Book picks similar to
Harrington's Valley by Darrel L. Rachel


historical-fiction
hist-american-fiction
first-reads
historical-romance

Rich Girl, Poor Girl


Eileen Ramsay - 2017
    When she tells her parents of her plans to follow her dream of becoming a doctor instead of marrying and having children, her mother refuses to acknowledge her wishes, seeing her decision as an embarrassment to the family.Meanwhile, in a poorer district of Dundee, Rosie Nesbitt lives a difficult life with her mother and siblings in a house that is too small for all of of them. Equally intelligent, Rosie decides that she wants to become a doctor and create a life for herself that is better than the one she has had growing up. She, too, faces issues - albeit different ones from those of Lucy - and she and her family must fight and make sacrifices for her to receive the education she needs. As the two girls' paths cross, their chosen career isn't the only thing they have in common. They first meet at a party hosted by Kier Anderson-Howard, a potential husband for Lucy, but an eligible man who has his sights set on Rosie.As war approaches, Lucy's and Rosie's lives become complicated by love and loss, and the paths leading to their goals testing their resolves to the limit.

Touched By Fire


Gwyneth Atlee - 1999
    Passing herself off as an innocent mail-order bride, she arrives in Wisconsin to meet her future husband--never anticipating the flames of passion that will sear her soul, and send her into the arms of another man. TEMPTED BY DESIRE Strong, steadfast John Aldman is pleased with his pretty bride-to-be, but it is his brother, Daniel, whose every glance, every gesture touches Hannah's heart with fire. Just when desire threatens to burn out of control, Hannah's deception is discovered, sparking off bitterness that may cost her Daniel's love. Now, while raging brushfires blaze through the land-as red hot and unstoppable as the passion of two lovers-Hannah knows she must confront her past...before she can claim a love destined to burn brightly forever.

A Child Out of Alcatraz


Tara Ison - 1997
    An American neighborhood like any other, sheltered in the seeming tranquillity of the 1950s. Except it exists on the island of Alcatraz, the Rock, where a looming cellhouse imprisons the most vicious and irredeemable of America's criminals. Olivia grows up here and watches as her family slowly falls apart, trapped in its own prison rules and silences. She watches the disintegration of her mother, a brilliant woman isolated in a role that closes in on her as inexorably as the metallic crash of any cell door. Olivia can only watch, and retreat into herself, for she's only a little girl; there's no escape for her from the island she calls home.

The Salt Covenants


Sylvia Bambola - 2015
    But when she is noticed by Friar Alonso at La Casa Santa, the Holy House, she is forced to flee the Inquisition by entering into a loveless marriage and sailing with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. But all too soon Isabel is forced to struggle alone in her new life and new faith. With all the risks and hardships how is she to survive? And will she ever find love in this strange land? And what of the dangerous Enrique Vivar? Will his hidden agenda cost her her life?

Daughter of Destiny


Jeannie Johnson - 2004
    But in a single night, the actions of one generation alter the family's legacy for ever. The three Strong brothers are overseeing their inheritance in the West Indies. In this balmy, tropical setting, an ugly situation is fuelled by Barbados rum, a murder is committed, and a child conceived. And the repercussions of this fatal night have a violent domino effect which reaches down through generations.

Come Winter


Clare Gutiérrez - 2015
    Forced to work as a common kitchen maid in the dank halls of Dermoth Castle, Caty dreams of her past as a free and autonomous maiden with a bright future in the English courts—did fate have other plans?This early trial is but the first in a litany of shocking tribulations; imprisoned, abused, accused of sorcery, and kidnapped, Caty’s life is for so long anything but charmed—but you can’t keep a soaring heart shackled. As we follow this misunderstood maiden’s journey through both the unexpected, electrifying joys of new love and the pain of mind-boggling adversity, we become eyewitnesses to the astonishing way she not only transforms herself but also enchants, inspires, and invigorates those around her.Spanning decades of castle life, treacherous journeys, bloody battles, and heartache, Come Winter is a sweeping yet personal tale of a brave woman who at once embodies and transcends the prescribed, and oftentimes oppressive, roles her society demands. Let Clare Gutierrez (author of Dancing with the Boss) curate your voyage back to the Scottish highlands of ages past—a time and place in which simply staying alive constituted a noble adventure, and becoming a patron of the oppressed and the impoverished could make you a hallowed queen.

His Wagon Train Sweetheart


Catherine Kennedy - 2020
    

CHASE THE SUN


Rosanne Bittner - 1995
    He joins the army purposely to fight Indians – any Indians. Iris Gray is a colonel’s daughter, who joins her father in America’s Northwest Territory and tries to bring peace between settlers and the Nez Perce Nation. Circumstances bring Iris and Zack together in a memorable love story as Iris struggles to help Zack find peace in his own heart. An unlikely friendship forms between these two and a Nez Perce warrior, Strong Runner, and his wife, Morning Star, teaching all four characters about cultural tolerance. CHASE THE SUN is the true story of the last flight of the Nez Perce to Canada in 1876, and a stunning depiction of the reasons for war and misunderstandings in a land deeply torn by its own unstoppable growth. A memorable tale of real history, abiding love, and a Nation’s unique struggle through tragedy and triumph.

KNIGHT STORM


Ria Cantrell - 2014
    

When Two Souls Defy Destiny: A Historical Western Romance Book


Aurora Hanson - 2021
    As Melinda is saying her final goodbyes to her beloved sister, a brilliant yet risky idea presents itself. Melinda will take her place on the train instead, allowing her sister to stay in town and have a chance with her love. By the time their ruse is discovered, Melinda will be walking down the aisle with her future husband…What could possibly go wrong with such a perfect plan?Reginald Dawson started out in life with nothing and built a fortune from the goldfields in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Now, with a large hotel and success within his grasp, he is on the brink of having it all. When he posts an ad looking for a wife, he only has one thing in mind: to find someone sweet and genteel to be his companion and partner in life. With a lady of refinement at his side, even his tainted past could be overlooked, right?The problem is, lies have a way of being exposed...Both Melinda and Reginald have their fair share of secrets and neither is what the other expected. Melinda’s daring new husband seems to have a sinister secret in his past and Reginald’s perfect wife turns out to be a feisty suffragette. With danger looming and past mistakes catching up to them, can they even dare to imagine a chance at true love?"When Two Souls Defy Destiny" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Daughter of Twin Oaks


Lauraine Snelling - 2000
    No longer safe at Twin Oaks, she embarks on a perilous journey, taking on the momentous responsibility for the lives and welfare of all who go with her. They ride at night and hide during the day, dodging both Confederate and Union troops along the way. Encountering hunger, sickness, and the devastation of war, they finally arrive in Missouri only to discover that the situation there puts them in even greater danger. Discouraged, disillusioned, and facing a severe testing of her faith, Jesselynn will stop at nothing to save her family, the horses, and whatever remains of Twin Oaks.

Kenneth's Queen (Women of the Dark Ages, #1)


Anna Chant - 2016
    Her descendants sit on the British throne to this day. But history does not even record her name… In ninth century Britain, the Picts and the Gaels fight for supremacy over the North. In one of their rare truces, a young Pict woman is reluctantly married to a Gael warrior, son of one of the great Chiefs of Dal Riata. Leaving behind her family and the Pict lord she had hoped to marry, she travels west to the household of Alpin, where she is viewed with suspicion by many of her new kin. But it is the collapse of the truce and the indifference of her husband that leaves her position in her new land increasingly vulnerable, as war breaks out once again. Forced to forget her Pict heritage, she fears that one day she will be faced with an agonising choice between the victory of her husband or her father. Her journey takes her from the splendours of the Fortress of Dunadd to the tranquillity of the sacred Isle of Iona, where even greater danger lurks as the terrifying Norsemen plan their own attacks. However, it seems that her hardest battle will be to win the heart of her husband, the brave, cunning and often ruthless Cinaed as he fights his way towards a destiny that could be greater than anyone imagines… The man known to history as Kenneth Mac Alpin.

The Eccentric's Tale: Harriet (A Jacobite Chronicles Story)


Julia Brannan - 2019
    Just one simple thing; the freedom to be herself. But for a young woman living in the seventeenth century, freedom is not such an easy thing to achieve. When her family’s future wealth and happiness are threatened she wrestles with the realisation that duty will have to be put before her precious dreams. She finds herself forced to make a decision which leads to consequences she could never have imagined, even in her worst nightmares. Now she has to fight the whole of society, not just for happiness but for her very survival, and must take up arms in her own eccentric way, with startling results. The Eccentric’s Tale is an intriguing look at the remarkable private life and emotions of a truly unique woman.

Cold April


Phyllis A. Humphrey - 2010
    She finds, however, that she has one last obligation to fulfill; she must accompany Richard Graham, a dashing American widower, and care for his charming child on a luxurious voyage to America. Their ship? The Titanic. On this fateful trip two handsome men vie for her attention. But when the ship hits an iceberg, who will survive?

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.”