Book picks similar to
Far From Home by Anne Bennett


romance
war
historical-fiction
books-i-have-but-not-yet-read

Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase


Louise Walters - 2014
    What you do, to this child, to this child's mother, it is wrong...Roberta likes to collect the letters and postcards she finds in second-hand books. When her father gives her some of her grandmother's belongings, she finds a baffling letter from the grandfather she never knew - dated after he supposedly died in the war.Dorothy is unhappily married to Albert, who is away at war. When an aeroplane crashes in the field behind her house she meets Squadron Leader Jan Pietrykowski, and as their bond deepens she dares to hope she might find happiness. But fate has other plans for them both, and soon she is hiding a secret so momentous that its shockwaves will touch her granddaughter many years later...

When The Boys Come Home


Pamela Evans - 2007
    But when owner Dai Morgan is killed in an air raid, his daughter Megan is determined to continue in her father's footsteps and she braves the ravaged streets alone to do his milk round by horse and cart. Megan finds comfort in the knowledge that her twin girls are tucked away in a Welsh village, but she worries about her husband, Will, abroad with his platoon. And when Will's best friend, Doug Reynolds, returns, wounded and disfigured, she doesn't hesitate to take the poor man in. However, Doug is not the man she thinks he is. And when the boys come home, Megan has battle scars she can't allow Will to see...

The Tuppenny Child


Glenda Young - 2019
    She is the talk of Ryhope when she arrives there, aged seventeen, alone, seeking work and a home in the pit village. But Sadie is keeping a secret - that she is searching for her baby girl who was taken from her at birth to be sold by the child's wicked, battleaxe grandmother when Sadie was just fifteen years old. All that Sadie knows about the family who took her daughter is that they lived in Ryhope. And the only thing she knows about her daughter is that when the baby was born, she had a birthmark on one shoulder that resembled a tiny ladybird. But as Sadie's quest begins, a visitor from her past appears - one who could jeopardise the life she's beginning to build and could separate from her beloved child forever...

Flower of Scotland


Emma Blair - 1998
    Charlotte is ecstatically in love with Geoffrey; Peter prepares for the day when he will inherit the family distillery, while Andrew, gregarious and fun-loving, is already turning heads and hearts. Nell, the youngest, contents herself with daydreams of a handsome highlander. The Great War, however, has no respect for family life. As those carefree pre-war days fade, with death and devastation brought in their wake, the Drummonds are plunged into the horrors of the trenches in France. Yet those who survive discover that love can transcend class, creed, and country.

Goodnight Sweetheart


Annie Groves - 2006
    As war breaks out so too does Molly Dearden! Molly is used to living in the shadow of her older sister, June. When their mother died Molly was just seven years old, and June helped their grief-stricken father look after her in their tiny home in the tight-knit Edge Hill district of Liverpool. But as her 17th birthday passes, Molly doesn't realize how much she is going to have to grow up. As the threat of a second world war looms, she must learn to protect herself, her family, and her heart. When hostilities finally break out, Molly finds the courage to enlist in the Women's Voluntary Service. There, she can help the war effort and finally stand on her own two feet. It's a terrifying time, but also some of the best days of her life, especially when she meets and falls for Eddie. The pair live for the precious hours when Eddie is on leave from the Navy and excitedly plan their future together. But then tragedy strikes. Devastated, Molly can take no more. But then the terrible reality of war hits her home town and Molly must find the strength to protect those closest to her heart.

A Daughter’s Courage


Kitty Neale - 2018
    But then an unexpected pregnancy puts everything at risk, and Dorothy is left alone – with Robbie nowhere to be seen.Heartbroken, Dorothy picks up the pieces of her life as a working girl in Battersea helping to support her mother and father. But before long, things start to become difficult. Her father’s health is worsening, money is tight and worst of all, Robbie hasn’t come back for her.Can Dorothy find a way back to happiness in the face of real adversity? Will she have the courage to make it on her own – or is someone else waiting in the wings to save her?Gritty and moving, this is the perfect read for fans of Dilly Court and Maggie Hope.

Down Weaver's Lane


Anna Jacobs - 2002
    But Emmy is beautiful, so attracts unwanted attention; her mother's protector has his eye on her, as does evil Marcus Armistead, her employer's nephew. Marcus is excited by Emmy's virginity and has her kidnapped, but Emmy hits him over the head and escapes.Marcus, further enraged, kills her mother and becomes even more determined to rape Emmy, but the combined efforts of the local parson and Emmy's young suitor manage to keep her safe from harm. Finally Emmy sees Marcus get his just desserts, finds out who her father was and attains the respectability she has so longed for.©2005 Anna Jacobs (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

The War Widows


Leah Fleming - 2008
    A charming, epic tale of war brides who arrive in the post-war northern town of Grimbleton and turn everyone's lives upside down.

Nobody's Girl


Tania Crosse - 2017
    Perfect for the fans of Jo Cox and Rosie Goodwin. The boom years immediately after the Great War bring nothing but happiness for wealthy industrialist Wigmore Stratfield-Whyte and his wife Clarissa – until tragedy robs them of their greatest treasure. Many years later, an horrific fatal accident brings young Meg Chandler, a spirited farmer's daughter, into their lives. Meg wants nothing to do with them, but Clarissa is drawn irresistibly towards the bereaved girl and will move heaven and earth to help her. Will Meg allow Clarissa into her own shattered life, and can the two share a future happiness together? And will Meg's new acquaintances bring her the contentment she craves – or seek to destroy her? Set in the Kent countryside in the years leading up to the Second World War, this compelling saga tingles with drama, tension and an overwhelming sense of love.

An Old Love's Shadow


Abby Gray - 1999
    She’s on a charitable mission, by damn, and that rowdy cantina next door is drowning out her gospel singing. The clash with the sexy-as-hell man who runs the cantina hits with enough force to burn down the small Mexican town. What happens in Mexico… Is supposed to stay in Mexico but Hunter can’t get that blonde with the ice blue eyes out of his mind when he goes home to Texas. Finding her isn’t the problem. Convincing her that he’s interested—well, that’s another story. Mercy tried to get over Hunter, especially when she found out about his past. She had two choices: move on or give him one more chance because no other man should have to live in an old love’s shadow. If you liked Carolyn Brown’s books, Love Is, Trouble in Paradise, The Wager or The Yard Rose, you will love An Old Love’s Shadow.

The Wrong Boy


Suzy Zail - 2012
    She falls in love with the wrong boy – the German son of the camp commander.Hanna is a talented pianist, and the protected second daughter of middle class Hungarian Jews. Relatively late in World War II the Budapest Jews were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. Hanna and her mother and sister are separated from her father. Her mother becomes increasingly mentally ill until she too is taken away somewhere. Her sister Erika is slowly starving to death. Hanna is quite a naïve 15-year-old but when presented with the opportunity to play piano for the camp commander, she is desperate to be chosen. She goes each day under guard to the commander’s house and stands waiting in case the commander should want some music. Also living in the house is the commander’s son, Karl. A handsome young man who seems completely disengaged from what is happening around him. Hanna hates him as he sits drawing in the music room. But the longer Hanna goes to the house, the more she realises there are other things going on. Secret things. Karl may not be the person she thinks he is. Before she knows it she has fallen in love with the wrong boy.

In His Father's Footsteps


Danielle Steel - 2018
    troops occupy Germany, friends Jakob and Emmanuelle are saved from the terrible fate of so many in the camps. With the help of sponsors, they make their way to New York. In order not to be separated, they allow their friendship to blossom into love and marriage, and start a new life on the Lower East Side, working at grueling, poorly paid jobs. Decades later, through talent, faith, fortune, and relentless hard work, Jakob has achieved success in the diamond business, invested in real estate in New York, and shown his son, Max, that America is truly the land of opportunity. Max is a rising star, a graduate of Harvard with friends among the wealthiest, most ambitious families in the world. And while his parents were thrown together by chance, Max chooses a perfect bride to start the perfect American family. An opulent society wedding. A honeymoon in Tahiti. A palatial home in Greenwich. Max’s lavish lifestyle is unimaginable to his cautious old-world father and mother. Max wants to follow his father’s example and make his own fortune. But after the birth of children, and with a failing marriage, he can no longer deny that his wife is not the woman he thought she was. Angry and afraid, Max must do what he has never done before: struggle, persevere, and learn what it means to truly walk in his father’s footsteps, while pursuing his own ideals and setting an example for his children. Moving from the ashes of postwar Europe to the Lower East Side of New York to wealth, success, and unlimited luxury, In His Father’s Footsteps is a stirring tale of three generations of strong, courageous, and loving people who pay their dues to achieve their goals.

A Perfect Heritage


Penny Vincenzi - 2014
    The legendary Athina Farrell remains the company's figurehead and in her kingdom at the Berkeley Arcade, Florence Hamilton plies their cosmetics with the utmost discretion. She is sales advisor - and holder of secrets - extraordinaire.But of course the world of cosmetics is changing and the once glorious House of Farrell is now in decline, its customers tempted away by more fashionable brands.Enter Bianca Bailey, formidable business woman, mother of three, and someone who always gets her way. Athina and Bianca lock horns over the future of the House of Farrell but it is the past that tells its devastating tale of ambition and ego, passion and wonder.Here is a tale of survival ... and a perfect heritage.

A Redeeming Love in the West


Ava Winters - 2020
    Can she trust him now that their past keeps coming after them?Exciting - Romantic - Dauntless!Having inherited her uncle’s ranch in Nevada, Nelly agrees to the biggest challenge of her life, leaving behind London’s high society. She faces difficulties in adjusting to a totally different life, in a ranch. While fighting for her newly found freedom, she experiences the liberating feeling of independency, but an unexpected romance is emerging. Will she learn to trust him and embrace her new life in the ranch?Having a deep secret, Louis keeps to himself. This way, no one will ever get hurt again. But now that a new boss has arrived, Louis realizes that this is not an easy task. As they spend time together, he is faced with his greatest fear. How can he trust again while his past is still haunting him?When a dispute about Nelly’s land blows out of proportion, Nelly and Louis will have to fight. Even if that means sacrificing what is most valuable to them. How can they save the land that they now call home and protect their love at the same time?"A Redeeming Love in the West" is a stand-alone Western Historical Romance Novel with no cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

A Nurse at War


Maggie Holt - 2005
    So at twenty-one she escapes to London to train as a nurse, where she gathers many admirers - none more dashing than RAF officer Sandy Redfern, with whom she falls in love.But the coming of war, with the chaos of the Blitz, brings upheavals and unforeseen entanglements. On hearing of Sandy's reckless affair with a married woman, a heartbroken Lily throws herself into her work. Then further changes in circumstances bring her to a busy RAF hospital in Hampshire, where a faithful childhood sweetheart persuades her to become engaged to him.And then fate brings Sandy Redfern back into her life, physically scarred by burns and inwardly embittered. What of their once passionate love and her present commitment? Can the past ever be recaptured?