Books like 'The Last Lifeboat'
Readers who enjoyed The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical action / adventure 20th century historical-fiction ww2 drama female-mc
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The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken
24 ratingsPerfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Beekeeper of Aleppo.In the 1930s, Stalin’s activists marched through the Soviet Union, espousing the greatness of collective farming. It was the first step in creating a man-made famine that, in Ukraine, stole almost 4 million lives...Categorized as:
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Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy
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...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero
24 ratingsA Nazi doctor. A Jewish rebel. A little girl. Each one will fight for freedom—or die trying. Imprisoned in the Lodz Ghetto, Elsi discovers her mother’s desperate attempt to end her pregnancy and comes face-to-face with the impossibility of their situation. Risking her own life, Elsi joins a resistance group to sabotage the regime... -
Purple Hearts by Michael Grant
12 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Michael Grant unleashes the gritty and powerful conclusion to the Front Line series and evokes the brutal truth of World War II: War is hell. An epic tale of historical reimagining, perfect for fans of Code Name Verity and Salt to the Sea...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history book fiction -
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The Last Letter from Juliet by Melanie Hudson
18 ratings"The USA TODAY bestseller for fans of Soraya M. Lane, Heather Morris, Fiona Valpy and Pam Jenoff. Inspired by the brave women of WWII, this is a moving and powerful novel of friendship, love and resilience. A story of love not a story of a war. A daring WWII pilot who grew up among the clouds, Juliet Caron's life was one of courage, adventure - and a love torn apart by war... -
The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy
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... -
Tell Me Who I Am by Julia Navarro
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...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Ops Room Girls: An uplifting and romantic WW2 saga by Vicki Beeby
14 ratingsWhen Evie’s dreams come crashing down, she’s determined to still make something of herself in these trying times…It is 1939 and working class Evie Bishop has received a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford when tragedy turns her life upside down...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult -
The Secrets We Left Behind by Soraya M. Lane
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... -
Christmas with the Shipyard Girls by Nancy Revell
10 ratingsTHE SEVENTH NOVEL IN THE BESTSELLING SHIPYARD GIRLS SERIES. ‘Nancy Revell knows how to stir the passions and soothe the heart!’ Northern Echo____________________________________________________________Sunderland, 1942: Christmas is fast approaching and with it comes a flurry of snow and surprises…Against all odds, Polly’s fiancé has finally returned home from the front line... -
Serenade for Nadia by Zülfü Livaneli
24 ratingsIn this heartbreaking Turkish novel based on the real-life sinking of a refugee ship during World War II, an elderly professor leaves America to revisit the city where he last glimpsed his beloved wife. Istanbul, 2001. Maya Duran is a single mother struggling to balance a demanding job at Istanbul University with the challenges of raising a teenage son... -
Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen
24 ratingsA woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the New York Times bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash... -
Under a Sky of Memories by Soraya M. Lane
18 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Last Correspondent comes the powerful story of three brave women who go to war—and end up fighting for their lives.Sicily, 1943. Three American women, all nurses in the Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron, are determined to do all they can for their country... -
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
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... -
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Christmas with the Ops Room Girls: A festive and feel-good WW2 saga (The Women's Auxiliary Air Force) by Vicki Beeby
12 ratingsWhen there’s so much to be afraid of, can May help bring festive cheer to the Ops Room?After failing to help evacuee siblings whom she witnesses being separated, May wishes she’d had the confidence to speak up. When Jess suggests a pantomime to boost morale on the station, May is desperate to help – but is held back by her own insecurities...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult -
The Sky Above Us by Sarah Sundin
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... -
Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
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 female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age -
The Teashop Girls by Elaine Everest
8 ratingsThe Teashop Girls is a warm and moving tale of friendship and love in wartime, by the bestselling author of the Woolworths series, Elaine Everest.It is early 1940 and World War Two has already taken a hold on the country...Categorized as:
historical-fiction ww2 military historical 20th-century fiction family action-adventure -
The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy
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...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Night in Lisbon by Erich Maria Remarque
24 ratingsHistory and fate collide as the Nazis rise to power in The Night in Lisbon, a classic tale of survival from the renowned author of All Quiet on the Western Front. With the world slowly sliding into war, it is crucial that enemies of the Reich flee Europe at once. But so many routes are closed, and so much money is needed... -
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
26 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of the The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything...Categorized as:
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Death Is My Trade by Robert Merle
18 ratingsThe story begins in 1913, when Rudolf Lang is 13 years old. His parents give him a harsh catholic education, which is very badly accepted by Rudolf. His unstable father, with whom the young Lang has an awkward relationship, wants Rudolf to become priest. At the age of fifteen, Lang starts his military career which eventually leads him to the post of commandant of Auschwitz in 1943... -
Hearts of Resistance by Soraya M. Lane
18 ratingsAt the height of World War II, three women must come together to fight for freedom, for the men they love—and for each other. When Hazel is given the chance to parachute into Nazi-occupied France, she seizes the opportunity to do more for the British war effort than file paperwork. Alongside her childhood friend, French-born Rose, she quickly rises up the ranks of the freedom fighters...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester
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...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger by Suzanne Fortin
10 ratingsThe secrets of the past won't remain hidden forever...Arthur Pettinger's memory isn't what it used to be. He can't always remember the names of his grandchildren, where he lives or which way round his slippers go. He does remember Maryse though, a woman he hasn't seen for decades, but whose face he will never forget... -
The Promise by Michelle Vernal
12 ratingsA wonderfully heartwarming, touching and romantic story - Tammy Robinson Author of Differently Normal Two women from different generations brought together by another’s wrongdoing. When British backpacker, Isabel Stark happens across a car accident on a lonely stretch of road in the South Island of New Zealand her life changes forever... -
Island in the East by Jenny Ashcroft
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
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 Last Restaurant in Paris by Lily Graham
14 ratingsParis 1944. To save her people, she served the enemy.In enemy-occupied Paris, as the locals go to bed starving and defeated by the war, music and laughter spills through the door of a little restaurant, crowded with German soldiers. The owner Marianne moves on weary feet between its packed tables, carrying plates of steaming, wholesome food for the enemy officers...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure book fiction historical -
The Photograph by Debbie Rix
14 ratingsItaly, 1958: Rachael is a young widow with a small child. After a lifetime of running for survival, of not knowing who to trust and where to call home, she finds herself in a place of safety. On a sun-drenched Italian island for one carefree summer the troubles of her past fade away and she falls in love...Categorized as:
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The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns
24 ratingsOceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.Japan, 1957...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein
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... -
Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon
18 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of A Pledge of Silence comes a story of resistance, intrigue, and risking it all in the WWII Philippines. December 1941. War has erupted in the Pacific, spelling danger for Gina Capelli Thorpe, an American expat living in Manila. When the Japanese invade and her husband goes missing, Gina flees with her daughter to the Zambales Mountains to avoid capture—or worse... -
The Longest Echo by Eoin Dempsey
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
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... -
Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena
18 ratingsThis novel considers the effects of Soviet rule on a single individual. The central character in the story tries to follow her calling as a doctor. But then the state steps in. She is deprived first of her professional future, then of her identity and finally of her relationship with her daughter. Banished to a village in the Latvian countryside, her sense of isolation increases...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult -
While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart
18 ratingsA family's love is tested when heroes-turned-criminals are forced to make the hardest decisions of their lives in this unforgettably moving story of love, resistance, and the lasting consequences of the Second World War. After. Santa Cruz, California, 1953. Jean-Luc and Charlotte Beauchamps have left their war-torn memories of Paris behind to live a quiet life in America with their son, Sam... -
The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson
18 ratingsInspired by heartrending real events, a mother fights to find her son and a child battles for survival in this riveting debut novel.For readers of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, The Letter by Kathryn Hughes, and Remember Me by Lesley Pearse.A woman is found wandering injured in London after an air raid.She remembers nothing of who she is... -
What Only We Know by Catherine Hokin
18 ratingsA door slammed and the unmistakable sound of boots came crashing up the hall. Liese held her little daughter’s hand so tightly, the tiny fingers had turned purple. The SS officer’s hand was at Liese’s throat before she saw him move. ‘I can kill you easily, then I can kill your daughter.’ He relaxed his grip a little. ‘Or perhaps I could kill her first?’England, forty years later... -
The Little Ship: A heart-warming, sweeping wartime saga full of heart which will stay with you for ages by Margaret Mayhew
8 ratingsSet largely on the Essex coast before the war, Matt, Guy, and their young cousin Lizzie meet up for holidays and bum around in an old boat. Guy is the eldest, handsome, skilled at everything, a tad selfish. Matt is quieter and has a crippled right arm... -
The Girls of Pearl Harbor by Soraya M. Lane
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...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Dark Days for the Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane
10 ratingsNothing will stop the The Tobacco Girls not even war...BRISTOL 1940.The Tobacco Girls cling together as they realise that the clouds of war are turning dark, the world is becoming more dangerous and their lives more unpredictable.Bridget Milligan’s big, happy family fragments when her siblings are evacuated to North Devon, then a letter from America further fills her with dismay... -
The War Girls of Goodwill House: The start of a brand new historical saga series by Fenella J. Miller for 2022 by Fenella J Miller
10 ratingsAs war looms, can they keep the home fires burning?Lady Joanna Harcourt and her daughter Sarah discover their life of luxury at Goodwill House is over. Because with Lord Harcourt away fighting, the Harcourt girls are facing financial ruin. Lady Joanna is terrified of losing their home, but for Sarah, this means her dreams of becoming a doctor are over...Categorized as:
female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult book coming-of-age -
Paris at First Light by Amanda Lees
10 ratingsParis, 1944: secret agent Juliette is on her most dangerous mission of the war so far. But then her children are kidnapped, and to get them back she may have to commit the ultimate betrayal – that of France itself…Four years ago, when France fell to the Nazis, Juliette made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving behind her two precious children to join the Resistance and defend her country... -
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Silver Wings by H.P. Munro
10 ratingsWINNER - 2014 Golden Crown Literary Society - Historical FictionWhen in 1943, twenty-five-year-old Lily Rivera is widowed, she finally feels able to step out of the shadows of an unhappy marriage. Her love of flying leads her to join the Womens Airforce Service Pilots, determined to regain her passion and spread her wings, not suspecting that she would experience more than just flying... -
An Artificial Light by Petra Durst-Benning, Edwin Miles
12 ratingsA defiant woman in pre–World War I Germany carves out her own unconventional destiny as the enthralling Photographer’s Saga continues.Germany, 1911. Certain things are expected of a woman. Defiant Mimi Reventlow has chosen to be the woman she wants to be. For now, that’s the resident, if temporary, photographer in Laichingen...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
The Throwaway Children by Diney Costeloe
24 ratingsGritty, heartrending and unputdownable – the story of two sisters sent first to an English, then an Australian orphanage in the aftermath of World War 2. Rita and Rosie Stevens are only nine and five years old when their widowed mother marries a violent bully called Jimmy Randall and has a baby boy by him... -
The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham
26 ratingsGermany, 1944. A prisoner in the camps, Anke Hoff is doing what she can to keep her pregnant campmates and their newborns alive.But when Anke's work is noticed, she is chosen for a task more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. Eva Braun is pregnant with the Führer's child, and Anke is assigned as her midwife.Before long, Anke is faced with an impossible choice...Categorized as:
drama female-mc historical-fiction ww2 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history -
If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi
16 ratingsPrimo Levi was among the greatest witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In this gripping novel, based on a true story, he reveals the extraordinary lives of the Russian, Polish and Jewish partisans trapped behind enemy lines during the Second World War... -
Tuareg by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa
16 ratingsThe Tuaregs are the true sons of the desert. They can survive in the harshest of conditions like nobody else. The noble inmouchar Gacel Sayah, is the master of a large extension of the desert. One day, two fugitives arrive from the north and Gacel, following his ancient and sacred hospitality laws, gives them shelter...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book fiction historical
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