Other Novels June Francis Collection

Step by Step

Will their friendship survive against all odds?
In the early 1900s two girls see each other through good times and bad. But can their friendship endure when an dreadful act of violence sees their families turn against one another?

Hannah Kirk and Alice Moran have been friends since childhood. Growing up in the back streets of Chester, they support each other through hard times. But when Alice’s mother dies in childbirth, the girls both must take on great burdens.

Alice’s violent father attacks Hannah’s mother and the friends are separated when Alice is forced to flee with her father while Hannah cares for her bedridden mother and the rest of the family. As Hannah struggles to cope and suffers awful mistreatment at the hands of her devious older brother, she questions whether Alice is her friend – or the cause of all her troubles. Will Hannah and Alice reconcile, or are the wrongs of the past impossible to make right?

 

A Dream to Share

Her sister paid a terrible price. Can she avoid the same fate?
A quest for revenge leads a young woman to a new friend, but also puts her in grave danger. Can love triumph over evil?

Chester, 1907. Emma Griffiths’ sister took her own life when she became pregnant out of wedlock to a man who refused to take responsibility. Now Emma is out to avenge her sister’s death.

Emma leaves her job as a maid, no longer willing to put up with unwanted attention from her employer. As poverty threatens to engulf her, she meets another young servant, Alice, who is struggling to escape her own unhappy past. Emma and Alice become close and it soon becomes apparent that the two girls’ lives may be linked in more ways than one. Just as she finds love Emma’s newfound happiness is threatened when she realises that she may not be the only one seeking revenge…

 

When the Clouds Go Rolling By

The secrets of the past can never be forgotten
An orphaned young woman is overjoyed to find a family she never knew existed, but has to come to terms with their troubled history.

Since her parents died Clara O’Toole has lived with her grandmother, Bernie. When Bernie seeks an audience with a medium in the hope of reaching her son, Clara discovers her links to the Bennett family in Chester, and clues to the whereabouts of Bernie’s long-lost daughter.

Meanwhile, Alice Bennett is relieved to learn that her husband, Seb, is alive. However, her joy is short lived when she discovers the extent of his injuries. The family struggle to come to terms with Seb’s damaged body, and mind. As Clara spends more time with her newfound relatives, she finds hope for the future. But she has no idea that the family she is so glad to be part of are going to place her in grave danger…

 

Tilly's Story

Can she leave her troubles behind to find true happiness?
In the aftermath of the Great War, many are searching for a new life. But has Tilly missed her only chance for love?

Since the end of the First World War, the residents of Victoria Crescent have been slowly rebuilding their lives. For Tilly Moran, this means living under the watchful eye of her elder sister, Alice, while waiting to come of age. Unable to bear the restrictions placed upon her, Tilly flees to Liverpool for a fresh start.

As Tilly enters a new line of work she meets many interesting characters, and is charmed by Leonard Parker, a shipping entrepreneur. But when Tilly becomes involved in an investigation for a private detective agency she discovers that some of her new associates aren’t what they seem. Can Tilly’s dreams of love and independence come true, or will her luck run out?

 

Sunshine and Showers

Now the war is over, is happiness within their reach?
Two women are given opportunities for a positive future, but must choose between following their heads or their hearts.

Patsy Doyle is glad of her new job as a live-in maid in for David Tanner and his wife, but the constant rows between the spouses make it difficult to settle. Patsy becomes an unwilling confidante – and keeper of more secrets than she'd care to know.

Joy Kirk is busy planning her wedding. Since her first love was killed in the Great War, she has accepted that she'd never fall in love again. Now, having spent many years working as Robbie Bennett's housekeeper, she finally accepts his proposal of marriage. She soon realises she has let herself in for more than she bargained for.

Both Joy and Patsy will face unexpected fortunes. But will they ultimately find happiness?

 

A Daughter's Choice

Seventeen year old Katie is about to discover a devastating family secret...

Katie is the apple of her mother’s eye and is being groomed to take over the family business. But when Celia, her natural mother, re-enters her life, her world is turned completely upside down.

Tormented by her divided loyalties, Katie is plagued by a question Celia refuses to answer – who is her real father?

 

A Mother's Duty

A family at war...

Raising three boys and running the Arcadia Hotel almost single-handed are enough to keep widow Kitty Ryan busy. She has no time for romance – unless it’s in the form of a rare evening out at the local picture house.

Then along comes John Mcleod, bringing with him a second chance at happiness. However, Kitty finds her sons unwilling to accept another man into their household.

Unless she can reunite her menfolk, the future looks set to be that of a family in conflict, in a world on the eve of war...

 

A Sister's Duty

She will do what it takes, for the sake of the children…

Rosie Kilshaw is only fifteen when her mother Violet is killed in a tragic accident, but as the oldest of her siblings, she vows to keep her family together, no matter what the sacrifice.

But as distant family members begin to resurface into their lives, Rosie quickly realizes that there is a lot more to parenting than she first thought. And when her estranged aunt Amelia decides to take them in, she will have a difficult choice to make…

 

Beloved Abductor

It is 1265 and England is on the verge of a civil war….

After tragically losing her Father and Brother to the Battle of Lewes, Felicia is left with only her cousin Joan for company at her inherited manor.

But little does she know her nightmare is far from over. She is soon to be faced with a whole new battle, a battle for her freedom and a battle to save her dignity.

Her fierce cousin Philip traps her as his future wife as he hopes to inherit her fortune.

Despite their relation, he wants his cruel way with her and will stop at nothing to get her to submit to his wicked ways.

But is he the only villain, when Edmund is willing to abduct her under the impression that she is loyal to Philip?

Will he use her as a pawn in a game of revenge between himself and Philip, the man who killed his family?

After escaping her captor, a game of cat and mouse begins as Felicia flees Philip once more, returning herself to the hands of Edmund, the physician with a secret…

But does she flee him again? With no means of getting home she has little choice.

Being returned to Philip is surely a worse fate than staying with Edmund?

As romance starts to blossom between herself and her captor, Felicia faces an internal struggle between following her head and her heart.

But is it genuine affection or part of his plan for financial gain and power?

Will Felicia’s gamble of love be worth the risk?

Or will she end up heartbroken, widowed and lose it all?

 

Fateful Encounter

Ireland, 1395.

A dangerous place, especially for young, widowed Englishwoman Constance.

Having been left property by her late husband, Constance ventures across the seas to explore what is now hers on the Emerald Isle.

Yet before long she finds herself in mortal danger. Knocked off her horse and taken hostage by the barbarian Niall O’More, she loses her kinsmen and finds herself alone and without protection in a strange land, where many regard her as the enemy.

But there is more to Master O’More than meets the eye, and Constance finds herself, against her better judgement, being drawn into his beguiling ways.

She tries to keep her distance, but fate has them crossing paths at every turn.

And when Constance catches wind of a plot against the life of King Richard II, the pair find themselves drawn together once again...

 

Flowers on the Mersey

When Adam Rhoades tires of the political climate in Ireland and decides to leave for America, his daughter Rebekah's future happiness is threatened. For Rebekah has fallen in love with handsome young Republican, Daniel O'Neill. When a cruel twist of fate leaves Rebekah alone in Liverpool she is isolated and vulnerable.

 

Friends and Lovers

Vivien last saw her mother when she was nine years old and when she suddenly reappears after eight years she stirs up painful memories. Now at last Vivien has the opportunity to find out her father's identity.

 

His Runaway Maiden

Escaping her cruel stepmother, Rosamund Appleby dresses as a youth and heads for London...until she is halted in her tracks by Baron Alex Nilsson! Intrigued by this boy he suspects is really a wellborn young lady, Alex seeks to protect her as they journey together.

But when Alex, who trusts no woman, finds himself hastily and conveniently married to beautiful, courageous Rosamund, he doesn't know which is more dangerous: the enemies plotting his downfall or the seductive lure of a curvaceous woman in his bed....

 

It Had To Be You

 

It's Now or Never

Some secrets can’t stay buried forever…

In 1942, two young women, Dorothy Wilson and Lynne Donegan, give birth in a home for unwed mothers. Thirteen years later, Dorothy is offered her first major role in a feature film and it becomes clear that she and her boyfriend Sam have different ideas for their future together. Meanwhile, Lynne, having lost her childhood sweetheart in the war, is a struggling dressmaker bringing up her daughter on her own.

Though their lives have taken different paths, Dorothy and Lynne are brought back together in ways that neither could have predicted, and the secrets both women are keeping from their loved ones threaten to burst into the open and change the two women’s lives forever.

 

Lily's War

A heartwarming story of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of wartime Liverpool.

Busy bringing up her motherless brothers and sisters as well as running the family dairy, Lily Thorpe often dreams of the perfect man of visiting foreign climes. Although romance is the last thing on her mind, when she goes to hear Astralian preacher Matt Gibson, she is immediately drawn to him. And when it is time for Matt to return home, to her delight, he asks Lily to return with him as his wife.


A family crisis delays her journey, but when Lily finally arrives in Australia she is greeted by devastating news that Matt is missing. As she begins to search for him, rumors of war in Europe reach Lily and she is forced to make a momentous decision - one that will take her back to Liverpool. Will their love survive and will they ever see each other again?

 

Love's Intrigue

In the troubled times of Henry V’s attempts to take the throne of France, Louise Saulnier and her fellow Frenchmen are forced into wild living by the English. Stripped of the protection of her family’s wealth, Louise survives under the guise of a young boy, Louis, to escape the atrocities towards women that she has witnessed. But danger never wanders far and soon it is her own sister Marguerite who is taken by the foreign men.

With only the face of the abductor etched into her memory, Louise risks everything to rescue her sister. When it appears that this very man and his brother is the only key to her success, Louise faces a terrible choice: give in to the Englishmen and betray her beloved Northern France, or lose Marguerite. Flitting between her two identities, Louise crosses boundaries both of land and sea and of the heart. She ventures into new territories and is not only swept up into the clash of the two countries, but also of the two brothers…

 

Man Behind the Facade

As a renowned traveling player—with a dangerous sideline career in political intrigue—no one understands better than Philip Hurst the masks that people wear. But the effort it takes to school his reactions when he comes face-to-face with Rebecca Clifton tests even his theatrical expertise!

Becky has blossomed from innocent childhood friend into a beautiful and fiery widow. As Philip gets drawn into the tangled web of her family affairs, he can't help but wonder if he's met his match. Could Becky be the woman to tempt Philip to take on a new role, as her loving husband?

 

Many a Tear Has to Fall

Will a new romance only lead to more heartbreak?

With her modelling career in tatters and her long-term relationship with her sailor boyfriend at an end, Maggie Gregory returns to her family in Liverpool to decide what to do with the rest of her life.

A chance encounter with a handsome stranger offers the possibility of new romance, but is the man who calls himself Tim Murphy really all he seems, and what secrets has he been keeping from Maggie?

 

Memories Are Made of This

Is she prepared for the answers she might find?
Jeanette Walker’s mother disappeared without a trace during a wartime bombing raid and for twelve years she has been left to wonder what happened to her. Was she killed outright, or did she choose to leave?

Determined to find out the truth, Jean embarks on a mission to discover what really happened to her mother, but she is not prepared for the web of family secrets and lies that her investigation uncovers. Will she find any answers? And will they be the ones she was hoping for?