Tribune of Rome, Rome's Executioner, False God of Rome


Robert Fabbri - 2014
    A seamless blend of imperial politics, chariot races, sex and sword fights: Roman history as the gods intended! Rome's Executioner: the second installment in the epic Vespasian series that chronicles the rise from humble origins of one man to fulfil his destiny as one of Rome's greatest Emperors. False God of Rome: Action, adventure and battle in the third installment of Robert Fabbri's bestselling Vespasian series. Rebellions in the provinces, murders and political manoeuvrings in the Eternal City - and a mission to steal one of the greatest artefacts of the ancient world.

The Blue Car


Sandy Hill - 2014
    Two men, aided by her father, hustle her mother away without a word, leaving a stunned Sarah staring after them. Thus begins Sarah’s journey into a world of secrets, a world of great responsibility and little guidance. Along the way, “The Blue Car,” set in western North Carolina in 1952, explores when to keep a promise and when to break it, and whether people can really change. Book club discussion questions included.

The Orphan Child


Catherine King - 2010
    As her unnamed mother breathes her last, Sarah is taken in at the grand Meadow Hall in South Riding, Yorkshire. As soon as she can hold a scrubbing brush, her working life begins. Feisty and headstrong, Sarah's temper often leads her into trouble. At just 14 she decides to escape the life of a servant and run away. Dressed as a boy, she meets good-hearted Aidan and impulsive Danby, forming an unlikely but happy trio. Sarah's true identity eventually comes to the surface after nearly a year, along with new feelings for Aidan. However, knowing that the place for a teenage girl is definitely not with two young men, Aidan reluctantly takes Sarah to the workhouse. He plans to rescue her from this miserable place just as soon as he can, but something keeps Aidan from his promise—and nearly takes his life. Reunited as adults, and now strangers to each other, Sarah holds a secret about Danby, Aidan, and her unborn child. But can she do what is right for her baby, even if it means losing the love of her life?

POISONED CHALICE: Mabel de Belleme Normandy's Wicked Lady (Medieval Babes: Tales of Little-Known Ladies Book 8)


J.P. Reedman - 2021
    

Missing Quail Crossings


Jennifer McMurrain - 2015
    As Dovie’s longtime love, Gabe Pearce, and her adoptive son, Elmer Brewer, return home, the family is overjoyed. The happiness of their reunion is cut short when the news that Dovie’s son-in-law, Evalyn’s husband, Robert, is missing in action. Even with Robert MIA, there is a ray of light when the Brewer’s long lost sister, Ellie arrives in their hometown, Knollwood, TX. With little information regarding her troubled past, Dovie takes Ellie home to Quail Crossings without hesitation, hoping to start the healing process for the young girl who now refuses to speak. As Ellie deals with a lifetime of abuse, Elmer adjusts to life off the battlefield, and Evalyn aches for her lost love. Dovie is quickly realizing that the Germans may have surrendered but the battle at home is just beginning.

The Quiet Wards


Lucilla Andrews - 1956
    But who took it? Twenty-one-year-old Nurse Gillian Snow finds her career in jeopardy when a dangerous drug disappears from the drug cupboard under her care. The situation also affects her romance with dashing house-surgeon Peter Kier. Moved from her ward to do other duties, Gillian experiences the happiness and heartache that comes from nursing both children and accident victims. As she struggles to understand who took the drug, and why, Gillian finds support and truth from some unexpected quarters. The Quiet Wards is the third novel by the bestselling hospital fiction author Lucilla Andrews. For the first time, Lucilla's novels are now available as ebooks (with new print editions available from 2018). More at www.lucillaandrews.com Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and her Nightingales series, Jean Fullerton, Maggie Hope and Nadine Dorries.

Love and War 1


John Jakes - 1984
    The young would clash on the bloody battlefields of Bull Run and Fredericksburg, while in intrigue-ridden Washington and Richmond strong-willed men and beautiful women would defend their principles with their lives...or satisfy illicit cravings with schemes that could destroy friends and enemies alike. This surging drama is the second part of the trilogy that includes NORTH AND SOUTH and HEAVEN AND HELL. "Craftsmanship nears artistry....A coherent and penetrating vision of the seamy underside of war." (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

The Five Shilling Children


Lindsey Hutchinson - 2019
     Adam and Polly Fitch face a bleak future after being sold for just five shillings to Miss Reed's orphanage by their bullying father. Missing their mother Minnie, and their three brothers still at home, they know they must stick together to survive. But the orphanage does have one advantage – a merry band of children who soon form their own kind of family – and they're all determined to escape the clutches of the wicked Miss Reed. Adam decides to survive he'll need to fight, so he sneaks out to have boxing lessons with the famous pugilist Billy Marshall. Lessons he needs sooner than he expects when his beloved sister Polly is sold to the rich Bellamy family, and Adam decides to go to her rescue. Can Adam, Polly and their band of friends survive life with only each other to rely on, and will they ever have the happily ever after they so long for...

Warhorn


J. Glenn Bauer - 2013
     It is 219 BC and Carthage has a new General who is intent on expanding their colonies in Iberia, but resistance is growing. Violent raids up and down the east coast of Iberia are occurring. Caros is the son of a wealthy trader and discovers his family murdered after a raid on their village. Honour bound to avenge their murders Caros turns from trader to warrior to hunt his family's killers. In doing so he befriends a gifted tracker, gains prestige among strange, foreign horsemen and falls in love with a beautiful woman. For Caros, peace and happiness are elusive though as resistance to Carthage finally ignites a conflagration that will change the course of history. He finds himself riding to battle in the army a young Carthaginian General and while doing so becomes a hero of his people. Even heroes can be broken though... A portion of the net proceeds of the sale of this book goes to FFI (Registered Charity Number 1011100) for the preservation of our natural world and wildlife. This is inspired by their work to save the critically endangered Iberian Lynx which is referred to numerous times in the novel.

The Wolf Cub


David Pilling - 2015
    The great city of Constantinople, last remnant of the once-mighty Roman Empire, falls to the Ottoman armies of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. An English knight named Sir John Page is taken prisoner by the Ottomans, and forced to entertain the Sultan with tales of the West. Page chooses to tell the story of his own long career as a soldier of fortune in France, Bohemia and the Italian city-states. Page’s tale begins in the year of Agincourt, Henry V’s famous victory over the French. As the bastard son of Thomas Page, a famous mercenary captain known as The Half-Hanged Man or The Wolf of Burgundy, Page soon acquires the nickname of The Wolf Cub. After slaying his cousin in a duel, Page flees his home and joins a band of outlaws in the forests of Sussex. At last - tired of the brutality of his companions - he decides to leave England and join the English army in Normandy. There he endures brutal sieges, vicious combats, torture, betrayal and imprisonment, all to win glory and redeem his father's name. Trapped in the Sultan’s prison, Page must hope his story is enough to save him from the executioner’s blade....at least for another three days...

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.

In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

The Dressmaker's Daughter


Nancy Carson - 2015
    Love, passion and romance are reserved for daydreams.But then into Lizzie’s quiet world comes two men – one reliable and kind-hearted, the other heartbreakingly handsome. Just as Lizzie’s made her choice, the ominous call of war sounds, and her life changes again.Will Lizzie get her chance at happiness, or has it gone forever?

Sarah, A Festive Bride


Hildie McQueen - 2017
    When she arrives, her husband-to-be is waiting, but not for her. When he disregards his mail-order bride, Sarah decides to take matters into her own hands. Not one to give up on her dream to live out west, Sarah decides to find a job and start a new life with or without a husband. The timing could not be worse. With hopes of avoiding his mother’s meddling at all costs Robert Fields had planned to get married as soon as his bride arrived. That Sarah and his parents arrived in the same coach was an unfortunate catastrophe. Not wanting to let on that Sarah was there for him, he hustles his parents home with the intent of later explaining to Sarah and going forward with the marriage quickly… and quietly. A compelling American western historical romance

A Mother’s Dilemma


Emma Hornby - 2019
    But when the baby dies of natural causes while under her roof, and knowing her neighbour will be devastated, Minnie swaps it with one of the infants in her care.Now seventeen, Jewel Nightingale knows nothing of her true origins. But assaulted by her hateful cousin and making the dreadful discovery that she is pregnant, she faces a desperate dilemma. Fleeing her job as a domestic maid, she follows an advertisement to a house in Bolton's dark slums, where a woman promises to help her when the child is born. Little does Jewel know that there’s a terrible price to pay . . .Can she keep herself – and her baby – safe? And what will happen when Jewel discovers the truth about where she came from? Gritty and page-turning historical saga set in Northern England in the late 1800s, perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin.