Soul Painter by Cara Luecht

soupainter Soul Painter

1890 – Illinois

Miriam watches the people jostle their way below the windows of her warehouse home, never thinking to look up at her as she paints their faces. But Miriam’s gift as an artist goes beyond a mere recording of what is: Miriam paints their futures. Only once was she wrong. One woman doesn’t match the future Miriam saw. The bright girl was supposed to grow into a respected businesswoman. Instead, Ione disappears nightly into the shadowed alley next to the cathedral with the other prostitutes. Then one night, while walking through the city fog, Miriam finds Ione broken and beaten. Miriam is forced to open her home to the stranger whose face she knows so well and open her life to change she never could have foretold. Women are missing—some found floating in the river, some never seen again. The deacon from the cathedral is the first to help. Soon Miriam’s solicitor, Michael, aids her in rejoining society so they might uncover the evil at work in the corrupt city…and awakens feelings she had never considered before. Finally engaged with the world she has so long observed, finally stirred by love and friendship, Miriam realizes the responsibility of her gifting. No longer can she just paint what will be. She must now help Ione find the future she is meant to have…and find her own along with it.

Secrets of Sloane House by Shelley Shephard Gray

Secrets of Sloane House

1893 – Illinois

Rosalind Perry has left her family’s rural farm in Wisconsin to work as a housemaid at Sloane House, one of the most elegant mansions in Gilded Age Chicago. However, Rosalind is not there just to earn a living and support her family—she’s at Sloane House determined to discover the truth about her sister’s mysterious disappearance. Reid Armstrong is the handsome heir to a silver fortune. However, his family is on the periphery of Chicago’s elite because their wealth comes from “new money” obtained from successful mining. Marriage to Veronica Sloane would secure his family’s position in society—the lifelong dream of his ailing father. When Reid begins to realize that Rosalind’s life may be in danger, he stops thinking of marriage prospects and concentrates on helping Rosalind. Dark things are afoot in Chicago and, he fears, in Sloane House. If he’s not vigilant, Rosalind could pay the price.

The Invention of Sarah Cummings by Olivia Newport

The Invention of Sarah Cummings (Avenue of Dreams)

1890s – Illinois

Sarah Cummings has one goal in life–to break into Chicago’s high society. Desperate to stop serving dinner and to start eating at society tables, Sarah alters cast-off gowns from the wealthy Banning women to create lustrous, flattering dresses of her own. On a whim at a chance meeting, she presents herself as Serena Cuthbert, weaving a fictitious past to go with her fictitious name. But as she gets closer to Simon Tewell, the director of St. Andrew’s Orphanage, Sarah finds that she must choose between the life she has and the life she dreams of. Will she sacrifice love to continue her pretense? Or can Simon show her that sometimes you don’t have to pretend for dreams to come true?

Into the Whirlwind by Elizabeth Camden

Into the Whirlwind

1871 – Illinois

As owner of the 57th Illinois Watch Company, Mollie Knox’s future looks bright until the night the legendary Great Chicago Fire destroys her beloved city. With her world crumbling around her, Mollie will do whatever it takes to rebuild in the aftermath of the devastating fire. Zack Kazmarek, an influential attorney for one of Chicago’s finest department stores, is a force to be reckoned with among the city’s most powerful citizens. Bold and shrewd, he’s accustomed to getting exactly what he wants–until he meets Mollie Knox, the beguiling businesswoman just beyond his reach. In the tumult as the people of Chicago race to rebuild a bigger and better city, Mollie comes face-to-face with the full force of Zack’s character and influence. Zack believes this may finally be his chance to win her, but can Mollie ever accept this man and his whirlwind effect on her life, especially with her treasured company on the line?

That Impossible Dream by Shirley Kiger Connolly

thatimpossibledream That Impossible Dream

1891 – New York

Geraldine Jordan’s lived all her life with an unpleasant disability. She learns the meaning of painful rejection early. Any probability of obtaining a respectable suitor one day to someone like Alistair McKenna, the man of her lifetime dreams, is slim to none. When Geraldine is passed off to live with controlling-zealot Uncle Henry, she grows weary of waiting for that impossible dream — until a treasured aunt arranges a marriage with an esteemed Chicago banker in search of a wife and mother for his young ward. The disgruntled Uncle Henry who believes his niece unsuitable for any man of status, blocks the betrothal by demoting Geraldine to the status of a common servant, hiring her off to a family in need of a governess. Will the shattered Geraldine be forced to abandon all hope when she learns her prospective groom-to-be was none other than her life-long love?

Fair Game by Carol Cox

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1893 – Illinois

Danger lurks amid the bright lights of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair–

Dinah Mayhew takes on more than just a new job at the Chicago World’s Fair…

Bent on reconnecting with her long-estranged father, Dinah sets off on the adventure of a lifetime when she begins working in the great exposition’s Administration Building.

After settling into her room at Mrs. Purvis’s boarding house, one of the first people she meets is Seth Howell, an intriguing young pastor with a ministry to Chicago’s poor.

When Dinah volunteers to help in his work, Seth isn’t convinced of her motives and resolves to keep his distance…but he finds Dinah’s dedication to the Bible study she teaches and her exuberant personality increasingly hard to ignore.

Dinah’s reunion with her father doesn’t go at all the way she planned. And things get even worse when her obnoxious cousin, Gladys, finds work in Chicago. At least Dinah has her work with Seth to give her a sense of purpose…as well as a good excuse to spend time away from her overbearing relative.

Matters take a sinister turn when Cousin Gladys starts looking for love in all the wrong places…and then suddenly disappears.

With Seth’s help, Dinah takes it upon herself to probe Gladys’s disappearance, finding herself drawn ever deeper into a cruel man’s dark secrets and putting their budding romance–and their very lives–at stake.

The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow by Olivia Newport

thedilemmaofcharlottefarrow The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow: (Avenue of Dreams)

1893 – Illinois

Charlotte Farrow, maid in the wealthy Banning household on Chicago’s opulent Prairie Avenue, has kept her baby boy a secret from her employers for nearly a year. But when the woman who has been caring for her son abruptly returns him, Charlotte must decide whether to come clean and face dismissal or keep her secret while the Bannings decide the child’s fate. Can she face the truth of her own past and open her heart to a future of her own? Or will life’s tragedies determine the future for her?

A Bride So Fair by Carol Cox

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1893 – Illinois

Things aren’t always what they seem at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair–

Emily Ralston finds more than she bargained for when she joins the crowds of young women making their way to Chicago in search of independence and adventure…

Working at the Children’s Building of the Chicago World’s Fair, Emily spends her days caring for children while their parents tour the great exposition.

Stephen Bridger, one of the fair’s Columbian Guards, brings a lost little boy to the building. Emily assures the handsome guard that the child will be well looked after until he can be reunited with his mother.

But at the end of the day, no one comes to claim little Adam. Rather than turn him over to the authorities, Emily decides to take care of Adam herself–with the help of her landlady, Mrs. Purvis–while she tries to locate the boy’s family.

Against his better judgment, Stephen is persuaded to join her in the search, but their quest isn’t as simple as they’d hoped. Each layer of Adam’s story unfolds to reveal still more layers beneath. And eventually, their intended good deed winds up threatening the safety of all three of them.

As the historic fair draws to a close, Emily and Stephen must find a way to solve a deadly mystery–and discover who Adam really is–before time runs out.

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning by Olivia Newport

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning

1893 – Illinois

Lucy Banning may live on the exclusive Prairie Avenue among Chicago’s rich and famous, but her heart lies elsewhere. Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work–and the classes she is secretly taking at the newly opened University of Chicago. When she meets an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World’s Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family’s expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is?

Unexpected Love by Andrea Boeshaar

Unexpected Love (Seasons of Redemption, Book 3)

1866 – Illinois

Nurse Lorenna Fields always took her job at Chicago’s Lakeview Hospital seriously, determining never to become personally involved with her patients. Then a mysterious man with eyes like onyx is admitted after a shipwreck on Lake Michigan. He has lost his memory and sight. Renna feels a special kinship with this man and soon dubs him Mr. Blackeyes. Soon the two build a strong trusting friendship, and Renna shares her faith in the Lord. But she dreads the day her patient will recover. His memory will take him away from her to family and friends now forgotten, and his regained sight will reveal a secret about herself that Renna has been trying hard to hide. But someone else besides Renna doesn’t want “Mr. Blackeyes” to remember the past…and may not allow him to live to see the future.

Sons of Thunder by Susan May Warren

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1940s – Ilinois to Multiple Country Travel

Sophie Frangos is torn between the love of two men and the promise that binds them all together. Markos Stavros loves Sophie from afar while battling his thirst for vengeance and his hunger for honor. Dino, his quiet and intelligent brother, simply wants to forget the horror that drove them from their Greek island home to start a new life in America. One of these “sons of thunder” offers a future she longs for, the other–the past she lost. From the sultry Chicago jazz clubs of the roaring twenties to World War II battlefields of Europe to a final showdown in a Greek island village, they’ll discover betrayal, sacrifice, and finally redemption. Most of all, when Sophie is forced to make her choice, she’ll learn that God honors the promises made by the Sons of Thunder.

A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

A Measure of Mercy (Home to Blessing Series #1)

1903 – North Dakota and Illinois

Eighteen-year-old Astrid Bjorklund has always dreamed of becoming a doctor. She had intended to study medicine in Chicago or Grand Forks, but when a disaster wiped out a major portion of her family’s income, Astrid stayed home instead, receiving hands-on training from Dr. Elizabeth.
Joshua Landsverk left Blessing two years ago, but he’s never forgotten Astrid. Returning to town, he seeks to court her. Astrid is attracted to him, and when the opportunity unexpectedly opens for her to go to Chicago for medical training, she finds it difficult to leave. Love blossoms through their letters, but upon arriving back home, she makes a heartbreaking discovery. Will she have to give up love to pursue her dream?

An Uncertain Dream by Judith Miller

uncertaindream An Uncertain Dream (Postcards from Pullman Series #3)

1894 – Illinois

Their community has been ripped apart by the company strike . . . can anything hold their love together?
When Pullman Car Works employees walk out in protest of their wages and high rent, Olivia Mott is torn between her loyalty to the company and her love for Fred DeVault. Amidst the turmoil in Pullman, Fred is asked to act as a local delegate to the national convention of the American Railway Union, but when the delegates vote for a boycott of the famous Pullman sleeping cars, Olivia wonders if Fred will ever be able to show his face again in the company town. What will become of their growing affection for each other?
Traveling to England to reunite with her parents, Lady Charlotte Spencer is faced with tragedy. Armed with her fledgling faith, Charlotte decides to return to Chicago with her son to restart her life. But when Matthew Clayborn, a reporter for the Chicago Herald, wants to spend time with her, she worries about his motivations. Is he interested in her or only the information she can provide?

A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin

A Proper Pursuit

1893 – Illinois

20-year-old Violet Hayes is distressed to learn that her father is remarrying-and that her mother, whom Violet believed lay recovering from a mysterious illness in a sanitarium somewhere, had in fact simply abandoned her family and filed for divorce. To escape a stepmother-to-be she can’t stand, Violet heads to Chicago to stay with her grandmother and great-aunts. Although she’s recently graduated from a genteel school for young ladies, it’s in Chicago that Violet’s real education begins. One great-aunt tries to persuade her to join the suffrage movement, while another introduces Violet to elite society and urges her to catch a wealthy husband. Her grandmother, who takes her cues from Jane Addams, introduces Violet to the world of revivalist Christianity and inner-city good works, prompting Violet to re-examine her own faith. Two questions drive the plot: will Violet find her mother, and will she encounter true love? Readers will enjoy accompanying Violet as she discovers the answers, her calling and her adult self.

Whispers Along the Rails by Judith Miller

whispersalongtherails Whispers Along the Rails (Postcards from Pullman Series #2)

1893 – Illinois

Olivia Mott finds herself juggling two jobs: her assistant chef position at Hotel Florence and her undercover work for the Pullman Rail Car Company. Olivia thinks the suggestions she relays to Pullman’s town manager are being used to improve conditions for workers and save the company money, but is something much more sinister happening behind the scenes? Several months have passed since Lady Charlotte fled to Chicago, leaving her infant son in Olivia’s care. Now Charlotte’s money has run out. A kindly woman offers her a place to live and secures her a position at Marshall Field’s store, but Charlotte’s heart can’t forget the past. Dare she return to Pullman to find out what happened to her baby?

Ticket to Tomorrow by Carol Cox

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1893 – Illinois

Romance and intrigue collide at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair–

Annie Trenton has two goals when she travels to the dazzling White City…

First and foremost, she is determined to see her late husband Will’s genius recognized by displaying his last invention, a horseless carriage, at the great exposition. She arrives in Chicago with Will’s absent-minded partner, Silas Crockett, thrilled at the idea that millions of fairgoers will be able to see and admire their innovative creation.

Secondly, she hopes to heal the breach between herself and her in-laws. Sorrow over being the reason for the estrangement between Will and his parents has haunted her ever since his death.

Her plans never included feeling an attraction to Nick Rutherford–Silas’s handsome nephew who is a performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show…

…or learning that her in-laws are scheming to steal the rights to Will’s invention…

…or an innocent mix-up at the station that will throw her, Nick, and Silas into a world of deceptions, conspiracies, and danger.

When Annie’s keen powers of observation threaten to expose a devious international plot to gain Cuba’s independence, more than her exhibition plans hang in the balance. Will Annie be able to uncover the truth before disaster strikes ?