Book picks similar to
Fortune's Son by Jennifer Scoullar
historical-fiction
romance
australia
historical
The Railwayman's Wife
Ashley Hay - 2013
But in Thirroul, in 1948, she’s not the only person trying to chase dreams through books. There’s Roy McKinnon, who found poetry in the mess of war, but who has now lost his words and his hope. There’s Frank Draper, trapped by the guilt of those his medical treatment and care failed on their first day of freedom. All three struggle to find their own peace, and their own new story.But along with the firming of this triangle of friendship and a sense of lives inching towards renewal come other extremities—and misunderstandings. In the end, love and freedom can have unexpected ways of expressing themselves.The Railwayman’s Wife explores the power of beginnings and endings, and how hard it can sometimes be to tell them apart. Most of all, it celebrates love in all its forms, and the beauty of discovering that loving someone can be as extraordinary as being loved yourself.
If the Shoe Fits
Laurie LeClair - 2013
All she wants is her late father's dream to come true by making his beloved King's Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store's budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart's in for when... Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, arrives for dinner to meet the all-female King family. His ailing grandparents yearn for his marriage and then the baby carriage. Well, that and running the family company. Having unsuccessfully searched for months, Alex doesn't hold out any hope in finding his future bride among the King sisters. However, all his expectations, including his idea of a business-like marriage of convenience, vanish the moment Charlie crashes into him. When Alex sets out out to win over Charlotte, he has no idea he has to bargain with the stepmother, secretly buy the store, court Charlotte after the wedding, and, oh yeah, be featured in Charlie's new fairy tale ad campaign, The Charmings, based on them. Can a guy ever get a break? The couple never factored in falling in love with each other. Now, faced with losing all their families ever wanted, Charlie and Alex must choose: Do they live their families' dreams or do they finally live their own?
Highland Burn
Victoria Zak - 2014
James the Black Douglas knows this all too well. With a past that has left him vengeful and his dragon blood thirsty, his reputation as a ruthless warrior haunts his enemies in their sleep. As his allegiance stands with Robert Bruce, the King of Scotland, he must now repay a debt to the king and agrees to marry his daughter, Abigale Bruce. The problem is he doesn’t want a wife. When flames start to burn out of control between him and the auburn-haired lass, he must decide to either kindle the flames of passion or shelter her from the truth and set her free. It’s What Shines in the Dark That Brings Forth Your True Light… Determined to keep his daughter safe and out of the hands of the English, Robert hides Abigale behind the safe walls of a nunnery. After eight long years of living her life in seclusion, Abigale is finally set free. But her new found freedom comes to an abrupt halt when she learns of her betrothal to the infamous Bogeyman – James the Black Douglas. She soon finds herself falling in love with the uncontainable and haunted man. Is her love enough to soften his hardened heart?
Sweet Wattle Creek
Kaye Dobbie - 2015
Determined to solve the mystery of her birth and the reason why she was bequeathed the hotel Belle runs into difficulties with the townsfolk and their desire to keep their secrets safe.Sixty years later Sophie Matheson is on a quest to find Belle and her family after discovering the wedding dress. The Sweet Wattle Creek Centenary brings more challenges when her past catches up and she must fight for all that matters to her. Who were Belle and Martha and what links their lives together?
In the Garden of Temptation
Cynthia Wicklund - 2010
She had come upon it not long after her marriage to Edgar, and it had offered her the only peace she was to know for a long time. It was dangerous to share the only thing that belonged to one. Yet the thought of spending an afternoon with the earl in her most treasured place, sharing a leisurely meal, beckoned her. She glanced shyly over her shoulder to see if he still followed.Lord Ashworth rode only a few yards behind her horse, and he grinned when their eyes met. He had a lazy, sensual smile and, when he looked at her like that, she felt an odd breathless catch in her throat. She wondered how it would feel if he were to place those warm lips to hers instead of the back of her hand. Oh dear! There went that catch again.Within moments they entered a clearing. Catherine dismounted without waiting for the earl’s assistance and swung her arms wide as she turned in a circle about the shaded copse.“What do you think?” she asked.The earl, still astride, cast his gaze slowly around the tiny glen as he studied the scenery. He then turned his attention to Catherine but did not speak. A suggestive grin broke the calm of his expression as he continued to watch her.“More beautiful than I could have imagined,” he murmured.Simple statement that, but it held a wealth of meaning. Catherine dropped her arms while staring back in fascination. Her mouth fell open and her breathing quickened. The air vibrated with unspoken words as they shared a moment of absolute understanding. The specter of desire had been brought into the open and was acknowledged.Experience IN THE GARDEN OF TEMPTATION today. Meet characters you'll visit again in the other books in this series.Now Available on Amazon:IN THE GARDEN OF SEDUCTION, Book 2 of The Garden Series.IN THE GARDEN OF DISGRACE, Book 3 of The Garden Series.IN THE GARDEN OF DECEIT, Book 4 of The Garden Series.Just Released: THIEF OF SOULSDark and sensual, Thief of Souls is one man's battle with evil for the fate of his humanity. It is a modern vampire-esque romance, gothic in tone, with a twist on the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, for the beast's ugliness resides on the inside rather than the outside, and his hope for redemption comes not from being loved by another but from discovering his own ability to love.
Bargaining With a Rake
Julie Johnstone - 2012
Now, faced with an unwelcome marriage that will chain her to London and the secret slowly killing her, she’s desperate to save herself and the sister she adores. Salvation comes in the form of an American shipping tycoon, and all she must do is seduce him into marrying her. But Gillian’s scheme hits a snag when she makes a bargain with a notorious rake, Alexander Trevelle, Lord Lionhurst. He agrees to help her win the hand of his American friend, if she’ll assist him with exacting revenge against her unwanted fiancé. But the price of the pact may just be their hearts.
My Paper Heart
Magan Vernon - 2012
Dating one of the hottest guys in the biggest fraternity? Done. Failing out of College? Oops... When Libby Gentry's parents receive the letter that she's failed out of school, Libby is forced to pack her Prada bag and head to work for her great aunt in rural Louisiana. Nothing about tiny Elsbury, Louisiana, entices her until she locks eyes with the southern charmer, Blaine Crabtree. Libby is used to getting what she wants and Blaine is no exception, but as the two grow closer, bigger problems arise. Libby doesn't know how much more pain her already paper-thin heart can take and when new opportunities in Chicago pop up she is presented with a difficult situation: wait for her redneck Romeo, or move on.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart
Holly Ringland - 2018
She is taken in by her estranged grandmother, June, a flower farmer who raises Alice on the language of Australian native flowers, a way to say the things that are too hard to speak. But Alice also learns that there are secrets within secrets about her past. Under the watchful eye of June and The Flowers, women who run the farm, Alice grows up. But an unexpected betrayal sends her reeling, and she flees to the dramatically beautiful central Australian desert. Alice thinks she has found solace, until she falls in love with Dylan, a charismatic and ultimately dangerous man.The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a story about stories: those we inherit, those we select to define us, and those we decide to hide. It is a novel about the secrets we keep and how they haunt us, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. Spanning twenty years, set between the lush sugar cane fields by the sea, a native Australian flower farm, and a celestial crater in the central desert, Alice must go on a journey to discover that the most powerful story she will ever possess is her own.
His Stolen Bride
Shelly Thacker - 1991
Stealing the delicate beauty on her wedding day, he vows to keep her safe—and untouched—for she is a hostage to be bartered for the freedom of his beloved Scotland. But soon he discovers that his lovely captive has unexpected strength, fire—and plans of her own. From a besieged French castle to the untamed Scottish Highlands, Darach and Laurien are swept up in wild adventure, dangerous secrets…and forbidden love that puts their honor and their lives at risk.An RWA Golden Heart Award Finalist: Best Historical Romance of the Year“A compelling, memorable romance. HIS STOLEN BRIDE joins the ranks of the finest medieval captive/captor stories along with those by Elizabeth Stuart and Johanna Lindsey. 4 1/2 stars (highest rating)." -RT Book ReviewsAn earlier edition of this novel was originally published by Avon Books under the title Falcon on the Wind. This extensively revised Author's Preferred Edition includes new scenes never before published.The Stolen Brides SeriesThese regal brides are about to discover that falling in love with a warrior is the most dangerous adventure of all. Each book is a stand-alone, steamy historical romance:Book 1: HIS STOLEN BRIDE (Darach and Laurien)Book 2: FOREVER HIS (Gaston and Celine)Book 3: HIS FORBIDDEN TOUCH (Royce and Princess Ciara)Book 4: HIS CAPTIVE BRIDE (Hauk and Avril)Book 5: HIS SCOTTISH BRIDE (Henri and Aileen)
The Sound of One Hand Clapping
Richard Flanagan - 1997
Bojan's wife abandons him to care for their three-year-old daughter Sonja alone. Sonja returns to Tasmania 35 years later, and to a father haunted by memories of the war and other recent horrors.
The Edge of Light
Ann Shorey - 2009
And when Samuel's unscrupulous brother takes over the family business, Molly must head out on her own, leaving her old life behind. It's a dangerous journey, but somehow she must find a way to make a living, keep her family together, and fend off some over-eager suitors.
Kakadu Sunset
Annie Seaton - 2015
Soaring above the Kakadu National Park, she feels freed from the questions around her father’s suicide and the heavy loss of her beloved family farm. But when a search-and-rescue mission on the boundary of the old farm reveals unusual excavation works, Ellie vows to investigate. The last thing she needs is her bad-tempered copilot, Kane McLaren, interfering. He's the son of the current owners of the farm, and her attraction to him is a distraction she can’t afford, especially when someone threatens to put a stop to her inquiries - by any means necessary. Ellie must trust Kane if she is to have any hope of uncovering the truth. Between Ellie’s damage and Kane’s secrets, can they find a way to open up to each other before the shadowy forces shut her up...for good?
More Than Pancakes
Christine DePetrillo - 2014
Her nights are filled with the glitz and glamour of upscale parties. Until her grandmother dies and leaves Lily property in wretched Vermont. The woods mean only one thing to Lily—nightmares. When Utopia wants the land for development, Lily is forced to travel to a place she’d rather forget. Rick Stannard makes maple syrup and builds barns in the peace and quiet of picturesque Vermont. Noisy New York City nearly killed him a few years back, and now he lives a calm, simple life with his coyote, Poe, and his beloved book collection. It’s the only way he’s guaranteed to wake up each morning. When Lily marches her expensive boots onto Rick’s land and proposes turning it into a mega resort, the serenity of the woods is shattered. Lily always closes a deal. Rick never intends to sell. They’ll need to compromise, or someone else will do it for them. Someone who is not afraid of the woods or the city. Or spilling a little blood.
The Rose and The Thorn
Mischelle Creager - 2015
He didn’t trust himself.The death of Sarah Greer’s husband granted her two things—freedom from his abuse and his large estate. In hopes of freeing her younger brother from their controlling grandfather, the pair travels to the new mining town of Central City, only Sarah finds herself caught up in scheme that forces her to marry again.The last thing widower Mac MacPherson wants is a marriage of convenience. Haunted by the past, the only reason he left his family’s Colorado ranch is to hunt down the last man to see his wife alive. But when he finds himself hitched to Sarah, he can’t ignore the woman who gets under his skin—or the sparks that fly when they’re together. Can Sarah and Mac put the past behind them and find a future together?This edgy historical romance is Book 1 in the MacPherson Brides series.Book 2: The Scar and The StarBook 3: The Hawk and The Eagle
Don't Tie the Knot
Bianca Blythe - 2018
Never mind that his brother is already engaged, and they’ll lose their family’s estate if he marries someone else. Hamish will just have to find a way to stop the wedding. Georgiana Butterworth is startled when a handsome Scotsman breaks into her bedroom and brandishes money. Evidently he’s mistaken her for her newly engaged sister and is trying to bribe her into not marrying his brother. Georgiana knows one thing: she won’t permit this man to ruin her sister’s chance for everlasting happiness. Hamish may be determined to stop the wedding, but Georgiana is intent to make certain the wedding happens, no matter what she has to do to distract him.