Uplifting Historical Fiction

1963. Cape Kennedy, Florida. The world is watching the skies— but five women are fighting battles no one sees. When Josephine Booker’s husband is chosen for NASA’s elite astronaut program, she leaves behind snowy Minnesota for a life of sunshine, press conferences, and expectations she never asked for. In Stardust Beach—a brand-new town built to support the space race—Jo is expected to be the perfect wife, mother, and symbol of American grace. But behind the smiles and poolside interviews, her marriage is quietly cracking under the pressure. The danger isn’t just in space. ...

🧵 Murder, Mayhem, and a Castle Full of Secrets—This Retreat Could Be Their Last Quilt shop owner Alex Allin expected a tranquil escape at Blair Castle’s Scottish quilting retreat—until the famed but foul-tempered instructor is found dead inside the locked sewing salon. No way in. No way out. Someone came armed—with more than just scissors. The clues? A centuries-old quilt, a cryptic symbol, a missing heirloom—and the haunting tale of Moira MacNairn, an accused witch whose final secrets are stitched into the castle walls themselves. Trapped by a storm, Alex leans on her loyal ...

Paris, 1939. Hollywood actress Drue Leyton, married to Frenchman Jacques Tartière, lives as an expatriate in love. But when her husband is dispatched to Brittany to work as a liaison for the British military, Drue finds herself alone with her housekeeper, adrift and heartsick in her adopted city. With her career and fame forty-five hundred miles away, Drue accepts an opportunity that will change her life forever.

They set out to reach the stars. Now they’re fighting to hold on to what matters most. July 1969. As the nation holds its breath for the moon landing, Jo and Bill Booker are quietly bracing for impact. Bill is on the cusp of making history—he’s been chosen for the most iconic mission of the space race—but the cracks in their marriage may be too wide to bridge. After a decade of sacrifice, secrets, and emotional entanglements neither of them fully escaped, Jo isn’t sure what’s left of the life they once dreamed of. Their children are nearly grown, with strong opinions and hearts ...

""It’s easy to see why this quick and endearing read was so popular in Korea and beyond; U.S. readers are in for a treat."" — Library Journal In this million-copy international bestseller from Korea, the owner of a corner store takes in an unhoused man who does a good deed, a kind soul whose...

In the skies above Britain, faith was a luxury—and she was about to learn the cost of losing it. When war takes the most faithful person she’s ever known, Joan Ashworth trades her prayers for a predictor and vows to strike back at the enemy. But the battle ahead will change far more than she imagined. 1940, England. Joan has always understood machines—how to strip an engine, splice a wire, coax life back into stubborn parts. But nothing prepares her for the telegram from Dunkirk: Private Edmund Fairfax, the boy who once made her believe God saw every sparrow fall, is gone. With her ...

FOR THE TAKING follows Don Vodka’s brave journey from a cruel childhood to a life of adventure and self-discovery, blending raw struggle with the triumphs that shaped her into what she is today. It is the haunting story of a girl forced to grow up too soon in a world that never protected her. After her mother’s death when she was seven, Donnalee’s father turned cruel and violent — until his disappearance left her in the hands of “Uncle Digger,” a man whose fists were only the beginning of what she feared. Nearing her twelfth birthday, she began to sense the danger shifting into ...

She’s building rockets for NASA— but can she build the life she truly wants? At just twenty-seven, Jeanie Florence is blazing a trail few women have ever walked—as one of NASA’s brightest young engineers. While America races to put a man on the moon, Jeanie is quietly making history behind the scenes, her calculations propelling astronauts into space. But when it comes to love? She’s still stuck firmly on the launchpad. Her heart belongs to Bill Booker—an older, married astronaut whose orbit she knows she has no business entering. But emotions don’t always follow logic, and ...

It’s a doozy of a bad day for Beverly Diamond when she catches her husband, Larry, in a compromising position with his secretary. What’s a DC suburban wife to do with a soon-to-be ex, two young kids, and no degree or financial support in 1962? Beat the louse at his own game, that’s what.

Everyone thinks Barbie Roman has it all. But this time, being perfect might cost her everything. With her picture-perfect looks, polished manners, and political pedigree, Barbie Roman was raised to play the role of the ideal daughter, wife, and mother. From an exclusive enclave in Connecticut to the sun-soaked shores of Stardust Beach, she’s spent her life smiling, supporting, and staying silent. But now, the stakes are too high—and Barbie’s time as the quiet good girl is running out. Her husband Todd is one of NASA’s rising stars, and with three young sons at home, Barbie should be...

She’s mastered the art of hiding. Now she has to find the courage to be seen. Jude Majors seems to have it all: a handsome astronaut husband, beautiful twin daughters, and a house on Florida’s sparkling Stardust Beach. But behind the polished smile and perfect life, Jude is drowning. Haunted by a painful childhood shaped by wartime prejudice, she’s spent decades silencing the parts of herself that felt too different, too broken, too “other.” Now, the cracks are starting to show. Drinking has helped her cope—until it nearly kills her. Faced with terrifying consequences, Jude must...

She’s always lived by her heart. Now the world is asking her to choose. Carrie Reed has never been like the other astronaut wives—and she’s never tried to be. She gardens barefoot, raises her kids on vitamins and whole foods, and dreams of a more peaceful, just world. While her husband Jay trains for space missions, Carrie’s passion is right here on Earth: protecting the planet, fighting for civil rights, and teaching her children to do the same. But the closer the country inches toward change, the more Carrie feels pulled in opposite directions. Voter registration drives in the ...

Mrs. Holt is dealing with a *hot flash* and trying to cope with impossible grief at the Curry Quilting Bee. Town gossips, Mrs. Daindridge and Mrs. Carr, toss a scandalous accusation into the discussion, slandering the good name of the missing teacher. When the quarrel breaks out, feathers fly! What happened to presumably innocent Mrs. Ellice? If you love Crime Novels with strong female leads set in the 1920's, this is the series for you!

He’s trained to survive the deadliest conditions in space. But no one prepared him for the silence at home. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Booker is a decorated pilot, a respected astronaut, and a man unraveling by degrees. Beneath the surface of his perfect American life—his rising NASA career, his beautiful wife Jo, and their idyllic home on Stardust Beach—something is breaking. And when his temper flares one too many times, NASA gives him a choice: face therapy, or forfeit his place in the program. Haunted by his past, disconnected from the woman he once loved so fiercely, and quietly ...

She gave up the spotlight to protect her heart. Now the past is demanding an encore. Once destined for Broadway stardom, Francesca “Frankie” Lombardi left New York—and dancing—behind after a devastating betrayal stole her spark. Reinvented as the glamorous wife of NASA astronaut Ed Maxwell, Frankie plays the role of confident hostess and loyal friend in Stardust Beach. But behind her flawless façade is a woman still aching from loss… and terrified to hope for more. Her marriage is quietly unraveling under the weight of unspoken grief, and the life she’s built feels as fragile ...

Summer 1968. When thirteen-year-old Jack Elliot overhears the barbershop men grousing, he devises a secret plan to keep his oldest brother, Pete, from the draft. If famous boys don’t go to war, he’ll make his brother their small town’s biggest celebrity. Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer. Together, they convince Jack’s brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters ago—the perfect adventure to make Pete a hero.

1722. A Quaker widow. A dangerous secret. Willow Witherspoon has always followed the rules. But in the volatile American Colonies of 1722, she finds herself drawn into a shocking, illicit romance that threatens to shatter her standing in the community and her very life. Torn between her faith and an overwhelming passion, Willow must navigate a treacherous new world - a place of judgment, surprising alliances, and extraordinary risk. With her future on the line, she must find the courage to defy convention and embrace the strength and resilience she never knew she had. Can she claim her ...

'A beautiful book. Powerful and captivating, the story will transport you to another time and place, plunging you headlong into the lives of its characters. Tracy Rees's writing is fluid, vibrant and evocative. Extraordinarily good.' - Hazel Prior Tracy Rees's latest novel The Elopement is an...

As Nazi troops occupy the City of Lights, American journalist Florence is determined to do everything she can to save her adopted home and the man she loves. Florence had arrived in Paris in 1937 and on a beautiful summer’s day met and fell in love with Otto, a Jewish artist from Austria, who had fled persecution in his homeland. But as swastikas are draped along the city’s wide boulevards, everything Otto was running from seems to have caught up with him. Both Florence and Otto begin lending their talents to the Resistance, working to sabotage the Germans right under their noses.

The final chapter of the Early Tales of Dalberg Novella trilogy — a tender, luminous story of grief, reinvention, and the long journey home. Elin never expected more than a quiet life: mother, seamstress, survivor. But when a bundle of hand-sewn dresses finds its way from a small Minnesota town to a shop window in Chicago, a new path begins to open—one stitched not from necessity, but from choice. Set in the late 19th century and rich with the textures of immigrant life, Home follows Elin as she rebuilds her world after devastating loss. With a baby on her hip, a needle in her hand, and...