Book picks similar to
Reluctant Guardian by Kristy K. James
romance
historical-fiction
historical-romance
historical
Nothing But Trouble
Lisa Mondello - 1999
So she strikes a deal. She has to spend a full month in the Wyoming wilderness and show her father she can handle being in a remote area while managing her Type 1 diabetes before he'll agree to fund the expedition to Africa and allow her to go. But her daddy isn't the only one convinced she'll fail... But she's not about to let any man underestimate what she can do. Especially not the sexy rodeo cowboy she's hired to help get her through the month in the wilderness.Yes, he knows what he's doing. But so does she! Yes, he's ruggedly handsome...well, he can't help that, can he? But no sexy cowboy is going to keep her down!Stoney Buxton needs to raise cash fast to save the family ranch after a barn fire injured his father and left the family finances in ruin. Re-entering the rodeo circuit seems like the best way to get the money he needs. That is until Melanie Summers shows up at his ranch flashing easy money. To everyone else, Melanie's offer seems like the answer to all his prayers. But one look at her long legs and pouting lips and Stoney knows this high society gal is going to be nothing but trouble...for his cowboy heart.Excerpt:His jaw tightened. Yes, there was something definitely wrong here. And money had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with this beauty standing in front of him, who was clueless about what she was getting her pretty little hide into. "No," he replied tersely."Mr. Buxton, I need your help.""Tourist season is in full swing. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding someone else." He turned his back to her and began walking along the fence toward the barn, almost forgetting... Abruptly, he glanced up and saw the charred remains of the barn. The place where all his troubles had started just one year ago. It hadn't taken but a second for him to hear her boots digging into the dusty gravel behind him, jarring him from his thoughts."Then I'll do it myself," she said to his back.His whole body stiffened. He angled back to read her face, to see if she was just being a spoiled rotten rich kid, trying to get her way, or if she was actually serious. Seeing her head held high and her arms crossed in front of her, he realized she was dead serious. And dead she'd be if she stepped one boot into those mountains alone."You'll do no such thing." Frustration flaring, he lifted his dusty hat and forced his fingers through the thick crop of black hair before returning the hat to his head. "You just don't get it, do you? You're not asking me to take you on a theme park ride where you'll get to see the wonders of the world at a nice safe distance. This is God's country. The creatures that live up there don't know civilization, and you are no better than them. You could--probably will--get killed if you go out there alone." His lips twitched, taking a good long appraising look at the woman in front of him. "You might even chip a nail on that pretty hand of yours."
The Liberation of Ravenna Morton
Suzanne Jenkins - 2014
Facing modern problems when her lifelong romance with a Greek artist is closely examined by their children after a child she gave up for adoption dies, The Liberation of Ravenna Morton captures the small-town dynamic of a family’s private secrets being exposed to the world. A poignant look at the melding of two Americanized cultures observed under a microscope.
The Wicked Wager
Anya Wylde - 2012
A plan that should have brought the lovers together and had them married within a month. It was a simple matter of masquerading as the duke’s gardener, compromising the lady, and then having the duke rush them off to Gretna Green.Alas, he underestimates the duke’s intelligence and the tangled situation on the estate—never had he imagined that compromising a lady could be so difficult.His endeavours lead to a comedy of errors, charades, and knotty love affairs. Yet he forges ahead in spite of pesky house guests, a flea bitten mattress, his lovesick best friend, and a blackmailer.Just when things seem to be going well, someone is murdered (very inconvenient), and he happens to be one of the suspects (extremely inconvenient).His simple plan for winning the wager suddenly becomes … a tad complicated.
The Marquess of Gorsewall Manor
Adella J. Harris - 2018
Collapsing from exhaustion on the moors of Yorkshire, he's rescued by the handsome Lord Elmsby and taken to Gorsewall Manor. As he recovers, Lord Elmsby offers him a position cataloging the library. It would be an ideal situation, isolated, with a handsome, solitary lord and servants who don't ask many questions, except for the strange sounds in the corners of the library and the feeling he's being watched. And then a body is found on the moors, a body that could be the long missing fiancee of Lord Elmsby, and Thomas must find out the truth of what happened at Gorsewall Manor. A gay - m/m Regency romance, 82,000 words, print version 315 pages
Unlaced
Kristina Cook - 2004
Instead, she’s caught up in a whirlwind of balls, marriage proposals, and ton intrigues. Worse, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her sponsors’ maddening neighbor, Henry Ashton, the Marquess of Mandeville. The handsome, arrogant, sometimes infuriating Mandeville stokes a passionate fire within her that won’t be denied, no matter the consequence.Deep, emotional scars secretly plague Henry, Lord Mandeville. As a result, he’s avoided romantic entanglements at all costs. Only, now he needs a wife—someone from a wealthy, powerful family to further his political aspirations. Instead, he finds himself all but obsessed with the beautiful but unconventional Lucy Abbington—a woman whose passions and wit stir desires he’d rather ignore. And yet…she might just be the one woman who can heal his wounded heart.Lucy and Henry’s heads say no, but their hearts say yes. Will they find themselves undone by love?
Christmas Kisses
Cynthia A. Clement - 2014
When he finally comes home to celebrate the holidays it’s to introduce his fiancée to his family.Will the Christmas season give them a second chance at happiness? Or will honor demand they separate forever?
Pieces of Dreams
Jennifer Blake - 1996
The kitten dropped on her bridal quilt as she worked on it predicted, in an old wives’ ritual, that this is the man she will marry, but how can that be? As the wedding draws near, she is torn by long-held affection for one man and sensual attraction to the other. Animosity between the two men reaches such a fever pitch that a tragic break seems inevitabl—unless Melly can force her unruly heart to decide which brother to favor and which to send away forever.
Heiress
Susan May Warren - 2011
But what if they want only to be loved--without an enormous price tag attached? When one daughter pursues a desirable marriage, she secures for herself a comfortable and glamorous life. But among the duties of privilege, will she also find the happily-ever-after she seeks? Her sister rejects the trappings of wealth, choosing instead to build a new life on the still-untamed frontier. Will she find happiness in independence or discover that she's left her heart behind in New York's glittering society? Set in the opulent world of the Gilded Age, each woman discovers that being an heiress just might cost her everything--including the chance for true love.
Champagne and Lemon Drops
Jean Oram - 2013
Two men. One meddling small town.Raised by her older sister in the small town of Blueberry Springs, all Beth Wilkinson wants is to create a family so big she’ll never be alone. Things are going great until her fiancé, Oz, rethinks everything from his own career to their nuptial plans—forcing Beth to do the same.As Beth works to rediscover herself in hopes of reattracting Oz, she catches the eye of the charming new city doctor, Nash. Not only does he see her as she’d like to be seen, but he knows exactly what he wants from life—and that includes Beth.Torn between the two men, as well as two versions of herself, Beth discovers that love and dreams are much more complicated than they seem.
Mr. Sinful
Serenity Woods - 2012
Previously published by Samhain Publishing under the title Seven Sexy Sins. This is the Director’s Cut edition – featuring previously unseen excerpts from Faith’s blog!
Seven Sexy Sins. One Mr. Sinful.
Faith Hillman is in trouble. She’s writing an article on ways to spice up your love life for her popular blog, but she’s hit a major snag—she hasn’t experienced any of the Seven Sexy Sins on her list. Luckily, her brother’s best friend, Rusty Thorne, offers to help with her research. Having had a crush on him since the age of twelve, Faith agrees, on the proviso that he signs a contract keeping their short-term relationship a secret. Her brother once decked him for kissing her on her eighteenth birthday, so Rusty’s happy to concur. While they work their way through the wicked list, Rusty enjoys showing Faith all the sexual delights he can think of. But it’s only as the sins draws to a close that he understands that, where love is concerned, he’s the student and Faith’s the teacher. He’s determined to keep to the terms of the contract, but when it comes to the crunch, will he be able to let her go? Warning: Includes rebellious hero who enjoys inserting Tab A into Slots B, C, and even occasionally D. Also includes highly inappropriate use of a Mars Bar.
Firefly Hollow
T.L. Haddix - 2014
In 1960, a tragic death in the family calls young Sarah Browning back from college to her Appalachian homestead. Unable to return to school and finish her degree, she finds herself facing a future that isn’t what she’d planned. Lost and grieving, she wanders onto her reclusive neighbor’s property where she stumbles across the all-too-attractive Owen Campbell, a man hiding secrets she’d only ever thought were legend. Owen Campbell was raised on the folklore of Eastern Kentucky, tales of men and women with magical abilities from shape-shifting to healing powers. Rejected by those he loves because of his own abilities, he isolates himself from the world. When he meets Sarah, he’s faced with the tough decision of whether to let her in or stay hidden away to keep his heart safe.Please note - this book is NOT a typical paranormal romance. No rage-beast shifters or alpha dogs here. It is, however, at its heart a romance, with a few intimate scenes between the hero and heroine, as well as adult situations dealing with tragedy. "Firefly Hollow" is the first book in the Firefly Hollow series. Other titles include "Butterfly Lane," "Dragonfly Creek," "Cattail Ridge," "Cricket Cove," "Stormking Road," "Fern Valley," and "Snapdragon Way."
Francesca of Lost Nation
Lucinda Sue Crosby - 2010
It's one fun read and a story you and your grandchildren will want to visit time and time again.
Between Heaven and Hell
Jacqui Nelson - 2014
But inside is the means to a new life, a position as a scout on a wagon train bound for the Western Territories. All she has to do is convince the wagon master, Paden Callahan, she's the right person for the job. After his wife was murdered by the Comanche, Paden let his work as a Texas Ranger consume him. Now he wants nothing more than to disappear into the West. Unfortunately, the one man he can't refuse has asked him to guide a wagon train full of tenderfoots across thousands of miles of Indian land. But Paden's greatest challenge turns out to be Hannah, a woman his heart won't allow him to ignore even though she was raised by an enemy he hates.Between Heaven & Hell is the first book in the LONESOME HEARTS series where America’s breathtaking but harsh frontiers forge legendary men and women. The adventure continues with Following Faith (Oregon Territory 1852), Choosing Bravery (Oregon Territory 1868), Rescuing Raven (Deadwood 1876). This series follows the frontiersmen and women who meet the on Oregon Trail and afterward. Each story features characters from the other books but is also a standalone read.If you enjoy epic journeys featuring heroes with lost souls and heroines caught between two worlds, you'll love this edge-of-your-seat adventure that pushes pioneers to their limits and turns enemies into lovers and families into foes on the Oregon Trail.~ Click here to read an excerpt on my website ~
The Love We Gave
Gretta Curran Browne
"Part thriller, part love story … it’s hard to resist turning the pages."—BELFAST TELEGRAPH"Books are often described as 'page-turners' but this is very true of this one’ … Once started the reader will find it very hard to put down.’--- SOUTHSIDE NEWS."Succeeds in combining a fast-paced tale involving vast sums of money, immense power, women both wounded and wounding, and a variety of credible male characters from the traumatised Vietnam veteran Jimmy Overman to the seedy publisher, James Duncan … an excellent book.’ – IE BOOK REVIEWPARIS 1940 ― Sixteen year-old Jacqueline Castineau joins the French Resistance and proves herself more lethal than any Nazi.LONDON 1963 ― The music of Elvis, the Beatles, and Smokey Robinson hum through the city night and day; and the life of a shy young English waitress changes spectacularly when an off-duty American soldier comes into the bistro where she works.AMERICA1963 ― President Kennedy is in the White House and Martin Luther King is marching for Civil Rights.In this incredible and beautiful love story, jealousy and vengeance play a cruel part – set between two wars, the horror of the past come back to casts dark shadows over the present, and uneasiness about the fearful threats of the future.
Be My Love
Lucy Kevin - 2014
and five beautiful, close-knit sisters who are each about to find their one true love.After four years on the Seattle mainland, when Hanna Walker returns to Walker Island to make a documentary about the infamous Peterson-Walker feud from the early 1950s, she’s shocked to realize that passions still run high. Especially when it comes to Joel Peterson, the one man who is totally off-limits… but that she’s never been able to stop dreaming about. The last thing Joel wants is for Hanna to dredge up the past, but when he realizes she’s determined to follow through with her documentary no matter what, he knows he has no choice but to join her. But despite vowing to hold back his growing feelings for her, as Joel works with Hanna to unravel the mystery of what really happened between their two families, he soon begins to see that love is an unstoppable force… and that sometimes two people are meant to be. BE MY LOVE is the first fun, sweet, and emotional contemporary romance in the Walker Island series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lucy Kevin.