ken Follett - 2020
England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when the only home he's ever known is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and as she begins to realize that everyone around her is engaged in a constant, brutal battle for power, it becomes clear that a single misstep could be catastrophic. . . . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.