Books like 'Before the Rains'
Readers who enjoyed Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance 20th century military, war & conflict historical-fiction drama royalty war
-
A Ration Book Wedding by Jean Fullerton
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt's February 1942 and the American's have finally joined Britain and its allies. Meanwhile, twenty-three-year-old Francesca Fabrino, like thousands of other women, is doing her bit for the war effort in a factory in East London... -
![Eve's Daughters by Lynn Austin]()
Eve's Daughters by Lynn Austin
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYearning for love and dignity, four generations of women must come to grips with the choices they've made--and those their mothers made before them. But breaking the cycle that has ensnared them over the decades will prove more difficult than they had ever imagined....Eighty-year-old Emma Bauer has carefully guarded a dark secret for more than fifty years... -
![Gone with the Wind Volume 1 by Margaret Mitchell]()
Gone with the Wind Volume 1 by Margaret Mitchell
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsGone With The Wind Volume 1: Special Edition By Margaret Mitchell Tomorrow is another day ... Set against the dramatic backdrop of the American Civil War, Margaret Mitchell's magnificent historical epic is an unforgettable tale of love and loss, of a nation mortally divided and a people forever changed... -
![The Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel]()
The Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe bestselling author of The Designer presents a sweeping story of blind faith, family allegiance and how love makes one man question everything he thought he knew.Max Wolff is a committed soldier of the Reich. So when he is sent home wounded, only to discover that his mother is sheltering two young Jewish women in their home, he is outraged... -
-
![Tell Me Who I Am by Julia Navarro]()
Tell Me Who I Am by Julia Navarro
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe memoir of an entire century, this novel adds a new, original chapter to Julia Navarro's best-selling career. Tell Me Who I Am surprises and enchants with a captivating and heartrending story... -
![The Secrets We Left Behind by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Secrets We Left Behind by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOccupied France, 1940. When the staff at a field hospital draw straws to find out who will join the evacuation from Dunkirk, Nurse Cate is left behind. But when the Nazis arrive to claim prisoners of war, she takes her chance and flees into the night, taking one patient with her.Fifty miles away, the surrendering soldiers of the Royal Norfolk Regiment are shot dead by the advancing Germans... -
![Shoot Me, I'm Already Dead by Julia Navarro]()
Shoot Me, I'm Already Dead by Julia Navarro
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe gripping story of two families who follow their dreams and struggle to overcome their own destiny.Marian Miller, a NGO aid worker, is asked to write a report on the illegal Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory... -
![The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin]()
The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNumbed by grief and harboring shameful secrets, Lt. Adler Paxton ships to England with the US 357th Fighter Group in 1943. Determined to become an ace pilot, Adler battles the German Luftwaffe in treacherous dogfights in the skies over France as the Allies struggle for control of the air before the D-day invasion... -
![The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri]()
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFamily secrets come to light as a young woman fights to save herself, and others, in a Nazi-run baby factory—a real-life Handmaid's Tale—during World War II.In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss’s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé... -
![Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar]()
Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.It’s 1979. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age -
![Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman]()
Falls the Shadow by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThis is Simon de Montfort's story—and the story of King Henry III, as weak and changeable as Montfort was brash and unbending. It is a saga of two opposing wills that would later clash in a storm of violence and betrayal, a story straight from the pages of history that brings the world of the thirteenth century completely, provocatively, and magnificently alive... -
![Yours Is the Night by Amanda Joy Dykes]()
Yours Is the Night by Amanda Joy Dykes
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsPlatoon Sergeant Matthew Petticrew arrives in France as part of the American Expeditionary Forces, an arrival which a war-weary France desperately hopes will help to end the turmoil. Having faced unthinkable things on the front, he is captivated by the sound of a lullaby, sung by a voice so pure he knows he must have imagined it... -
![The Doctor's Daughter by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Doctor's Daughter by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAuschwitz, 1941: It was her father’s job to save the lives of the SS. But she chose to risk everything and save the lives of prisoners.In Nazi-occupied Poland, Sofia cannot look her father in the eye. Sofia’s mother, her papa’s cherished wife, is Jewish—how dare he work as a doctor for the SS? She cannot forgive him, even if the bargain was made to spare their lives... -
![The Lost Valley by Jennifer Scoullar]()
The Lost Valley by Jennifer Scoullar
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTasmania, 1929: Ten-year-old-twins, Tom and Harry Abbott, are orphaned by a tragedy that shocks Hobart society... -
-
![The Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell]()
The Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratings' A real insight into how it was for these women in a Sunderland major ship building yard ... The foundation book of a series. Which I shall be reading as each one is written. Loved it. ' - 5 star real reader review Sunderland, 1940, and the women go to the shipyards to do their bit for the war effort... -
![Island in the East by Jenny Ashcroft]()
Island in the East by Jenny Ashcroft
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSet in 1890s and 1940s Singapore, the stunning Island in the East is a story of love, sisterly rivalry and the true cost of betrayal. Vivid, authentic and utterly beautiful, it's the perfect read for fans of Victoria Hislop, Fiona McIntosh and Kate Morton. 1897: twenty-year-old identical twins, Harriet and Mae, born from a scandalous affair, have spent their lives slighted by gossips... -
![On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin]()
On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A comfortable boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie’s cozy life gets decidedly more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée... -
![The Crystal Butterfly by Hannah Byron]()
The Crystal Butterfly by Hannah Byron
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJoin us as we dive deep into the heart of the Dutch Resistance during World War II in the sixth installment of ‘The Resistance Girl Series’, 'The Crystal Butterfly.'Amsterdam, 1939In a world on the brink of war, Edda Van der Valk, a talented prima ballerina, seeks refuge from a ruthless Russian rival at a Swiss finishing school... -
![Survivor by Lesley Pearse]()
Survivor by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRussell, 1938 It is 1938 and Mariette is a defiant, strong willed and selfish 17 yr old. The small, gossipy town of Russell, New Zealand isn’t nearly big enough for Mariette’s ambitions and her devoted parents, Belle and Etienne, fear for her reputation... -
![The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix]()
The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor readers of Orphan Train, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Book Thief comes an unforgettable novel inspired by a true story about the power of human kindness and bravery in a time of unimaginable heartbreak... -
![Something Dangerous by Penny Vincenzi]()
Something Dangerous by Penny Vincenzi
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe dazzling Lytton twins, Adele and Venetia, are born into the great Lytton publishing empire. In 1928, on their eighteenth birthday, they are rich and admired, with a confidence verging on arrogance. But the spectre of Nazi Germany is growing... Gradually their privileged world darkens in unimaginable ways - but it is not just the twins whose lives have been irrevocably changed... -
![The Promise by Lesley Pearse]()
The Promise by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLondon 1914 Belle Reilly finally has the life she's dreamed of thanks to a devoted husband in Jimmy and the hat shop she's wanted to own since she was a child. But as the storm clouds of World War One begin to gather, Belle's already turbulent life is to change in ways she never imagined possible... -
![The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin]()
The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden.American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research--her life's dream... -
![Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland]()
Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA single treasured keepsake links one unforgettable family across continents in this enthralling saga by Mina Baites, the author of The Silver Music Box. London, 1963. I dream about my sister almost every night. Lilian Morrison has one memento of her beloved sister, Emma: a battered silver music box... -
-
![The Girl Who Survived by Ellie Midwood]()
The Girl Who Survived by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“It was very dangerous for him, and he knew it. But his love for me was stronger than fear.” - Ilse Stein This novel is based on the inspiring and moving love story of Ilse Stein, a German Jew, and Willy Schultz, a Luftwaffe Captain in the Minsk ghetto, who risked his life to save the one he loved the most... -
![A New York Secret by Ella Carey]()
A New York Secret by Ella Carey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom top-ten bestseller Ella Carey comes a stunning Second World War novel. The glitter, glamor and danger of 1940s New York collide in this dazzling story about a young woman striving to survive in a world where everything is set against her.War forces her to choose a side…1942, New York... -
![The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh]()
The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDan Walsh is the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Daytona Beach, Florida, a church he helped found 23 years ago. Walsh lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area. This is his first novel.Can a gift from the past mend a broken heart?Ian Collins is an old man without his son. Patrick Collins is a young boy without his father. On his Christmas list are only three items... -
![The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul]()
The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIf you loved I AM ANASTASIA you won't want to miss this novel about her sister, Grand Duchess Maria. What really happened to this lost Romanov daughter? A new novel perfect for anyone curious about Anastasia, Maria, and the other lost Romanov daughters, by the author of THE SECRET WIFE... -
![Where Treasure Hides by Johnnie Alexander]()
Where Treasure Hides by Johnnie Alexander
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsArtist Alison Schuyler spends her time working in her family’s renowned art gallery, determined to avoid the curse that has followed the Schuyler clan from the Netherlands to America and back again. She’s certain that true love will only lead to tragedy—that is, until a chance meeting at Waterloo station brings Ian Devlin into her life... -
![The Memory of Us by Camille Di Maio]()
The Memory of Us by Camille Di Maio
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsJulianne Westcott was living the kind of life that other Protestant girls in prewar Liverpool could only dream about: old money, silk ball gowns, and prominent young men lining up to escort her. But when she learns of a blind-and-deaf brother, institutionalized since birth, the illusion of her perfect life and family shatters around her...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book disability -
![The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley]()
The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAn aristocratic French family, a legendary chteau, and buried secrets with the power to destroy two generations torn between duty and desire. La Cte dAzur, 1998: In the sun-dappled south of France, Emilie de la Martinires, the last of her gilded line, inherits her childhood home, a magnificent chteau and vineyard. With the property comes a mountain of debtand almost as many questions . . -
![The First Emma by Camille Di Maio]()
The First Emma by Camille Di Maio
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCamille Di Maio's fifth novel THE FIRST EMMA is the true story of Emma Koehler, whose tycoon husband Otto was killed in a crime-of-the-century murder by one of his two mistresses—both also named Emma—and her unlikely rise as CEO of a brewing empire during Prohibition. When a chance to tell her story to a young teetotaler arises, a tale unfolds of love, war, beer, and the power of women... -
![Maggie's War by Terrie Todd]()
Maggie's War by Terrie Todd
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn 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... -
![The Last Convertible by Anton Myrer]()
The Last Convertible by Anton Myrer
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAnton Myrer's beloved, bestselling novel of America's World War II generation is as powerful now as it was upon its publication. An immediate classic, it tells the story of five Harvard men, the women they loved -- and the elegant car that came to symbolize their romantic youth... -
-
![When I Was Yours by Lizzie Page]()
When I Was Yours by Lizzie Page
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWe stand in the back of the hall as the children troop in. Big ones, little ones. Straggly hair, cropped hair, curls… the adults surge forward to choose and soon there is just one child left, a little girl sitting on the floor. She is thin as a string bean and her sleeve is ragged and damp – like she’s been chewing it. 1939... -
![Крадецът на праскови by Emilian Stanev, Емилиян Станев]()
Крадецът на праскови by Emilian Stanev, Емилиян Станев
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsВ книгата са включени повестта "Крадецът на праскови", романът "Антихрист" и разказите "Пролетни стремежи", "Несполука", "Сами", "Тежък живот", "Вълчи нощи", "Смъртта на една птица", "Разходка", "Празници", "От скука"... -
![The Fortunate Ones by Catherine Hokin]()
The Fortunate Ones by Catherine Hokin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEvery day he stood exactly where he was directed. He listened for his number, shouted his answer in the freezing cold. He was ragged and he was starving, but he was alive. He was one of the fortunate ones whom fate had left standing. And he needed to stay that way. For Hannah. Berlin, 1941. Felix Thalberg, a printer’s apprentice, has the weight of the world on his shoulders... -
![The Award by Danielle Steel]()
The Award by Danielle Steel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCapturing historical events, terrifying moments of danger, tragedy, the price of war, and the invincible spirit of a woman of honor, The Award is a monumental tale from one of our most gifted storytellers—Danielle Steel’s finest, most emotionally resonant novel yet. Gaëlle de Barbet is sixteen years old in 1940 when the German army occupies France and frightening changes begin to occur... -
![Far From Home by Ellie Dean]()
Far From Home by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt is 1940 and Staff Nurse Polly Brown has been granted a posting at Cliffehaven Memorial Hospital on the south coast to be near her badly injured husband, Adam. But her decision has meant that she has had to part with their beloved five-year-old daughter, Alice, who is travelling to safety in Canada... -
![Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey]()
Finding Rebecca by Eoin Dempsey
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNothing could keep Christopher and Rebecca apart: not her abusive parents, or even the fiancé she brought home after running away to England. But when World War II finally strikes the island of Jersey, the Nazi invaders ship Rebecca to Europe as part of Hitler's Final Solution against the Jewish population... -
![Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko]()
Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love by Annemarie Selinko
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFirst published in 1953, this riveting true-life tale comes to life in diary form, giving readers an inside glimpse at the young Napoleon and his family. Désirée is enchanted by the young officer, and he asks her to marry him. But he must leave for Paris, where he meets his eventual wife Josephine. A heartbroken Désirée is unsure she'll ever find anyone again... -
![When the World Fell Silent: A Novel of the 1917 Halifax Explosion by Donna Jones Alward]()
When the World Fell Silent: A Novel of the 1917 Halifax Explosion by Donna Jones Alward
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA story of loss, hope and redemption against the most impossible odds. 1917. Halifax, Nova Scotia.Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s life as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. But trouble is looming and it won’t be long before the truth comes to light... -
![Promise to Return: A Novel by Elizabeth Byler Younts]()
Promise to Return: A Novel by Elizabeth Byler Younts
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen World War II breaks out, Miriam Coblentz’s peaceful Amish world is turned upside down... It’s 1943, and Miriam Coblentz and Henry Mast are nearing their wedding day when the unthinkable happens—Henry is drafted. However, since he is a part of the pacifist Amish tradition, Henry is sent to a conscientious objector Civilian Public Service camp... -
![His Watchful Eye by Jack Cavanaugh]()
His Watchful Eye by Jack Cavanaugh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKonrad Reichmann, an outstanding product of Hitler??'s youth movement, becomes disillusioned as the reality of the Russian front bears no resemblance to the "glory" of the Third Reich. Even lower than his unit??'s morale are supplies and fuel as Russia??'s winter is unleashed against them... -
-
![Wolfsangel by Liza Perrat]()
Wolfsangel by Liza Perrat
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeven decades after German troops march into her village, Céleste Roussel is still unable to assuage her guilt. 1943. German soldiers occupy provincial Lucie-sur-Vionne, and as the villagers pursue treacherous schemes to deceive and swindle the enemy, Céleste embarks on her own perilous mission as her passion for a Reich officer flourishes... -
![Todos os Sonhos do Mundo by Theresa Révay]()
Todos os Sonhos do Mundo by Theresa Révay
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVoltar ao grande romance. Viver, página a página, a intensidade de uma história de amor, perda, força e coragem. Xénia escapou à Revolução Russa e à guerra, mas o seu coração está ainda por sarar. Derrubado o governo nazi, regressa a Berlim em busca do Max, o único homem que amou. Reencontra-o marcado pela guerra, atormentado... -
![Another Time and Place by Samantha Grosser]()
Another Time and Place by Samantha Grosser
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found hereA brief encounter changes two lives forever in an enthralling novel of love, loss and longing.England 1944. In the shadow of the war raging in Europe, Tom and Anna meet by chance. He is an American pilot on a 72-hour pass and she is a secretary, trapped in a life going nowhere. Surprised by each other, they begin a passionate affair... -
![Cross My Heart: And Hope to Live by Carmen Reid]()
Cross My Heart: And Hope to Live by Carmen Reid
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA gripping story of espionage and war-time resistance from bestselling author, Carmen Reid.Brussels, 1940. Fifteen-year-old Nicole watches as the Nazis invade Belgium. Determined not to stand by as her country is brought to its knees, Nicole vows to fight back and joins the Belgian Resistance... -
![The Boat Girls by Margaret Mayhew]()
The Boat Girls by Margaret Mayhew
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt is 1943, and three very different girls are longing to do their bit for the war effort. For Frances, her life of seeming privilege has been a lonely one. Brave and strong, stifled by her traditional upbringing, she falls for a most unsuitable man... -
![Our Yanks: A feel good wartime romance you won't be able to put down... by Margaret Mayhew]()
Our Yanks: A feel good wartime romance you won't be able to put down... by Margaret Mayhew
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsI STILL REMEMBER THE YANKS, ALMOST MORE THAN I DO THE WAR' A Suffolk woman.It was August 1943 - and the inhabitants of King's Thorpe had lived with the idea of invasion for some time - but by the Germans, not the Americans. The village had never seen anything like them before - certainly they were different with their wealth, their glamour, and their louche but romantic uniforms...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
