Book picks similar to
Texas Tall by Kaki Warner


romance
western
historical
historical-romance

Capture My Heart: prequel to A Warrior's Promise


Rosanne Bittner - 2017
    Determined to prove she is capable of running the business on her own, Claire must compete against a wealthy businessman who wants to bring her down. Two Wolves, half Cheyenne, scouts for the U. S. Army. He is determined to prove that white men have been committing raids against their own kind in order to fuel the fires of hatred of Colorado citizens against the Cheyenne. When he rescues Claire from just such an attack, he is struck by her fiery independence and youthful beauty. Most of all, he admires her brave attempt to save her father’s business and to help Two Wolves prove that her attack was by white men, led by the very businessman who is her competitor. Through events that keep forcing these two together and cause Two Wolves to risk his life in Claire’s defense more than once, a bond develops that turns into a steamy attraction between a tiny, red-headed young white woman and a powerful, brave, handsome Indian warrior. This attraction leads to a hot, forbidden romance that develops into a memorable “against-all-odds” love story. Set against the true history of atrocities committed by the Colorado militia against peaceful Cheyenne, CAPTURE MY HEART brings to light the struggle of the southern Cheyenne to survive amid more and more white settlement; and it shows the courage of Indians and certain brave whites alike in trying to keep the peace during one of the most difficult periods in Colorado history.

Texas Bride


Joan Johnston - 2012
    Now marriage to a stranger is her only hope of finding a home where she and her two younger brothers can escape the brutality of the Chicago orphanage where they live. With any luck, she can even start a family of her own, once the three of them are settled at Jacob Creed’s Texas ranch. But Miranda has one gigantic concern: Her husband-to-be knows nothing about the brothers she’s bringing along. What if he calls off the deal when he discovers the trick she’s played on him?Jake Creed is hanging on to his Texas ranch by his fingernails. His nemesis, Alexander Blackthorne, is determined to ruin him. Jake will never give up, but he’s in desperate trouble. His wife died six months ago in childbirth, along with their stillborn son, and his two-year-old daughter needs a mother. The advertisement Jake wrote never mentioned his daughter—or the fact that he has no intention of consummating his marriage. He’s determined never to subject another wife to the burden of pregnancy. But Jake doesn't count on finding his bride so desirable. He doesn't count on aching with need when she joins him in bed. And he never suspected his bride would have plans of her own to seduce him.

The Chef's Mail Order Bride


Cindy Caldwell - 2015
    She'd been raised to bake in her parents' bakery, and after their deaths, she had planned to carry on the family tradition. Devastated to find out she was losing her family's business, she needed something to do to support herself. When she received a letter from her twin sister's husband in Arizona Territory, suggesting she come out to be the bride of his best friend who was opening a restaurant, it seemed like the perfect solution to her problems. Tripp had gone to the best culinary school in the country, and he knew exactly how to create the perfect meal. He spent hours and hours coming up with just the right menu for his restaurant, only to be told he couldn't get a loan for it unless he married. When his best friend came up with the solution of sending for his baker sister-in-law, it only made sense. Her ideas of the perfect menu were different than his, though. Would the two be able to stay together long enough to convince the bank he was a good risk? Would Sadie be able to convince Tripp that the two of them belonged together after all?

Loving Eliza


Ruth Ann Nordin - 2009
    A chance to be something she never had the opportunity to be before: a lady--a woman with a good reputation. John Evans has never belonged in his small town. So when Eliza shows up and treats him better than anyone ever has, he's ready to marry her before she finds someone she'd rather be with. But she harbors a secret that makes someone like her unsuitable for marriage, and she is determined that no one will ever find out. Ever. Until someone from her past shows up... Then who is going to dare love a woman like her?

Abby: Mail Order Bride


Verna Clay - 2012
    Left with three children, he's desperate to find a mother for them. Ten year old Jenny does her best to care for two year old Ty, and fourteen year old Luke works the ranch with his father, losing himself in dime novels to ease the pain of his mother's passing. Brant's options are limited since eligible women seldom pass through Two Rivers, much less settle in the small Texas town. In desperation, he places a classified advertisement for a mail order bride. Marrying a woman he'll come to know through a newspaper advertisement scares the bejesus out of him, but at this point, he's out of options.Abigail Mary Vaughn always dreamed of having her own family, but caring for her elderly parents, as well as working as a teacher to help with finances, ended that dream. Her parents are now dead and she's faced with the reality of her lonely existence. After reading Mr. Samson's advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer, she garners enough courage to respond. Since she is considered an old maid at the age of thirty-eight, she'll more than likely spend the rest of her life wondering "what if" unless she does something unconventional.Sensual love scenes.

Under the Desert Moon


Marsha Canham - 1992
    Disguised as a prim schoolmarm, she hid more than her alluring beauty. For no one could see her fierce determination, her able sharp-shooting, her survivor's heart. No one except the one man determined to claim her as his own...HIS PAST WAS A SECRET...Christian McBride sought justice for the misguided verdict that wrongly jailed him years before. Traveling westward with his stoic Ute companion, Sun Shadow, the rugged, bold plainsman knew the perils of the West better than his own heart - which was about to fall hostage to the mysterious, raven-haired woman who boarded the stage he was riding - and who, it would turn out, was not at all what she seemed...

A Lady of the West


Linda Howard - 1990
     Victoria Waverly, noble daughter of the war-ruined South, is sold in marriage to a ruthless rancher. Honor and pride help her endure life as a wife in name only but nothing can quench her forbidden desire for hired gunman Jake Roper. His gaze is hard, but tenderness he can't hide promises to unveil to Victoria the mysteries of love. Only true love can destroy.... Jake curses his burning need for Victoria, for he wants nothing to stand in the way of his drive to reclaim Sarratt's Kingdom -- the ranch that is his legacy and obsession. But ancient wrongs and blazing passions will bind together the aristocratic beauty and the powerful cowboy. In a bloody land war, they will fight for Jake's birthright...and seize at all costs the love that is their destiny.

Ella: Escape West by Wagon Train


Sadie Conall - 2018
    Marry a wealthy man and provide a home for those she loves? Or have the courage to go west by wagon train to California and chase a dream of her own?

Blaze


Susan Johnson - 1986
    To Blaze Braddock, beautiful, pampered daughter of a millionaire, it was a chance to flee stifling codes of Boston society. But when Jon Hazard Black, a proud young Absarokee chief, challenged her father's land claim, Blaze was swept up in a storm of passions she had never before even imagined.Taken hostage by the Indian warrior, Blaze Braddock surrendered to the dreams of a defiant people -- and found love in the arms of a man who had sworn to be her enemy... This book is intended for mature audiences.

Cora's Pride


Peggy L. Henderson - 2016
    Betrayed more than once by men she thought she could trust, she’s learned to rely only on herself. As the oldest of four siblings, she feels responsible for leading her family safely on the Oregon Trail for a new start. Nathaniel Wilder is no stranger to the hardships and dangers of the wilderness. Raised with his brothers by a trapper in the remote mountains, he left behind the mistakes he’s made in the past. He’s been called reckless and irresponsible, but won’t hesitate to help someone in need. A foolhardy mishap puts Nathaniel in the direct path of a stubborn, yet beautiful woman with fire in her eyes. Despite her refusal of help, he is determined to prove she can depend on him. When her pride puts her and her family in peril, Cora accepts that she can’t do it on her own. If misgivings can turn to trust, or even love, both Cora and Nathaniel could come out stronger in the end. ***Content Warning: This book contains mild language, mild violence, kissing, and physical initmacy with minimal description. Heat Level: 2-3 (on a scale of 1-5), PG/PG13.

The Sheriff and the Innocent Housekeeper


Lynda Chance - 2011
    Mesmerized immediately with his raw masculinity and sinewy strength, her fascination turns to love as the years pass and his honest integrity is revealed. Jake Cooper manages to ignore his pretty, little orphaned housekeeper for three long years. But when she begins a subtle metamorphosis from girl to woman, he can’t control his consuming need for her any longer. It has been his job to protect the town all these years, but who will protect her from him? Excerpt: Becky clutched the plate to her mid-section, standing as still as a rabbit caught in a predators sight, when she saw the way he stood at the door, watching her. Her hands began the all too familiar shaking, and she heard a roaring sound in her ears and a crashing, splintering noise at her feet. She looked down at the broken plate and in her confusion quickly bent down to retrieve it. A sharp pain in her hand jerked her upright again. The spell was broken when his deep voice intruded on her consciousness. “Goddammit!” Becky stood immobile as he pushed off the door and was quickly upon her. He picked up her hand in his. “Becky, what the hell?” She looked down at his hands holding hers and saw a stream of blood running from a cut on her finger. She realized she had compounded her mistake by cutting her finger. The plate was in shards on the floor. She knew those plates had belonged to his mother. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Sheriff.” He pulled her to the kitchen and his large body crowded her against the counter as he held her hand where it was bleeding. His arms wrapped around her from behind, his chest pressed into her back as he held her bleeding finger in the pail of cold water. The water turned pink as she tried not to faint. His mouth moved to her ear. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth.” He growled the words in her ear. His warm breath caressed her face. “I’m sorry about your m-mother’s china.” Her voice wobbled from the impact of his nearness. He reached around and tugged her chin up and around so he could look into her eyes. “You know this isn’t about the goddamn china, don’t you, Becky?”

A Sensible Arrangement


Tracie Peterson - 2014
    Widower Jake Wythe has secured a job as a bank manager in Denver, only to discover that the bank board wants him to be a married man. With Texas in his roots, he advertises for a Lone Star bride, and Marty answers the call. They both agree they are done with romance and love and will make this nothing more than a marriage of convenience.Marty works to carve out a new life in high-society Denver as Jake works to guide the bank through a collapsing economy. But when money goes missing at the bank and accounting discrepancies point to Jake, he must find a way to prove his innocence. Yet all he wants to do is go back to Texas and own his own ranch. Marty, on the other hand, owns a ranch–one she’s never told her husband about. She hates Texas because it represents the losses in her life. But as the couple grows closer and love begins to bloom, Marty realizes she needs to tell Jake the truth. Can she come to terms with the past and her anger toward God in order to make room for love?

Brave the Wild Wind


Johanna Lindsey - 1984
    For his pride insists he tame the fiery temptress who toys with his emotions. And his passion won't be sated until the sensuous young hellion becomes a woman in his arms.

Westward Winds


Linda Bridey - 2014
    Her doting parents want her to make a good match with a worthy gentleman and live a respectable life. She is beautiful and intelligent and she comes with a hefty dowry. There is no reason that she shouldn’t be able to find an eligible man and settle down.Tessa herself is the reason. The men who are attempting to court her are, in her opinion, boring and conceited. Not only that, Tessa craves excitement and adventure, of which there is little in her social circles. By chance, she comes across an advertisement for a bride brokerage company seeking eligible women of good breeding to go west and find husbands.One man on the list catches her eye and she begins corresponding with him, eventually agreeing to go to Montana to meet him. She can’t resist the possibility of finding someone different and even if she doesn’t, the adventure itself would be worth her time. Tessa makes a successful escape and sets out to make a new life in Montana.Dean Samuels is a Montana rancher who is in over his head. His ranch is struggling and his two children are unruly and in need of a caretaker. It’s clear to his younger brother, Marcus, that he needs help. He tells Dean about a mail order bride service and convinces him that he should utilize it to find a wife.After his wife, Sarah, had passed away, Dean never intended to marry again. His ranch and his children became his life. However, it becomes apparent that Sadie, his daughter, and his son, Jack, need stability and love. The demands of raising his children and keeping his head above water financially have taken a toll and Dean grudgingly gives in to Marcus’ idea.Sarah had been the love of his life and Dean doesn’t intend to let any other woman into his heart. He’s locked those kinds of emotions deep inside, not wanting to take the chance of getting hurt like that again. Because Dean has trouble expressing his feelings in writing, his younger brother Marcus agrees to help write the letters to Tessa. Dean is happy to leave that part up to him.When Dean and Tessa meet, sparks fly between the two strong willed people. Tessa is disappointed that Dean isn’t the romantic, sophisticated man she was lead to believe he was in the letters she received. Dean is aggravated that she isn’t a meek woman who is easily managed. Never mind the fact that she has no idea of how to take care of children and keep a home.Dean and Tessa struggle to find common ground and make their marriage work. Will they each take the risk and open their hearts to one another? Can their marriage survive and will they find love and contentment in each other? Their future happiness hangs in the balance under the Montana skies.

Petticoat Ranch


Mary Connealy - 2006
    Can she find a way to love a headstrong mountain man? When Clay McClellan discovers his brother has been murdered, he's bent on finding the killers and seeing them properly hung. But first his Christian duty demands that he marry his sister-in-law. After all, Sophie needs someone to protect her - right? Faith and love help unruly wed newlyweds find common ground and a chance at love on the Texas frontier.