A Cherished Betrothal by Denise Weimer

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1775 – South Carolina

Promise Me Christmas by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1783 – South Carolina

Would Amy ever see him as anything other than a former Loyalist who destroyed her home?

One more building, one more road, one more disaster reconstructed.

But George Elliott remains trapped in the past, reliving his role in the destruction of Charles Town. Through the support of his family and two Patriot generals, he is allowed to pursue a life among them but struggles to find purpose. Forgiveness lurks but has not quite settled his unsteady heart.

Amy Engle strives to help the men who are alive but hurting through her work at the hospital. Some men fail to grasp God’s forgiveness and struggle to heal mentally from the brutality of war…George Elliott being one of them. She is making George her mission. Amy’s prayer is that God will give George purpose and confidence.

What she didn’t count on was her heart’s commitment to the man.

With the devastation of war that left nothing unscathed, the people of Charles Town could use a dose of Christmas miracles. If there are any that remain after the devastation of war.

Can they determine in their hearts to find comfort in love, promises, and forgiveness?

Bride by Beguilement by Debbie Lynne Costello

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1880 – South Carolina

Kirsten Macleod is in a bind. Her father’s last will and testament stipulates that she must either marry, lead the plantation into a first year profit, or forfeit it to her uncle. But marriage is proving no easy option. Every suitor seems more enamored with the land than with her. Until her handsome neighbor sweeps into her stable to the rescue… of her beloved horse.

Silas Westbrook’s last year at veterinary school ends abruptly when he is called home to care for his young orphaned sisters. Troubles compound when he finds an insurmountable lien on the only home they’ve ever known, and the unscrupulous banker is calling in the loan. The neighbor’s kind-hearted and beautiful stable girl, Krissy, provides the feminine influence the girls desperately need. If only he had a future to offer her. But to save his sisters from poverty, he should set his sights on Krissy’s wealthy relative Kirsten Macleod, the elusive new heiress. Surely this hard-working and unassuming young lady and the landowner could not be one and the same?

The Counterfeit Tory by Shannon McNear

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1781 – South Carolina

Lizzy Cunningham resents any man who thinks he can get by with a wink and a smile. Doubly so the ones who try to get close to her—she knows she’s homely and difficult of temper, and that not a man has been made who can bear with her for a lifetime.

Jedidiah Wheeler (Sam’s cousin from The Highwayman) has always depended on his easy charm to get him through. He’s also used to girls falling all over themselves when he glances their way, so it’s a shock to find one who responds with definite hostility. It might also be a bit of a challenge … especially when he discovers her connection to an infamous Tory leader he’s tasked with bringing down.

As Jed gains the trust of the Tories, he sees that Lizzy is far more than the snarling tavern maid she pretends to be. Truth be told, in her unguarded moments she’s one of the most fetching misses he’s ever met—and bravest, when his own life is on the line. How can he complete the mission without endangering her? And dare Lizzy risk family loyalty for a kindness she’s sure is too good to be true?

The Lieutenant’s Secret Love by Elva Cobb Martin

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1800 – South Carolina

An exposed family secret changed her life forever and blindsided his Marine heart.

From the day Hannah was abandoned as a newborn, her adoptive parents have kept the truth of her origin from her and her siblings. But when that secret is exposed, a threat arises which forces her to leave the only family she’s ever known and the adoptive brother she adores. She must start her life anew in Charleston.

U.S. Marine Lieutenant Adam White, harbors a secret—more confidential than patrolling the Caribbean for French corsairs, more threatening than the fight against Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. Adam carries a personal, burning secret in his heart. He’s fallen in love with Hannah since discovering she is not his blood sister. And the thought that she might only ever see him as her loving big brother may be the greatest threat to him yet.

As the Charleston men seek to win Hannah’s heart, she never loses touch with the man who had been her older brother. The man her heart can’t help seeing him in a whole new light. But when Adam’s squadron sets out for the Mediterranean on the most dangerous mission of his life, only God can keep him—and their love—alive.

A Battle Worth Fighting by Sarah Hanks

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1861/Present – South Carolina
 
Centuries apart, two strong women fight for the men they love in this inspirational split-time novel.

Sahara Dawn married a man she didn’t fully love, only to find, over a decade later, she can’t breathe without him. The problem is, he seems to have given up on their marriage, having taken a job across the country, and is in no apparent hurry to return to his wife. Desperate to make things right and inspired by a distant relative who fought as a female soldier in the Civil War, Sahara leaves everything familiar behind, learns a new trade, and sets off to win back Jaxon’s heart. But is she too late?

Bernice Reisenfeld loves the life she and her husband Hermann have built together on their sheep farm in rural South Carolina. But when the Civil War breaks out, everything changes. Despite her desperate pleas for Hermann to stay out of the conflict, he enlists. After growing up with a grandfather embittered by war, she can’t stand to see her husband succumb to the same fate. Dressing up like a man, she enlists as well, determined to find Hermann and bring him home. Only she finds far more than she bargained for. Will she make it home with her marriage and her heart intact?

Christmas on King Street by Ashley Clark

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1942/Present – South Carolina

This Christmas, her music box holds the key to a wartime secret.

Alice’s flower shop is in trouble and her boyfriend has yet to propose. She’s weary and disillusioned, so when her boyfriend suggests a trip to visit family and friends in Charleston, South Carolina, she’s eager to go. But a discovery at her friend’s vintage store reveals a decades-old music box with a secret that may just help Alice find what she needs this Christmas.

In 1942, witty Kit and a handsome soldier start a whirlwind romance at a USO dance. But when war takes him away and tests their love, all Kit wants for Christmas is to see him again. Her story becomes more complicated with the mysterious appearance of a music box on her doorstep, and their romance takes a turn she never expected…

A Valentine from Charleston by Ashley Clark

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1929 – South Carolina

At a Valentine’s Day party in 1929 Charleston, South Carolina, socialite Hazel receives a mysterious Valentine. She is immediately smitten by the writer, and is determined to uncover his identity. In the year that follows, she and the letter writer begin a correspondence that deepens beyond what either of them expect…

But on Valentine’s Day a year later, Hazel is in for a surprise when she realizes her Valentine was beside her all along.

A companion novella to Clark’s acclaimed Paint and Nectar, readers will enjoy this Valentine’s Day nod to The Shop Around the Corner.

Where the Last Rose Blooms by Ashley Clark

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1861/Present – South Carolina/Louisiana

Alice runs a New Orleans flower shop alongside her aunt, but thoughts of her mother, who went missing during Hurricane Katrina, are never far from her mind. After getting off on the wrong foot with a man who comes to the shop, Alice soon realizes their worlds overlap–and the answers they both seek can be found in the same place.

In 1861 Charleston, Clara is an abolitionist, unbeknownst to her father, who is heavily involved with the Confederacy. She attempts to assist an enslaved woman reunite with her daughter, and a dashing Union spy is just the person to help them. But things go very wrong when Clara agrees to aid the Northern cause by ferrying information about her father’s associates–and her own fiancé.

Faced with the unknown, both women across the years will have to dig deep to let their courage bloom.

Shiloh by Lori Benton

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1795 – Massachusetts/New York

A year has passed since Ian Cameron reluctantly sent his uncle’s former slave Seona and their son, Gabriel, north to his kin in Boston. Determined to fully release them, Ian strives to make a life at Mountain Laurel, his inherited plantation, along with Judith, the wife he’s vowed to love and cherish. But when tragedy leaves him alone with his daughter, Mandy, and his three remaining slaves, he decides to return north. An act of kindness on the journey provides Ian the chance to obtain land near the frontier settlement of Shiloh, New York. Perhaps even the hope for a new life with those he still holds dear.

In Boston, Seona has taken her first tentative steps as a free woman, while trying to banish Ian from her heart. The Cameron family thinks she and Gabriel should remain under their protection. Seona’s mother, Lily, thinks it’s time they strike out on their own. Then Ian arrives, offering a second chance Seona hadn’t dared imagine. But the wide-open frontier of Shiloh feels as boundless and terrifying as her newfound freedom—a place of new friends and new enemies, where deep bonds are renewed but old hurts stand ready to rear their heads. It will take every ounce of faith and courage Ian and Seona can muster to fight for their family and their future . . . together.

Paint and Nectar by Ashley Clark

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1929 – South Carolina

In 1929, a spark forms between Eliza, a talented watercolorist, and William, a charming young man with a secret that could ruin her career. Their families forbid their romance because of a long-standing feud over missing heirloom silver. Still, Eliza and William’s passion grows despite the barriers, causing William to deeply regret the secret he’s keeping . . . but setting things right will come at a cost.

In present-day Charleston, a mysterious benefactor gifts Lucy Legare an old house, along with all the secrets it holds–including enigmatic letters about an antique silver heirloom. Declan Pinckney, whom Lucy’s been avoiding since their disastrous first date, is set on buying her house for his family’s development company. As Lucy uncovers secrets about the house, its garden, and the silver, she becomes more determined than ever to preserve the historic Charleston property, not only for history’s sake but also for her own.

Wait for Me by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1780 – South Carolina

A town besieged by the enemy with just one Sovereign order: wait.

With the inevitable occupation of Charles Town by the British pounding at the gates, Louis Lestarjette braces for possible imprisonment or worse. How can he provide for his growing family with the evil chains of the enemy binding his source of existence? The scenarios of imprisonment and starvation force him to realize he has no control over the outcome of the stronghold of the British. All that remains is a sense of survival at almost any cost.

Elizabeth Lestarjette faces looming confinement with both a drive to protect her children and a desire to do her part to undermine the enemy.  They must thwart the British plans to imprison more men, but how?  Who can they trust?

Just how long will Elizabeth’s confidence in justice withstand the constant battering of war and circumstance?

The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark

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1946 – Alabama/Charleston

Harper Dupree has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her how to sew. As Harper rethinks her own future, long-hidden secrets about Millie’s past are brought to light.

In 1946, Millie Middleton–the daughter of an Italian man and a Black woman–boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.

Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston to find the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they’ve both dreamed of. But it’s not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

Bride by Blackmail by Debbie Lynne Costello

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1880 – South Carolina

A broken heart, a controlling father, and an intrusive Scot leave Charlotte Jackson reeling. Accused of stealing an heirloom pin, she must choose between an unwanted marriage and the ruin of her family name. With the futures of her three younger sisters at stake, as well as her own reputation, Charlotte must navigate through injustice to find forgiveness and true happiness. Eager to find the traitor that caused the death of his brother, Duncan Mackenzie comes to America and attempts to fit in with Charleston society. But when the headstrong Charlotte catches his eye, Duncan takes on a second mission—acquiring the lass’s hand. After being spurned several times, he uses unconventional ways of winning her heart.

Carolina Homecoming by Heather Blanton

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1860s – South Carolina

Even in the shadows of the Blue Ridge, war will find them.

Widowed by the Civil War, Ruth Grant insists on accompanying her grieving mother-in-law Noemie back to her roots in the beautiful but isolated foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This escape to a place barely touched by war will prove to be anything but peaceful for the two strong-willed women.

Montgomery Boaze is the wealthiest farmer in the upstate. He also happens to be a handsome widower. When distant relative Noemie returns home and butts heads with a mutual enemy, Montgomery appoints himself her and Ruth’s protector. Not such a difficult task since he adores his kin…and finds the beautiful, young widow bewitching.

Together, the three will become entangled in a battle over land, loyalty, and love that has nothing to do with North versus South.

Draw Me to Your Side by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1776 – South Carolina

Warships in the harbor explode with battle cries for freedom in the hearts of Charles Town’s Patriots.

With the British war ships threatening his family and livelihood, Louis Lestarjette commits to aid Francis Marion, Christopher Gadsden, Silas Deane and other fiery Patriots with secret correspondences in code and in French. Although not convinced that the colonies can succeed in separation from Britain, he abides by his word—available with funds, his time, and if necessary, even his life.

Louis’ potential volatile role leaves Elizabeth Lestarjette uncertain of the future. Add to that her impending confinement, the secret missions her friends embark on, and the ever-encroaching danger into her domestic world, and the cost of independence grows steeper with each passing day. How will her family survive the coming turbulence? How will she survive not being an active part of it? One thing is certain, she must draw to God’s side or lose heart altogether.

Bring Me Near by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1775 – South Carolina

Louis Lestarjette enters a world of secrets and questionable actions for the Patriot cause.

Louis Lestarjette ventures beyond the confines of family life as patriotic duty compels him to enter the world of secrecy and clandestine maneuvers. When he leaves Charles Town for Philadelphia, he experiences first-hand the drastic demands of time and finances, and possibly his life. He must keep Elizabeth and his daughter safe while remaining faithful to this cause of liberty. One wrong decision might cost him all he has worked for over the last three years.

A new generation of children in Elizabeth Lestarjette’s life demands the successful and safe fulfillment of her role as a Patriot. She wonders if her husband understands her desire to do her part as an active Daughter of Liberty. Although Louis is willing to move the family to the country, the decision falls to Elizabeth regarding whether to remain in Charles Town or escape its borders.

A Love to Behold by Sharlene MacLaren

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1867 – South Carolina

Two years after the Civil War, Lydia Albright, 27, is an established teacher in Boston when she senses God’s call to leave the comfort and security of her job and go south. She accepts a position to teach in a school for former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina. A church there that’s affiliated with the American Missionary Association offers support, along with room and board at the parsonage.

The Ku Klux men are hell-bent on seeing that the new school fails. Lydia’s life is threatened, and the parsonage, church, and school are vandalized.

But they haven’t contended with a strong, determined woman like Lydia before. It also helps that she has a couple potential suitors on her side.

Surround Me by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1773 – South Carolina

Battles rage in Elizabeth Elliot’s heart as the threat of war invades her hometown.

The dark curtain of the rumors of revolution threatens to descend as Louis Lestarjette makes a permanent break from his homeland and pursues his relations with Elizabeth. Somehow, he must find a way to manage all aspects of his life amid the political and financial difficulties this turbulent time throws at him. Never has his heart been at the center of his life decisions, challenging what he really wants, if he cannot have it all.

Elizabeth Elliott must find unwavering courage, choosing to allow God’s love to surround her with strength. A marriage during a time of confusion seems impossible as a Patriot from a Loyalist family who loves a Frenchman. She wonders how a faithful daughter can marry without her father’s permission. After a summer apart from Louis, she begins to fear that the uncertain times might delay their life together.

Hold Me Close by Marguerite Martin Gray

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1772 – South Carolina

The leisurely life Louis has intended does not include revolution.

Louis Lestarjette arrives from France without purpose or plans beyond reconnecting with family and making a profit. Finding the town questioning its alliances, Louis must make decisions about the direction in his life, even as he tries to avoid all political conflict. He wonders if he will be able to stay neutral in a battle for independence. When decisive events confront him, Louis finds himself torn between staying with the woman he loves or escaping the coming conflicts.

Elizabeth Elliott trusts that God will hold her close in uncertain and changing times. Faced with difficult decisions about her loyalties, she finds comfort in close friends, a devout sister, and her music. When the mysterious Frenchman with no commitment to God or Charles Town enters her life, he challenges her role in the political battle. She must decide what actions she can take for the cause, if any at all.

The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

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1780s/Present Day – South Carolina/California

Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.

When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.

Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.  

Her Traitor’s Heart by Colleen Hall

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1866 – South Carolina

For Coral Leigh, the Civil War took everything and everyone she loved: her fiancé, her brother, and her father. But when her mother dies of grief shortly after the war’s end, Coral’s plantation home, Elmwood, must be auctioned. Soon to be homeless, she fears becoming yet another casualty of the war.

Fortunately, help arrives in the handsome form of Clint Logan, a decorated general in the Union army, and part of the occupational forces stationed near her home. When the general kindly offers her employment, Coral decides her pride isn’t worth starvation.

As love blooms between them, Coral and Clint must contend with threats worse than the scrutiny of Southern society. Disenfranchised Confederate soldiers are causing trouble around town, and Coral has to face the possibility of Clint’s death in the line of duty, along with her own social ostracization. She will have to decide if she’s ready to trust her heart’s new loyalties, even if it means forsaking everything she’s ever known.

The Sound of Rain by Sarah Loudin Thomas

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1954 – South Carolina

Judd Markley is a hardworking coal miner who rarely thinks much past tomorrow until he loses his brother–and nearly his own life–in a mine cave-in. Vowing never to enter the darkness of a mine again, he leaves all he knows in West Virginia to escape to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It’s 1954, the seaside community is thriving, and Judd soon hires on with a timber company.

Larkin Heyward’s life in Myrtle Beach is uncomplicated, mostly doing volunteer work and dancing at the Pavilion. But she dreams of one day doing more–maybe moving to the hollers of Kentucky to help the poor children of Appalachia. But she’s never even met someone who’s lived there–until she encounters Judd, the newest employee at her father’s timber company.

Drawn together in the wake of a devastating hurricane, Judd and Larkin each seek answers to what tomorrow will bring. As opposition rises against following their divergent dreams, they realize that it may take a miracle for them to be together.

The Patriot and the Loyalist by Angela Couch

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1780 – South Carolina

Completing his three years in the Continental Army, Daniel Reid still has no desire to return home—not after losing the woman he loves to a British Captain—so he volunteers to ride south through enemy lines and deliver a message to Colonel Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. With his temper needing a release and a dark haired beauty finding her way into his broken heart, Daniel decides to join the Swamp Fox’s efforts against the British. Little does he know the British still have the upper hand.

Lydia Reynolds has learned that love comes at a price, and she refuses to pay. Better to close her heart to everything and everyone. When her brother-in-law won’t grant her passage to England, where she hopes to hide from her pain, New Englander, Daniel Reid, becomes her only hope—if she can induce him to give her information about the notorious Swamp Fox and his troops. When the British grow impatient and Daniel evades her questions, Lydia must decide how far to take her charade. The poor man, already gutted by love, hasn’t grown as wise as she. Or so she supposes.

Until the truth is known, the muskets are loaded;and it is time to decide where true loyalties lie.

The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep

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1770 – South Carolina

Proper English governess Eleanor Morgan flees to the colonies to escape the wrath of a brute of an employer. When the Charles Town family she’s to work for never arrives to collect her from the dock, she is forced to settle for the only reputable choice remaining to her—marriage to a man she’s never met. Trapper and tracker Samuel Heath is a hardened survivor used to getting his own way by brain or by brawn, and he’s determined to find a mother for his young daughter. But finding a wife proves to be impossible. No upstanding woman wants to marry a murderer.

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The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

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1800s – Charleston

Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.

Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.

As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.

Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.

The Doctor’s Undoing by Allie Pleiter

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1919 – South Carolina

When Dr. Daniel Parker requested an army nurse to help with his orphanage, he expected an organized, sensible matron. Instead he gets young, beautiful, obstinate Ida Lee Landway, whose vibrant outlook and unrelenting optimism turn his work and his life inside out. 

Army life was easy compared to the discipline at her new workplace. Yet Ida is immediately smitten by the children in her care…and impressed by Daniel’s unfaltering dedication. Adding color and warmth to her new surroundings is one thing. Can she also help the good doctor embrace joy—and in so doing, find the family they both deserve?

Carolina Gold by Dorothy Love

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1868 – South Carolina

The war is over, but at Fairhaven Plantation, Charlotte’s struggle has just begun.

Following her father’s death, Charlotte Fraser returns to Fairhaven, her family’s rice plantation in the South Carolina Lowcountry. With no one else to rely upon, smart, independent Charlotte is determined to resume cultivating the superior strain of rice called Carolina Gold.  But the war has left the plantation in ruins, her father’s former bondsmen are free, and workers and equipment are in short supply. To make ends meet, Charlotte reluctantly agrees to tutor the two young daughters of her widowed neighbor and heir to Willowood Plantation, Nicholas Betancourt.  Just as her friendship with Nick deepens, he embarks upon a quest to prove his claim to Willowood and sends Charlotte on a dangerous journey that uncovers a long-held family secret, and threatens everything she holds dear. Inspired by the life of a 19th-century woman rice farmer, Carolina Gold pays tribute to the hauntingly beautiful Lowcountry and weaves together  mystery, romance, and historical detail, bringing to life the story of one young woman’s struggle to restore her ruined world.

For Love or Loyalty by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

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1760s – Scotland/South Carolina

To atone for her father’s evil, Lauren Campbell agrees to help Malcolm MacGregor. By the time she realizes she’s the bargaining price to free Malcolm’s mother from indentured servitude, it’s too late.

Malcolm MacGregor only wants to free his family and exact revenge against Duncan Campbell. As the pride and joy of Duncan’s life, his daughter Lauren is the perfect answer, but during the voyage to America, her faith continues to witness to Malcolm. He becomes enraptured with her, and upon their arrival, discovers he’s sold her into a fate worse than death. Now Malcolm has the dilemma: free his family or rescue Lauren? Time is short and with little means, he needs a miracle.

Everlasting Light by Andrea Boeshaar

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1865 – South Carolina

The American Civil War has ended, but Alaina McKenna still awaits news about her husband, Braeden. Did he die in a Yankee prison? Was he buried in a shallow grave on a Virginia battlefield? Or has he turned his back on the specter of death and loss around him and sought solitude west of the Mississippi River, never to return home, again?

As Christmas nears, Alaina deflects the advances of a suitor in the neighboring county, choosing to cling instead to hope and her belief that Braeden will return. As winter’s chill settles upon her farm, Alaina cries out to God in one final Christmas Prayer.

When loss lingers, love – even unto and beyond death – for it is through heartbreak that God opens doorways to comfort others.

Gideon’s Call by Peter Leavell

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1860s – South Carolina

Author Peter Leavell forges an unprecedented tale of tragedy and triumph amid the backdrop of the Civil War through the story of Tad, a very clever slave boy who comes of age as America’s war reaches the sea islands of South Carolina. Tad’s desire to better himself is obstructed by the color of his skin, until Northern soldiers force the evacuation of white plantation owners, setting 10,000 slaves free in a single day. These circumstances seem like a dream, except that the newly freed slaves have no money, no education, and little hope for the future—unless someone rises up to lead them. Based on true events, Gideon’s Call is the dramatic tale of a young man who battles the shame of his past and faces the horrors of war and unimaginable prejudice to become the deliverer of thousands of freed slaves.

Veil of Pearls by MaryLu Tyndall

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1811 – South Carolina

Be swept away to Charleston of 1811, a city bustling with immigrants like Adalia, who is a runaway slave so light-skinned that no one guesses her past. Terrified her secret will be discovered, she settles into a quiet life making herbal remedies for a local doctor. But when Morgan, the handsome son of a prominent family, sweeps her into his glamorous world—a world in which the truth about Adalia’s heritage would ruin them both—suspicions and petty jealousies are aroused. What will Morgan do when he discovers that the woman he has fallen in love with is a runaway slave?

Homefront Hero by Allie Pleiter

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1918 – South Carolina

Dashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can’t help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows better than to get attached to the daring captain who is only home to heal and help rally support for the war’s final push. As soon as he’s well enough, he’ll rush back to Europe, back to war—and far away from South Carolina and Leanne. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne’s hero.

The Discovery by Dan Walsh

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Past and Present – World War II – South Carolina

Gerard Warner was not only a literary giant whose suspense novels sold in the millions, he was also a man devoted to his family, especially his wife of nearly 60 years. When he dies he leaves his Charleston estate to his grandson, Michael, an aspiring writer himself. Michael settles in to write his own first novel and discovers an unpublished manuscript his grandfather had written, something he’d kept hidden from everyone but clearly intended Michael to find. Michael begins to read an exciting tale about Nazi spies and sabotage, but something about this story is different from all of Gerard Warner’s other books. It’s actually a love story.

As Michael delves deeper into the story he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well. Laced with suspense and intrigue, The Discovery is a richly woven novel that explores the incredible sacrifices that must be made to forge the love of a lifetime. Author Dan Walsh delivers yet another unique and heartfelt story that will stick with readers long after they turn the last page.

From This Day Forward by Margaret Daley

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From This Day Forward (American Tapestries)fromthisdayforward

1810s – South Carolina

Penniless, pregnant, and newly widowed immigrant Rachel Gordon doesn’t believe her situation could get any worse…until she meets her new neighbors.

Shortly after the War of 1812, Rachel and her husband set out from England for a plantation in South Carolina, which he had purchased sight unseen. However, while en route, Tom Gordon fell overboard and drowned, leaving Rachel, frightened and alone, to make a home for her and her newborn.

Can a battle-scarred American physician who comes to her rescue also heal her wounded heart?