Book picks similar to
In the Shadow of the Storm by Anna Belfrage


historical-fiction
medieval
historical
historical-romance

The Loyal Heart


Merry Farmer - 2011
    Several problems. Her childhood love, Ethan, has returned home from the Crusades, but he’s more interested in winning his land back than wooing her. She has to rescue a pair of nuns who are being held prisoner in Derby Castle’s tower by the sadistic Sheriff Buxton. And to top it all off, she’s developing scandalous feelings for Buxton’s lackey, the dark and devilish Crispin. Faced with all that what’s a girl to do but don her disguise as the Derbywood Bandit and take matters into her own hands?Sir Crispin is at his wit’s end. Not only does he have his hands full keeping Buxton from killing half the shire, now his arch nemesis, the Derbywood Bandit, has joined forces with his old rival Ethan. And that’s nothing compared to the burning torch he carries for his ex-fiancé, Lady Aubrey. He would do anything to win Aubrey’s love …… until he suspects that there could be a closer connection between Aubrey and the Derbywood Bandit than anyone knows.

Enchantress Mine


Bertrice Small - 1987
    From the golden pleasure domes of Constantinople to the barbaric pomp of Malcolm of Scotland's court, this is the magical tale of ravishingly beautiful Mairin of Aelfleah, called "Enchantress" by the three men who loved her: Basil, Prince of Byzantium; Josselin, gallant knight; and the tragic Eric Longsword.

The Duke's Marriage of Convenience


Fiona Miers - 2020
    This spirited tomboy would rather care for her horses than tend to a husband—even if her betrothed is a dashing Duke. But to save her family, Raven accepts the dull life of a Duchess, and the societal expectations that will surely crush her soul. Her handsome fiancé, with his extravagant stables and shared love of horses, takes her by surprise. And so does the attraction she feels with every whispered word and flammable touch. This once reluctant bride soon yearns for more than a marriage of convenience.Andrew Seymour, Duke of Somerset, is resigned to his fate… he will marry for duty, rather than love. Since the crushing blow of his parents’ deaths, guilt has driven Drew’s every decision. A quiet loveless marriage is all he deserves. But his fiancé is no simpering society Miss. With a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, she has him bewitched and bewildered. Raven’s joy for life pulls him out of the cold, dark shadows of regret, ready to embrace life again. But Drew’s stubborn streak turns Raven’s passion to anger. And the engagement is broken—along with his heart.Drew is determined to win back the only woman he’s ever loved… before it’s too late. Can Raven forgive Drew and give him a second chance?

The Way the Wallflower Wed


Eva Devon - 2020
    The rakes, rogues, and dukes won't know what's hit them...Lady Pippa Post is one of London's most woeful wallflowers. With a father who has lost it all and an intellect as sharp as a cutlass, she's firmly on the shelf.But Pippa has no desire to retire to a wilting life in the country, even if she adores learning dead languages and pouring over ancient tomes. So, when a position opens, curating the Earl of Roxly's ever growing Egyptian collection, she knows exactly what must be done. But she doesn't expect that Roxly's rugged demeanor and wicked wit will entice her into a game of passion.Lord David Drake, Earl of Roxly, has no time for shrinking violets. He has no time for Londoners at all! He's a man of power, passion, and purpose. In but a short time, he is determined to leave English shores behind and return to the Nile he loves so well... But when a waspish wallflower shows up, determined to take care of his artifacts, he's intrigued and shocked to find that she is a mystery to be discovered... And adventurer that he is, there's nothing Roxly loves more than a mystery.Will Pippa shrink from a chance at love with this wild brute of a lord... or will the wallflower wed?

Suffering the Scot


Nichole Van - 2019
    The unmannered Scot is a menace to genteel ladies everywhere, what with his booming laugh and swishing kilt and endless supply of ‘ochs’ and ‘ayes.’ Jane wishes Lord Hadley would behave as an earl should and adhere to English rules of polite conduct. Andrew Langston, the new Earl of Hadley, knows that the English aristocracy think poorly of his lowly Scottish upbringing. This is hardly new. History is littered with the English assuming the worst about Scotland. By living up to their lowest expectations, he is simply fulfilling his civic duty as a Scotsman. Jane sees Andrew as an unmannered eejit. Andrew considers Jane to be a haughty English lady. But, as the saying goes, . . . opposites attract. And what if beneath his boisterous behavior and her chilly reserve, Andrew and Jane are not nearly as different as they suppose? Can Scotland and England reach a harmonious union at last?

Loving the Scarred Soldier


Rose Pearson - 2021
    Broken-hearted, she seeks to find a new beginning where it all began—Caldor House—the place where she first loved and lost. However, things aren’t as they used to be. When her former governess falls ill, and Charlotte decides to be her nurse, she is drawn into the secrets lurking in the shadows of the woman’s home, and the truth no one has dared tell her.James Watts no longer exists; at least that is how he wishes it. Scarred in the Napoleonic Wars, and having lost his only love, Charlotte, he has cloistered himself in the recesses of his family home. Hidden away from the stares and horror of his neighbors at his now marred features, he has chosen to live a life in secret. Until Charlotte’s return and the longing for more, that she elicits inside of him, threatens to derail his plans to remain hidden. Now they must face the scars of their past in order to have a future, but someone wants to keep them apart. Can this pair find love once more, or will they relive a past of love and loss?

Lady Olivia's Butterfly


Beverley Oakley - 2009
     Denied access to her child by the terms of her cruel late husband’s will, the once-dazzling debutante, Lady Olivia, orchestrates a grand charade to reclaim everything she has lost. Freed from the shackles of her violent marriage, Olivia finds true love with Max Atherton, the man responsible for returning her son. But with the revelation that Olivia unwittingly holds the key to a dark secret that threatens the future of the honourable man who has fulfilled her heart’s desire, she is forced to choose between Max’s future, and safeguarding her son’s. This book was originally published by Robert Hale under the title Lady Farquhar's Butterfly. It is Book 2 in the Scandalous: Three Daring Charades in the Pursuit of Love Box set.

Masked Intentions


Diana Bold - 2020
    However, by night, he is a masked avenger named Prometheus, rescuing unfortunate children from lives of prostitution. Horribly burned as a child, he loves the anonymity of his mask.Vanessa Bourke, the famous actress, is fascinated by both Adrian Strathmore, who throws flowers at her feet but remains in the shadows, and Prometheus, the masked man who shows up in her flat in the middle of the night with a small boy he’s saved. When she discovers they are one and the same, she begs him to unmask himself, to no avail. He is willing to lose her forever rather than trust her to love him despite his scars. Frustrated, she blackmails Adrian into marrying her, ruining his trust.Will he ever believe she’s come to love the man behind the mask?

When Christ and His Saints Slept


Sharon Kay Penman - 1994
    1135. As church bells tolled for the death of England's King Henry I, his barons faced the unwelcome prospect of being ruled by a woman: Henry's beautiful daughter Maude, Countess of Anjou. But before Maude could claim her throne, her cousin Stephen seized it. In their long and bitter struggle, all of England bled and burned.Sharon Kay Penman's magnificent fifth novel summons to life a spectacular medieval tragedy whose unfolding breaks the heart even as it prepares the way for splendors to come—the glorious age of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Plantagenets that would soon illumine the world.

Cavendon Hall


Barbara Taylor Bradford - 2014
    Cavendon Hall is home to two families, the aristocratic Inghams and the Swanns who serve them. Charles Ingham, the sixth Earl of Mowbray, lives there with his wife Felicity and their six children. Walter Swann, the premier male of the Swann family, is valet to the earl. His wife Alice, a clever seamstress who is in charge of the countess's wardrobe, also makes clothes for the four daughters. For centuries, these two families have lived side-by-side, beneath the backdrop of the imposing Yorkshire manor. Lady Daphne, the most beautiful of the Earl's daughters, is about to be presented at court when a devastating event changes her life and threatens the Ingham name. With World War I looming, both families will find themselves tested in ways they never thought possible. Loyalties will be challenged and betrayals will be set into motion. In this time of uncertainty, one thing is sure: these two families will never be the same again. Cavendon Hall is Barbara Taylor Bradford at her very best, and its sweeping story of secrets, love, honor, and betrayal will have readers riveted up to the very last page.

Ruby McBride


Freda Lightfoot - 2002
    The grand opening of the Manchester Ship Canal is set to be a day of unfettered festivity for Ruby and her younger sister and brother. Even Queen Victoria will be in attendance.But the glories of the ceremony fade into insignificance when their dying mother delivers them to the imposing oak doors of Ignatius House. Abandoned in the not-so-tender care of the nuns, the siblings are soon separated.So when the Board of Guardians force Ruby into a marriage that sends her to a new home upon the Salford waterways, she makes only one vow: to reunite her family whatever the cost. This is an enthralling story of romance and rebellion perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Dilly Court. Praise for Ruby McBride ‘An inspiring novel about accepting change and bravely facing the future’ Bangor Chronicle‘Compelling and heart-wrenching’ Hull Daily Mail‘The kind of character-driven saga that delights the Catherine Cookson and Josephine Cox audience’ Peterborough Evening Telegraph‘This book deals with gritty, real-life situations and shows how the heroine’s strength of character triumphs through adversity’ 5* Reader review

The Road to Avalon


Joan Wolf - 1988
    This realistic retelling of the legend shows Arthur severing the bonds of bastardy, vanquishing the Saxons, and loving one woman. As the daring teenage warrior prepares for the throne, he discovers true love with Morgan of Avalon, the youngest of Merlin’s daughters, but fate cruelly thwarts their hopes for a future together. Never before has a telling of the Arthur story made the breathtaking drama of this charismatic king more real or moving.

Stormbird


Conn Iggulden - 2013
    His poor health and frailty of mind render him a weakling king -Henry depends on his closest men, Spymaster Derry Brewer and William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to run his kingdom.Yet there are those, such as the Plantagenet Richard, Duke of York, who believe England must be led by a strong king if she is to survive. With England's territories in France under threat, and rumours of revolt at home, fears grow that Henry and his advisers will see the country slide into ruin. With a secret deal struck for Henry to marry a young French noblewoman, Margaret of Anjou, those fears become all too real.As storm clouds gather over England, King Henry and his supporters find themselves besieged abroad and at home. Who, or what can save the kingdom before it is too late?

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.

Highland Storm


Elizabeth Rose - 2019
    A storm is brewing in the Scottish Highlands. Hawke is the son of the well-known and respected laird, Storm MacKeefe (from Lady Renegade - Legacy of the Blade Series.) When the King's Chronicler arrives at the castle to record the heroic acts of the MacKeefe Clan, Hawke decides it is time for him to be noticed.But before he can devise a way to get mentioned in the Highland Chronicles, disaster strikes. A hunting trip turns into a deadly battle, and things go from bad to worse. Hawke is wounded and left for dead while his grandfather, laird of the clan, is abducted by the enemy. In one final attempt to even the score, Hawke captures the MacNab's daughter when she tries to strip him of his belongings on the battlefield.Phoebe MacNab starts out on a journey to find the coveted rare herbs that will heal her dying father, but her escorts have other plans. Before she knows it, they've killed or abducted some of the MacKeefes. She ends up taken captive by the enemy. If she doesn't find the herbs she needs and escapes soon, her father will die. However, after one kiss from her captor, the handsome Hawke MacKeefe, she starts wondering if she really wants to leave at all.Will an unexpected attraction between enemies turn hatred into passion? And can one kiss be the catalyst to ending a lifelong feud, or will it only put Hawke and Phoebe in unfavorable graces, turning their own clans against them instead?