Library of Must-Reads
30 stories
Daughters of the King (Completed) by Purplejeans
Purplejeans
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{WATTYS 2020 WINNER} {FEATURED BOOK} Paris, 1663. 500 girls selected by King Louis XIV embark on a journey across the seas from their homeland. Each is given a dowry, and the expectation that they are to marry a French settler, in order to increase the population of New France. They are the historic Daughters of the King, or "les filles du roi." Eighteen-year-old Celeste Dubois is a free-spirited, educated and headstrong girl. She comes from a wealthy Parisian family that has squandered their money and is subsequently forced to journey to New France. However, Celeste doesn't plan on marrying a complete stranger. She hopes to use the dowry and the free voyage as a way to escape the poverty and social ranks of Paris. Matters are complicated when against her will, she falls in love. Romantic, kind and stunningly beautiful Lorraine Leblanc is a girl from a large family with children to spare. Unlike Celeste, she happily dreams of the day she will meet her future husband in New France. When she marries a mysterious widower with two young children of his own and still reeling after his broken heart, she realizes that married life isn't all she had hoped it would be, and begins to question her new husband's complicated past. - Wattpad Picks Blast to the Future Past list 2018 - The 50 Best Wattpad Stories of 2018/19 by Design Wizard - 2018 Youngblood Awards Winner (Romance) - 2018 True North Awards 2nd place for Historical Fiction and 2nd place Truly Canadian special category award - Featured by Wattpad Historical Fiction profile under Kings, Courtships and Empires, Young Adult Fiction profile under Love, Actually and Romance profile under Time will Tell *Please be aware that since this book covers the colonial period, it does contain sensitive themes of racism and violence that readers will find disturbing. There are resources at the back of the book that prompt further learning in the Historical Notes section.*
The Factory Girl // Book 1 in the Rosie Grey series by Spruce_Goose
Spruce_Goose
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Rosie Grey was only seven years old when she arrived at Mr Thompson's cotton factory. Now fourteen, she has become accustomed to the treatment of the workers and the harsh conditions under which they are forced to work. After an accident in the storeroom leads to her dismissal, Rosie must try to make her own way in the real world, away from the life she had grown used to. But despite being seemingly free from her life at the factory, Rosie struggles with the dark past that holds her captive, and she doesn't know if she will ever be able to escape the life she tries so hard to forget. (C)Spruce_Goose Cover - Made by @Azanthiel
A Thousand Burning Masks by seventhstar
seventhstar
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CHINESE ARYA STARK meets THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. *A Wattpad Featured story* When everyone wears a mask, who do you trust? In the unforgiving empire of Erden where the Imperials reign supreme, Sarna is a slave. After escaping the brothel where a man burned half her face, she is determined to lead a new life by joining Zichuan Theater as a performer. When an assassination attempt on the crown prince casts suspicion on Zichuan Theater, the fragile foundations of that new life begin to crumble. Incarcerated with a death sentence in line, she is offered a dangerous deal: the crown prince's head in exchange for Zichuan Theater's freedom. To save her theater, Sarna journeys to learn the dark art of Facechanging from a forgotten god, hides herself behind borrowed beauty, and uses her new identity to infiltrate the Jade Palace. But no godly transaction comes without a price. Not only does she find herself trapped not only in a web of court intrigue, but in a battle for control of her body and her life. As time ticks down for her theater, she must decide between her heart and her freedom, or risk losing everything she has ever loved and worked for - including her identity. Highest ranking: #54 in Fantasy (14/2/18) Cover trailer by @Abyss-of-Crazy
Teasing Your Wicked Heart by MissBelleVincent
MissBelleVincent
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[Reached # 2 on Regency and # 1 on Austen] After the death of her father, Lady Sarah Jane is passed around her inheriting cousins and uncles as the tolerated ward no one wanted to care for. Years later, when the last of her relatives passed, and with the threat of dissolving the Rosenberg title looming around the corner, Sarah Jane must find a way to secure her future in a society that places prime importance on men. Stumbling upon an old document that could save her, she discovers the uncommon arrangement between her father and the late Viscount Killsworth. The agreement places her into the capable arms and mercy of Killsworth's son, an unmarried gentleman who turns into her protector and guardian. Lord Killsworth keeps himself isolated due to a secret. Although he welcomes the sizable inheritance, he did not expect that it comes along with an atrociously mannered savage of a ward. Yet, when his ward demands for a Season, he soon realizes that obliging her might become the ultimate rescue of his broken, wicked heart. [1st Place winner for Historical Fiction at the Romanz Awards] [3rd Place winner in The Coastal Awards, Historical Romance Category] #TheWinnerAwards2020 #AestheteCertified #StoriesUndiscovered #TAS
Buried Roses by WinterSleep85
WinterSleep85
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Grace, the illegitimate daughter of Edward IV, finds her life turned upside down when he dies and her family flees into sanctuary when her uncle takes power. Torn between family loyalties and her need for love and stability, Grace struggles to survive a dangerous world. A historical fiction story set during the War of the Roses. One fateful night, a young woman flees with her family to take sanctuary in the church. The illegitimate daughter of the late king, Grace, is told her uncle Richard has stolen her half-brother, the new king and is seizing power. Her stepmother, Elizabeth Woodville, takes her children and Grace into sanctuary and begins recruiting others to take down Richard. Young Grace is sent on a mission and meets her uncle. His kindness makes her doubt that he is as bad as her stepmother claims. But she sticks to her loyalty to her family even as everything falls apart. Elizabeth's plan fails, Grace's half-brother is taken by force out of sanctuary, and Richard reveals Elizabeth was never legally married to Grace's father, making Richard the king. Elizabeth refuses to leave sanctuary, keeping Grace and her half-sisters trapped as rumors grow about the disappearance of the girls' brothers. The only bright spot of Grace's life is meeting with a messenger, a young man who is the first person to see this forgotten king's daughter. As much as she wants to leave, her loyalty keeps her buried alive. Shortlisted in the Open Novella Contest 2020 Shortlisted in the Wattys 2021 and Wattys 2022
(archived Seacliff) by alcoholandcaffeine
alcoholandcaffeine
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Find the new version on my profile, titled Seacliff! :) In 2019, Aidan is a kilt-wearing tour guide on the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh. In 1919, Saoirse is a Great War nurse who's got nothing left to live for - until the sea brings a naked, unconscious man to her feet. Not one easily shocked after caring for the most broken of men in France, Saoirse takes the stranger in and tends to his wounds. Except the man is all kinds of unusual and she begins to question whether he even is a man at all. Is the grief driving her mad or is there more to the world than she ever thought possible? Saoirse hopes to find answers in her Aunt Aoife's diaries, since the gentle giant she rescued from the sea has no recollection of how he ended up there in the first place. * Editors' Choice, December 2020 * an open novella contest entry which grew into a ~75k-word novel completed * prompt: "When something tragic happens, it's often said we lose a piece of ourselves. How far would you go to find these lost parts of yourself in order to be whole again?" * featured on: @WattpadHistoricalRomance - 'Traveling Through Time' @talesofthedeep - 'Fintastic Reads - Sea Creatures'
The Nymph of Versailles by KateValent
KateValent
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A 2019 Watty Winner. For fans of Allison Pataki and Philippa Gregory, THE NYMPH OF VERSAILLES is based on the true story of Madame Montespan's rise and fall at the court of King Louis XIV. Being the Sun King's mistress is a coveted position in a court full of greedy courtiers vying for power and Athénaïs de Montespan won't let anything stand in the way of her stealing the king's heart-not even poison. When the king's interest in his mistress Louise begins to wane, Montespan sees the position as a possible escape from her husband's mounting debts and loveless marriage. Her strained friendship with Louise doesn't stop her from charming the king. However keeping his heart is tricky in a court full of plotting beauties eager to have him for themselves, especially with her jealous husband bent on ending her seduction. Then her children's governess becomes an unexpected rival for the king's heart and the only woman who can contend with Montespan. With the court swirling with rumors of poison, Montespan finds herself caught in the web of accusations. Her position with the king begins to crumble as she fights to hold on to the life she's built. Without the king's love, she fears she will lose everything as she falls from grace.
Sinfully Delicious by BksbyBkr
BksbyBkr
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Ferya, a human baker in post-apocalyptic Earth, is pulled into a game of universal consequences when she agrees to a deal with Lucifer. Welcome to a post-apocalyptic Earth, reclaimed by a shaky peace between Lucifer and the angelic Council of Twelve. Where they once ruled and consumed the world unchecked, humanity has now been relegated to second class citizenship, when they aren't acting as food supply for the kin. In a world that contains demons, vampires, fae, and all other creatures that go bump in the night, Ferya is a human who bakes the meanest treats in town. When Lucifer offers her a deal that most people would not refuse, Ferya changes the game on the fallen one. Ferya's choice unknowingly starts a chain of events that changes her life and the fate of the universe beyond the machinations of the prince of darkness himself. In an eternal battle between light and dark, can a sweet treat and a cup of Joe make a difference? Book One of the Devil's Deal Trilogy. Sinfully Delicious is a Wattpad Editor's Choice Featured book! (Dec 2019) Trigger Warning: Violence, Blood and Language. *** Note: The primary genre of this story is not romance, but there are romance elements into it. I believe in equal representation and inclusion, which means there will be a variety of relationships in this series. Each relationship will develop differently, as in real life. But there is no Explicit content in this story. ***
Sweepings of the Street [EXCERPT] by amanda_denney_writes
amanda_denney_writes
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Twelve-year-old Sarah Lee longs to remain in the golden fields under a starry sky forever, but life has other plans for her. After the bleak spring of 1816 yields meager crops, Sarah's family flees its home in the English countryside to labor at a textile factory in newly industrial London. A factory accident several months later leaves Sarah's father out of work and her family desperate for money. Despite the worries of her older brother Thomas, Sarah disguises herself and ventures into a dangerous new job. Sarah soon learns that life in London is not as simple as it seems. She meets Jamie, a sullen, aggressive boy who helps her adjust to the new conditions. But Jamie has dark secrets of his own, and his reluctance to trust strangers clashes with Sarah's burning curiosity about his past. As the city creeps towards winter, Sarah and her friends stand face-to-face with the horrors of London poverty-rising prices, rampant crime, disease, and hopelessness-and it becomes clear that not everyone will make it out alive. Everyone has a secret, and the consequences can be more devastating than any of them can imagine. "Dark, emotionally gripping, highly researched... very impressive." "Deeply moving and heart-wrenching, it will forever leave a mark on my heart." - anonymous readers WARNINGS: This excerpt contains descriptions of physical injury and child abuse. There is a more detailed content warning in the published book. Sweepings of the Street is now available for purchase! Enjoy the first 4 chapters, then consider getting a paperback or ebook version of the full book! Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Kobo, and more, or upon request at your local independent bookstore.