Showing results for "Cinder" in Historical Fiction

The cinder path which led from the Northumberland farmhouse would always symbolise defeat for Charlie MacFell. People saw him as a born loser who always got the dirty end of the stick. At the root of the matter were boyhood humiliations by his brutal father - but was that all there was to Charlie MacFell Then an opportunity emerges for Charlie to display his inner strengths and integrity, and to give the lie to those who had thought him to be of no account.

For centuries the Cinder Spires have safeguarded humanity, rising far above the deadly surface world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses rule, developing scientific marvels and building fleets of airships for defence and trade. Now, the Spires hover on the brink of open war. Everyone knows it's coming. The guns of the great airship fleets that control the skies between the last bastions of humanity will soon speak in anger, and Spire Albion stands alone against the overwhelming might of Spire Aurora's Armada and its new secret weapon.

Born and raised in the forgotten and broken kingdom of Ashbury, Elora has spent years resenting the royals of Pumpkin Hollow, the kingdom that forced the fall of Ashbury and procured the town as its own. Separated by a mysterious glass bridge, Ashbury is treated as the orphan kingdom, left to squander and starve with only the promise of protection from King Jasper, preventing anyone outside their realm from searching for the magic that lay within the ashy valleys and red skies. Because twenty-five years ago, the Cinder Fae arrived.

Shannon McMurphy travels to Asherville, Texas as a mail order bride expecting to marry a rancher. Instead, her intended is a saloonkeeper. Her refusal to marry enrages John Hardy and he slices her cheek with a knife so no other man would want her. She runs into the street and no one helps her until blond, blue-eyed Cinders rescues her.

Althea Lambros is growing into her power, wrestling with a burdensome heritage, and unwilling to concede to Cronus, the redoubtable God of Gods. For that, Cronus is making good on his promise. Calling upon the elder Titans, he’s bringing down his wrath on the world. Suffering quakes, tempests, fire, and hail, mortals are paying in blood for the war of the gods. With the help of her friend Theo, Althea takes cover with her sisters, Bronte and Cleora. But they can’t hide forever. To mastermind the downfall of the evil king, Althea must recruit allies of her own....

Bella Darling lives in a cozy barn at Maple Grove, an estate owned by industrialist Archibald Westminster. The Westminster family is stranded overseas and have sent word to relieve all employees of their duties except Margaret, the pregnant maid, James the butler, and Bella. Content with borrowed books and a toasty home festooned with pine boughs and cinnamon sticks, she coaxes the old hens to lay eggs—extraordinary eggs. Bella yearns for just one thing—someone to share her life with. Always inventive, she has a plan for that.

The rebel caprices of Enzo Ferrando have dire consequences. His father, the Risorgimento war hero is gunned down on his veranda. His son Lucca is forced into hiding as a deckhand on a merchant ship. Enzo himself is conscripted into the Italian army and forced to wage war on the African Horn, yet he yearns to take vengeance on his father’s killers and to reunite with his son. Set in the second half of the 19th century, Terribilita is a coming-of-age tale about family, and an examination of the redemptive power of violence.

Alexa is a princess that is expected to please her subjects and take on responsibilities that make her one. When her father returns from a trip with a fiancé for her, everyone is expecting her to marry him despite not having feelings for him. Just when she meets Sidney at her garden tea party with a plate of famous tarts, she not only visits the café his family owns, but hatches a plan to change her into someone to help out and know more about him, all while returning on time for the ball.

With her guiding hand, Lady Ada turns the mundane into the magnificent, lumps of charcoal into beautiful sketches — and second-hand clothes into gorgeous gowns. Only her debilitating stutter is beyond reach. When her cruel brother is accused of treason, he threatens her — she must help him, or be thrown into an asylum, claiming her stutter as evidence of an unsound mind.

From the moment Cindra is born, misshapen and ill-formed in face and body, her beautiful mother hides her away, allowing the world to see only her other three perfect children. Cindra, raised by an aged nurse and assigned humble duties in the kitchen, receives little affection and plenty of abuse from both her mother and sisters. Starved for beauty, she longs most of all for love. Prince Rupert, newly returned from an education outside the kingdom and forced to take over duties as king, sees the beauty of Cindra’s spirit.

Enjoy the first two stories of The Dirty Bird Series in The Dirty Bird Series, Book 1: Made for Maddie & Courting Cece now boxed together. In Made for Maddie, Maddie has been sent to London to gain some town polish and to find a husband. In Courting Cece, Cece is the only daughter of Baron Mangrove and a determined spinster. Her mother Eloise is just as committed to playing matchmaker.

From the author of The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart and set in the boom years of the West Virginia coalmining industry, this is an epic story of personal ambition, exile and return, and a grand heist. Keystone, West Virginia, 1910. In the hot August rain, the townspeople gather to witness the first public hanging in over a decade. At the gallows are none other than poker player Abe Baach and his lover, the madam of the town’s brothel, one Goldie Toothman.

The capital city of the Anirian Empire simmers with unrest. The emperor stands as the last scion of the imperial dynasty, but at 16, the boy is powerless against an oppressive regent who seeks to tighten his hold on the throne. As sides are drawn and conspiracies are set into motion, six individuals emerge to carve a foothold for their own ambitions.... A self-exiled warrior fueled by vengeance. A lowborn courtesan driven to rule. A once powerful general turned reclusive cripple. A gifted strategist intent on treachery. An idle hero and his honor-bound brother.