Posts with the custom taxonomy term Unwed Mother

Shiloh by Lori Benton

No Comments on Shiloh by Lori Benton

shilohGoodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

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.

The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

2 Comments on The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

secretkeepersofolddepotgroceryGoodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1965/Present – Tennessee

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons–but she’ll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she’s pregnant with her deceased fiancé’s baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

Dillon by Linda Ford

No Comments on Dillon by Linda Ford

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1887 – Canada

Maude’s husband, John, had been injured and she desperately needed some cowboys to work the ranch. She found Dillon down on his luck and gave him, and five other young men, a home and trains them. Seven years later she is set on finding brides for all of the young men. Dillon’s not interested. He was robbed of everything by Slick McCall—someone he trusted. A girl he loved has also treated him poorly. He doesn’t intend to open his heart to anyone. His plan is to stay right there on the ranch and take care of Maude and John.

Abigail has been duped by a slick-talking charmer and is now expecting a baby with no ring on her finger. Posing as a widow, she flees west, intending to start over and create a new life for herself and her unborn baby. However she arrives at Logan Crossing and discovers her money is missing—stolen. She has nothing. Maude offers her a job on the ranch, thinking this pretty young widow will be suitable for one of the boys.

Abigail eagerly helps at the ranch house, determined to make a temporary home for herself and the baby. Dillon is always ready to take her for a walk or otherwise entertain her. The baby’s birth creates a new level of attraction and intimacy between them. He tells her of how a certain Slick McCall has stolen everything and a former girlfriend hurt him, teaching Dillon to guard his heart.

Slick McCall was the man who sweet talked her into making Abby’s baby. She was prepared to tell Dillon the truth about being an unwed mother but hearing his words makes her realize she must guard her secret.

But how long can she hide the truth when she and Dillon are falling in love? Will Dillon still love her when the truth comes out? Most of all, will her newborn son ever be accepted?

Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson

No Comments on Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey by Abigail Wilson

Goodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1815 – England

In this new Regency romance, a young unwed mother must protect her heart from the charms of her convenient new husband, Lord Torrington. She is not, however, prepared to protect her life.

When the widowed Lord Torrington agreed to spy for the crown, he never planned to impersonate a highwayman, let alone rob the wrong carriage. Stranded on the road with an unconscious young woman, he is forced to propose marriage to protect his identity and her reputation, as well as his dangerous mission.

Trapped not only by her duty to her country but also by her limited options as an unwed mother, Miss Elizabeth Cantrell and her infant son are whisked away to Middlecrest Abbey by none other than the elder brother of her son’s absent father. There she is met by Torrington’s beautiful grown daughters, a vicious murder, and an urgent hunt for the missing intelligence that could turn the war with France. Meanwhile she must convince everyone that her marriage is a genuine love match if her new husband has any hope of uncovering the enemy.

Determined to keep her son’s true identity a secret, Elizabeth will need to remain one step ahead of her fragile heart, her uncertain future, and the relentless fiend bent on her new family’s ruin.

A Silver Willow by the Shore by Kelli Stuart

No Comments on A Silver Willow by the Shore by Kelli Stuart

asilverwillowbytheshoreGoodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1930s/Siberia – 1980s/Russia – Present Day/Tennessee

How do you face the future if you don’t know your own past?

When an unexpected pregnancy changes her dreams, seventeen-year-old Annie tries to keep it from her mother and her grandmother. But secrets have a way of coming out.

In a household of strong women, the arrival of a new life sets off a spiral of truth that reveals a past full of whispers and lies—a past that existed in another world under the heavy hand of Soviet oppression. This history has dictated the circumstances of the present, but hope, redemption, and forgiveness will grow in the rocky places of these generational differences.

A Silver Willow by the Shore is the story of the unshakeable love between mothers and daughters and of the impact that past decisions can have on present day circumstances. This novel weaves together the stories of generations of women, from the gulags of 1930’s Siberia, to the quiet oppression of 1980’s Soviet Moscow, to present day Tennessee. It is an unforgettable narrative of the treachery of secrets, and of the light that unites the heart of a family.

Bitter Eyes No More by April Gardner

No Comments on Bitter Eyes No More by April Gardner

Bitter Eyes No More

1817 – Florida

Spanish Florida once sheltered Lillian McGirth from her fears. Now, it feeds them. Mercy is for the deserving; for Lillian, an unwed mother accused of treason, there is only battering and defeat, but her fall breaks softly in the arms of an unexpected arrival, a man too beautiful of soul to stain with her lost character.
Captain Marcus Buck sails in on a pledge to save Miss McGirth from herself and from her child’s father, a ruthless don. All the while, he’s to regard her as virtuous and worthy of protection and to guard said virtue from pilfering. But the terms are flawed since he must first guard her from himself. Regardless, he is determined. He will free her, repair her name—simple labor compared to dodging the army’s noose, mending wounds three years deep, and navigating a host of rebel Natives bent on inflicting more.
Through the steady crumble of his pledge, their friendship becomes a consolation, for she knows his pain as no other can or will. Their scars are one; their paths, however, might irrevocably become two…

Maggie’s War by Terrie Todd

No Comments on Maggie’s War by Terrie Todd

maggieswarMaggie’s War

1942 – Canada

In 1942, telegrams always bring life-altering and tragic news in a war-hardened world—and the one Maggie Marshall receives is no different. But running a restaurant with the help of only pregnant, unwed girls has taught her to be tough. Maggie’s no weeping widow, but Charlotte Penfield thinks she’s the most unfeeling woman on earth. Seventeen, exiled by her wealthy parents, and working in the restaurant, fanciful Charlotte runs away with romantic notions of a reunion with her baby’s father at his military camp.

It has been years since Maggie darkened the church door of her pastor and childhood friend, Reverend Reuben Fennel, and his heart breaks for the hardened woman Maggie’s become. When she seeks his help to find Charlotte, he’s happy to aid her in the chase—though it may cost him his job and reputation.

Over the miles from Winnipeg to Fort William, Reuben and Maggie’s journey rekindles their affection—and their dreams of what they still could be. But Maggie stubbornly clings to her independent ways until she’s dealt another devastating loss, one that forces her to recognize that heroes can be discovered in unlikely places and love may be far sweeter than she ever dared imagine.

Save

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas

No Comments on A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas

atapestryofsecretsA Tapestry of Secrets

1948 & 2008 – West Virginia

For decades, Perla Phillips has hidden the truth of a decision that still fills her with guilt. But now, seeing her granddaughter, Ella, struggle in a similar way, she’s prepared to finally open the past to her family, no matter the consequences. But when the opportunity is snatched from her in a most unexpected manner, will she have waited too long?

Spanning generations, this moving family drama weaves together the interlocking stories of two women as they navigate relationships, family, faith, and the choices that will shape their lives. Heartwarming and nostalgic, the story explores the courage to share the wounds of the past and celebrates the legacy a family passes from one generation to the next. 

Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Shirley Kiger Connolly

No Comments on Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Shirley Kiger Connolly

Say Goodbye to Yesterdaysaygoodbyetoyesterday

1878 – New York

An unwed mother who disregards her childhood faith and gives up her innocence early is about to make a greater mistake that could change her life forever. When Annabelle Jordan’s secrets are discovered by an unforgiving church community, she and her daughters are booted from town. Now without home or future for her growing family, Annabelle, no longer young nor ready to rekindle a once-cherished faith — is convinced her only hope is to find the girls’ father and force the marriage he pledged but later abandoned, or raise her daughters alone which offers no guarantee of security. But when the irresistibly handsome man of faith, Major Carlton Radcliffe, pledged to a family of his own, crosses Annabelle’s path, he also steals her heart. To offer her daughters the future they so desperately need, Annebelle must make the right choice. She could vow never to marry again and raise her girls alone providing them with no respectable future; she could continue her journey to the one who rejected her twice already; or she could risk ruining the reputation of the one man who now occupies her heart. What other choice does she have?

The Restitution by Marylu Tyndall

No Comments on The Restitution by Marylu Tyndall

therestitutionGoodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1669 – Jamaica

A woman’s desperate search for her kidnapped child A father seeking forgiveness for an unconscionable act Only when they join forces, can they save their son Lady Isabel Ashton longs to marry a nobleman and live out her days in the wealth and privilege she is accustomed to as the daughter of an earl. But her plans went awry when she was kidnapped and ravished by a notorious pirate captain. Scorned by society and banished by her family to live on the island of Jamaica, Isabel decides to keep her baby. But then her precious child is kidnapped. Desperate to find him, Isabel soon discovers she must accept the help of the one man she hates most in the world–the boy’s father. Determined to win the heart and forgiveness of the woman he ravished, Captain Kent Carlton searches every port in the Caribbean for Isabel. Drowning his sorrows in rum and cards, he has all but given up when an acquaintance informs him, first of the child’s existence, and then of the kidnapping and Isabel’s whereabouts. Thrilled Isabel agrees to accept his help, Kent soon finds himself involved in a plot of deception and revenge that threaten to destroy both him and Isabel and keep them from their son forever.