Book picks similar to
The Drowning Land by David M. Donachie


61-factual-archaeology-anthropology
historical-fiction
reviewed-for-rosie
romance

Eugenie's Story, Swallowcliffe Hall


Jennie Walters - 2012
    Lord Vye's daughter might be thought to want for nothing, but life isn't easy on fifty guineas a year, with a jealous stepmother watching one's every move. Eugenie's passionate nature and unerring ability to get hold of the wrong end of the stick land her in trouble as she follows her heart: from elegant Swallowcliffe to the streets of fashionable London, by way of rural Ireland, glamorous belle époque Paris and an idyllic artists' retreat at Giverny. She hurtles from one near-disaster to another, rescued only by a sense of humour, unquenchable optimism and her dear American friend Julia - until finally discovering love was right under her nose all along.

Mamie Garrison: A Tale of Slavery, Abolition, History & Romance


Teresa McRae - 2015
    Everything in her young life has led her to this moment, this decision. She will embark on the greatest adventure of her life.Approximately one hundred and fifty years later, her ancestor, Bella Garrison, inherits a house from her grandmother and finds Mamie's journals in a trunk in the attic. Bella with the help of her historian boyfriend, Andrew, will follow Mamie's journey through her writings, to find out more about this intrepid woman and what she achieved. However, someone is trying to stop them from learning about Mamie. What do they not want Bella to find out? And... what is the meaning of the strange events occurring in Bella's house?

A Fateful Twist of Love


Aria Norton - 2020
    Seeking the truth, Emily finds herself travelling to England, comforted in the knowledge that her inheritance will allow her to live a pleasant life. Her world turns upside down though, when she finds out about the condition that dictates she needs to find a husband before her twenty-first birthday... Fate seems to be teasing her even further, as she soon finds her heart entrapped by the presence of a dashing lord. Will Emily manage to secure her fortune without risking her one chance at true love?Lord Maximillian Camborne is a strong and independent man. Despite appearing calm and collected on the surface, a dark secret is hidden behind the reason he's keeping everyone at distance. Rumours surrounding his wife's death and a curse upon his home in Cornwall have left him with little to be joyful of, but the arrival of a mysterious young lady might be exactly the salvation he's been looking for...Emily and Maximillian feel completely lost before their pathways meet, but they end up finding more than they dreamed of in each other's mesmerising gaze. Regardless of how unexpected their encounter is, the connection is instant and their feelings persist against all odds. With Emily hiding her real identity, though, and Maximilian concealing an even darker reality, could love stand a chance? Will they manage to defy the endless obstacles and rumours to reach the final destination of love?"A Fateful Twist of Love" is a historical romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Lady Hartley's Inheritance


Wendy Soliman - 2005
     Her godmother's son, Luc Deverill, the Earl of Newbury, suspects fraud. Thrown together during the social whirl of a Regency season in full swing, Luc is increasingly drawn towards Clarissa but she thinks him an idle dissipate and finds little to admire in the ways of high society. Racing against time to foil those seeking to deceive Clarissa, Luc is horrified when she places herself in the path of danger. At last a woman has dented his impenetrable heart and he rides to her rescue. But has he left it too late to tell her how he feels?

A Lord's Bet of Desire


Meghan Sloan - 2020
    While working at the house of Norman Pembroke, the Duke of Bancroft, she has always dreamt of advancing her life from a humble maid to that of a governess. Despite knowing that this opportunity may never appear, her love for reading is enough to keep the dream alive. But little did she know that fate would bring an unforeseen twist that would make this dream a tangible reality... When Edward, the endearingly attractive brother of the Duke, comes to visit, the last thing she expected was to end up under his roof and away from the only place she's ever known. Laura will inevitably find herself seduced by his ravishing beauty, but will she allow herself to finally surrender to her burning desire for him?Edward Pembroke has always been the opposite of his brother. Being warm and dutiful himself, he was against his brother's love for gambling that was dwindling the Pembroke fortune every day. When he finally decides to confront him about his wayward habit, they both end up engaging in a fateful night of gambling, and Edward wins the prize of taking anything he wants with him. Without a second thought, he chooses Laura, as her fiery nature lightens a spark inside him. Once they move to his house, he can't help but be mesmerised by her every move, willing to do whatever it takes to possess her. Will he manage to turn this promising desire into an everlasting love?Laura and Edward's attraction is impossible to deny, but their evident class differences are threatening their undeniable lust. The more time they spend together, the more they lose their hearts and bodies to one another. Will their passionate connection prove strong enough to shatter the insurmountable obstacles? Or will their heated affair go down in flames before it even sets them on fire?"A Lord's Bet of Desire" is a historical romance novel of approximately 60,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

A Life Less Ordinary


Christopher G. Nuttall - 2013
    If you search for it, you will find it, or it will find you. Welcome to the magical world.Having lived all her life in Edinburgh, the last thing 25-year old Dizzy expected was to see a man with a real (if tiny) dragon on his shoulder. Following him, she discovered that she had stumbled from her mundane world into a parallel magical world, an alternate reality where dragons flew through the sky and the Great Powers watched over the world. Convinced that she had nothing to lose, she became apprenticed to the man with the dragon. He turned out to be one of the most powerful magicians in all of reality. But powerful dark forces had their eye on this young and inexperienced magician, intending to use her for the ultimate act of evil – the apocalyptic destruction of all reality. If Dizzy does not realise what is happening to her and the worlds around her, she won’t be able to stop their plan. A plan that will ravage both the magical and mundane worlds, consuming everything and everyone in fire.

Golden Girls


Elvi Rhodes - 1988
    The day came when she was so hungry, so tired and worried, that she was reduced to going to Akersfield market and asking Dick Fletcher for help - Dick who had loved her years ago, who was now running his own successful market garden - and who was engaged to someone else. It was Dick who took her back home to her village in the dales, gave her a job, helped her to gain her self-respect again. But the time came when she knew she must stand on her own - make a life for herself and her daughters without him, and use all her courage and determination to become successful. It was to take many years, and all the tragedy of the 1914 war before Eleanor was able to repay Dick Fletcher for the great debt she owed him.

The White Empress


Lyn Andrews - 1989
    She's full of hope, determined to make her fortune and be someone. Joe Calligan, a deckhand who saves Cat's life, can't bring himself to tell her, the most beautiful girl he's ever set eyes upon, that Liverpool is full of people walking the streets, looking for work. As soon as Cat sees the luxury liner the White Empress her heart is set on becoming Chief Stewardess. Despite her lack of money or education, Cat sets about achieving her incredible dream. Whilst doing so, she discovers that having a good man by her side will bring her more happiness than she could ever have hoped for.The White Empress is the story of a young woman who is determined to make her own way in life - and see the world whilst doing so.

Saving Grace: A Victorian Mystery


Hannah Howe - 2018
    During and after dinner he had nothing to excite him save the receipt of a letter which somewhat annoyed him, and that his wife consumed rather more wine than he considered to be good for her health. Immediately after retiring to his room he was seized with symptoms of irritant poisoning, and despite every effort made on his behalf, he succumbed to its effects. An inquest was held, which vexed the minds of the Coroner’s jury to a degree without precedent in Coroners’ Inquest Law, and an open verdict was returned. However, the matter will not rest there, for after questions in Parliament, a second inquest has been called under suspicion that Mr Charles Petrie was murdered. * * * Who poisoned Charles Petrie? Dr James Collymore, a man familiar with poisons, a man harbouring a dark secret that, if exposed, would ruin his career; Florrie, the maid who supplied Charles with his bedtime drink; Bert Kemp, a disgruntled groom, who used poisons in his work, who four months previously had predicted Charles’ dying day; Mrs Jennet Quinn, a lady’s companion with a deep knowledge of poisons, and a deep fear of dismissal; or Grace Petrie, Charles’ wife of four months, a woman with a scandalous past, a woman shunned by polite society. With crowds flocking to the courtroom and the shadow of suspicion falling upon Grace in the shape of the hangman’s noose, could dashing young advocate, Daniel Morgan, save her?

Hidden in the Heart


Beth Andrews - 2006
    High-spirited Lydia expects a very dull visit, but her sojourn to the village of Diddlington is not as idyllic as she anticipates . . .A charred and bludgeoned corpse is found in the woods, and suspicion falls on Lydia’s aunt’s suitor, an intriguing Frenchman. Convinced of his innocence, Lydia enlists the help of her new friend, John Savidge, to catch the real killer. But before their dangerous adventure ends there will be more than one unexpected discovery.

You Are My Sunshine


Katie Flynn - 2011
    The precious few days she spends with her new husband are quickly forgotten once she starts work as a balloon operator, trained for the heavy work in order to release more men to fight. There she makes friends with shy Emily Bevan, who has left her parents' hill farm in Wales for the first time; down-to-earth Biddy Bachelor, fresh from the horrors of the Liverpool bombing, and spirited Jo Stewart, the rebel among them, whose disregard for authority looks set to land them all in trouble. The girls stay friends through good times and bad, through romantic encounters and, ultimately, tragedy.

Finding Allie


Delaney Cameron - 2015
    A gently-bred female doesn’t offer herself to a stranger. If she does, she must be willing to accept the consequences. But what if among those consequences is one she hadn’t expected? Nicholas Ashton knows all too well what awaits him at Waverton: marriage and the inevitable heir. He is only too happy to delay his arrival by accepting an invitation from an old friend to spend a few weeks at Groome Hall. When he is thrown (literally) into Allie’s path, he begins to suspect his hitherto calm, orderly life may never be the same. Allie and Nicholas might be determined to forget their very unorthodox first meeting, but fate has other ideas. And when has fighting fate ever been easy?

In Honour Bound


Elizabeth Bailey - 2019
     Can a free-spirited tomboy learn to fit in with respectable society…? 1799, Suffolk When her father dies in battle, seventeen-year-old Isolde Cavanagh is forced to rely on the protection of an old family friend. But when she arrives at the imposing estate of Bawdsey Grange it seems her would-be guardian has died. And his son Richard de Baudresey has never heard of her. To remain at the Grange, Richard insists Isolde learns to fit in with high society. But having grown up in military camps, tomboy Isolde has no interest in becoming a lady. Can Isolde bend her will to please her guardian? Will Richard learn to accept her as she is? Or will the dark secrets bubbling below the surface threaten their growing bond? IN HONOUR BOUND is the first book in the Brides By Chance Regency Adventures series, an enchanting set of Regency romances set in Georgian England. THE BRIDES BY CHANCE REGENCY ADVENTURE SERIES BOOK ONE: In Honour Bound BOOK TWO: A Chance Gone By BOOK THREE: Knight For A Lady

A Bet to Wed the Duke: Historical Regency Romance


Lisa Campell - 2020
    

The Flower Seller


Linda Finlay - 2018
    Her life seems perfect, until her father suddenly announces bankruptcy. To save Isabella from destitution he sends her to stay with family she has never met, far away on a violet farm deep in Devon.Isabella is horrified to find her uncle expects her to work for her keep, packing up the flowers and selling them in the nearby market. However she soon discovers that life on a violet farm may not be so bad, especially when she meets handsome local farmer Felix Furneaux… Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn.