Book picks similar to
The Girl From the Workhouse by Lynn Johnson


historical-fiction
historical
netgalley
romance

The Start of Something Wonderful


Jane Lambert - 2015
    Until he breaks up with her…Catapulted into a mid-life crisis she wishes she’d had earlier, she decides to turn her life upside-down, quitting her job and instead beginning to chase her long-held dreams of becoming an actress!Leaving the skies behind her, Emily heads for the bright lights of London’s West End – but is it too late to reach for the stars? Don’t miss this heartwarming and uplifting debut, perfect for fans of Colleen Coleman and Cate Woods!

A Daughter's Gift


Maggie Hope - 2012
    A daughter’s courage... When Elizabeth and her four sibling are orphaned, she and her brother are sent to a children’s home; their younger sisters into foster care.Life in the home is hard, but she is determined to look after her brother and make a better life for them both. Working as a nurse gives her a purpose but she risks everything by falling for wounded officer Jack Benson. Far above her in wealth and station, Elizabeth cannot marry him and she risks losing her nursing place if there is any hint of impropriety about her conduct.Then Elizabeth learns that her sister, Jenny, has been adopted by an abusive farmer. Torn between her hopeless love for Jack and her sister, must Elizabeth make an extreme sacrifice to reunite her family?

War Flower


Mary-Anne O'Connor - 2017
    But that doesn’t stop her from longing to join in, especially if it means spending time with the popular boy she secretly loves, Ben Williamson. So when the opportunity for a dream escape to Surfers Paradise arrives, Poppy and her twin sister Rosemary seize it, and find themselves in the midst of the swinging sixties at last.Rosemary embraces their secret new life with a vengeance, discovering drugs, boys and radical politics in a haze of parties, music festivals and protest marches. But such freedom is stolen when Rosemary’s great love Angus is sent to Vietnam, along with Ben.Soon a war fought thousands of kilometres away will arrive on the twins’ door in the form of orphaned refugee Thuy. As many more victims begin to appear, including shattered versions of Australian soldiers, they must decide how far they will go for the men they adore, and ask themselves whether love really is all that you need."Through her sensitivity, beautiful writing and gift as a storyteller, O'Connor's readers come to know and love her characters." — Weekly Times

Soul Sisters


Lesley Lokko - 2021
    Kemi was educated in Britain alongside Jen and the girls could not be closer; nor could they be more different in the paths they take in life. But the ties that bind them are strong and complicated, and a dark family secret exists in their joint history.Solam Rhoyi is from South Africa’s black political elite. Handsome, charismatic, charming, and a successful young banker, he meets both Kemi and Jen on a trip to London and sweeps them off their feet. Partly influenced by her interest in Solam, and partly on a journey of self-discovery, Kemi, now 31, decides to return to the country of her birth for the first time. Jen, seeking an escape from her father’s overbearing presence, decides to go with her.In Johannesburg, it becomes clear that Solam is looking for the perfect wife to facilitate his soaring political ambitions. But who will he choose? All the while, the real story behind the two families’ connection threatens to reveal itself – with devastating consequences . . .

No Angel


Penny Vincenzi - 2000
    Celia Lytton is the beautiful and strong-willed daughter of wealthy aristocrats and she is used to getting her way. She moves through life making difficult and often dangerous decisions that affect herself and others-her husband, Oliver, and their children; the destitute Sylvia Miller, whose life is transformed by Celia's intrusion; as well as Oliver's daunting elder sister, who is not all she appears to be; and Sebastian Brooke, for whom Celia makes the most dangerous decision of all. Set against the tumultuous backdrop of London and New York in the First World War, No Angel is, as British Good Housekeeping wrote, "an absorbing page-turner, packed with believable characters and satisfyingly extreme villains, eccentrics, and manipulators." Readers of Maeve Binchy, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and Anita Shreve will fall in love with this epic, un-put-downable novel.With more than 3.5 million copies sold, Penny Vincenzi is one of the world's preeminent writers of popular fiction-and American readers no longer have to miss out on the fun. With the publication of No Angel, a novel introducing the engaging cast of characters in the Lytton family, Overlook opens a thrilling new dimension to this author's already illustrious career.

Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy


Terri Grace - 2015
    Spurned for her size, and broken hearted as she stands by and watches all of her peers married off, Mindy is led by God to respond to an advert to become a Mail Order Bride to a mystery man on the wilds of the Western Frontier. It’s 1871 and the Frontier is as wild, and as lonely, as ever. Mindy Silvers is a gutsy and beautiful young lady, who dares to believe God and respond to a call into the unknown as a Mail Order Bride. But her journey to Horatio Attwood’s homestead will not be an easy one. She failed to mention her size to her husband-to-be, and Mindy must overcome insurmountable odds, both inwardly and outwardly, to win her prize. And Mindy is not the only with a secret. Horatio too must overcome his own doubt and shame before he can embrace his destiny, and is bride. ‘Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy’ is a sweet, clean, historical Mail Order Bride tale of one gutsy woman’s journey to love and happiness. In this heart warming 'Destined For Love' series, strong and courageous Mail Order Brides overcome deep personal challenges to find lasting love with faithful men on the Western Frontier. Visit all the books in the series! Overweight Mail Order Bride For A Half-Blind Cowboy Crippled Mail Order Bride For A Faithful Frontier Cowboy (COMING SOON – JULY 2015) Burned But Beautiful Mail Order Bride For A Pioneer Doctor (COMING SOON – JULY 2015)

The Holiday Cruise


Victoria Cooke - 2017
    Luckily, her big sister is there to pick up the pieces, but Hannah is determined to find some independence. Impulsively, Hannah applies for a spa job...on a cruise ship! Christmas in the Caribbean, springtime in the Mediterranean, what's not to like? But, despite being in her thirties, Hannah has never done anything in her own before, and she's terrified. As the ship sets sail, Hannah has never been further from home...or closer to discovering who she is and who she wants to be.

The Poacher's Daughter


Mary Nichols - 1995
    They all knew she was not the poacher’s real child, though few knew the mystery of how she came to be living with him. Kate herself was not sure; Josiah had told her he had found her abandoned as a baby, but was Josiah telling the truth?He loved her and she was devoted to him and she did not question what he said until two mysterious men came to the village on the same day, both handsome, strong, self-possessed men, but so very different in every other way. Something was happening in the village, something important, something that would affect all their lives…

Pack Up Your Troubles


Anne Bennett - 2000
    Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Annie Groves.Maeve Brannigan is only eighteen when she leaves her rural home in County Donegal and moves to Birmingham, where she falls in love with handsome Brendan Hogan. But married life isn’t as idyllic as she’d imagined, and when Maeve falls pregnant with their first child, she soon realises that Brendan isn’t the man she thought he was.Saddled with a violent husband and with two young’uns needing her protection, Maeve bears her life as best she can. After a particularly vicious attack, she is forced to flee back to Ireland – but her presence is greeted with open hostility by the close-knit catholic community that she was once so eager to escape. Driven away to face her abusive husband, Maeve’s future looks bleak. Will she find the strength to break free and make the prospect of a better life a reality rather than a distant dream?

The Giants Look Down


Sonja Price - 2016
    It is the late 1960s and the family enjoy an idyllic life in the Vale of Kashmir, despite the area being riddled with conflict and poverty. But after a devastating earthquake wipes out her entire family, Jaya is taken into the care of relatives in Delhi, who attempt to marry her off and keep secret from her the possibility that Tahir, her younger brother, has survived the earthquake. After escaping from the arranged marriage Jaya is put through medical training in Scotland, as she had always dreamed, and where she develops feelings for her foster family’s eldest son, Alastair, who is engaged to someone else. In the meantime, Tahir has been abducted by a band of Kashmiri freedom fighters, who have made him one of their own. Jaya finally returns to her troubled homeland to find him and come to terms with the loss of her family. Alastair, who arrives in Kashmir to announce his love for Jaya, is kidnapped by the freedom fighters, forcing her to risk everything to get him back.

Betting on a Lady's Heart (His Majesty's Hounds Book 14)


Arietta Richmond - 2018
     Gervaise Belmont, Viscount Woodridge, has sworn to no longer gamble – but giving it up is proving far harder than he had expected. He despairs of achieving his aims, especially as the reputation he created, two years earlier, persists, destroying his opportunities for change. Until a chance meeting with a young lady gives him a reason to hope. Miss Clarisse Weston is disconsolate. Her father has, after many, many years, married again – and her relationship with her stepmother is strained, to say the least. When she is encouraged to look for a husband, she feels trapped. Whilst her father has introduced her to a charming Earl, she finds herself uncertain – especially as the Viscount she met by accident wishes to court her too. But all is not as it seems, and a tangle of lies, deceptions and betrayals soon traps Clarisse. Is the Earl all that he seems? Is the Viscount truly a rake and a gambler beyond redemption? Is her stepmother as concerned for Clarisse’s wellbeing as she professes to be? And can Clarisse find her way through the web of deceit, to be with the man she loves, or will greed and manipulation steal her chance at happiness forever?

Island in the Sun


Janice Horton - 2019
    To where she grew up and fell in love with her childhood friend, Leo Fernandez. Fully intent on selling the island and finally putting the past behind her, Isla is soon compelled to put together the pieces of what really happened on a fateful night ten-years before. She begins to believe that in going to prison, Leo hadn’t only been shielding her from the same fate. She also starts to suspect that her late Aunt hadn’t been entirely honest in sending her away under the guise of recriminations. Who had they both been protecting and why?

Bad Girls


Gemma Rogers - 2021
    No Crime. No Time.Can you ever escape your past?Fresh out of prison, Jess Strickland has just six months’ probation to serve until she's free to get on with the life, she left behind 4 years ago.With few options available, Jess takes a job at Bright’s’, an industrial laundry company alongside other ex-cons, all eager to keep their noses clean.Here she finds an ally in Karla but soon learns her new boss Terry, is not all he seems.Realising she’s no safer on the outside Jess refuses to be a victim any longer.How far will she go to avoid going back to prison?

Beyond the Veil of Tears


Rita Bradshaw - 2014
    Oswald proves to be more sadistic and violent than she could ever have imagined. On learning she is expecting a child, Angeline makes plans to run away and take her chances fending for herself and her baby. But then tragedy takes over . . .

3 Christmas Regency Romances: The Duke, the Earl, and the Joker


Charlotte Darcy - 2017
     A Christmas to Remember Juliet Whitehall, is the eldest daughter of the Earl of Forbes. Being clumsy and tongue-tied she is in no rush to find a suitor. Who would risk taking on such a jinxed wife? Her clumsiness would only get worse when the Duke of Richfield comes to stay at their family home and of course he was coming for Christmas. Edward Burton, had lost his father, and suddenly found himself with the title of the Duke of Richfield. After being invited to stay with the Earl and Countess of Forbes, for the Christmas period, he found himself being cast in the role of a Duke in a play. He is hesitant in his role but then disaster strikes. Can a Christmas Miracle bring two unlikely and yet perfect people together in this sweet Regency romance? Christmas Masquerade Kate Whitehall, lost her joy for Christmas, when her sister Juliet married and left home. Life seemed duller. Christmas, was going to be even worse, until a friend suggested they attend a few masquerade balls. Dressed up, and behind a full mask, Kate was able to let go of her sadness just a little but could still not find the joy in the season. That was, until the man in the terrifying black mask engaged her in conversation… interesting conversation. His deep voice, strong body, and obvious intelligence became something Kate wanted more of. Yet he disappeared, not returning when he said he would. Left a little distraught she must wonder why he had shunned her? Had she done something to offend him? She cannot get him out of her mind and wants to know who was the man in the frightful mask …and would she get to meet him again?” Find out in Christmas Masquerade. The Best Time of Year Stella Lawson had played an integral part in arranging the courtships, leading to the marriages of her best friends, the sisters Juliet and Kate Whitehall. This year at Christmas, all was not going well. Their brother and a dear friend to her also, Adam Whitehall, was being pushed into courtships by his dear mama, with ladies he didn’t even know. Ladies he didn’t want to know. Stella agrees to aid him in putting off his mother’s future consorts by persuading them that Adam is a buffoon. Yet the more she helps, the more Adam seems like the perfect man, it’s a pity he’s only a friend… or is he? Find out in this collection of sweet Christmas romances.