From the Ashes of Amiens


Jana Petken - 2021
    

Between Moons: A gripping WW2 historical novel


Claire Anders - 2021
    

Besieged (The First Crusade Book 2)


Richard Foreman - 2020
    But they may have found one in the shape of the Holy Lance.Bohemond of Taranto realises that the pilgrims must fight or die.But to fight they must know their enemy. Bohemond instructs Edward Kemp, an English knight, to gather intelligence on Kerbogha and the Muslim army. But in attempting to save the crusaders, Edward may damn himself.Triumph and tragedy await on the plains of Antioch, where the course of the crusade - and history - will be altered forever.Recommended for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Ben Kane & Conn Iggulden.Richard Foreman's new bestselling series on the First Crusade provides an entertaining insight into history - and the significant players in the armed pilgrimage, including Bohemond of Taranto and Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy. Foreman shines a light on the epochal moment, with humour and humanity, which still shapes the story of Europe and the Middle East today.

Heronfield


Dorinda Balchin - 2012
    At its heart is a cast of characters who draw us into their lives from the defeat of Dunkirk to final victory:Tony, a young man barely in his twenties who experiences the horror of Britain’s first defeat and offers his unique talents to the war effort, only to find that his secret work threatens his relationships with those he loves. David, Tony’s elder brother, fighter pilot and hero of the Battle of Britain. Sarah, whose work with the VAD’s brings her into contact with so many, forcing her to choose between a man with loyalty and honour or another with all the characteristics of a coward. Bobby, a young American GI for whom a posting to England brings love and hope. And at the centre of it all, Heronfield, the manor house set amongst the gentle rolling downs of southern England, one time home for Tony and his family and now a war-time hospital.Heronfield, witness to six long years of loyalty and love, anger and hatred, loss and betrayal.

The Catcher of Halensee (Captain Harry Tennant Mystery Book 3)


David J. Oldman - 2020
     A British Intelligence Officer has died in a fall and SIS has asked Harry to liaise with a German Socialist Party member who has been passing information. That’s fine with Harry. He is pleased to be working again, even in a city as devastated as Berlin. Why have SIS chosen him; and was the fall that killed his predecessor really an accident? While waiting for his socialist contact to arrange an important meeting, Harry interests himself in a young Jewish survivor of the camps he sees watching the house where he lives. She insists the Nazis stole the property from her family before sending them to the gas chambers. And she has seen the Gestapo officer she holds responsible, even though everyone says he is dead. But then Harry’s socialist contact is abducted by the Russians and, in return for helping him to defect, the man’s colleague promises Harry something really big. And the Jewish survivor is carrying a shameful secret she appears no longer able to face. Harry is faced with a devastating choice... Praise for The Unquiet Grave: 'An excellent book that made me want to read more — always a good sign. Lots of twists and turns; emotional impacts; deft characterization; and realistic setting' - Netgalley reviewer 'I found myself engrossed by this story' - Netgalley reviewer Born into the austerity of post-war Britain, David J. Oldman began writing in his early twenties. Frequently humorous, and often moving, his books are an examination of ordinary people caught up in life-changing events beyond their control.

Goodbye to Ribbons


W.S. Ishida - 2020
     Shy country girl, Rosie, only wants one thing ~ which is to be exactly like her well-loved mother. That is until the truth begins to emerge and her dream threatens to become her inescapable destiny. Upon discovering a family secret, Rosie finds herself drawn into a world of deceit and betrayal, and soon faces the decisions of how many morals she is willing to sacrifice, how much cruelty she is willing to tolerate, and how many lies she is willing to tell to prevent her family from being torn apart. Reaching her lowest ebb, whilst training at the local hospital, the confident and brash Teddy Miller falls off the back of a motorbike and into her life. Teddy proves to be the only person who is willing to stand up for Rosie, but being a slave to his emotions it seems he loves her too much to be the saviour she so desperately craves. Rosie's struggles continue as she lives a paradoxical double-life. Domestically she’s a timid mouse under the constant shadow of her tormentors. Yet, in her work life, she excels in whatever she sets her mind to, from a hardworking trainee nurse to a machine operative in a male-only working environment, where she not only defies the gender conventions of the times but turns them on their head. However, as her domestic struggles weigh heavy upon her, they begin to seep into her professional life and threaten to undo everything she was worked so hard to achieve. As she loses her delicate grip on her true identity, she begins to slide down the slope of despair. And so begins a seemingly endless journey to set herself free

Escape to Dunkirk (The Second World War Series Book 1)


Stuart Minor - 2019
     As the German Blitzkrieg rolls across France, the British Army is forced to retreat back to the coast. It seems, as the net tightens around the surrounded divisions, that only a miracle can save them from destruction. As the Royal Navy attempts to rescue the men from the beaches, the British rearguard is locked in a vicious struggle to prevent the Germans from breaking through. Jack and his section, after weeks of brutal action, are forced to struggle on against the relentless enemy, the men standing together as they fight their way back to the blood soaked beaches, where their only hope of salvation lies beneath the smoke filled skies of Dunkirk. This is the first novel in a new series by Stuart Minor.

Reluctant Informer


Marion Kummerow - 2019
     Sabine always minded her own business, closing her eyes to the sinister events engulfing Germany. War is always ugly, and it's best to simply stay out of harm’s way. That changes the moment the Gestapo needs information from her. With her husband held captive, his very life depends on her willingness to cooperate in this evil enterprise. Soon, she’s thrust into the midst of the resistance, smuggling people out of Nazi Germany. Her task? Find the leader and hand him over to torture and certain death. If she does as she is asked, she betrays her own people. If she does not, her husband will be executed by Hitler's forces. Can she silence her conscience and save her husband? Read Reluctant Informer now - a WWII tale of love, courage, and impossible choices. Previously published as part of the USA Today Bestselling Anthology, The Darkest Hour – Tales of Resistance, this standalone novella will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what Sabine will do next.

Blackbirds: A London Blitz Novel (The Bluebird Trilogy Book 2)


Melvyn Fickling - 2018
    Bryan Hale and Bluebird Squadron fight on into the autumn of 1940, chasing down the new threat of ‘Jabo’ hit-and-run raids by bomb-laden enemy fighters over the capital’s rooftops.Bryan’s chance encounter in a London pub with Jenny, an acquaintance from his school-days, starts them both down the road to a relationship that neither wants or can afford. But the deadly perils of London’s Blitz ignite a passion that neither can resist.Bluebird Squadron rotates out of the front-line to Scotland. Bryan transfers to night-fighters, partly to sate his desire for combat, but also to stay close to Jenny.Struggling with fledgling radar technology, Bryan and his operator, Tommy Scott, eventually become calculating hunters of the night, stalking and slaying Nazi raiders in a chilling, deadly game of cat-and-mouse in England’s pitch-black winter skies.The stresses of combat, the loss of friends and the daily grind of mortal danger weigh ever more heavily. As the new year dawns on the battered, bohemian streets of the blitzed capital, Bryan’s life begins to fray and unravel.

The Breckton Trilogy


Mary Wood - 2013
    Bridie O’Hara, a beautiful young girl, is torn away from her native Ireland by her father – a freedom fighter, turned traitor, when he has to flee the wrath of the Fenians. Violated by him she ends up in a correction convent. Her escape, and meeting up with Bruiser Armitage, a pimp, sets her fate. One man tries to save her, Will Hadler, a kind, hard-working miner, whose love for Bridie knows no bounds. His rescue of her brings her happiness, but the demons inside her never give her peace. When Andrew Harvey, master of Hensal Grange, takes a fancy to her it is the beginning of Bridie sinking back into degradation. Her daughter, Bridget pays the price. Unprotected by her drunken mother, Bridget suffers rape and the heartbreak of having to give up her child, Megan.Book Two: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND: It is 1913 and for Megan and her friend, Hattie, the time has come to take up their placements and make their way in the world. Megan’s path leads her to fall into a marriage with a man she does not love and at whose hands she suffers beatings and rape. With Hattie’s help she finally escapes, but her path crosses that of the beautiful, rich and powerful, Laura Harvey. It is Laura’s need to have her wish at any price that triggers an eruption of violence that brings Megan near to death and sends Jack, the man both Megan and Laura love to prison, for a murder he did not commit.Hattie’s path crosses that of paedophile, Lord Marley. She is raped by him and his companion. Her ten pound silence money buys her an abortion but her choices have gone and she is forced into a life of prostitution. It is when she stumbles across an evil, child sex ring and is determined to break it that she once more encounters Lord Marley and though she succeeds in her quest and gets her revenge, she pays a terrible price. Hers and Megan’s enduring friendship bring them through.Book Three: TOMORROW BRINGS SORROWSet in 1939 – 1959, As the world faces many changes brought on by war, Megan has found happiness with Jack, but the threat of Megan’s schizophrenic son Billy, still casts a shadow over them. His release is imminent and for Sarah, Jack’s daughter, this opens up a fate she cannot fight. With her love and respect for Billy eroded over the years as she came to realise he has an evil core, Sarah now lives in fear of him and what he will do if she refuses him. Forsaking her true love, she marries Billy in an attempt to protect those who are very dear to her, but love and hate will out and the consequences are devastatingThose consequences are compounded by the incestuous love between twins Theresa and Terrence Crompton and their taking of all they need from whatever source they please.

The Flames of Resistance (Women Spies in World War II Book 2)


Kit Sergeant - 2021
    

Daughters of the Civil War


Diane Wylie - 2014
    ~Long and Short Reviews JENNY'S PASSION It was November 1863, and Captain David Reynolds of the Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry was fully prepared to die. Someone had once told him that dying was quite painless. He didn’t believe it, though he secretly hoped it was true as he and his men prepared to ride into chaos and horror. The battle of Mine Run had begun. Jennifer Winston could hear the booming sounds of cannon fire miles away from her Virginia home. She knew that the war had begun two years ago but had been insulated from it all by her father. Little did she know that her life was about to irrevocably change, and she would be tested to the limits of her courage and endurance for a man—a man who was the enemy. LILA'S VOW Schoolteacher Lila Sutton finds her one true love when cavalryman Captain Jack Montgomery rides into Gettysburg. But their promises to be together mean nothing to the enemy, and when Lila receives word of Jack's death, she wants revenge. Imprisoned and desolate, Jack's only thoughts are of the love he left behind. With a future filled with turmoil and uncertainty, he can't see a way out. But he's a solider, and soldiers don't give up. In the midst of a brutal war, can a shattered love be restored?

Reckoning


Tim Oliver - 2019
    The German army is rampant, and Lieutenant Scottsdale and the British Expeditionary Force are trapped. Yet amid the chaos, Scottsdale must rescue two French scientists trapped behind enemy lines. What they know will tilt the balance of war towards the Allies.The brilliant and mercurial Helene Dubois is in hiding with her frail uncle, as they flee the advancing German armies. They must be found, but pursuing them is Schiller, a ruthless SS Officer, who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.As they are caught up in the bloody rearguard at Dunkirk, Scottsdale and Dubois will find love, tragedy, and triumph as they fight to escape Schiller, in a story perfect for fans of Ken Follett, Rory Clements and Robert Harris.

Code Name Camille: A story of trust, love and betrayal


Kathryn Gauci - 2019
    Code Name Camille, now a standalone book. 1940: Paris under Nazi occupation. A gripping tale of resistance, suspense and love. When the Germans invade France, twenty-one-year-old Nathalie Fontaine is living a quiet life in rural South-West France. Within months, she heads for Paris and joins the Resistance as a courier helping to organise escape routes. But Paris is fraught with danger. When several escapes are foiled by the Gestapo, the network suspects they are compromised. Nathalie suspects one person, but after a chance encounter with a stranger who provides her with an opportunity to make a little extra money by working as a model for a couturier known to be sympathetic to the Nazi cause, her suspicions are thrown into doubt. Using her work in the fashionable rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, she uncovers information vital to the network, but at the same time steps into a world of treachery and betrayal which threatens to bring them all undone. Time is running out and the Gestapo is closing in. Code Name Camille is a story of courage and resilience that fans of The Nightingale and The Alice Network will love.

Blood Trail (Fannin County, Texas)


G.H. Lambert - 2014
    Dylan Ryan arrives in Texas just as the Runaway Scrape is in full swing and the Battle at San Jacinto nears. He misses going to war when he comes to the aid of Mort Lems, severely wounded by outlaws who seek information on the location of an old trail used by the Spaniards to transport gold bullion from Texas to New Orleans. It is said gold bars are still buried along that trail. Dylan and Mort escape to the prairie of North Texas and the safety of the Red River Wilderness. But instead of having the land to themselves, they discover peaceful settlements springing up around trading posts all along the river. Peace is fleeting, as Indians grow angry at the homesteaders breaking the soil with their plows on land that was promised to them for hunting grounds. The newly organized Republic of Texas is unable to provide the settlements protection, so it is the trading post owners who hire gunmen to act as ranger forces to repel the hostiles. A new war has begun, this time with an unpredictable enemy. Dylan, Mort and the settlers watch their dreams for a new beginning end as clouds of dark smoke rise into the clear blue sky as homesteads burn. Indians begin to raid every community, burning, stealing horses and taking women and children as slaves. Overnight the promise of a better life in Texas has been replaced with one of a living hell. Blood Trail is the first in a series.