Book picks similar to
The Reason for Wings by Joyce Reiser Kornblatt


ethnic-traditions
jewish-historical-fiction
multicultural
argentina

When Day is Done


Elizabeth Murphy - 1998
    Kate must go to Aunt Mildred, a hard woman who runs a Liverpool boarding house, who puts the young girl to work at once. But Rose gets the wealthy widow Aunt Beattie, who lavishes her with gifts and attention. As one sister experiences hardship alongside friendship, and the other is spoilt and isolated, which will find happiness? For, at the end of the day, it is not what Kate and Rose have in life that counts, it is what they choose to make of it… When Day is Done is a heartwarming saga of the struggle to find happiness, perfect for fans of Helen Forrester, Katie Flynn and Pam Howe.‘As heartwarming as it is sincere, this is storytelling at its best’ Best

Founder of Rome: A Tale of the Ancient Republic


Ken Farmer - 2015
    The time of the story is in the 6th century B.C.E, long before that favorite trio of fiction writers of ancient Rome - Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra - whose actions caused the fall of the Republic. It is the story of a fictional character but within the framework of the historical record (what little there is) and includes the well known names of that time, including Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, the first Consuls of the Republic, and Tarquinius Superbus, the overbearing King with the insatiable appetite for conquest. And of course, the person of Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus - that woman of many romantic myths and tragic tales of that time.

The Orphan Dancer's Desperation


Nell Harte - 2020
    Struggling to survive, Genevieve dances on the street for coins saving every coin she can to bring the family home.Frail and earning barely enough to stay alive, a fortuitous meeting brings Genevieve to the Mowbray’s Music Hall. Now with more earnings and regular employment, Genevieve puts her plan into action to deliver her siblings from the workhouse, yet soon discovers a jealous and bitter enemy set on her ruin. Now alone and fighting for her life, Genevieve is evicted from her humble home for a wrong she never committed and thrown onto the streets.Guy Chambers, a handsome and kind violinist, suspects Genevieve has seen more trouble in her life than she reveals. Careful never to frighten her, he gradually gains her trust and a fledgling love begins to bloom. When Genevieve disappears without a word, Guy is desperate to find her, and searches the streets and alleyways, but what he discovers brings him to the brink of despair.Will Genevieve be able to survive and bring her family home? Will Guy find her in time to save her? Or is all hope lost for their love, her family, and a future together?If you enjoy clean historical romance, you will love Nell Harte books.

The Girl from the Docklands Café


June Tate - 2018
    Jessie is just nineteen when her father passes away and her mother decides to return to her native Ireland. But Jessie, headstrong and independent, prefers to take charge of her own destiny and finds employment at a workman’s cafe, becoming the darling of the dockworkers who are fiercely protective of her.When one of her customers charms his way into her heart, Jessie becomes Mrs Conor McGonigall and soon assumes ownership of the cafe. All the pieces of her life are coming together. But when a pushy local businessman and a former employee with a grudge have other ideas, everything she has worked for is slowly chipped away. Can she find the strength to rebuild the life she wants in the face of immeasurable personal loss?‘Her debut book caused a stir among Cookson and Cox devotees, and they’ll love this. Compulsive reading’ Woman’s Weekly‘A heart-rending tale’ Gilda O’Neill‘A page-turner for all saga lovers’ Katie Fforde‘A heart-warming tale with a vividly drawn central character’ Peterborough Evening Telegraph‘Excellent and gripping . . . compelling. I am eagerly awaiting June Tate’s next offering’ Sussex Life

Tombstone Jack and the Redwing Saloon


Dan Winchester - 2017
    An old friend needs Jack to find her son, who was last seen at the Redwing Saloon. The manager is a wanted man with a hefty bounty on his head, but no one is brave enough to try and collect it. Except Jack.But there's more going on than meets the eye, and if Jack can't sort out the good guys from the bad guys, he's going to end up going home in a pine box.This 15,800 word novelette is loaded with traditional western action and can be read in one sitting.

The Fledglings


Max Hennessy - 2020
    Face to face. One machine against another.It was shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Martin Falconer and his friend, Frank, were anxious to ‘get into the scrap’ as soon as possible, their youth blinding them to the real danger of it all.Geoffrey, Martin’s elder brother, knew that it wasn’t a game. He had fought in the trenches, been wounded and had seen friends die.For Geoffrey the R.F.C. offered an opportunity to escape the mud and horror of the Front, while for Martin and Frank it was the chance to be in at the start of a totally different kind of fighting. They were to be pioneers.A scintillating, full-throttle thriller of the First World War, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Derek Robinson and Geoffrey Wellum.

Sold into Slavery: The Story of Adaku, A Black Slave Woman


Mary Devey - 2011
    Nestled in her little village in inland Africa, this young pregnant mother of two boys already had the hopes and dreams which any Igbo woman her age would want of her time. And her joy was furthered with the impending birth of their third child, a child whom they were hoping would be the girl her husband wanted. But she was captured against her will and helpless at that point because of her pregnancy, she yielded to her assailants without question. What happens next is a terrible ordeal for this young woman who learns about the savagery of life's sharp ends and about where betrayals begin - on the very soil that is Africa. Along the way, Adaku meets people like her who were kidnapped against their will and soon she forges friendship with women across all tribes, all in search of a common cause to escape from the brutal trade and greed of certain nations of the coastal blacks and those of the northern African landscape who know nothing but of selling human flesh for the gratification of what the white men could offer them.In Part I of The Story of Adaku, Adaku encounters treachery and hopelessness of being branded a slave. Already, she learns the dangers of running and in the early times of her capture, her determination for escape eventually materializes towards acceptance when she realizes the trade for human flesh is far too robust for one single person to fight.I hope you find this story a beautiful one and one that will eventually spur you on towards the reading of my next story which covers Adaku's journey into The Middle Passage. This will be Part II, now available on Amazon.com.There is no excuse for slavery and there is no excuse to what has been done but gradually, the healing should give way to a better hope for tomorrow.

Jim Wrenn


William Guerrant - 2018
    Times-News, January 4, 1918Seeing something of himself in a struggling teenage boy, an old man faces one final challenge--and an opportunity to bring closure to a secret past.Spanning nearly nine decades, from the mountains of western Virginia, to a riverside mill town, to a farm in the Piedmont, this is the story of lives marked by tragedy, resilience, and, ultimately, the discovery of purpose and belonging.Inspired by a true story.

Knight of Rome Part IV


Malcolm Davies - 2020
    

Easter With Nurse Millie


Jean Fullerton - 2015
     Daphne Villiers, student nurse, is still suffering from the heartbreak of losing her fiancé two years earlier. A new arrival to the East End has the potential to brighten her spirits and turn her life around, but will she be able to let herself love again? With the help of her friends, Daphne might find that Easter really is the time for new beginnings.

Reckoning


Tim Oliver - 2019
    The German army is rampant, and Lieutenant Scottsdale and the British Expeditionary Force are trapped. Yet amid the chaos, Scottsdale must rescue two French scientists trapped behind enemy lines. What they know will tilt the balance of war towards the Allies.The brilliant and mercurial Helene Dubois is in hiding with her frail uncle, as they flee the advancing German armies. They must be found, but pursuing them is Schiller, a ruthless SS Officer, who will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.As they are caught up in the bloody rearguard at Dunkirk, Scottsdale and Dubois will find love, tragedy, and triumph as they fight to escape Schiller, in a story perfect for fans of Ken Follett, Rory Clements and Robert Harris.

1918: We will remember them (British Ace Book 5)


Griff Hosker - 2015
    The Sopwith Camels are holding their own against the German war machine and then they meet the Fokker Triplane and the pilots of the RFC began to fall. As the war drifts into 1918 the Germans have one last throw of the dice and come within a whisker of the sea. It is up to Bill, Gordy and Ted to lead their young pilots in a last desperate attempt to halt the grey wall of steel. With a dramatic climax during bloody September in 1918 the final book set in the Great War shows how the squadron emerges from four bloody years of war.

The Sewing Room Girl


Susanna Bavin - 2018
    When her beloved father dies, Juliet and her mother, the difficult but vulnerable Agnes, are left to fend for themselves. When Agnes lands a job as a seamstress for a titled family, things appear to be looking up. But just as the pair begin to find their feet, Juliet finds herself defenceless and alone.Without her mother to protect her, Juliet becomes the victim of a traumatic incident and is left to face an impossible dilemma. She flees to Manchester seeking support from her estranged family but comes up against her formidable grandmother, who is determined to bend Juliet to her will. It will take all Juliet’s ingenuity to escape the clutches of her ruthless grandmother and make her own way in life.

Blooded Ground (Clan of the Ice Mountains)


C.S. Bills - 2014
    The Clans have made it to the Rock of the Ancients. Surrounded by the green abundance of their new world, they should feel safe now… But Attu and Rika are dreaming again. Fire surrounds Attu and he must paddle through it. And who is the mourning woman Rika sees? All the wisdom of the Seers can't stop Attu’s people from feeling that something very bad is about to happen. Have they reached the safety of land only to be threatened by something even more dangerous than ice bears and melting ocean? Blooded Ground is book two of the Clan of the Ice Mountains series, set in the prehistoric exciting world of Breakaway: Clan of the Ice Mountains.

Mountain Pearl: Appalachian Heritage


Peggy Poe Stern - 2015
     From Chapter 1: “Pearl,” Momma tried to make her voice strong. “I aim to whip you for what you done.” Those words struck me hard. Why was she saying a thing like that to me? “I saved you from those dogs,” I said triumphantly as I looked down at Momma’s bleeding legs. Surely she knew what would have happened to her if it hadn’t been for me. “You disobeyed me. You know better than to disobey me.” Her words troubled me something awful, and I shivered with dread as tried to think of a way to make her appreciate what I’d done. I didn’t deserve a whipping for saving her life. From Chapter 23: I had what few things I owned in a feed sack when Frank came in the door. “Them’s my hogs,” I told him. “I’ll cross the hill twice a day to feed ‘em. Don’t you dare do anything with ‘em.” “What are you talkin’ about.” “Your precious ma said she’d get Ralph’s shotgun and kill me if I didn’t get out of her house.” “No way,” Frank said. “Ask her yourself,” I told him. I heard the sound of Effie moving her wheelchair over the floor. “Frank, honey. I said no sech a thing. You know what a liar she is.” I lifted my chin and glared at Frank. I needed to see whose side he was going to take.” “Calm down,” he told me. “I’ll put Ma in bed so we can talk.” Those weren’t the words I needed to hear. “Oh, Frankie,” Effie moaned. “What are we gonna do with her?” Frank didn’t answer as he took hold of the chair. I slung the sack over my shoulder and left the house. The least I could do was see if Lizzie would welcome me for a few days or not. From the Epilogue: I saw the tiredness come to Aunt Pearl’s face and didn’t ask her any more questions. I’d been told hundreds of stories by dozens of family members as well as non-family members. Aunt Pearl was right. My favorite words when I was growing up were, “Tell me a story.” Most everyone willingly obliged. Some people would be slow getting started, but once they got their story telling ability warmed up, they would hold me captive for hours. Pearl’s story has taken me many years to write. Pearl died less than a year after I’d gone to see her with my trusty tape recorder in hand. Much to my regret, she told me what was true. I’d waited a little too long to tape her stories, but I could still replay those stories in my head. Most of the stories I remember came from Lizzie. Once she started talking she continued talking even when there was no one left in the room to listen. I’ve done my best to connect some of the stories I’ve been told together in order to make this book possible. These stories hold a lot of truth, but I want the readers to realize that I’ve taken an author’s liberty in order to fit each story together into what I hope to be both entertaining and insightful. Therefore, I’ve written this book as fiction. There’s no way I could possibly know what people were thinking long before I was born. No way I can second-guess exactly what happened and why it happened, no way I can claim this book to be non-fiction although it is based on real happenings.