Historical Family Saga

Long before Hank Crawford arrived in the waters of Ketchikan, his partners and compatriots were already in love with its shores. Following the final, crushing moments of World War II, Japanese officer Kiyoshi Tsurifune, Sergeant Jones Henry, and Resistance fighter Swede Scorden struggle to regain normalcy and any contact with the shimmering, fish-filled sea. Lost honor, fallen friends, their cultural identities gone in the wake of a nuclear blast - these fishermen-turned-soldiers have a long way to go till they regain the waters in which they feel most at home.

Will the contents of dozens of old trunks filled with century’s old and fragile dresses, antique books and journals, and an even older jeweled sword, provide the answers to any of Mae’s well-guarded secrets?Sisters of the Heart is the fifth book in the ongoing story of the Engstrom family in the Mae’s Second Chance series. In the small ghost town of Mae’s Second Chance, where centuries old secrets remain hidden and the surrounding hills continue to guard another woman’s treasures, Julie Engstrom brings her family in search of a place that can replace what they had to leave behind....

Mehar, a young bride in rural 1929 Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. Married to three brothers in a single ceremony, she and her now-sisters spend their days hard at work in the family’s “china room,” sequestered from contact with the men - except when their domineering mother-in-law, Mai, summons them to a darkened chamber at night. Curious and strong willed, Mehar tries to piece together what Mai doesn’t want her to know.

With her in-laws in desperate need of help, Marnie is forced to return to Suffolk, leaving her precious daughter Annie behind in Cornwall. But Lowestoft is a very different town to the one she left. Ravaged by war, and a mere twenty miles from enemy lines, the seaside town she once loved now resembles a military base, and is firmly in Hitler’s line of fire. As she tries to rebuild her life amidst the rubble and horror of war, Marnie struggles to free herself from the grief and shame of past mistakes.

Bristol 1941. Having left her abusive husband for very good reasons, Mary Anne Randall finds herself judged harshly by her friends and neighbours, after courageously risking everything for a second chance at happiness with Michael. With Michael away fighting, Mary Anne is less concerned by her tarnished reputation and focusses on keeping her beloved children safe. But with the bombs beginning to fall on Bristol, danger is all too close to home.

Jerusalem, 1947: Judith, a young Jewish woman who survived Dachau concentration camp, arrives in Palestine after a treacherous journey and seeks refuge with her only remaining relative, her uncle. When Judith learns her uncle has died, she tries to take her own life in despair. In Hadassah Hospital, Hana, an Arab nurse, saves Judith’s life by donating her own blood. A fragile bond of friendship develops between the two women, but it will face a harsh test over time.

Bonnie never expected those closest to her to bring the family to ruin. Now she must do everything she can to survive. In the heart of Victorian York, Bonnie Acklam's life takes a harrowing turn when her father, a renowned tailor, is struck blind and their prestigious dressmaking shop falls into disarray, threatening the family's once secure future. Forced into action, Bonnie takes up her father's craft with the help of William, his apprentice. Together, they strive to preserve the shop's reputation, where Bonnie and William form a sweet bond. But when William becomes entangled in a scheme ...

It's 1911, and Greta Goldbaum is forced to move from glittering Vienna to damp England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The Goldbaum family are one of the wealthiest in the world, with palaces across Europe, but as Jews and perpetual outsiders, they know that strength lies in family. But World War I looms, and even the influential Goldbaums cannot alter its course. For the first time in 200 years, the family will find itself on opposing sides, and Greta will have to choose: the family she's created, or the one she left behind.

Lord Ackley's grand estate is on the brink of collapse, burdened by debts that imperil his family's legacy. In a last-ditch effort to save his home, he makes a Faustian bargain with the formidable Duke Manchester, trading his daughter's hand in marriage for a lifeline to solvency. Aislinn, Lord Ackley's beautiful daughter, is oblivious to the dark forces driving her family's fate. She's swept off her feet by the charming Duke Manchester, but their love is forbidden, and the consequences of discovery are deadly. As the Ackley family's secrets begin to unravel, a sinister presence lurking ...

Liverpool, 1941. Troubled by a dark family history and the pain of seeing her country torn apart by war, young June Lavender finds new hope when she takes a job at the Dr Barnardo's children's home. There she meets Lizzie McRae, a little girl who is the spitting image of June's sister, who died tragically years before. Against the matron's wishes, the two girls form an unexpected bond as June tries to get the traumatised orphan to speak.

Cambridgeshire – 1942. As a new year begins and the war continues, young Artie Talbot feels trapped. In his heart he longs to fight, like his two brothers, for his king and country but is duty tied to Blackberry Farm. As feelings grow between Artie and Jeanie Salmons, Artie wonders if marriage will help him to finally accept his lot and settle down. Meanwhile, his brother John Talbot must come to terms with the tragic loss of a lost love. Can he overcome his trauma and begin to build a new life for himself and his new born son?

On a blistering day in the 26th year of Augustus Caesar's reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of 20,000 denarii. His purchaser is the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for fine meals from exotic places and a singular ambition: to serve as culinary adviser to Caesar, an honor that will cement his legacy as Rome's leading epicure.

China, 1957: Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society. “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation”. Once again, Tsukiyama brings us a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.

Identical twin brothers are unjustly outcast from society and parted— Rejected by New Orleans society, Johnny McKuen has escaped to Mexican frontier Texas. A childhood friend Tristan arrives, bearing Johnny’s neighbor, mortally wounded. The new widow Angel asks who shot her husband and started to scalp him? Taking care of the family plantation Beau Rivage, Callum McKuen faces not only his brother’s scandal but men who want to force him to sell. He meets Minette, a young woman hiding her beauty beneath layers of clothing. Why? Shouldn’t she show off her beauty in order to find a ...

**Deadley Obsession** captivates readers with the gripping tale of two families from starkly different backgrounds. This is part 1- The Seduction of Speed- Frank Cartland is born as the motoring era begins, his family from a lineage of village blacksmiths. Hardships marked his upbringing, yet he carried an unwavering optimism that set him apart. In sharp contrast stands George Marshall, born into old money and privilege. Despite their differences, both men find common ground in a shared, exhilarating passion for racing machines. The scars left by the First World War profoundly influenced ...

A drunken mother makes childhood ugly. Jane runs away at sixteen, determined to leave her fraught upbringing in the rearview. Vowing never to return, she hitchhikes to California, right on time for the Summer of Love. Seventeen years later, she looks good on paper: married, grad school, sober, but her carefully constructed life is crumbling. When Mama dies, Jane returns for the funeral, leaving her husband in the dark about her history. Seeing her childhood home and significant people from her youth catapults Jane back to the events that made her the woman she is. She faces down her past ...

After years spent in Germany struggling to come to terms with a dispirited and abusive past, Fenia Karapanos has returned to her roots in Greece. Her estranged grandfather has bequeathed her his villa in Athens, a gesture she assumes is reparation for having disowned her late mother. After taking in a grateful Syrian refugee to help her restore the property - and her life - Fenia discovers a collection of love letters hidden under the floorboards, reaching back nearly a century. In each one, Fenia unfolds another piece of her broken family history.

When Tuck MacBride, Gandiegow's favorite scapegoat, is blamed for a fisherman's tragic accident, Tuck takes on extra work to secretly funnel his earnings to the maimed fisherman's family. Haunted by the mistaken turn of events, Tuck is working night and day. Even so, he can't stop thinking about the new lass who has just arrived in town.

In 1915, as World War 1 rages in Europe and the numbers of dead and injured continue to grow, Australian nurse, Sister Cora Barker, leaves her home in Australia for England, determined to use her skills for King and country. When she arrives at Harefield House - donated to the Australian Army by its expatriate Australian owners - she helps transform it into a hospital that is also a little piece of home for recuperating Australian soldiers.

Grace Abernathy helped wounded soldiers during the American Civil War. Now that it’s over, she has to find a way to move on. Her parents think having her stay with her cousins in Myrtle Grove, South Carolina, can help her do just that. She isn’t looking for love after what she went through, but when she spends time with a returning soldier she knew from a long time ago, she wonders if he might spark a rekindling in her heart. Wyatt Hammond was conscripted to serve in the Confedrate military. Though he only served for a few months before the war ended, the horrors he saw during that time...