Showing results for "Melissa" in Historical Fiction

Melissa Griffin is quite literally sick and tired. She's the owner of one of London's most exclusive brothels, but her failing health is telling her she can't continue to keep working at her current pace. A relaxing stay in the country is exactly what she needs. Falling for the small town's gorgeous young vicar—a virgin, no less—was never part of her plan. Their love is scandalous, forbidden . . . and everything Melissa never knew she wanted. Denying her feelings is unthinkable. Avoiding devastation when her past inevitably drives them apart? Impossible.

A short, angst-free novella that occurs in the months after Hunsford. Darcy, realizing his mistakes, confesses his misdeeds to Bingley earlier, even before Elizabeth has the chance to visit Pemberley. As a result, Bingley returns to Hertfordshire in June, while Darcy retreats to Pemberley to reflect on his actions.

Darcy is tired of fighting his feelings. His heart knows what it wants, and that is Elizabeth Bennet. When he learns that Mr. Bennet has passed away, he imagines riding in as the white knight, a savior come to rescue his beloved from a life of poverty. But when he reaches Hertfordshire, something is amiss and he finds that Elizabeth needs no rescuing, thank you very much.

When a childhood accident forces Elizabeth Bennet to leave Longbourn and grow up under the care of her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, her life takes an unexpected turn. On a trip to Derbyshire, she meets a young Fitzwilliam Darcy, whose father's guidance shapes the man he is becoming. What begins as a tender friendship blossoms into a love both fierce and true, nurtured through years of friendship.

Eighteenth-century China. Ula Nara is a happy 16-year-old, in love and betrothed. But before she can be married, she must attend the Imperial Daughters’ Draft, where concubines are chosen for the Emperor and his family. When she is chosen as a bride to the heir to the throne, Ula Nara must face a lifetime of regret while her sweetheart vows to become a monk. Determined to make her pain worth something, Ula Nara aims for the pinnacle of success: to become Empress. But perhaps being an Empress is not worth as much as she thought, and happiness may lie in the simpler things.

The emperor has plans for gladiatorial games on a scale no one has ever seen before. But the games don’t just happen. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius. Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time - and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him.

11th-century North Africa. Kella is a girl disguised as a boy, traveling the trade routes and beating all comers in the camel races. When her true identity is revealed, she is sent home to the family desert camp to be taught women’s skills. But Kella yearns for her freedom and the excitement of life on the road, and when a mighty army sets out on a holy mission, she risks marriage to its general, Yusuf. While Yusuf conquers the whole of North Africa, Kella finds herself a rival to his infamous queen consort, Zaynab, a powerful and jealous woman.

A false prophecy leads to the rise of a great empire...and a dangerous queen. Eleventh century North Africa. In an attempt to change her destiny, love-struck Zaynab makes a false prophecy: That she is destined to marry a man who will create an empire. Although her plan backfires, Zaynab’s intelligence, beauty, and ambition leads to four marriages, each lifting her status higher. When Zaynab becomes the queen of Yusuf bin Tashfin, leader of the Almoravid army creating an empire stretching across North Africa and Spain, her status finally seems secured.

Nickolas Brigham was meant to marry a princess. Everyone said so. His mother, mostly, but it wasn’t the time to quibble. If he doesn't marry a woman of station soon, he’ll be tied to a fate worse than ruination. When he’s dragged bodily into a compromising situation, his only choice is to accept the aid of the doe-eyed damsel he chances upon in his attempt at escape.

In the shadow of rising Soviet power, Oksana Kovalenko's peaceful childhood is shattered by the relentless grip of tyranny. At thirteen, she is thrust into a world of hunger and fear, becoming an unlikely beacon of hope in Ukraine's desperate struggle against an iron-fisted regime.

The Family of Flocking Birds is based on a true story about the emotions that help us fly when everything around us crumbles. Fleeing Germany to escape the Nazis and building a new life in Brazil is just the background to tell a much richer story of connection between people and families. The book brings to life the journey of Margaret and Santo and their children, whose strength and resilience remained long after they were gone.

Jimmie, a deeply moving novel by Jim Valentine, begins as a slow-burn college romance story, following Jim and Judy Valentine, two sensible, quietly mismatched students at Knox College, whose unexpected connection grows into a lifelong bond. What starts as an indifferent courtship and a whimsical mock wedding soon becomes a nostalgic American love story filled with practicality, sharp wit, and an affection that deepens long after their marriage.