Book picks similar to
Jassy by Norah Lofts
historical-fiction
fiction
gothic
norah-lofts
The Dark Days Club
Alison Goodman - 2015
There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?
Black Spring
Alison Croggon - 2012
She and her childhood companion, Damek, have grown up privileged and spoiled, and they’re devoted to each other to the point of obsession. But Lina’s violet eyes betray her for a witch, and witches are not tolerated in a brutally patriarchal society. Her rank protects her from persecution, but it cannot protect her from tragedy and heartbreak. An innocent visitor stands witness to the devastation that ensues as destructive longing unleashes Lina’s wrath, and with it her forbidden power. Whether drawn by the romantic, the magical, or the gothic, readers will be irresistibly compelled by the passion of this tragic tale.
John Eyre: A Tale of Darkness and Shadow
Mimi Matthews - 2021
Darkness abounds, punctuated by odd bumps in the night, strange creatures on the moor, and a sinister silver mist that never seems to dissipate. And at the center of it all, John’s new employer—a widow as alluring as she is mysterious.Sixteen months earlier, heiress Bertha Mason embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Marriage wasn’t on her itinerary, but on meeting the enigmatic Edward Rochester, she’s powerless to resist his preternatural charm. In letters and journal entries, she records the story of their rapidly-disintegrating life together, and of her gradual realization that Mr. Rochester isn’t quite the man he appears to be. In fact, he may not be a man at all.From a cliff-top fortress on the Black Sea coast to an isolated estate in rural England, John and Bertha contend with secrets, danger, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness. Can they help each other vanquish the demons of the past? Or are some evils simply too powerful to conquer?
The Brideship Wife
Leslie Howard - 2020
Tomorrow we would dock in Victoria on the northwest coast of North America, about as far away from my home as I could imagine. Like pebbles tossed upon the beach, we would scatter, trying to make our way as best as we could. Most of us would marry; some would not. England, 1862. Charlotte is somewhat of a wallflower. Shy and bookish, she knows her duty is to marry, but with no dowry, she has little choice in the matter. She can’t continue to live off the generosity of her sister Harriet and her wealthy brother-in-law, Charles, whose political aspirations dictate that she make an advantageous match. When Harriet hosts a grand party, Charlotte is charged with winning the affections of one of Charles’s colleagues, but before the night is over, her reputation—her one thing of value—is at risk. In the days that follow, rumours begin to swirl. Soon Charles’s standing in society is threatened and all that Charlotte has held dear is jeopardized, even Harriet, and Charlotte is forced to leave everything she has ever known in England and embark on a treacherous voyage to the New World. From the rigid social circles of Victorian England to the lawless lands bursting with gold in British Columbia’s Cariboo, The Brideship Wife takes readers on a mesmerizing journey through a time of great change. Based on a forgotten chapter in history, this is a sparkling debut about the pricelessness of freedom and the courage it takes to follow your heart.
The Anatomy of Ghosts
Andrew Taylor - 2010
The ghost of murdered Sylvia Whichcote has been sighted prowling the grounds by Frank Oldershaw, a disturbed fellow commoner. When his anxious mother employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts- a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion - to investigate the sighting, the uneasy status quo at Jerusalem is rapidly torn apart. Holdsworth grows to realise that the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs the privileged life at Jerusalem with a rigour far more effective than anything the Master, Dr. Carbury, could muster. And when Holdsworth finds himself haunted - not only by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, but also Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife - his fate is sealed. He must unravel the circumstances surrounding Sylvia's death ... or the hauntings will continue.
The Silver Gun
L.A. Chandlar - 2017
In the midst of the Great Depression, the Big Apple is defiantly striving toward an era infused with art, architecture, and economic progress under the dynamic Mayor La Guardia. But those in City Hall know that tumultuous times can inspire both optimism and deadly danger . . . It s been six months since Lane Sanders was appointed Mayor Fiorella Fio La Guardia's new personal aide, and the twenty-three-year-old is sprinting in her Mary Janes to match her boss' pace. Despite dealing with vitriol from the Tammany Hall political machine and managing endless revitalization efforts, Fio hasn't slowed down a bit during his years in office. And luckily for Lane, his unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction from the childhood memories that haunt her dreams and the silver gun she'll never forget. When Lane gets attacked and threatened by an assailant tied to one of most notorious gangsters in the city, even the mayor can't promise her safety. The corrupt city officials seem to be using Lane as a pawn against Fio for disgracing their party in the prior election. But why was the assailant wielding the exact same gun from her nightmares? Balancing a clandestine love affair and a mounting list of suspects, Lane must figure out how the secrets of her past are connected to the city s underground crime network before someone pulls the trigger on the most explosive revenge plot in New York history . . ."
Pod
Stephen Wallenfels - 2009
I'm all cried out. I'm still alone. The sky is full of giant spinning black balls that kill anyone stupid enough to go outside. I've only been out of the car twice-once to pee and once to look at the sky. That one look was enough for me. Now I sit alone in the car, staring out the window like a rat in a cage. But I don't have anyone to look at. The parking garage is empty, except for twisted-up cars, broken glass, and the smell of leaking gasoline. POD is the story of a global cataclysmic event, told from the viewpoints of Megs, a twelve-year-old streetwise girl trapped in a hotel parking garage in Los Angeles; and sixteen-year-old Josh, who is stuck in a house in Prosser, Washington, with his increasingly obsessive-compulsive father. Food and water and time are running out. Will Megs survive long enough to find her mother? Will Josh and his father survive each other?
The Cemetery Keeper's Wife
Maryann McFadden - 2018
Though she's known him only twelve weeks, his tender love seems like a miracle of fate after her years alone.On her first walk through the lush and silent grounds of her new home, Rachel discovers a stunning monument to Tillie Smith, who died in 1886. Reading the words carved into the stone, "She Died in Defence of Her Honor," Rachel is overcome by a powerful memory buried deep in her past.A series of uncanny coincidences linked to Tillie Smith follows, setting Rachel on a journey that grows into an obsession: Why did the murder of a poor kitchen maid at the local seminary become a national sensation? Why were people in town trying to keep her from finding the truth? But most disturbing of all, why was Tillie reawakening a past Rachel chose to bury long ago. A past that could threaten her marriage.The Cemetery Keeper's Wife poignantly blends fact and fiction as two women scarred by shame, and separated by more than a century, reach across time to rewrite history.
The Red Kimono
Jan Morrill - 2011
Japan has attacked Pearl Harbor, people are angry, and one night, Sachiko and Nobu witness three teenage boys taunting and beating their father in the park. Sachiko especially remembers Terrence Harris, the boy with dark skin and hazel eyes, and Nobu cannot believe the boys capable of such violence toward his father are actually his friends.What Sachiko and Nobu do not know is that Terrence's family had received a telegram that morning with news that Terrence's father was killed at Pearl Harbor. Desperate to escape his pain, Terrence rushes from his home and runs into two high-school friends who convince him to find a Japanese man and get revenge. They do not know the man they attacked is Sachiko and Nobu's father.In the months that follow, Terrence is convicted of his crime and Sachiko and Nobu are sent to an internment camp in Arkansas, a fictionalized version of the two camps that actually existed in Arkansas during the war. While behind bars and barbed wire, each of the three young people will go through dramatic changes. One will learn acceptance. One will remain imprisoned by resentment, and one will seek a path to forgiveness.
The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow
Alyssa Palombo - 2018
Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo's The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won't erase.
Fortunes of War
Mel Keegan - 1995
Seperated by seven years of war, the two meet up again in the Caribbean, where Dermot now commands a privateer. The couple's adventures on the Spanish Main make a swashbuckling romance in the best pirate tradition. A rip-roaring yarn from the author of "Ice Wind and Fire, Death's Head, Equinox" and "Aquamarine."
Consider This, Señora
Harriet Doerr - 1993
The American characters here find themselves waiting, hoping, and living in rural Mexico-a land with the power to enchant, repulse, captivate, and change all who pass through it. Named a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly and a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times.
Forever Mine
Monica Burns - 2014
With an endearing cast of characters this multiple award-winner is sure to earn a place on the keeper shelf. ✱ ✱ CAVEAT EMPTOR ✱ ✱ Please note that if you hated A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux, it is quite likely you *will not* like this book.If you believe men in the 1800s didn't use foul language, you *will not* like this book. See disclaimer below.Thrown back to the year 1897, Victoria Ashton is mistaken for, and forced to impersonate, the spiteful, unfaithful Countess of Guildford, who's been missing for three weeks. Despite Victoria's attempts to convince the earl she's not his wife, her double's infidelity and lies make it difficult, especially when Victoria falls in love with a man who loathes her. Nicholas Thornhill, Earl of Guildford, is plagued with rumors he murdered his missing wife. When she unexpectedly reappears, he scoffs at her latest in a long string of lies. But the changes in Victoria make him to alter his opinion as he forges a bond with her that crosses the boundaries of time. NOTE: This book is a 125,000 words. For readers who do not enjoy sex scenes, there is 3.75% (16 pgs out of 443) of sexual content in this book. The F-word occurs 34 times in this 443 page book or 1% of the entire book.Men as a general rule have used the F-word long before the Victorian era, which this book is set in. The difference between the men in the past & men of today is that they didn't use the word in the company of women. The author chose to use the F-word because it fits a male reaction to frustration and anger. It is a visceral word with a guttural sound that projects the emotion of outrage in a harsh and visceral manner. Say it out loud with force. Men are sometimes crass & crude with other men. In contrast to the use of the F-word the author refuses to use the word sh*t as it evokes an image of filth and bodily waste. Please factor this information into your buying decision. If you are uncomfortable with these numbers, it is doubtful you will enjoy the read. For readers of time travel romance who enjoyed OUTLANDER and A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR.... “Forever Mine is the best time travel romance I've ever read, rivaling Jude Deveraux for intensity and chemistry between the hero and heroine.” — Lucy Monroe, USAToday bestselling author "With Forever Mine, Monica Burns delivers another gorgeous and deeply emotional story with a smart, strong-willed heroine and a tortured and oh-so-sexy hero." -- Vanessa Kelly. Bestselling author of historical romance "Monica Burns has once again gotten me to read and love a historical romance! Forever Mine is a phenomenally written story of a love that surpasses the barriers of time. At the end I cried ugly, gut-wrenching tears which I rarely do. The emotional last few chapters bled through my Kindle and directly into my soul. Monica Burns has written something truly magical. Forever Mine surpassed my expectations by miles and then kept on going." -- Nikki Brandyberry, Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind This book is like the center of an Oreo, the best part of the cookie. Monica Burns has captured true [time travel] romance and woven it into a time travel/reincarnation tale. The characters are so well developed and true. -- Joann Ferrara Maggio Reader Review "FOREVER MINE is a time travel romance to place on your keeper shelf where you store all your favorite time travel romances, Regency, Victorian,
Emily's Ghost
Denise Giardina - 2009
She is distrustful of marriage, prefers freedom above all else, and walks alone at night on the moors above the isolated rural village of Haworth. But Emily’s life is turned upside down by the arrival of an idealistic clergyman named William Weightman. A heart-wrenching love story, Emily’s Ghost plumbs the depths of faith, longing, and romantic solitude.
Above the East China Sea
Sarah Bird - 2014
Above the East China Sea tells the entwined stories of two teenaged girls, an American and an Okinawan, whose lives are connected across seventy years by the shared experience of profound loss, the enduring strength of an ancient culture, and the redeeming power of family love. Luz James, a contemporary U.S. Air Force brat, lives with her strictly-by-the-rules sergeant mother at Kadena Air Base in Okianawa. Luz’s older sister, her best friend and emotional center, has just been killed in the Afghan war. Unmoored by her sister’s death and a lifetime of constant moving from base to base, Luz turns for the comfort her service-hardened mother cannot offer to the “Smokinawans,” the “waste cases,” who gather to get high every night in a deserted cove. When even pills, one-hitters, Cuervo Gold, and a growing crush on Jake Furusato aren’t enough to soften the unbearable edge, the desolate girl contemplates taking her own life.In 1945, Tamiko Kokuba, along with two hundred of her classmates, is plucked out of her elite girls’ high school and trained to work in the Imperial Army’s horrific cave hospitals. With defeat certain, Tamiko finds herself squeezed between the occupying Japanese and the invading Americans. She believes she has lost her entire family, as well as the island paradise she so loved, and, like Luz, she aches with a desire to be reunited with her beloved sister. On an island where the spirits of the dead are part of life and your entire clan waits for you in the afterworld, suicide offers Tamiko the promise of peace. As Luz tracks down the story of her own Okinawan grandmother, she discovers that, if she surrenders to the most unbrat impulse and allows herself to connect completely with a place and its people, the ancestral spirits will save not only Tamiko but her as well. Propelled by a riveting narrative and set at the very epicenter of the headline-grabbing clash now emerging between the great powers, Above the East China Sea is at once a remarkable chronicle of how war shapes the lives of conquerors as well as the conquered and a deeply moving account of family, friendship, and love that transcends time.