Book picks similar to
The Palace of Stars by Patricia Lakin


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Between the Cracks: One Woman's Journey from Sicily to America


Carmela Cattuti - 2013
    Orphaned by the earthquake and powerful eruption of Mt. Etna in 1908, Angela is raised in the strict confines of an Italian convent. Through various twists of fate, she is married to a young Italian man whom she barely knows, then together with her spouse, immigrates to the U.S. This novel is an invitation to accompany the young Angela as she confronts the ephemeral nature of life on this planet and navigates the wide cultural gaps between pre-World War II Italy and the booming prosperity of dynamic young America. Author, artist, and teacher Carmela Cattuti created Between the Cracks as an homage to her great-aunt, who survived the earthquake and eruption of Mt. Etna and bravely left Sicily to start a new life in America.

Lyon Hearted


Jade Lee - 2021
    unusually. Welcome to the world of THE LYON'S DEN: The Black Widow of Whitehall Connected World, where the underground of Regency London thrives... and loves.ABACAS WOMANLi-Na lives in a black and white world, painting her feelings onto canvas by day and counting money in the Lyon’s Den at night. She’s found safety in the dark ink and the heavy clack of her abacas, but it is really a life? MAN OF ART Lord Daniel can’t draw worth a damn, but he can sell what he finds. And what he finds is Li-Na, a woman of such sublime talent that he will go to extraordinary measures to capture her art. When she refuses to leave her safe cocoon, he conspires with Mrs. Dove-Lyons to bring her to Cornwall where she will have everything she needs to paint. And if her art requires a more personal connection, then he willingly offers up himself as inspiration. A SLOW SEDUCTION Li-Na will not give up her soul to this powerful man, no matter how many castles he owns. She paints him as a tiger hunting in the jungle. She feels him watching her, protecting her, and tempting her until her canvas is filled with his eyes, his mouth, and his caress. But she cannot surrender the only part of her still alive. Unless being consumed by him is the only way to bring color back to her heart.

The Surplus Girls


Polly Heron - 2020
    One of the many women whose dreams of marriage perished in the Great War, with the death of her beloved fiancé, Ben. After four years of mourning, she's ready to face the future, even though Ben's family is not happy to see her move on, and her own only cares about getting hold of her meagre factory wages. Then, Belinda joins a secretarial class and a whole new world opens up to her as she quickly finds herself drawn to beguiling bookshop owner Richard Carson. But after all the loss and devastation she has experienced, can she really trust him with her heart?

Franky the Frolicking Fox


J.S. Yee - 2012
     Read it FREE as part of your PRIME or Kindle Unlimited membership Franky is a juvenile fox who loves to frolic about, until one day, he ventures out too far from his family. His quest back home brings him into the path of numerous animals that all have clues that eventually lead him home. The end of his adventure reunites him with his family and friends, frolicking about!Young readers will love the charming illustrations of the fox and his friends, while parents will appreciate the moral at the end of the story.

Regency Romance: The Duke's Apology (Love at Morley Mills Book 1)


Charlotte Darcy - 2018
    Introducing a new and romantic Regency series Love at Morley Mills. Welcome to the first in this new series of truly romantic and inspiring Regency romances. Each one is sweet and wholesome. You will love getting to know the characters in these lovely books and following their adventures as they search for love and fulfilment. Each book is a complete story with a guaranteed Happy Ever After. Jude Hampton is getting used to being a Duke and managing his estate. The mills which keep the Duchy coppers full are run by Galbraith, a hard and efficient man who hides a deep secret. When Lady Rosemary Watson challenges Jude on conditions at his mills it starts something which could change the country forever. Can Jude rise to the challenge? When enemies surround him will he be strong enough to see things through. When Rosemary goes behind his back will it destroy his burgeoning love? A midnight call, a desperate situation, where will Jude’s loyalties lie? Find out in The Duke’s Apology – Love at Morley Mills Book 1 a complete sweet and clean Regency romance.

Trip Trap Trouble


Katie Pye - 2020
    It doesn’t take long for his goat companions to tire of Big Billy Goat's quest. Not to mention the frustrated troll enduring trip-trapping on the bridge overhead. But how can peace be restored when Big Billy Goat Gruff is unwilling to be thankful for anything but the best? And will Big Billy Goat Gruff end up with the greenest grass he is seeking? Start conversations about gratitude with this book, one of many in the Fairytale Fraud series of well being for children.

The Last Alchemist


Colin Thompson - 1999
    Gold! For as long as the castle had stood, alchemists had struggled to make gold from the simple elements of the earth. And for as long as the castle stood they had failed. Then comes the greedy, ambitious Spinifex, who promises the king riches and glory beyond his wildest dreams. Arthur, the alchemist's young apprentice, cannot see the point - after all gold cannot make you happy, heal the sick, or make people love you - and he watches in amazement as the experiments grow more elaborate and fantastic. As time ticks on Spinifex becomes a man obsessed, plundering the country for more gold to aid his experiments, even tearing the rings from people's fingers. Then, as the Millennium approaches, Spinifex constructs his last great experiment - a monstrous machine stretching up from the cellar through the castle to the roof. But the great gold-making machine only suceeds in destroying its creator, leaving just one tiny nugget of gold. However, gold of another kind floods the castle - glorious sunlight rains down on the kingdom, dispelling darkness and gloom forever. As for Arthur, he takes the tiny nugget and fashions a sunflower pendant for the king. One day the king loses it while out swimming, but he doesn't even notice, it is forgotten.

The Hand-Me-Down Doll


Steven Kroll - 1983
    Keep me and love me and give me a name, begs the doll. Finally, her luck changes when she meets a little girl who appreciates her and takes her home. Originally published in 1983, the slightly shortened text is beautifully interpreted in Dan Andreasen's nostalgic oil-painted illustrations.

The Runaway Girls


Jacqueline Wilson - 2021
    Queen Victoria is on the throne and the Great Exhibition is about to open! Lucy Locket lives with her father, the New Mother and the New Baby. They sent away her beloved Nurse and replaced her with a horrid governess. Lucy desperately wants someone to be kind to her, and to have some fun - there's very little of that in her house. Kitty Fisher is a street performer who earns tin for her supper by tumbling. She has always lived on the street and on her wits, with only the kind Gaffer to help her. But now Gaffer is gone, and Kitty is all alone. When Lucy runs away from home, Kitty shows Lucy how to survive - where to find the best picnic leftovers in the park, and which trees makes the best beds. Lucy learns quickly and shows Kitty her own skills - befriending families to get free meals and singing beautiful melodies for the crowds. But the streets of Victorian London are dangerous and soon the girls find themselves under threat from thieves - and even worse, the Workhouse!

Keep You By My Side: a novel about love, lies and family


Callie Langridge - 2018
    But secrets can only be kept for so long.Follow three generations of a family from war-torn London, to the permissive 60s and liberated 80s. Gertie, Rose and Abi live through joy, tragedy and heartache as they navigate complicated mother-daughter relationships and learn the importance of friends and finding love. When circumstances force them under the same roof, secrets begin to unravel and promises made in love threaten to tear them apart.How far would you go to protect the people you love? What everyone is saying about Keep You By My Side: "a book about, love, friendship, and the reverberating echoes of the past. I did not want to put it down and now that I’ve finished it, I am bereft" Lisa Timoney - reviewer  "From page one this book had me hooked." Gail Atkins - reviewer "an endearing story, tying together generations of a typical family, with quirks and heroics, traditions and secrets, all the things that make life whole."  Bonnye Reed Fry - reviewer  Callie Langridge is the best-selling author of A Time to Change. Keep You By My Side is an emotional and heart-warming tale, which will appeal to fans of books like Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark and Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy.

The Travelers: Book 2


Lee Hunnicutt - 2018
    Jack, Sonny and Beth are transported back to the ancient Indian burial cave in the jungles of the 1970s Panama Canal Zone. After spending time in the Canal Zone, they return to 1875 San Francisco and reunite with Anne. They visit China Town where they meet an interesting and powerful Chinese gentleman and are introduced to the warfare between the triads and the tongs.They find their lives are in danger from an old enemy. They decide it is better if they leave San Francisco and visit the Cheyenne. From there they travel to New York and witness first hand the cutthroat world of New York high society and then on to England where they are introduced to British society by none other than Prince Edward himself.

Elizabeth, The Witch's Daughter


Lynda M. Andrews - 2017
    She witnesses from the sidelines the glittering splendour of her father's court, and the terrifying consequences of his wrath.With few she can trust, Elizabeth comes to womanhood during the reigns of her brother and sister, shrouded by a web of deceit. She lives in constant danger, yet rises above her detractors to defy her mother’s legacy, and go down in history as one of England’s most ruthless and powerful monarchs. Her life became a testament to the ambitions demonstrated of her parents. Just how much of an influence did Henry VIII’s most notorious wife have on her child? And was Elizabeth's accession Anne Boleyn's final triumph over death? A powerful and compelling tale about the tumultuous beginnings of the Virgin Queen, this is the perfect read for fans of Anne O’Brien, Elizabeth Chadwick and Alison Weir. It is the first of four newly reissued classics of historical fiction, which also include The Tudor Heritage, The White Lion of Norfolk and The Danish Queen. Lynda M. Andrews, who also writes as Lyn Andrews, is the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author of over 34 sagas, and one of the top 100 bestselling authors in the UK. She was born and raised in Liverpool, which serves as the inspiration for many of her novels. She now divides her time between Merseyside and the Isle of Man, where she has lived for several years.

Three Hearts, One Town


Sarah Jae Foster - 2013
    But she quickly realizes her inexperienced nature is no match for this rough and dangerous new town. She needs confidence and bravery to survive -- and she's determined to acquire both, even if it means making choices that in the end could destroy her. Gunslinger Jake Collins has that fearlessness and courage Cameron wants to possess, but she soon finds herself wanting Jake, a man she's been warned against. Andrew Jackson is the town's preacher. He offers Cameron a way of living and loving -- she's never known... until now. Two very different men, and for better or for worse, two very different loves. Torn by indecision, Cameron seeks to receive acceptance from the only one who can provide it. God. But has she gone too far by giving her heart in all the wrong ways? After coming into the knowledge of God's true and unconditional love, she faces the toughest choice she's ever had to make. Jake or Andrew....

Jacob's Bell: A Christmas Story


John Snyder - 2018
    Set in Chicago and Baltimore in 1944 with flashbacks to the 1920s, Jacob's Bell follows Jacob MacCallum on his arduous journey to redemption. At one time, Jacob had it all: wealth, a wonderful family and a position as one of the most respected businessmen in Chicago. Then he made some bad decisions and all that changed. For the past twenty years he lived in an alcohol-induced haze, riddled with guilt for the dreadful things he had done to his family and his role in the untimely death of his wife. Estranged from his children and penniless, he was in and out of jail, on the street and jumping freight trains for transportation. Realizing he needed a drastic change, Jacob embarked on a journey to find his children, seek their forgiveness, and restore his relationship with them. Befriended by a pastor at a Salvation Army mission, he struggled to transform his life. Yet finally he overcame his demons, but not without a fair number of setbacks. Jacob became a Salvation Army Bell Ringer at Christmastime. While ringing his bell on a street corner one snowy day, he met a young girl who, through a series of strange coincidences, led him back to his children and facilitated Jacob's forgiveness just in time for Christmas. Author John Snyder pens a story of love, hardship, and reconciliation that will leave readers filled with Christmas joy.

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