A Life Reclaimed by Olivia Rae

Goodreads ~ B&N ~ Kobo ~ Amazon

1581 – England

A Scoundrel, A Spy, and A Secret. Will She Ever Learn the Truth?

Desperate to avoid a second loveless marriage, Anne Howell hides out in a cave on the Welsh coast. If she can get to England, she should be safe from her stepfather’s long-reaching hand. She thinks her prayers are answered when she rescues a shipwrecked sailor, Thomas Armstrong, who agrees to help her, claiming he has ties to Queen Elizabeth I. Though she fears he may be an accomplished liar, she has no choice but to trust him, especially when a secret from her past puts spies on her trail and threatens to destroy her future.

Years ago, Thomas Armstrong learned his real mother was executed in place of a dethroned queen. Determined to avenge her death, he sets out to find the cowardly monarch. But when his ship goes down in a storm leaving him broke and in debt, he fears his quest is finished – until he discovers that the woman who rescued him, Anne Howell, has a price on her head. All he has to do is turn her in and he’ll have the money he needs. But in helping Anne, he’s begun to lose his heart, and now he faces a devastating choice – avenge the past for his mother or follow his feelings to an uncertain future with Anne.

A Life Redeemed by Olivia Rae

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1559 – England/Scotland

Everyone has a secret, who can a queen trust?

Upon Queen Elizabeth’s order, Audrey Hayes travels to the borderlands of Scotland to learn where the fierce Laird Armstrong’s loyalties lie. Is he aligned with his mother’s English roots in support of the queen, or does he hold with the beliefs of his father, who wishes to see Mary of Scots on the English throne? The fate of Audrey’s family rests on her success in finding the answer.

After losing his lands in a wager and being betrayed by his kin, Gavin Armstrong entered a loveless marriage to obtain the funds to buy back his family home, Warring Tower. Now a widower, struggling against countless border wars, he is on the verge of losing his home and lands again. With few resources, he reluctantly makes another risky wager, one he cannot hope to win without trusting the secretive Audrey Hayes, a woman he suspects is an English spy.

As the two work together to save Warring Tower, their attraction to one another grows. But when Audrey finally gains the information she seeks for Queen Elizabeth, she realizes that the only way she can save her family is to betray the man she loves.

The Pulse of His Soul by Ora Smith

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1589 – England

Based on a true story of love and loss, family and faith.

At the height of Separatist suppression and enforced Anglican worship in England, Reverend John Lothropp meets and marries Hannah Howse. The witty, educated vicar’s daughter immediately challenges his decision to put God before a wife. In a world spiraling into hypocrisy, tyranny, and betrayal, Hannah refuses to break from her Anglican roots. But when John comes face-to-face with his deep-seated convictions about religious freedom, he’s forced to make a hard choice—renounce his orders with the Church of England to become an outlawed Separatist or conform and save his marriage, his family, and his life.

Considered one of the most important ministers to follow in the footsteps of the Plymouth Pilgrims, John Lothropp helped plant the seeds of religious freedom in America’s soil and left a legacy of well-known individuals who influenced the nation’s destiny.

Follow the Dawn by Rachelle Rea Cobb

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1569 – England

Anna Emory grew up the invisible, shy younger sister, and she prefers it that way. But when her father attempts to arrange an unsavory marriage, Anna learns that courage is sometimes found in adversity. Then she meets a boy and his father struggling in their relationship, and they tip her quiet world upside down.

Captain Mathieu Tudder has run from responsibility, entrusting his young son’s care to another and devoting his Sea Beggar ship to the Dutch Revolution. After that cause fails, Tudder returns to England for the son he left behind. But his son seems to have given his heart to a unknown and quiet lady—a woman who reminds him of all he’s ever loved and lost.

Will these two hearts—the battle-scarred and the broken—ever find true freedom?

Letters Home by Rachelle Rea Cobb

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1566 – England/Netherlands

Since the Steadfast Love series came to a thrilling conclusion, readers have clamored for more from Cade and Margried. This Christmas, that wish is granted in this charming epistolary short story (about 6,000 words) that reveals more about Margried–and her family.

In the year 1566, she fled from an arranged marriage to a convent by the sea. Then a political and religious uprising shattered her plans to remain sheltered there, and she found safety only through an unlikely rescue.

See the events of the Steadfast Love series unfold through Margried’s eyes—and meet the sister never mentioned in those books but with whom Margried longs to reunite… if she will ever write her back.

The Sound of Emeralds by Rachelle Rea

soundofemeralds The Sound of Emeralds

1567 – England

What once was blazing hatred has turned to lasting love, but could the union of a wild heart with that of a lady ever result in more than heartache?

With the help of an old friend with uncertain loyalties, Dirk inches ever closer to clearing his name. Gwyneth throws her faith into good tidings and the promise of a future as a family. But an old evil comes to call, just as tragedy rips apart a fledgling truce. Enemies from the past and grief for the future threaten to tear asunder what God had brought together…

As the date of Dirk’s trial approaches, his fate and his family hang in the balance. Will he be proven innocent of Gwyneth’s parents’ murders or separated from her forever? How much pain does it take to erode a love steadfast?

Save

The Sound of Silver by Rachelle Rea

soundofsilver The Sound of Silver

1566 – England

The stalwart saint, fighting for faith…and the redeemed rebel, fighting for honor.

After Dirk rescues Gwyneth from the Iconoclastic Fury, she discovers that faith is sometimes fragile—and hope is not as easy as it may seem. Now truly orphaned yet not alone, Gwyneth continues her quest to learn more about the love of God preached by Protestants she once distrusted.

Dirk’s quest is to prevent his sullied name from staining hers. Will his choice to protect her prove the undoing of her first faltering steps toward a Father God? Once separated, will Dirk and Gwyneth’s searching hearts ever sing the same song?

Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd

Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I

1565 – England

From the acclaimed author of To Die For comes a stirring novel told that sheds new light on Elizabeth I and her court. Like Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, Sandra Byrd has attracted countless fans for evoking the complexity, grandeur, and brutality of the Tudor period. In her latest tour de force, she poses the question: What happens when serving a queen may cost you your marriage–or your life?

In 1565, seventeen-year-old Elin von Snakenborg leaves Sweden on a treacherous journey to England. Her fiance has fallen in love with her sister and her dowry money has been gambled away, but ahead of her lies an adventure that will take her to the dizzying heights of Tudor power. Transformed through marriage into Helena, the Marchioness of Northampton, she becomes the highest-ranking woman in Elizabeth’s circle. But in a court that is surrounded by Catholic enemies who plot the queen’s downfall, Helena is forced to choose between her unyielding monarch and the husband she’s not sure she can trust–a choice that will provoke catastrophic consequences.

Vividly conjuring the years leading up to the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, Roses Have Thorns is a brilliant exploration of treason, both to the realm and to the heart.

The Secret Keeper by Sandra Byrd

The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr

1540s – England

The author of To Die For returns to the court of Henry VIII as a young woman is caught between love and honor. Juliana St. John is the daughter of a prosperous knight. Though her family wants her to marry the son of her father’s business partner, circumstances set her on a course toward the court of Henry VIII and his last wife, Kateryn Parr.
     Sir Thomas Seymour, uncle of the current heir, Prince Edward, returns to Wiltshire to tie up his concerns with Juliana’s father’s estate and sees instantly that Juliana would fit into the household of the woman he loves, Kateryn Parr. Her mother agrees to have her placed in Parr’s household for “finishing” and Juliana goes, though perhaps reluctantly.
     For she knows a secret. She has been given the gift of prophecy, and in one of her visions she has seen Sir Thomas shredding the dress of the king’s daughter, the lady Elizabeth, to perilous consequence.
    As Juliana learns the secrets of King Henry VIII’s court, she faces threats and opposition, learning truths about her own life that will undo everything she holds dear.

Shakespeare’s Lady by Alexa Schnee

Shakespeare’s Lady

1600s – England

For centuries, readers have debated the identity of the mysterious Dark Lady in William Shakespeare’s sonnets. Emilia Bassano — lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth and one of the first women poets in England — could be the answer.

In Shakespeare’s Lady, Emilia Bassano is one of the most dazzling ladies at court when she meets the little-known playwright William Shakespeare. Shakespeare sees the world like no one ever has before, and despite everything — his wife in Stratford-Avon, Emilia’s husband and young son, and the will of the fiery and unpredictable queen — they fall in love. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and the Virgin Queen does not take lightly to her ladies straying. These star-crossed lovers must fight for their love — and, eventually, their lives. Meanwhile, William, courting the queen’s favor for his new theater, pens some of the most memorable stories ever written, and encourages Emilia to write; he helps her compose, and eventually steals, a little bedtime story she calls A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In the tradition of Jane Austen Ruined My Life and The Other Boleyn Girl, this is a breathtaking, emotionally rich story spun out of historical fact. From the plague-ridden streets of London to the throne room of Greenwich Court to the stage of The Globe Theater, this is a meticulously researched and gorgeously written story about grace, forgiveness, and the forbidden love between the greatest poet the world has ever known and the woman who inspired him.

As the Sparks Fly Upward by Gilbert Morris

asthesparksflyupward As the Sparks Fly Upward

1500s – England

Young Colin Winslow grows up feeling altogether different from the rest of his family. Not bold and rough like his charismatic brother, Adam, or headstrong and spoiled like his sister, Adara, he is a gentle soul with a special love for natural things. His interest in animals, medicine, and healing brings him in contact with a strange woman who lives in the woods, Meg Caradoc. She teaches him the fine art of using a variety of herbs to quell sickness and pain.

When Colin studies at Oxford, an eccentric but brilliant professor, Dr. Phineas Teague, guides the young man to a career in medicine. The formal knowledge Professor Teague imparts, combined with knowledge of Meg’s herbal remedies, make Colin an insightful and successful doctor—one with the approving eye of Queen Elizabeth on him. Colin’s skill quickly earns him many patients, some highly placed in the courts of both his queen and her sister Mary Queen of Scots. This once shy and uncertain young man finds himself in the midst of court intrigue and a key player in quelling assassination plots and passing vital information to the queen’s court. When Colin faces his most difficult case—curing the wounds his brave brother suffered in battle—he must confront his attraction to Adam’s wife, his unsteady faith in God, and his command of medicine: will he abandon his noble role and succumb to temptation, or will he take his place as the new hero of the Breed of Winslow?

When the Heavens Fall by Gilbert Morris

whentheheavensfall When the Heavens Fall

1500s – England

Brandon Winslow would rather gamble and frequent taverns than attend church. So how does he find himself at the forefront of the resistance to Bloody Mary’s attempt to eliminate—at sword’s point, if need be—the Protestant faith?

During the reign of Mary I of England—”Bloody Mary”—young Brandon Winslow (son of Stuart, protagonist of Honor in the Dust, the first book in the Winslow Breed series) finds himself in dire straits. After being flogged and then drummed out of the military for seducing the wife of his commanding officer, he sinks into a life of gambling and petty fraud along with Lupa, the fair gypsy woman who nursed him back to health.

After Mary weds Prince Philip of Spain, she begins to work in earnest to establish Catholicism as the only faith in England—and to execute Protestants. When Brandon sees several people burned at the stake in London for their faith, the experience changes him: Even though he has been only a nominal member of the Church of England, he finds himself compelled to stop those responsible for these outrages—and to do so before his uncle Quentin, a pastor, is himself burned at the stake. Unfortunately, the only way to save Quentin and so many others is to make Princess Elizabeth (who is herself in danger of dying at Mary’s hand) queen. And that, of course, would be treason. Punishable by death.

But then, Brandon has always been a gambler . . .

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Lady in Waiting

1550s & Present Day – England & New York

Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, rad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad’s departure.

Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring—and perhaps about herself.

~

In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.

As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more infl uence over her life than she once imagined. It all comes down to the choices each makes despite the realities they face.

Honor in the Dust by Gilbert Morris

honorinthedust Honor in the Dust

1497 – 1500s – England

In the moral confusion of the court of King Henry VIII, young Stuart Winslow has many choices to make — and lives depend on what he will choose.

Born in poverty when his father was forced to choose between the woman he loved and the wealth of his aristocratic family, the determined Stuart Winslow will go to any lengths to improve his social position. When his skills in weapons design and falconry secure a place for him in the court of King Henry VIII, he quickly learns that the court is really a wicked cauldron of vices, power plays, and temptations — some of them very much to his liking.

When William Tyndale, an acquaintance of Stuart’s, makes it known that his ambition is to translate the Bible into the language of the common man, the king opposes Tyndale’s efforts and sentences him to death. If Stuart opposes the king in this, he will share the same fate. Is he willing to risk death at the stake for the sake of Christ? And how will he choose between the innocent Heather, who has long loved him, and the courtwise Nell?

In Honor in the Dust, bestselling author Gilbert Morris beautifully captures the tone of the Tudor period, chronicling the period’s excesses with skill and prudence. But like Morris’s other novels, this book also contrasts those excesses with the godly behavior of characters such as William Tyndale. In this captivating historical drama, Stuart Winslow is caught between two worlds: one that promises material and worldly success and one that promises salvation. Is his faith strong enough to withstand such a challenge?

A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell

A Constant Heart

Tudor Period – England

Born with the face of an angel, Marget Barnardsen is blessed. Her father is a knight, and now she is to be married to the Earl of Lytham. her destiny is guaranteed…at least, it would seem so. But when her introduction to court goes awry and Queen Elizabeth despises her, Marget fears she’s lost her husband forever. Desperate to win him back, she’ll do whatever it takes to discover how she failed and capture again the love of a man bound to the queen.

In the Shadow of Lions by Ginger Garrett

In the Shadow of Lions (Chronicles of the Scribe, Book 1)

16th Century – England

“I am the first writer, The Scribe. My books lie open before the Throne, and someday will be the only witness of your people and their time in this world. The stories are forgotten here, and the Day draws close. I will tell you one of my stories. You will record it.”

So begins the narration of one such angel in this sweeping historical tale set during the reign of England’s Henry VIII. It is the story of two women, their guardian angels, and a mysterious, subversive book . a book that outrages some, inspires others, and launches the Protestant Reformation.
The devout Anne Boleyn catches the eye of a powerful king and uses her influence to champion an English translation of the Bible—Scriptures the common people could read for themselves. Meanwhile, Rose, a broken, suicidal woman of the streets, is moved to seek God when she witnesses Thomas More’s public displays of Christian charity, ignorant of his secret life spent eradicating the same book, persecuting anyone who dares read it.
Historic figures come alive in this thrilling story of heroes and villains, saints and sinners, angels and mortals … and the sacred book that will inspire you anew.

Glastonbury Tor by LeAnne Hardy

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1538 – England

The ancient olivewood drinking bowl that young Colin finds in the treasury of Glastonbury Abbey, was disregarded as worthless wood by King Henry VIII’s men when they inventoried the abbey’s treasures. But Father Dunstan, the tortured prior who preaches forgiveness, treasures it. Father Bede, as demanding as the hated father from whom Colin has fled, covets it. Abbot Whiting finds in it the courage to face his enemy, even as monasteries are being dismantled all over sixteenth century England. Will Colin find the personal faith and sense of worth he seeks? Can he ever forgive his father… or himself?

Beyond the Sacred Page by Jack Cavanaugh

Goodreads ~ Purchase

1535 – England

He has always loved her…and only her. She’s in love with a book and a cause he has vowed to destroy.

1535. A passionate heretic hunter, Pernell Foxe has dedicated his life to protecting the sacred Scriptures from those infidels who translate it into the vulgar tongue and distribute it among the masses. Meg Foxe, his wife, is haunted by her violent past and tortured by nightmares. She finds comfort in her husband’s arms…when he’s home. Then one night, soldiers pound on her door and whisk her away to Whitehall Palace to help calm the tempestuous Anne Boleyn, Queen of England. While there, Meg confiscates a banned New Testament from three of the queen’s attendants, intending to destroy it. But the book falls open, and she is captivated and soothed by the words….

The story of a vulnerable woman, a driven man, and a remarkable book.

Recovery of the Lost Sword by Linda Chaikin

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1513 – England

Justin and Regina Brice, fictional characters, have a vision for the greatest need facing their day—the Scripture for the common man. They find themselves in conflict with the teaching of the establishment church, caught up in the turmoil involving Marin Luther and William Tyndale, and risking their lives to assist the translation of the Scriptures into English.

The historical events have been woven into a novel. Recovery of the Lost Sword shows the struggle involved in translating the Bible into English. It tell the story of William Tyndale and those who sacrificed their lives and positions to aid him in bringing the word of God to the common man.