Book picks similar to
The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear
historical-fiction
romance
netgalley
british
The Runaway Children: The heartbreaking, page-turning new historical saga from Lindsey Hutchinson for 2022
Lindsey Hutchinson - 2022
The Mersey Angels: The brand new historical Liverpool saga from Sheila Riley for 2021
Sheila Riley - 2021
The War Girls of Goodwill House
Fenella J. Miller - 2022
Night Music: A Novel
Deanna Lynn Sletten - 2018
Desperate to learn more about the war, she joins a group of college women who send letters to soldiers and befriends Joseph Russo, a young soldier. But a few months after they begin corresponding, his letters stop coming, and Char moves on, still confused as to why so many young lives are being lost so far away from home.Two years later, Char begins college in her small Illinois town of Grand Falls. She's been dating her brother's long-time best friend, Deke Masterson, who is a senior in college and is deep into the anti-war movement. Char is still confused over how she feels about the war. Then a stranger comes to town and changes everything.Joseph Russo served in the Vietnam War, earning a Purple Heart for his injury as well as a life-long limp. He's ready to put the war behind him. While in Vietnam, he'd corresponded with a girl from Grand Falls and he enjoyed reading about her idyllic life. When he's discharged, he moves there to attend college. And when he meets Charlotte in person, he's taken with her sweetness, intelligence, and beauty.The battle lines are drawn as Deke resents Joe's presence around Char. What started out as a well-deserved escape to a small town for Joe soon turns into a battle of wills between him and the idealistic Deke. And there stands Charlotte, right in the middle.Night Music is a story about a moment in time when the world was chaotic and nothing was completely clear. In the midst of all the chaos, can Char and Joe find enough middle ground to fall in love?What readers are saying about Night Music:--"Sletten has crafted an emotional story centered with conflict that brings the characters to life." ~ Write-Read-Life--"Characters who feel three-dimensional, a setting that is almost its own character, and a story that entertains while also challenging us to think." Melissa at Bibliotica--"All the characters seemed so real..." Comfy Reading--"It was refreshing to read a story based on the late 1960's..." Sara at Chick Lit Central-- "A wonderful job of capturing both the turmoil and the love of that time." Susan at The Book Bag
An Inconvenient Grand Tour
Lisa H. Catmull - 2021
He’s tired of being overlooked. It’s going to be a long two years.Eleanor Barrington has one rule: don’t draw attention to yourself. Her father does that far too often. She has one goal: marry a Peer with enough social status to protect her family from embarrassment. When her father decides on a last-minute Grand Tour, Eleanor finds herself spending time with the one man who cannot help her: a younger son who draws attention to himself everywhere they go. Her brother’s best friend.As the younger son of an earl, Percy Hauxton has to fight for everything. A Grand Tour is the perfect opportunity to pursue his ambition to work for the Foreign Office. But traveling with Eleanor and her parents wasn’t part of the plan.When circumstances draw them apart and a secret from the past threatens to unravel everything, Eleanor has to rethink her goals and decide one thing. Can she marry for love, or does she need a marriage of convenience?
Wartime with the Tram Girls (The Potteries Girls #2)
Lynn Johnson - 2021
While the young men disappear off to foreign battlefields, the women left at home throw themselves into jobs meant for the boys.Hiding her privileged background and her suffragette past, Constance Copeland signs up to be a Clippie - collecting money and giving out tickets - on the trams, despite her parents’ disapproval.Constance, now known as Connie, soon finds there is more to life than the wealth she was born into and she soon makes fast friends with lively fellow Clippies, Betty and Jean, as well as growing closer to the charming, gentle Inspector Robert Caldwell.But Connie is haunted by another secret; and if it comes out, it could destroy her new life.After war ends and the men return to take back their roles, will Connie find that she can return to her previous existence? Or has she been changed forever by seeing a new world through the tram windows?A captivating, lively, romantic saga set in WW1 that will engross fans of Johanna Bell and Jenny Holmes.
My Mother's Secret
Julia Roberts - 2021
I’d have known,’ she says, her voice little more than a whisper and her eyes searching mine. ‘A mother would know if her child died, wouldn’t she?’The phone call comes in the middle of the night, rousing Danni from her safe, warm bed. The police have found her mother Diana wandering along the main road, miles from her house, confused and lost.Danni races to her mother’s side, but when she arrives, as always, her mother doesn’t seem to care. ‘Go away, Danni,’ she says. ‘I don’t want you.’When she was a child, Danni would lie awake at night wondering what she had done to make her mother so cold. Now she is determined to put the past behind them and make Diana as happy as she can in the time they have left.But as some of Diana’s memories are slipping away, others are forcing their way to the surface. One night Diana breaks down in tears and reveals her heartbreaking secret. Years before Danni was born, there was another baby who never got to see the world. Now there is one last thing Danni can do for her mother. She will find her brother’s resting place, and bring Diana some peace.But good intentions can have unexpected consequences, and soon Danni’s life will be changed forever. Are some secrets best left buried?A completely heartbreaking and compelling story of families, secrets, and the fierce love between mothers and children. Fans of Amanda Prowse, Ali Mercer and Jodi Picoult will smile through their tears.
An Improper Arrangement
Kasey Michaels - 2015
As if his new responsibilities weren't enough, Gabriel's aunt enlists him to sponsor a young heiress through London's Little Season. Yet Miss Thea Neville is hardly the tedious obligation he expected. She's exotic and enchanting—and utterly unaware of the secret poised to destroy her family's reputation. After ten years in America, Thea is ready to do her duty and marry well. Deportment lessons, modistes, balls—the ton is a minefield she could scarcely navigate without Gabriel's help. By rights, she should accept the first bachelor who offers for her. Instead, she's succumbing to a dangerous attraction to her wickedly handsome chaperone—one that could unhinge her plans in the most delicious way.
The Duke Undone
Joanna Lowell - 2021
She covers him up and fetches help. Trouble is, she can't banish his muscular form from her dreams as easily. She finds herself compelled to put every detail down on canvas. What she doesn't know is that she's painting the infamous Duke of Weston, and that her life will never be the same.A second son, Anthony Philby thought he could flee his brutal family legacy and become his own man. Forced back to London by his brother's death, he inherits a fortune... with strings attached. One scandal will sink his bid for independence. It's in his best interest to burn Lucy Coover's shocking painting and pretend he never met the bewitching young artist. Instead, he finds himself offering a devil's bargain. He'll save her aunt's dressmaking shop from ruin, if she'll seek out his missing sister, Effie.As they work together, an unexpected passion ignites between them. But the hunt for Effie leads to unexpected danger, and soon they find themselves risking everything... for a love that might destroy them both.
Courting Misfortune
Regina Jennings - 2020
When she's assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of a mob boss, she's sent to the rowdy mining town of Joplin, Missouri, despite having extended family in the area. Will their meddling expose her mission and keep Lila Seaton from being recovered?When Matthew Cook decided to be a missionary, he never expected to be sent only a short train ride away. While fighting against corruption of all sorts, Matthew hears of a baby raffle being held to raise funds for a children's home. He'll do what he can to stop it, but he also wants to stop the reckless Miss York, whose bad judgment consistently seems to be putting her in harm's way.Calista doesn't need the handsome pastor interfering with her investigation, and she can't let her disguise slip. Her job and the life of a young lady depend on keeping Matthew in the dark.
The Good Girl's Guide to Rakes
Eva Leigh - 2022
But as one of London’s most inveterate scoundrels, Kieran doesn’t know any ladies who fit the bill. Or does he?Celeste Kilburn is a society darling, beloved by influential members of the ton. But keeping a spotless reputation leaves little room for adventure and she longs to escape her gilded cage, especially with her impending engagement to a stuffy earl. When Kieran—her older brother’s best friend and an irresistibly attractive rogue—begs for her help, Celeste makes a deal: she’ll introduce him to the right social circles if he’ll show her the scandalous side of London.In between proper teas and garden parties, Kieran escorts Celeste—disguised as “Salome”—to rowdy gaming hells, wild fêtes, and sensual art salons. As they spend more time together, their initial attraction builds to a desperate desire that neither can ignore. But when someone discovers their midnight exploits, Celeste’s freedom and reputation are endangered, and Kieran must save the woman he loves… respectable or not.
The Siren of Sussex
Mimi Matthews - 2022
As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she’ll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London’s attention she’ll need a habit-maker who’s not afraid to take risks with his designs—and with his heart.Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row’s infamous Pretty Horsebreakers—but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?
The Penmaker's Wife
Steve Robinson - 2019
Angelica Chastain has fled from London with her young son, William. She promises him a better life, far away from the terrors they left behind.Securing a job as a governess, Angelica captures the attention of wealthy widower Stanley Hampton. Soon they marry and the successful future Angelica envisaged for William starts to fall into place.But the past will not let Angelica go. As the people in her husband’s circle, once captivated by her charm, begin to question her motives, it becomes clear that forgetting where she came from—and who she ran from—is impossible.When tragedy threatens to expose her and destroy everything she’s built for herself and William, how far will she go to keep her secrets safe? And when does the love for one’s child tip over into dangerous obsession?Alias Grace meets Peaky Blinders in this tale of obsession, ambition and murder in Victorian England.
The Thief of Blackfriars Lane
Michelle Griep - 2021
But that’s Kit Turner’s domain, a swindler who runs a crew that acquires money the old-fashioned way—conning the rich to give to the poor. When a local cab driver goes missing, Jackson is tasked with finding the man, and the only way to do that is by enlisting Kit’s help. If Jackson doesn’t find the cabby, he’ll be fired. If Kit doesn’t help Jackson, he’ll arrest her for thievery. Yet neither of them realize those are the least of their problems.