Books like Full steam ahead by Karen Witemeyer

1818 novel by Mary Shelley about young scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox experiment.

Charles Dickens’ classic bildungsroman follows an orphan named Pip as he grows from humble beginnings in Kent to London society, encountering wealth, poverty, love, and moral triumph.

Sisters Vianne and Isabelle are pulled into the turmoil of World War II, each forging a path of courage and resistance against the Nazi occupation of France.

Don Tillman, a genetics professor with Asperger’s, designs a scientific survey to find a wife, only to meet Rosie Jarman, a drinker and late arriver who challenges his controlled worldview and leads him to discover that love can’t be measured.

After losing the man she loves, Louisa Clark must rebuild her life and find herself again while navigating grief and new relationships.

Thomas Hardy’s bleak final novel follows Jude Fawley, a stonemason from rural Wessex, whose search for faith, love and independence collides with society’s harsh conventions and leads to tragedy.

Caseworker Linus travels to a remote orphanage to investigate ragged kids and their enigmatic caretaker Arthur, only to discover that the island’s magical children—and his own heart—are part of something larger than he imagined.

When an elderly widower’s car crashes, his fate becomes entangled with a young college student and her cowboy lover, sparking unexpected connections across generations.

James Salter's 'All that is' is a captivating and sometimes devastating labyrinth of love and ambition. A deeply intimate portrait of the emotional and physical experiences of being alive. Set during the golden decades following World War II, the book captures Salter's lifelong obsession with capturing the intimate, ephemeral spaces that all of us hold and leave behind on paper. After serving as a young officer in Okinawa during the war, Philip Bowman returns home to a small publishing house in New York. The frenetic social scene of New York in the post-war era is a backdrop for the story, where Bowman feels at home. However, his enduring love seems to elude him. When he meets a woman who captivates him, Bowman embarks on a journey that he never intended to take. The book is celebrated for its lyrical evocation of a post-war world imaginatively rendered and beautifully written.

Claire Banning, a beautiful debutante, marries a wealthy nobleman only to discover he is a dissolute wastrel. Forced to take her place in society, Claire is abducted and captured by a dangerous nobleman named Hugh Battancourt who leads a life dedicated to his country's service. When they are separated, Claire realizes she can never be happy with her husband, and Hugh realizes he can never be happy with his captive. Their bond grows stronger, and they are forced to overcome their differences to protect each other from a dangerous enemy.

Melanie Bartlett returns to her hometown of River Bend, where old ties and newfound connections, including with Wyatt Gibson and his daughter, weave a tale of friendship, family, and the complexities of female relationships.

During a road trip home for Christmas, Melody Tarleton encounters a wounded Revolutionary War soldier named Jake Mallory who claims to be from the past; together they uncover a mysterious time‑travel adventure that may change their future love.

In early twentieth‑century Paris, a couture designer and a Russian diplomat fall in love amid fashion revolutions and looming war, only to be torn apart by duties and upheaval.

The Birthright follows two generations of Acadian families whose fragile sister bonds are tested by time, tragedy, and the looming Revolution, as they confront revelations that may alter their legacy.

At 36, Noni Blake starts a fresh chapter after a long‑term breakup, exploring new romance, travel and self‑discovery while chasing a lost love in Europe.