Books in series
#1
The Masquerade
2012
Near the end of the Gilded Age, Elena Bissette’s family has decided to spend one last summer at their fashionable home on Mackinac Island. They've lost their family fortune, and Mrs. Bissette hopes to arrange a marriage between Elena and an elusive millionaire named Chester Darrington.
Elena quickly tires of the extravagant dinners and masquerade balls, preferring to spend her evenings watching the stars in an abandoned lighthouse. There she meets Chase, a handsome stranger who shares her love for the night sky. Together they begin working to solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary until Chase unmasks what seems to be the ultimate masquerade.
Legacy of Love is a series of historical romance novels based on the courageous people and significant events that wove together the rich tapestry of America’s freedom and faith. The print version of Masquerade is available online under its original title of Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan.
#2
The Runaway
2009
The Kindle version of this novel is now available as The A Legacy of Love Novel—In a divided town during a dangerous era, who can be trusted? Liberty, Indiana, is home to a stop on the Underground Railroad operated by Anna Brent and her father, covert abolitionists who harbor runaway slaves traveling toward freedom. The Brents must be very careful; anyone caught aiding runaways is subject to imprisonment under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. So when Anna begins to write columns denouncing slavery in the local newspaper, she must adopt a pen name. Even the newspaper's editor, Daniel Stanton, does not know the author's true identity. Daniel takes a risk publishing the columns—his job, his newspaper, and his very life might be in danger. When Anna's work on the Underground Railroad is threatened, can she turn to Daniel, a man she barely knows, to ensure the safety of the slaves so dear to her? Will she and Daniel be willing to risk everything for their beliefs—including their personal liberty?
#3
The Imposter
2013
An unlikely spy discovers freedom and love in the midst of the American Revolution.
As the British and Continental armies wage war in 1781, the daughter of a wealthy Virginia plantation owner feels conflict raging in her own heart. Lydia Caswell comes from a family of staunch Loyalists, but she wavers in her allegiance to the Crown.
On the night the British sail up the James River on a mission to destroy the new capital, Lydia discovers a wounded man on the riverbank near Caswell Hall. Fearing his identity but unwilling to leave him for dead, she secretly nurses him back to health. The man identifies himself as Nathan, a Patriot—and an enemy. But Lydia’s American sympathies grow, and when British officers return to the plantation, Lydia must help Nathan escape.
Privy to conversation among the officers at Caswell Hall, Lydia begins delivering secret messages to the Patriots in Williamsburg. When she overhears a plot to assassinate General Washington, she must risk her life to alert Nathan before it’s too late.
#4
The Christmas Bride
2011
The Kindle version of this novel is now available as The Christmas A Legacy of Love Novel—they were strangers when they married, but they both long for love. Christian and Susanna had never met when they were chosen by lot to marry in a Moravian community in Germany. But in 1755, they traveled with a dozen other newly married couples to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, to help establish a Moravian borough and share their faith with the surrounding Indian nations. Susanna's heart warms toward her new husband even after she learns that he had wished to marry another woman in Germany. As war rages between the British and French Indians and their young marriage faces hardship, Susanna wonders if Christian will ever return her love.
#5
The Journey
2012
A young woman traveling the Oregon Trail in 1841 must rely on a stranger to bring her to safety. After losing her parents along the trail to Oregon Country, Samantha Waldron and her young brother, Daniel, must overcome tremendous challenges to reach the Willamette Valley before winter. When their canoe capsizes on the Columbia River, they rely on handsome British exporter Alexander Clarke to escort them to Fort Vancouver. A number of men vie for Samantha's affections, but the only one who intrigues her is the one she cannot have. When Alex's betrothed arrives from Britain, Samantha becomes determined to create a home far away from the fort. But when Daniel disappears into the wilderness alone one night, Samantha must rely on the man she loves to rescue her brother before it's too late.
#6
The Society
2011
As the rest of the nation is embroiled in Civil War, the Amana Colonies remain peaceful. Amalie Wiese arrives in the newly built village of Amana in 1863, only to find that her betrothed, Friedrich, has left to fight with the Union army. Amalie tries to overcome her worries as she sets up a communal kitchen. She hopes that working along side Friedrich's best friend will provide some comfort, but Matthias is abrupt and cold.Little does Amalie know that Matthias has been in love with her since childhood but will not betray Friedrich by pursuing her friendship. When Matthias himself leaves for the battlefront to deliver supplies to the soldiers, war wages in Amalie's own heart. Will love claim victory?
#7
The Stranger
2010
The Kindle version is now available as The A Legacy of Love Novel. Times are hard in 1894. Desperate for work, former banker Jacob Hirsch rides the rails west from Chicago with his four-year-old daughter, Cassie. When a life-threatening illness strands the pair in Homestead, Iowa, the local Amana villagers welcome the father and daughter into their peaceful society. Liesel, a young Amana woman, nurses Cassie back to health, and the Homestead elders offer Jacob work. But Jacob's growing interest in Liesel complicates his position in the Amanas. Will he fight to stay in the only place that feels like home, even if it means giving up the woman he loves? Or will Liesel leave her beloved community to face the outside world with Jacob and Cassie at her side?
#8
The Silent Order
2010
Cleveland, Ohio, 1928. Secrets bind the notorious Cardano family together, but Detective Rollin Wells is close to exposing the family’s dark secrets. The Cardanos are working in the hills south of Cleveland, and when Rollin travels to Sugarcreek to investigate, he discovers that the Cardanos want him dead.
Rollin hides out in an Amish home, trying to uncover why the Cardanos are in Amish country and who is collaborating with them. As he gets closer to the truth, he also attempts to find out what a beautiful Amish woman named Katie Lehman—a woman who reminds him of the girl he once loved—is hiding.
Will Katie trust him with her secret…and her heart? Or will the Cardano code of honor silence them both?
Author
Melanie Dobson
Author · 26 books
Writing fiction is a fun excuse for Melanie to explore ghost towns and old houses, travel to unusual places, and spend hours reading dusty books and journals. She writes both contemporary and historical fiction with threads of romance and suspense. Melanie is the award-winning author of almost thirty time-slip, historical romance, suspense, and contemporary novels including Catching the Wind, The Winter Rose, and The Wings of Poppy Pendleton. Five of her novels including Chateau of Secrets have won Carol Awards, Catching the Wind won the Audie 2018 Inspirational Fiction award, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana. Catching the Wind and Memories of Glass were both finalists for Christy Awards in historical fiction. Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with Jon's work, the Dobsons have finally settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to travel and hike in both the mountains and the cliffs above the Pacific. When Melanie isn't writing or researching, she enjoys line dancing, biking, and making up stories with her kids. More information about her and her books is available on her website at www.melaniedobson.com. You can also connect with Melanie at www.facebook.com/melaniedobsonfiction.
