Books like 'Under the Golden Sun'
Readers who enjoyed Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft 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 war ww2 grief family drama
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Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWhen Kendra first visits her ailing grandmother, Ella has only one request: that Kendra write her story down, before she forgets…In 1937, seventeen-year-old Ella’s life changes forever when she is sent to spend the summer on the beautiful Île de Ré and meets the charismatic, creative Christophe... -
![Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger]()
Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOne Irish house, two very different families, and a war that changed everything. Robinswood Estate, County Waterford, Ireland. 1946.Years of neglect and abandonment have left the family seat of the Keneficks almost derelict, but the new Lord Kenefick and his charming young wife Kate, are determined to breathe life into the old house once more...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century action-adventure -
![Perfectly Ordinary People by Nick Alexander]()
Perfectly Ordinary People by Nick Alexander
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIn occupied France, two people sacrificed everything. Now their granddaughter has come looking for the truth…Ruth’s childhood was a happy one, and her family—on her mother’s side—large and loving. But her father’s French origins have always remained a mystery. Now, with aged relatives beginning to die, Ruth decides to research her father’s family before it’s too late... -
![Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Boy Underground by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDuring WWII, a teenage boy finds his voice, the courage of his convictions, and friends for life in an emotional and uplifting novel by the New York Times and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author.1941. Steven Katz is the son of prosperous landowners in rural California. Although his parents don’t approve, he’s found true friends in Nick, Suki, and Ollie, sons of field workers...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century audiobook -
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![A Ration Book Wedding by Jean Fullerton]()
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... -
![The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy]()
The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this haunting tale from the bestselling author of The Storyteller of Casablanca, Beatrice kept a wartime secret to protect the innocent. Now, could telling it set her free?Tuscany, 1943. Stranded in war-ravaged Italy, Beatrice’s dream of an escapist year teaching English is shattered... -
![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... -
![The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger]()
The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAriella Bannon has no choice: she must put her precious children, Liesl and Erich, on that train or allow them to become prey for the Nazis. Berlin 1939... -
![The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“What if you never come back?” I asked.“I will find you, Amelia. I promise I will find you.”“What if you die trying?”Nazi-occupied Prague, 1942: Amelia is hiding in her closet when flashlights blind her and she’s captured by the SS. Out on the cobblestone street, she is shoved onto a freight train with hundreds of others. Hours pass as they travel in darkness... -
![The Sapphire Child by Janet MacLeod Trotter]()
The Sapphire Child by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the dying days of the Raj, can paths divided by time and circumstance ever find each other again?In 1930s Northern India, childhood friends Stella and Andrew have grown up together in the orbit of the majestic Raj Hotel. Spirited Stella has always had a soft spot for boisterous Andrew, though she dreams of meeting a soulmate from outside the close-knit community... -
![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... -
![The Girl from Berlin by Kate Hewitt]()
The Girl from Berlin by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThey sat together on the roof, watching Berlin burn, as traces of smoke and cloud floated through the air. “I just want to be free,” Rosa said quietly, “Even if only for a few minutes. It might be the last chance I have.”Berlin, 1936: From her beautiful new home a young woman named Liesel Scholz barely notices the changes to the city around her...Categorized as:
historical-fiction ww2 war family friendship literary-fiction europe western-central-europe -
![The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt]()
The Edelweiss Sisters by Kate Hewitt
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratings1938, Salzburg. A powerful story of hope, forbidden love, and incredible courage, about three sisters who will risk everything—even their own lives—as part of the resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Austria.Johanna, Birgit and Lotte Eder have always lived quiet lives, working in their father’s clockmaking shop and helping their mother in the house... -
![Biodlarens löfte by Fiona Valpy]()
Biodlarens löfte by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsHeartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howes takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman's story, a story that could change the course of her summer - and her life.In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue... -
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![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... -
![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 Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller]()
The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJane Hadley has nothing to lose when she runs away to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Whatever faces her in war-torn London can't be any worse than staying at home with her abusive father...The city is nothing like she could have imagined, but she's soon on the move, travelling from base to base for her top-secret training...Categorized as:
historical-fiction ww2 war literary-fiction romance historical fiction coming-of-age -
![When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar]()
When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the final days of World War I, an aspiring artist’s courageous journey is just beginning in a powerful novel about love, danger, and survival by the author of Take What You Can Carry.It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, Belgium. With luck, Evelien will make it to the end of the war and be given what she was a prized painting in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions... -
![The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy]()
The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLoch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed... -
![The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham]()
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children... -
![The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Spitfire Girls by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThree skilled aviators determined to help win the war. Three brave women who know their place is not at home. At the height of World War II, the British Air Transport Auxiliary need help. A group of young women volunteer for action, but the perils of their new job don’t end on the tarmac. Things are tough in the air, but on the ground their abilities as pilots are constantly questioned...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Riviera House by Natasha Lester]()
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Secret weaves a lush and engrossing novel of World War II inspired by a true story and perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Pam Jenoff. Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections... -
![Bluebird by Sharon Cameron]()
Bluebird by Sharon Cameron
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA historical novel, set in postwar New York City.In 1946, Eva leaves behind the rubble of Berlin for the streets of New York City, stepping from the fiery aftermath of one war into another, far colder one, where power is more important than principles, and lies are more plentiful than the truth... -
![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... -
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![The Girls of Victory Street: An absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 family saga by Pam Howes]()
The Girls of Victory Street: An absolutely heartbreaking World War 2 family saga by Pam Howes
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom Amazon bestseller Pam Howes comes an emotional World War Two saga about three young women whose bravery and friendship will see them through the darkest times.Liverpool, 1939. Bella Rogers thought her life was just starting; she can’t wait to get married to her childhood sweetheart, Bobby. But when war is declared and Bobby is called up, his letters stop, leaving Bella heartbroken and alone... -
![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... -
![The Dollmaker's Daughters by Dilly Court]()
The Dollmaker's Daughters by Dilly Court
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo sisters, tragically divided by love, jealousy and ambition ... For Ruby and Rosetta Capretti life in the slums of the East End holds little promise. Although very similar in looks they dream of very different futures... -
![Millions of Pebbles by Roberta Kagan]()
Millions of Pebbles by Roberta Kagan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt is the darkest time in the history of mankind, and fate is playing a twisted game.Benjamin Rabinowitz’s world is crashing down on him, a painful reality following the invasion of Poland. He is loath to let his wife and sickly son go but escaping the horrors of the Lodz ghetto seems to be their best chance at survival, albeit slim... -
![The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman]()
The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThere on her forearm, next to a small brown birthmark, were six tattooed numbers. 'Do you remember me now?' he asked, trembling. She looked at him again, as if giving weight and bone to a ghost. 'Lenka, it's me,' he said. 'Josef. Your husband.' During the last moments of calm in prewar Prague, Lenka, a young art student, falls in love with Josef...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century action-adventure -
![Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein]()
Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFor fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime. She must choose between loyalty to her country or a love that could be her destruction… As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer, Hetty Heinrich is keen to play her part in the glorious new Thousand Year Reich... -
![The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor]()
The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA heart-breaking, heart-warming historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. For readers of The Nightingale, Lilac Girls, and Sarah's Key.Austria, 1938.Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver... -
![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... -
![The Girls of Pearl Harbor by Soraya M. Lane]()
The Girls of Pearl Harbor by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Wives of War comes a harrowing tale of four brave young nurses whose lives change forever in the wake of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.When Grace, April, and Poppy join the US Army Nurse Corps, they see it as little more than an adventure, one made all the better by their first station: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii... -
![What Once Was True: An Irish WW2 Story by Jean Grainger]()
What Once Was True: An Irish WW2 Story by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsRobinswood, Co Waterford, 1939. The once grand Irish house is home to two very different families. Despite delusions of grandeur, Lord and Lady Kenefick and their adult children, live a life of decayed opulence as the money needed to keep such a large house and grounds ever dwindles...Categorized as:
family friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century action-adventure -
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![Daughters of War by Lizzie Page]()
Daughters of War by Lizzie Page
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn emotional tale of wartime love and sacrifice, inspired by an incredible true story… As a teenager in Chicago, May always dreamed of travelling the world. So when she meets handsome George Turner, she jumps at the chance to return to London as his wife. Ten years later, May is wondering if she’s made a terrible mistake. It’s 1914 and war has been declared in Europe... -
![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... -
![Beyond This Broken Sky by Siobhan Curham]()
Beyond This Broken Sky by Siobhan Curham
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratings1940, London: An unforgettable novel about the strength of the human spirit in the face of war and the remarkable women who put themselves in danger on the front lines during the Battle of Britain.As a volunteer for the ambulance service, Ruby has the dangerous task of driving along pitch-dark roads during the blackout... -
![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... -
![The Paris Secret by Lily Graham]()
The Paris Secret by Lily Graham
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOn the brink of the second world war, a beautiful Parisian bookshop hides a heartbreaking secret that will tear one family apart forever … The last time Valerie was in Paris, she was three-years-old, running from the Nazis, away from the only home she had ever known... -
![Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham]()
Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsInspired by a little-known chapter of World War II history, a young Protestant girl and her Jewish neighbour are caught up in the terrible wave of hate sweeping the globe on the eve of war in this powerful love story that’s perfect for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.If you’re reading this letter, that means I’m dead... -
![When We Were Brave by Suzanne Kelman]()
When We Were Brave by Suzanne Kelman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe face of woman in the photograph was tilted upwards, as if enjoying the sunshine just for a moment, even as the wreckage of the bombed-out street lay behind her… 1944, Cornwall: Blinded by love, Vivienne Hamilton eloped to Paris with a Nazi prisoner-of-war, never to be seen again. A disgrace to her family, her name would not be mentioned by any of her relatives for over 75 years... -
![The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel]()
The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe author of the engrossing international bestseller The Room on Rue Amélie returns with a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale.Champagne, 1940: Inès has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade...Categorized as:
domestic-drama drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century -
![The Last Night in London by Karen White]()
The Last Night in London by Karen White
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Karen White weaves a story of friendship past and present, love, and betrayal that moves between war-torn London during the Blitz and the present day. A captivating story of friendship, love and betrayal – and finding hope in the darkness of war.London, 1939... -
![On the Wings of Hope by Ella Zeiss, Helen MacCormac]()
On the Wings of Hope by Ella Zeiss, Helen MacCormac
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs World War II draws to a close, can two young people find love, hope—and freedom?February 1942: Terrifying reports of the Wehrmacht’s advance across the Soviet Union spread like wildfire, striking new fear into the already oppressed German families living there.Harri Pfeiffer, now sixteen, is summoned to the forced labour camp in Chelyabinsk... -
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![We'll Meet Again by Lily Baxter]()
We'll Meet Again by Lily Baxter
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt is April 1939 and unaware that the German war machine is advancing towards the Channel Islands, seventeen-year-old Meg Colivet and her sister are enjoying a holiday in Oxford with their aunt. Here Meg meets charismatic German undergraduate Rayner Weiss and the couple fall passionately in love... -
![The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin]()
The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsInspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love and the enduring power of literature.August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe... -
![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 . . -
![Through the Storm by Maureen Lee]()
Through the Storm by Maureen Lee
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe third novel in bestseller Maureen Lee's outstanding Liverpool sequence about family life during World War IITwo years of war have taken a terrible toll on Pearl Street, Liverpool. German bombs have reduced some houses to rubble and most of the inhabitants have lost friends and family... -
![The Lieutenant's Girl by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Lieutenant's Girl by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPearl Harbor, 1941. War planes hurtle across the horizon, skimming the clouds. Gunpowder fills the air as the earth shatters. Everett’s hands cup my cheeks. “If I lose you, Elizabeth, please know that the time I’ve spent with you has been worth every second I’ve been alive...Categorized as:
friendship historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Across the Mersey by Annie Groves]()
Across the Mersey by Annie Groves
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the author of 'The Grafton Girls' comes the story of one Liverpool family preparing for the onslaught of World War Two, while trying not to fight among themselves. Jean and Vi are twins but couldn't be more different. Jean's proud of her honest, hardworking husband and their children, but there's never a penny to spare...
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