Books like 'The Ice Swan'
Readers who enjoyed The Ice Swan by J'nell Ciesielski also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century christian marriage of convenience
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Heartache at Blackberry Farm by Rosie Clarke
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsDiscover Rosie Clarke's bestselling Blackberry Farm series!A story of life and survival during the war which is heart-rending and bitter-sweet, bringing you laughter and tears. Cambridgeshire – 1941 As the war rages on in Europe, it brings untold heartache to the Talbot family at Blackberry Farm. First Tom is missing in action and then his brother John. leaving the family distraught with worry... -
![Home Sweet Home by Lizzie Lane]()
Home Sweet Home by Lizzie Lane
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWill they meet again? Frances Sweet can’t really remember her real parents. Brought up by her uncle, her cousins Ruby and Mary have always treated her like their little sister.As the war continues to keep her cousins separated from the men they love – Frances is growing up fast enough to catch the eye of dashing American soldier Declan... -
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![Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee]()
Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsForever within the memories of my heart.Always remember, you are perfectly loved.Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943... -
![Just Once: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury]()
Just Once: A Novel by Karen Kingsbury
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe #1 New York Times bestselling author “known for her deeply heartfelt novels” ( Woman’s World ) writes a sweeping World War II love story about a young woman torn between two brothers.In 1941, beautiful Irvel Holland is too focused on her secret to take much notice of the war raging overseas... -
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![Within These Walls of Sorrow: A Novel of World War II Poland by Amanda Barratt]()
Within These Walls of Sorrow: A Novel of World War II Poland by Amanda Barratt
Rated: 4.73 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"As superbly written as it is haunting in its truth." --Kate Breslin, best-selling author of For Such a TimeZosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany's invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves... -
![These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon]()
These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsFor years, Mitford's sixtysomething rector has been happily married to his parish. Now he's also married to Cynthia, his vivacious next-door neighbor. For Father Tim, life in Mitford has never been so full of surprises. His wife is "aging" his already ancient kitchen walls, not to mention burning his draperies. The mountain boy he's learned to love as his own makes a heartrending decision... -
![The Women of Fishers Wharf by Tracy Baines]()
The Women of Fishers Wharf by Tracy Baines
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCan you leave the past behind and embrace the future? - A brand new series from Tracy BainesGreat Grimsby, 1912Newlywed fisherman Alec Hardy decides to make a fresh start with his young wife Letty and move to the thriving fishing port of Grimsby in search of a brighter future... -
![A Mother's Choice by Kristin Noel Fischer]()
A Mother's Choice by Kristin Noel Fischer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor thirty years, Nadine Kingsley has kept a heart-wrenching secret. When a letter arrives threatening to reveal the truth that could destroy her tight-knit family, Nadine embarks on a difficult journey to explain her painful decision, especially to her youngest daughter, Autumn. Meanwhile, Autumn Anderson, Speech Pathologist and mother of two, is struggling in her marriage... -
![In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin]()
In Perfect Time by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBold, sophisticated, and coy, flight nurse Lt. Kay Jobson collects hearts wherever she flies. So how can handsome C-47 pilot Lt. Roger Cooper be immune to her charms? In fact, he seems to do everything he can to avoid her. Still, as they cross the skies between Italy and southern France, evacuating the wounded and delivering paratroopers and supplies, every beat of their hearts draws them closer... -
![The Enchanted Barn - Grace Livingston Hill [Modern Library Collection Edition] by Grace Livingston Hill]()
The Enchanted Barn - Grace Livingston Hill [Modern Library Collection Edition] by Grace Livingston Hill
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Hollisters, a bright, spirited, wholesome family, are compelled to move into the country. After many efforts to secure a home, Shirley, eldest of the Hollisters, contrives a way out by renting a magnificent old stone barn at a ridiculously low price, transforming it into a house... -
![Abiding Hope by Jennifer H. Westall]()
Abiding Hope by Jennifer H. Westall
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." After three years of bloodshed in the jungles of the Philippines, guerrilla leader, Matthew Doyle, finds himself on the brink of freedom. The Americans are coming, bringing with them the promise of an end to the terror inflicted by the Japanese army on his mind, body, and soul... -
![Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke]()
Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAll her life, Hannah Sterling longed for a close relationship with her estranged mother. Following Lieselotte’s death, Hannah determines to unlock the secrets of her mother’s mysterious past and is shocked to discover a grandfather living in Germany... -
![Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin]()
Blue Skies Tomorrow by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsIn a time of peril, can they find the courage to confront their fears and embrace a love that lasts? When her husband becomes a casualty of the war in the Pacific, Helen Carlisle throws herself into volunteering for the war effort to conceal her feelings. But keeping up appearances as the grieving widow of a hometown hero is taking its toll. Soon something is going to give. Lt... -
![The Queen of Beauty by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles]()
The Queen of Beauty by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsPetra Durst-Benning’s captivating historical novel pays homage to the trailblazing women of the early twentieth century—like Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder—who shaped culture, shattered convention, and strived to make the world around them more beautiful... -
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![The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay]()
The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsNear the end of the Cold War, a CIA code breaker discovers a symbol she recognizes from her childhood, which launches her across the world to the heart of Berlin just before the wall comes tumbling down... -
![The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick]()
The Knight and the Dove by Lori Wick
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsEager to secure a permanent loyalty from this promising young knight, King Henry commands Bracken to marry into one of the crown's most loyal families. But Lord Vincent's oldest daughter, the beautiful yet deceitful Marigold, scorns the king's edict. She will never marry a lowly earl. Now Vincent must call his beloved Megan from the abbey and send her to Hawkings Crest to wed... -
![Come Tomorrow by Tess Thompson]()
Come Tomorrow by Tess Thompson
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne chance meeting. A single act of kindness. Can young soulmates find each other in adulthood, or will hidden truths tear them apart?1904. Twelve-year-old Luci Quick never forgot the boy who saved her life that fateful Christmas Eve. But when he disappeared without a word after bringing her food, she was forced to focus on raising her baby sister when her mother suddenly died... -
![Women & Children First by Gill Paul]()
Women & Children First by Gill Paul
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShe was the most magnificent ship ever built, yet on the eve of 14th April the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, leaving the lucky ones floating in wooden rowing boats, and the rest struggling for their lives in the icy water... -
![The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H. Gabhart]()
The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H. Gabhart
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhile the century began with such promise, it is 1910 when Mira Dean's hopes of being a wife and mother are dashed to pieces. Her fiancé dead from tuberculosis, Mira resigns herself to being a spinster schoolteacher--until Gordon Covington shows up. No longer the boy she knew from school, Gordon is now a preacher who is full of surprises... -
![The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay]()
The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNear the end of the Cold War, a CIA code breaker discovers a symbol she recognizes from her childhood, which launches her across the world to the heart of Berlin just before the wall comes tumbling down... -
![Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent]()
Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJessilyn Lassiter no longer has to convince people she's not a child. Having just turned 19 in the summer of 1938, her love for Luke Talley has never been more real. And Luke is finally beginning to care for her in the way she's always dreamed of... -
![The Italian Daughter by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Italian Daughter by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 15 ratings“Estee, I bought this ring the day after I saw you on stage, all those years ago. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.” Estee wanted to see it so badly, but instead she reached for Felix’s hand and gently closed it over the box. “No,” she whispered. “I want you to propose only when you’re truly free.”Italy, 1946: As Estee bids farewell to Felix her heart breaks... -
![Olav Audunssøn: I. Vows by Sigrid Undset]()
Olav Audunssøn: I. Vows by Sigrid Undset
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe initial volume in the Nobel Prize–winning author’s tumultuous, epic story of medieval Norway—the first new English translation in nearly a century As a child, Olav Audunssøn is given by his dying father to an old friend, Steinfinn Toressøn, who rashly promises to raise the boy as his foster son and eventually marry him to his own daughter, Ingunn... -
![Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke]()
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAfter two young women’s deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of the Lake , the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging... -
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![Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke]()
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging. Band of Sisters.When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits... -
![The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore]()
The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsBased on true events, The Paper Daughters of Chinatown in a powerful story about a largely unknown chapter in history and the women who emerged as heroes.In the late nineteenth century, San Francisco is a booming city with a dark side, one in which a powerful underground organization—the criminal tong—buys and sells young Chinese women into prostitution and slavery... -
![Under Prairie Skies (Prairie Sky) by Cynthia Roemer]()
Under Prairie Skies (Prairie Sky) by Cynthia Roemer
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratings~ She thought she’d lost everything ~ Instead she found what she needed most. ~ Illinois ~ 1854 Becky Hollister wants nothing more than to live out her days on the prairie, building a life for herself alongside her future husband... -
![Walking on Hidden Wings: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties by Rachel Scott McDaniel]()
Walking on Hidden Wings: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties by Rachel Scott McDaniel
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"A tangled web, a sleuthing adventure, a rekindled romance . . . Walking on Hidden Wings has it all."--Rachel Fordham, author of The Letter TreeGeneva Ashcroft Hayes's marriage to a newspaper mogul might have been arranged, but the New York socialite is devastated when her husband's plane crashes a few short months after their nuptials... -
![Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt]()
Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWith secrets dating back two generations, will Wisteria House unite or destroy an already-fractured family?Shrouded in scandal and secrets, Arilee Rutledge’s family is as tangled as the thorns surrounding their unwelcoming antebellum mansion. When her brother Davis returns from the Great War, she hopes they will make a new start after a season of devastation... -
![The ThornBearer by Pepper Basham]()
The ThornBearer by Pepper Basham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAshley Dougall has a terminal disease and forgiveness is the only cure. Ashley Dougall’s father stole her innocence, her selfish fiancé stole her heart, and unforgiveness is slowly stealing her life. Drawn by the desire to help others, she tries to escape haunting memories and enlists her services as a nurse in war-torn Europe... -
![The Thorn Bearer by Pepper Basham]()
The Thorn Bearer by Pepper Basham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAshley Dougall has a terminal disease and forgiveness is the only cure. Ashley Dougall’s father stole her innocence, her selfish fiancé stole her heart, and unforgiveness is slowly stealing her life. Drawn by the desire to help others, she tries to escape haunting memories and enlists her services as a nurse in war-torn Europe... -
![Genealogy: a novel by Mae Wood]()
Genealogy: a novel by Mae Wood
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsInspired by real, hundred-year-old love letters. My great-grandmother's name is bold across the cream envelope, now golden at the seams with age. I can't remember the last time I’ve seen graceful, purposeful handwriting with a fountain pen and not the hasty scrawl of ballpoint. Alice Hirshhorn, Astoria Hotel, Seattle Washington... -
![None Stood Taller: An inspirational WWII story to make your heart soar. (Historical fiction) by Peter Turnham]()
None Stood Taller: An inspirational WWII story to make your heart soar. (Historical fiction) by Peter Turnham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis book is a window into Britain's secret wartime past, step through it and this inspirational story of life and love will make your heart soar.It is March 1941, large swathes of the East End of London lie in ruins. Lily Heywood is just one more victim of the Blitz, lying beneath the rubble of her home. An unbreakable spirit, this is not the end for Lily, it is merely the beginning... -
![The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook]()
The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsParis, 1941: As Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the German’s noses... -
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![The Shop Keepers by Nancy Moser]()
The Shop Keepers by Nancy Moser
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe ladies of Unruffled discover their place and their purpose.1919 New York World War I is over and the world tries to recover and start fresh. The ladies of the dress store, Unruffled--Annie, Edna, Maude and Henrietta--have been friends for years. Their bond has grown, as has their dedication to their families, their business, and their desire to make their lives matter... -
![Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin]()
Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the German occupation of the Netherlands is to do the unthinkable--become a spy for the Nazis in Britain. She soothes her conscience with a plan to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. Her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed... -
![Midnight on the Scottish Shore: by Sarah Sundin]()
Midnight on the Scottish Shore: by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe only way Cilla van der Zee can survive the German occupation of the Netherlands is to do the unthinkable--become a spy for the Nazis in Britain. She soothes her conscience with a plan to abandon her mission and instead aid the Allies. Her scheme is thwarted when naval officer Lt. Lachlan Mackenzie finds her along the Scottish shore and turns her in to be executed... -
![Baron of Emberly by Tamara Leigh]()
Baron of Emberly by Tamara Leigh
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA WARRIOR DANGEROUSLY IN CONTROL England, 1334 ~ In the second book of The Feud series, Baron Magnus Verdun is a warrior whose handsome face gives little indication of the darkness he struggles to contain... -
![Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke]()
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging. Band of Sisters.When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits... -
![Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke]()
Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIncreasingly wary of her father's genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him to Germany--in the summer of 1939--will be her last. But a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, changes everything... -
![Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill]()
Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsMarcia's devoted friend and neighbour has her hands full with a loveless marriage, a scheming sister-in-law, and ill-mannered children... -
![Let Loose the Tigers by Josephine Cox]()
Let Loose the Tigers by Josephine Cox
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsSecrets are unearthed in the second instalment of The Queenie Novels from one of England's bestselling authors Queenie Bedford fled her home in Blackburn, England, chased by the bitter knowledge that she and Rick Marsden, the man she loves, can never marry. But in 1965 she returns home again to stand by her friend Sheila Thorogood, imprisoned for running a brothel with her mother, Maisie... -
![A Million Little Lies by Bette Lee Crosby]()
A Million Little Lies by Bette Lee Crosby
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA lifetime of lies, and a truth too painful to tell.When Suzanna Duff was ten years old, she lost her mama, and that’s when the lies began. At first, they were just harmless little fibs, a way to hide her unbearable loneliness and the truth about a daddy who came home rip-roaring drunk every night... -
![The Other Side Of Paradise: An epic and moving love story under the shadow of war by Margaret Mayhew]()
The Other Side Of Paradise: An epic and moving love story under the shadow of war by Margaret Mayhew
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe lived only for pleasure...until war forced her to find courage she did not know she had, and love where she least expected it. It is 1941, and while Britain is in the grip of war, life in the Far East is one of wealth and privilege... -
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![The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert]()
The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsSix-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl’s unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor... -
![Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman]()
Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsShe's a sassy socialite burned by love. He's a jaded cop burned by the upper class. When sparks fly...will love catch fire again? Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast, she quickly discovers she's no match for the unsavory characters that haunt the dark streets... -
![Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund]()
Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA Perfect Blend of History and Romance, with a Whisper of Mystery All she's ever wanted was a home. But stranded at Presque Isle port after their steamboat sank, Emma Chambers and her brother, Ryan, couldn't be farther away from security. While Ryan at least can find work, Emma can't even find a place to stay... -
![Love's Faithful Promise by Susan Anne Mason]()
Love's Faithful Promise by Susan Anne Mason
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Stirring Story of Love and Faith and America's Great Promise When her mother suffers a stroke, medical student Deirdre O'Leary makes the difficult choice to put her career on hold to care for her. Dr. Matthew Clayborne is renowned for his amazing results with patients, but when Deirdre approaches him about helping her mother, she finds him challenging and surly... -
![With Love, Wherever You Are by Dandi Daley Mackall]()
With Love, Wherever You Are by Dandi Daley Mackall
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEveryone knows that war romances never last. . . . Helen Eberhart always had to fight for what she wanted. Survival in a family of thirteen gave her the grit to push through nurse’s training and support herself. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, she can’t stand catering to the pampered patients on Chicago’s North Shore... -
![Bluebirds: An uplifting and heart-warming wartime saga, full of friendship, courage and determination by Margaret Mayhew]()
Bluebirds: An uplifting and heart-warming wartime saga, full of friendship, courage and determination by Margaret Mayhew
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1939 - Officer Felicity Newman and a ragtag group of young women arrive at RAF Colston. They are the first of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force: brave female pilots ready to do their bit.But Station Commander, David Palmer, doesn't want them. They're a nuisance, unable to do the work of men, and they would undoubtedly fall apart if the station was bombed...
![The Enchanted Barn - Grace Livingston Hill [Modern Library Collection Edition] by Grace Livingston Hill](https://s3.amazonaws.com/romance.io/books/small/6523bd946d1da3d4c120d50e.jpg)
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