Books like 'While the World Is Still Asleep'
Readers who enjoyed While the World Is Still Asleep by Petra Durst-Benning also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance historical-fiction drama female-mc family epic
-
The Sun Sister by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsElectra d’Aplièse is a woman who seems to have it all: as a top model, she has beauty, fame, and wealth. But beneath the glittery veneer, she’s cracking under the pressure of it all. The last straw comes when she finds out her father has died and she turns to alcohol and drugs to ease the pain... -
![The Slum Angel by AnneMarie Brear]()
The Slum Angel by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPerfect for the fans of Anna Jacobs and Dilly Court. Orphan, Victoria Carlton is brought up by her uncle, a banker, to be a lady and make a good marriage. Yet, she is drawn to help the poor families in the slums, much to her family’s disgust. When her uncle dies suddenly, her cousins blame Victoria, and she is thrown out of the house with nothing... -
![Trust Me by Lesley Pearse]()
Trust Me by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo young sisters sent far, far from home ...When tragedy deprives little Dulcie Taylor and her sister May of their parents, they are sent first to an orphanage and then shipped off to begin a new life in Australia. But the 'better life' the sisters are promised in this new and exciting country turns out to be a lie... -
![For All Their Lives by Fern Michaels]()
For All Their Lives by Fern Michaels
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the wildly beloved bestselling author Fern Michaels, a haunting portrait of love and war—and the passionate woman swept into an epic of desire, heartbreak, and destiny. Casey Adams, a dedicated nurse, loses her heart overseas to idealistic officer Mac Carlin, the rebellious scion of a wealthy family. Then tragedy strikes... -
-
![The Gracelin O'Malley Trilogy: Gracelin O'Malley, Leaving Ireland, and 'Til Morning Light by Ann Moore]()
The Gracelin O'Malley Trilogy: Gracelin O'Malley, Leaving Ireland, and 'Til Morning Light by Ann Moore
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis “elegantly written” trilogy follows an unforgettable Irish heroine from the potato famine through immigrating to America (Eileen Goudge)... -
![Fires of Change by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop]()
Fires of Change by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSarah Lark, author of The Fire Blossom, continues her epic family saga as a defiant new generation of women comes of age amid social unrest and precarious love in colonial New Zealand.It’s 1863, nearly twenty years since Ida Lange came to New Zealand to change her life and realize a dream... -
![Red Skies by Kay Bratt]()
Red Skies by Kay Bratt
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the fourth book of the Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series, the fates of three people who’ve never met converge in profound and unexpected ways.Mari, the daughter of the town scavenger, grew up knowing hardship, but she never could have anticipated the struggles that now face her as an adult. Feeling alone and isolated, she dreams of a better life... -
![The Nightingale Sisters by Donna Douglas]()
The Nightingale Sisters by Donna Douglas
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTo the student nurses at The Nightingale hospital, the ward sisters are heartless and frightening, with impossibly high standards. But the sisters have troubles of their own...VioletThe new night sister is not all that she seems. Who is she and what dark secret is she hiding? As the mystery deepens, Sister Wren is determined to find out the truth... -
![Camellia by Lesley Pearse]()
Camellia by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHow far would you go to discover your true identity? Camellia Norton is orphaned at fifteen when her mother's body is fished from a river in rural Sussex. And when she discovers a cache of letters amongst her mother's effects she realises that the past she has always been so sure of has been built on a tissue of lies... -
![A Daughter's Journey: Birch End Series Book 1 by Anna Jacobs]()
A Daughter's Journey: Birch End Series Book 1 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJo Melling has arrived in Birch End from Australia, still grieving her father's recent death. She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too.Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village... -
![The Color of a Christmas Miracle: A Standalone Holiday Novel by Julianne MacLean]()
The Color of a Christmas Miracle: A Standalone Holiday Novel by Julianne MacLean
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes a special holiday novel in her popular Color of Heaven Series, where people are affected by real life magic and miracles that change everything they once believed about life and love... -
![Tara by Lesley Pearse]()
Tara by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCan you ever be free from the past?In the East End, twelve-year-old Tara witnesses her villain of a father almost kill her mother. She forges a determination then and there to change her life.This is the story of three beautiful and talented women... -
![Far From Home by Lyn Andrews]()
Far From Home by Lyn Andrews
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAs daughter of the blacksmith in her tiny Irish village, sixteen-year-old Kitty Doyle knows little of the ways of the world, but she has to grow up fast when her widowed father re-marries and she has no choice but to leave the family home.Luckily there's work to be found over the water in 1920s Liverpool and soon Kitty has a job in a grocer's, where she also catches the eye of the owner... -
![The Memory Tree by Linda Gillard]()
The Memory Tree by Linda Gillard
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCan the power of love overcome life’s darkest memories and deepest losses? When her favourite beech tree is felled in a storm, Ann feels as if someone has died. But when long-hidden seed packets are found inside the trunk, Ann realises there are more memories than her own lurking within the ancient tree . . -
-
![Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt]()
Bitter Winds by Kay Bratt
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe third book of the Tales of the Scavenger’s Daughters series, Bitter Winds continues the saga of Chinese couple Benfu and Calli, and the abandoned young women in their care.Since the night her sister was almost burned alive in a fire and they were taken from their mother, Ivy has been the self-appointed guardian and guide to her blind twin, Lily... -
![Into Temptation by Penny Vincenzi]()
Into Temptation by Penny Vincenzi
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsInto Temptation, the third book of the Lytton family trilogy, shifts the focus to New York City and Barty Miller. Rescued from the slums as a baby by Celia Lytton and now living in New York, Barty heads more than half of the Lytton publishing house. Falling on bad times, the family is worried that Barty will make a business decision that would be devastating to them... -
![The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark]()
The Fire Blossom by Sarah Lark
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe bestselling author of the Sea of Freedom Trilogy returns with a sweeping family saga of two women in nineteenth-century New Zealand and their epic journey to survive in a world of their own making. It’s 1837, and immigrating to a small New Zealand fishing village is an opportunity for Ida Lange’s family to build a better future... -
![The Virgins of Venice by Gina Buonaguro]()
The Virgins of Venice by Gina Buonaguro
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn sixteenth-century Venice, one young noblewoman dares to resist the choices made for herVenice in 1509 is on the brink of war. The displeasure of Pope Julius II is a continuing threat to the republic, as is the barely contained fighting in the countryside. Amid this turmoil, noblewoman Justina Soranzo, just sixteen, hopes to make a rare love marriage with her sweetheart, Luca Cicogna... -
![Our Polly by Anna Jacobs]()
Our Polly by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLittle Billy is the light of Polly's life -- it's for her son's sake that she puts up with an unkind mother-in-law and an isolated farm. Then Billy is knocked down by a car, his father killed attempting to save his life, and Polly, cast off by her husband's family, is left with a child who may never walk or talk again... -
![Heart of the Town by Anna Jacobs]()
Heart of the Town by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDora Preston has guts but it will take more than that for her to break free from Hedderby and make a life for herself on the stage. Then she meets Gideon - and pursuing her ambitions becomes even harder. Gideon has returned from the fighting in India only to discover that an impostor has stolen his inheritance. He has vowed he will claim his birthright but his enemies are ruthless and desperate... -
![A Valley Secret by Anna Jacobs]()
A Valley Secret by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe second book in the brand new Backshaw Moss series from million-copy bestseller Anna JacobsLancashire, 1930s. When her mother dies, leaving her an old sewing box and a clue to her father's identity, 22-year-old Maisie Bassett is determined to make a fresh start.Changing her name and moving to the small town of Rivenshaw, she finds a respectable job in a grocery store... -
![Yew Tree Gardens: The touching conclusion to the Wiltshire Girls series by Anna Jacobs]()
Yew Tree Gardens: The touching conclusion to the Wiltshire Girls series by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSisters Mattie, Nell and Renie have all managed to escape from their oppressive and bullying father, but are now separated. They must draw upon their strength and courage to build new lives for themselves. Renie, the youngest sister, is living with the newly married Nell. Renie is happy in her waitressing job at the local Rathleigh hotel... -
![Catrina's Return by AnneMarie Brear]()
Catrina's Return by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Scottish Highlands, 1899. A life altering event led Catrina Davies to hide from her family and society. Alone in The Highlands she exists in a lonely world cared for only by her savior, a kind old gentleman. When she receives a surprise visitor, Travis Millard, the man she used to love, her head and heart are thrown into turmoil... -
![The River Maid by Dilly Court]()
The River Maid by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe first in a stunning new series from Sunday Times bestseller, Dilly Court London, 1854: twenty-year-old Essie Chapman lives with her father in poverty stricken Limehouse, working on the river as a boatman. Her life seems set before her, never to leave this part of London and forever at her father’s beck and call... -
-
![The Legend of Fire Mountain by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop]()
The Legend of Fire Mountain by Sarah Lark, Kate Northrop
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBold new paths in life and love are forged in nineteenth-century New Zealand in the stirring final chapter of bestselling author Sarah Lark’s multigenerational Fire Blossom Saga.It’s 1880 in the North Island town of Otaki, where Aroha lives contentedly with her mother, Linda—until a fateful tragedy leaves Aroha traumatized and plagued by a cursed guilt... -
![Millie by AnneMarie Brear]()
Millie by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA brand new series from the author of the Kitty McKenzie series and The Slum Angel. The Great War is over, and Millie is ready to leave her loving family home and be a wife to Jeremy who is everything she had hoped for. Until… Not long after their wedding, Millie discovers Jeremy is affected by shell shock and moving into his late father’s cold dark estate escalates the problem... -
![The Proud Breed by Celeste De Blasis]()
The Proud Breed by Celeste De Blasis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAN UNTAMED WOMAN... A FEARLESS MAN... A MAGNIFICENT LOVE. THE MONUNENTAL ADVENTURE THAT SWEEPS ACROSS A MIGHTY CENTURY OF AMERICAN HISTORY.The first time Gavin Ramsay sees Tessa MacLeod y Amarista -- a violet-eyed beauty swimming naked in a hidden pool--she reacts by attacking him with a knife. Realizing her mistake, she nurses him back to health and into a deep, enduring and courageous love... -
![The Secrets She Carried by Barbara Davis]()
The Secrets She Carried by Barbara Davis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen a young woman returns to North Carolina after a thirty-year absence, she finds that the once grand tobacco plantation she called home holds more secrets than she ever imagined... -
![A Wild Hope by Celeste De Blasis]()
A Wild Hope by Celeste De Blasis
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBanished from her uncaring family home for her growing friendship with older neighbor St. John, Alexandria Thaine is unprepared for the new life she encounters with her distant cousins in England’s West Country... -
![The Lady's Maid: A Novel by Dilly Court]()
The Lady's Maid: A Novel by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom internationally bestselling author Dilly Court comes a breathtaking historical saga about fate, friendship, and family Born on the same night in the summer of 1854, two infants are ripped away from their young mothers. Kate lives the life of a servant, penniless and shackled to her circumstances, while Josie grows up in the lap of luxury, given privilege and freedom she takes for granted... -
![Salem Street by Anna Jacobs]()
Salem Street by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBanished from her home by a jealous stepmother, Annie Gibson finds work in a doctor's household, where she learns of the world beyond Salem Street. When her childhood sweetheart asks her to marry him, all her dreams come true, but suddenly abandoned and pregnant, her life is turned upside-down... -
!['Til Morning Light by Ann Moore]()
'Til Morning Light by Ann Moore
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShe crossed an ocean to escape the suffering of famine-torn Ireland. Haunted by loss, but determined to build a life in the New World, Gracelin O'Malley then crosses the country with her young children to accept a San Francisco sea captain's practical proposal of marriage. But when she arrives, he is not there, and the City of Gold is no place for widows and children... -
![Charity by Lesley Pearse]()
Charity by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhere would you go if you had no one to turn to? Charity Stratton's bleak childhood is changed for ever when both her parents are killed in a fire. Separated by the authorities from her younger brothers and sister, Charity is sent out to work as a skivvy in a boys' boarding school... -
![Flight of a Maori Goddess by Sarah Lark, D.W. Lovett]()
Flight of a Maori Goddess by Sarah Lark, D.W. Lovett
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSarah Lark’s epic Sea of Freedom trilogy reaches its sweeping conclusion in a story of courage, strength, and sisterhood. The dawning twentieth century brings change to New Zealand—and new opportunities for any woman bold enough to grasp them. Atamarie Turei, whose mother fought for suffrage, has enrolled as the first female student at the Canterbury College of Engineering... -
-
![Gabrielle by Marie Laberge]()
Gabrielle by Marie Laberge
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsQuébec, 1930. Gabrielle est mariée avec Edward depuis bientôt dix ans. Entre la maison de l’île d’Orléans et celle de la Grande-Allée, elle mène une vie bien remplie, entourée de ses cinq enfants. De toute évidence, il s’agit d’un mariage heureux. Mais cette chose qui devrait être si simple fait pourtant froncer bien des sourcils dans l’entourage de Gabrielle... -
![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... -
![Star of the North: Music Hall Series, Book 2 by Anna Jacobs]()
Star of the North: Music Hall Series, Book 2 by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe triumphant follow-up to THE PRIDE OF LANCASHIRE, continuing the story of the Preston family, by saga writer Anna Jacobs.?? Marjorie is the pretty one of the Preston sisters. So pretty that when a performer at her sister's music room breaks her leg, Marjorie is asked to fill in as the assistant to the singer Denby Sinclair... -
![Like No Other by Anna Jacobs]()
Like No Other by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRachel Smedling is not like the other women in her isolated Pennine village: she is taller, stronger and weaves cloth like a man. Without her, the household would fall apart, for her mother is ailing and her vicious drunkard father seems to hate her so much, he would happily offer money to any man who would wed her. When her mother dies, Rachel is at the mercy of her increasingly violent father... -
![The Rose Stone by Teresa Crane]()
The Rose Stone by Teresa Crane
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA dazzling jewel holds the key to a prosperous new life… or total ruin The Rose Stone. A diamond, gained through betrayal and blood, upon which the Rosenberg family's fortunes were founded and whose price is yet to be paid. Kiev, 1875: Josef Rosenberg narrowly escapes death from a Cossack raid, rescuing Tanya, the youngest daughter of his old friend Boris Anatov...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family epic romance historical 20th-century literary-fiction fiction -
![A Daughter’s Dream by Cathy Sharp]()
A Daughter’s Dream by Cathy Sharp
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHeartache and hardship in London’s East End, from the bestselling author of The Orphans of Halfpenny StreetAmy Robinson and her fiance Matthew are struggling to resist the temptations faced by a soon-to-be-wed couple. To avoid these, Matthew throws himself into a new job and she goes to work in an exclusive new dress shop, where she meets Mary Maitland...Categorized as:
historical-fiction female-mc family epic psychological romance 20th-century holidays -
![The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon]()
The Wartime Vet by Ellie Curzon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEngland, 1941. Dedicated local vet Laura cares for the farm animals of the little village of Bramble Heath. But falling bombs aren’t the only danger as the war hits close to home…Despite everyone telling her it’s not a suitable career for a woman, Laura has worked hard to become a successful livestock vet... -
![The Mistletoe Seller by Dilly Court]()
The Mistletoe Seller by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIt’s Christmas Eve. Flurries of snow fall on the cobbled streets of Whitechapel and an abandoned baby, swaddled in a blanket, is found on a doorstep in Angel Lane . . .Named after the street on which she was found, Angel Winter was blessed to be taken from the harsh streets into a loving home... -
![Pengarron Land by Gloria Cook]()
Pengarron Land by Gloria Cook
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe first in the captivating Cornish Pengarron sagas, perfect for fans of Poldark Kerensa Trelynne is excited about marrying her sweetheart Clem Trenchard, although it will be a wrench to leave Trelynne Cove and the little tumbledown cottage she shares with her grandfather, Old Tom. But when local landowner Sir Oliver Pengarron sets his sights on their land, everything changes... -
![In a Kingdom by the Sea: An enchantingly beautiful and heartbreaking historical romance novel by Sara MacDonald]()
In a Kingdom by the Sea: An enchantingly beautiful and heartbreaking historical romance novel by Sara MacDonald
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA sweeping, evocative story of love, secrets and betrayal, set against the stunning backdrops of Karachi and Cornwall. Perfect for readers who love Santa Montefiore, Rosanna Ley and Dinah Jefferies.When Gabby’s husband accepts a transfer to Pakistan, she discovers a new world of heat and colour, of exotic bazaars and trips to the breath-taking Kashmiri mountains... -
-
![A Durable Fire by Stephanie Keating]()
A Durable Fire by Stephanie Keating
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the first years of Kenyan independence, three young women return to the East African highlands where they shared a carefree childhood. Hannah is struggling to preserve her heritage at Langani Farm, where a series of unexplained and violent attacks threaten her security and recent marriage... -
![Cinderella Sister by Dilly Court]()
Cinderella Sister by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLily Larkin is the youngest of six and the least important member of her talented, argumentative, temperamental family. With their father dead and their mother a stranger to them, she must stay at home and keep house whilst her elder siblings go out to work. As she goes about her daily chores, and minds her ailing grandfather, her head is full of dreams... -
![Blood Sisters by Barbara Keating, Stephanie Keating]()
Blood Sisters by Barbara Keating, Stephanie Keating
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsKenya 1957. During their childhood years in the Kenya Highlands three girls from vastly different backgrounds become blood sisters, promising that nothing will ever destroy the bond between them. But the legacy of the Mau Mau rebellion, and the tensions and upheavals of newly independent Kenya, tear their childhood dreams apart... -
![Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore]()
Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLife has not been easy for Gracelin O'Malley. only fifteen when she married the local English landlord to save her family from financial ruin, she has tried to be a dutiful wife, providing him with an heir. Despite her husband's escalating cruelty, Gracelin's spirit remains unbroken, though she is no longer the innocent country girl she once was... -
![Song of the Skylark by Erica James, Nathalie van Gent]()
Song of the Skylark by Erica James, Nathalie van Gent
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLizzie has an unfortunate knack for attracting bad luck, but this time she's hit the jackpot. Losing her heart to her boss at the radio station where she works leads directly to losing her job, and with no money in the bank she's forced to swallow her pride and return home to her parents... -
![Toward the Sea of Freedom by Sarah Lark]()
Toward the Sea of Freedom by Sarah Lark
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn mid-nineteenth-century Ireland, charming Kathleen and dashing Michael harbor secrets and dreams. Imagining a life beyond the kitchen and fields of the wealthy family they both work for, they plot to leave their homeland, marry, and raise the child Kathleen is secretly carrying. The luck of the Irish, however, is not on their side...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
