Books like 'Half in Shadow'
Readers who enjoyed Half in Shadow by Gemma Liviero also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance 20th century military, war & conflict ww1 historical-fiction war literary-fiction female-mc
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The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAuschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched across her little thigh... -
The Letter by Ruth Saberton
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Letter is a beautiful novel set in England between the First World War and the present day. Perfect for fans of Downton Abbey, it is the story of an aristocratic family, a forbidden love affair and the darkest of secrets kept for over one hundred years. On the eve of the First World War aspiring poet Kit Rivers looks forward to a bright future...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww1 20th-century action-adventure adult -
An Ordinary Life by Amanda Prowse
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Girl in the Corner comes a tale of love, loss—and one last extraordinary dance.Christmas Eve, 2019. Ninety-four-year-old Molly lies in her hospital bed. A stroke and a fall may have broken her body—but her mind is alive with memories.London, 1940s. Molly is a bright young woman, determined to help the war effort and keep her head up despite it all... -
Under the Light of the Italian Moon: Inspired by a true story of love and women's resilience during the rise of fascism and WWII by Jennifer Anton
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA promise keeps them apart until WW2 threatens to destroy their love foreverFonzaso Italy, between two warsNina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave... -
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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:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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... -
The Girl in the Striped Dress by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGermany, 1947. A strange case scheduled for the Denazification Court lands on the desk of an American psychiatrist currently serving in Germany, Dr. Hoffman. A former Auschwitz guard, Franz Dahler, is set to appear in court, and he has requested to bring the most unexpected witness to testify in his defense - one of his former inmates and current wife, Helena... -
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
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 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 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... -
So Much Owed: An Irish World War 2 Story by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsIn a turbulent and uncertain world, the birth of two children revitalise a small Irish town and set the stage for a closer look into lives torn asunder by war. When Dr. Richard Buckley returns home to his wife and beloved hometown of Dunderrig, his mind is wearied by the ravages of The Great War...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww1 20th-century action-adventure adult -
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsParis, 1940. The Nazis have occupied the city—and the Ritz. The opulent old hotel, so loved by Parisians, is now full of swaggering officers, their minions and their mistresses.For American Olivia Olsen, working as a chambermaid at the hotel means denying her nationality and living a lie, every day bringing the danger of discovery closer...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
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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
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 war literary-fiction romance historical fiction ww2 coming-of-age -
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 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...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century abuse adult audiobook -
Girls on the Line by Aimie K. Runyan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the celebrated author of Daughters of the Night Sky comes a stirring novel inspired by the courage, dedication, and love of the unsung heroines of the Great War. December 1917. As World War I rages in Europe, twenty-four-year-old Ruby Wagner, the jewel in a prominent Philadelphia family, prepares for her upcoming wedding to a society scion...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww1 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Tabitha by Vikki Kestell
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTabitha : Girls from the Mountain | Book 1 Available November 2, 2015. From the author of the groundbreaking series, A Prairie Heritage , comes the compelling story of fiery-haired, fiery-tempered Tabitha Hale. Rescued from a life of depravity, Tabitha gives her heart to God and her life to nursing... -
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 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 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 Longest Echo by Eoin Dempsey
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAgainst the backdrop of WWII-ravaged Italy comes a powerful and emotional novel of love, survival, justice, and second chances by the bestselling author of White Rose, Black Forest.Occupied Italy, 1944. In the mountain regions south of Bologna, Liliana Nicoletti’s family finds escaped POW James Foley behind German lines... -
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The Poppy Field by Deborah Carr
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratings‘One to Watch’ Good Housekeeping This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Young nurse, Gemma, is struggling with the traumas she has witnessed through her job in the NHS. Needing to escape from it all, Gemma agrees to help renovate a rundown farmhouse in Doullens, France, a town near the Somme... -
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Richard Harris
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis collection brings together music played by Captain Corelli himself and original pieces evoking the sounds and events of the book and of 3 earlier novels, the Latin Trilogy', by Louis de Bernieres... -
The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom enchanting cliff tops and white sandy bays to the pretty cobbled streets of St Helier, Jersey is known as the land of milk and honey. But for best friends Bea Rose, the local postwoman, and Grace Le Motte, who works in the island's only library, it becomes the frontline to everyday resistance when their beloved island is occupied by German forces in 1940... -
Daughters of Warsaw by Maria Frances
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn emotional World War Two time-slip of one woman’s inspiring, dangerous and courageous undertaking in the Warsaw ghetto. In a world torn apart by war, she’ll risk her life to save them. 1942, Warsaw Young Sofia finds herself leading a double life when she is enlisted to help the fearless Irena Sendler save hundreds of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto...Categorized as:
historical-fiction war female-mc literary-fiction ww2 historical fiction womens-fiction -
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... -
The Girl from Snowy River by Jackie French
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe year is 1919. Thirty years have passed since the man from Snowy River made his famous ride. But World War I still casts its shadow across a valley in the heart of Australia, particularly for orphaned sixteen-year-old Flinty McAlpine, who lost a brother when the Snowy River men marched away to war... -
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
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
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
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... -
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Shadow of a Century by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA journalist in modern New York stumbles across a story from a century earlier when the streets of Dublin were ablaze as men and women fought valiantly for liberation from the British Empire. This is the story of three women. Mary Doyle was reared by nuns and knows nothing of her parents, except that they were a source of shame...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Secret Keepers by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwin sisters Dot and Dash Wilson share many things: a birthday, a best friend named Gus, and a secret shorthand based on Morse code, a language their father, a WWI veteran, taught them as children. But that’s where their similarities end. While Dot’s nose is always in a book, preferably the latest by Agatha Christie, Dash is a social butterfly and spends her evenings out dancing... -
At the Going Down of the Sun by Elizabeth Darrell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis family epic, set during World War I, follows the fortunes of three brothers and the women who loved and waited for them. One, heir to the exquisite family home of Tarant Hall in Dorset, will be driven to the Front by accusations of cowardice... -
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... -
Legacy of Greyladies by Anna Jacobs
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWiltshire, December 1915. Widow Olivia Harbury has been persuaded by her cousin Donald to live with him and his wife, but tensions soon rise between the pair. Then, much to Donald’s disapproval, Olivia becomes involved in starting a new Women’s Institute.A chance meeting brings Olivia to Greyladies, an ancient manor house run by Phoebe Latimer, and she feels as though she’s finally come home... -
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:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
Under a Sky on Fire: A gripping and utterly heartbreaking WW2 historical novel by Suzanne Kelman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the middle of the road, the child stood wearing a blue flannel nightie, her feet bare and dirt-splattered. Her blonde flyaway hair was golden, aglow from the fires that lit her up from behind. Stumbling over, Lizzie reached her side. The little girl's eyes were closed, her palms facing upwards. If she'd been in church, you would have thought she was praying... -
The French War Bride by Robin Wells
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWorld War II Paris serves as the backdrop of a story of compassion, betrayal, and forgiveness from the national bestselling author of The Wedding Tree . . . “I never knew what he saw in you.” At her retirement home in Wedding Tree, Louisiana, ninety-one-year-old Amelie O’Connor is in the habit of leaving her door open for friends...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA daring young woman risks everything to pursue a career as a doctor on the front lines in France during World War I, and learns the true meaning of hope, love, and resilience in the darkest of times.When Eleanor Atherton graduates from medical school near the top of her class in 1917, she dreams of going overseas to help the wounded, but her ambition is thwarted at every turn... -
The Pearl of Penang by Clare Flynn
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Following the death of my wife, I am in need of support and companionship. I am prepared to make you an offer of marriage." Evie Fraser, paid companion to a crotchety spinster, seems destined for a lonely life. Then out of the blue, a marriage proposal arrives by post. She met the handsome Douglas Barrington just once – at his wedding – but never forgot him...Categorized as:
historical-fiction war female-mc literary-fiction asia southeast-asia malaysia romance -
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The Nurses of St Croix by Diney Costeloe
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis book was previously published as The Ashgrove. In 1921, eight ash trees were planted in the dorset village of Charlton Ambrose as a timeless memorial to the men killed in World War One. Overnight a ninth appeared, marked only as for 'the unknown soldier'. But now the village's ashgrove is under threat from developers... -
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... -
Our Last Goodbye by Shirley Dickson, Joan Walker
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA heart-wrenching, poignant and totally unforgettable tale of a young woman who must finally face up to the secret she has hidden for a lifetime. A beautiful World War Two novel for fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe, that will have you reaching for the Kleenex... -
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 Tuscan Secret: An absolutely gripping, emotional, World War 2 historical novel by Angela Petch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe tragic consequences of war echo through the generations in this stunning tale, inspired by true events, about how family secrets can haunt us; and how love can guide us through the darkest times. Fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and The Letter by Kathryn Hughes will be captivated. ‘Anna, I kept a diary during the war... -
A Light in the Window by Marion Kummerow
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBerlin, 1941: Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor. But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom…Issued with temporary papers—and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish—a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety...
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