Book picks similar to
A Heart Filled With Joy by Indiana Wake


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Promise of Dreams


Cecelia M. Chittenden - 2017
    Her father has gone to bring home a son missing because of the war. Loyal servants give her support and comfort and are at her side when she learns of her father’s death. She promises to fulfill her father’s dream but someone doesn’t want her to, the one person she should be able to trust. He sets out to defeat her until another man, a Northern stranger, comes to her aid.

The Dressmaker's Daughter


Nancy Carson - 2015
    Love, passion and romance are reserved for daydreams.But then into Lizzie’s quiet world comes two men – one reliable and kind-hearted, the other heartbreakingly handsome. Just as Lizzie’s made her choice, the ominous call of war sounds, and her life changes again.Will Lizzie get her chance at happiness, or has it gone forever?

The Only Way Home


Jeanette Minniti - 2021
    Danger on the rails. A journey to save a family.It is 1933 inside a sweltering courtroom in Macon, Georgia. Fifteen-year-old Robert sits on a bench awaiting sentencing after being picked up for vagrancy and spending a night in jail. He left his home in Illinois with a neighborhood friend to ride the rails and find work to help their families. The friend turned back, too afraid to face the perils ahead. But going back empty-handed isn’t an option for Robert.THE ONLY WAY HOME is the story of one boy’s determination to survive loss and hardship to help his family — and how fate and a violin touch the course of his life.Fans of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Sold On a Monday by Kristina Morris will love this story set during the Great Depression of a fatherless boy fighting to keep his family together.

Bear Creek Brides: Books 9 - 12


Amelia Rose - 2021
    As he struggles to make a dent in the icy exterior of the townspeople he wonders if his efforts will be wasted--then he meets Matilda, and everything changes.From the moment they meet Danny finds himself entranced by her ambition, and Matilda is captured by his passion and determination. But life in Bear Creek is difficult for outsiders and despite the attraction, their blossoming romance could end in tragedy.How can Danny choose between the chance at love and his life's dream? Will Matilda lose her independence if she admits how she feels?Grace Cranfield dreams of freedom from high-society and the suitors her parents push onto her. When all seems lost, she finds a chance at hope when she spots an ad in the church from a Montana rancher looking for a wife.Left alone after the sudden deaths of his brothers, Malcolm Wilson longs for someone to help build a new life from the rubble of his old one. Grace is charming and kind, and as sparks fly she finds herself on a train speeding towards a new home, but also a world like nothing she's ever known.Will Grace be able to find a place in this new world and discover who she truly is? More importantly, will she survive long enough to get the chance?All Mayme Ruble wants is to feel like she belongs. When she comes across an ad from a farmer looking for a wife, she feels a glimmer of hope--a chance to start over and maybe even find love.Thomas Harris has spent most of his life running his farm, and now it's time for him to marry. Mayme's kind, honest response strikes a chord with him and there is instant chemistry. She leaves her hometown with tentative optimism that a new chapter in her life is about to begin.Despite Thomas' warmth and the welcoming townspeople, Mayme struggles to shed her self-consciousness. All seems well, until disaster strikes in Bear Creek and Mayme is forced to make a decision: will she step up and be the woman she hopes to become? Or will she lose this chance at happiness once and for all?When Rachel Maxwell discovers that her home - and her hand in marriage - have been sold to notorious poker player, Salis Dangerfield, her world is thrown into turmoil. Despite the stories swirling around town, Rachel has no plans to give in easily.Salis is a ruthless businessman and highroller. But right now, he's just a man in search of a safe haven. Faced with distrust from both his wife and the locals, it seems as though he and his young sister will never find their footing in Bear Creek.Rachel soon discovers the kind man behind the facade and Salis thinks he may have finally found the peace he's been looking for.Will Salis be able to overcome his demons? Can he and Rachel find a way to be together even when the whole world is against them?In Bear Creek Brides: Books 9-12, you will discover four captivating stories of vulnerability, danger, and determination as these four brides navigate peril and heartache to hold onto the chance for true love.

An Audacious Spitfire


Carré White - 2013
    On her eighteenth birthday, she receives a letter from her deceased mother, detailing her shocking parentage. She learns that her father's name is Gerry Quinn. Armed with a small inheritance, Bridget escapes from St. Joseph's Orphan Home with her trusted ten-year-old sidekick, Sawyer Brown. Together they embark on a wild and unpredictable journey that will lead Bridget straight into the arms of Jesse Owen, who is eager to help her find her father, although his motives are questionable. When the dust settles, a family will be reunited, a couple will be torn apart, and a surprise ending will turn everything on its head, again.This is the first book in the "Arizona Brides Series", which follows the lives of four plucky young ladies, who find themselves on wild and crazy adventures in the Arizona Territory.

When Two Souls Defy Destiny: A Historical Western Romance Book


Aurora Hanson - 2021
    As Melinda is saying her final goodbyes to her beloved sister, a brilliant yet risky idea presents itself. Melinda will take her place on the train instead, allowing her sister to stay in town and have a chance with her love. By the time their ruse is discovered, Melinda will be walking down the aisle with her future husband…What could possibly go wrong with such a perfect plan?Reginald Dawson started out in life with nothing and built a fortune from the goldfields in Cripple Creek, Colorado. Now, with a large hotel and success within his grasp, he is on the brink of having it all. When he posts an ad looking for a wife, he only has one thing in mind: to find someone sweet and genteel to be his companion and partner in life. With a lady of refinement at his side, even his tainted past could be overlooked, right?The problem is, lies have a way of being exposed...Both Melinda and Reginald have their fair share of secrets and neither is what the other expected. Melinda’s daring new husband seems to have a sinister secret in his past and Reginald’s perfect wife turns out to be a feisty suffragette. With danger looming and past mistakes catching up to them, can they even dare to imagine a chance at true love?"When Two Souls Defy Destiny" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Where's the Groom?


Cathryn Brown - 2020
    Now her groom’s missing and a new man’s helping her search for him.Summer realized she’d made a big mistake. Why did she say yes to him? When her groom never arrives at the church, she uses her one clue to find him. She gets a big surprise. And she meets her Watson to help her search.Cameron agrees to help Summer because a family member’s caught in her mystery. She’s glad to have someone working with her, especially when he’s handsome and has a great smile, but a new romance is out of the question. But she sometimes (maybe too often) gets in trouble when she leaps before she looks, so he could come in handy.Cameron and Summer are immediately pulled into a mystery bigger than a missing groom (with no dead bodies!) and fighting their attraction to each other. If they can find the groom—and solve this mystery—they’ll part ways and never need to see each other again.They’re caught in a situation they didn’t create. Can a woman who almost got married find love on the run?

Even Forever


Robin Lee Hatcher - 2021
    Her abusive jailbird father and her ne’er-do-well brother have cured her of that. Not even the wealthy visitor staying in her beleaguered mother’s boarding house can tempt her. She plans to leave Boulder Creek as soon as she can scrape together the funds to do so, and when she does, she won’t ever look back.Michael Randolph is in a high-stakes competition for the family business and intends to beat his half-brother, no matter what. So when an innocent encounter with Rosalie threatens to cost him everything he hopes to achieve, he’s willing to pay the price demanded by her no-good father. Even if it means marrying a damsel in distress.Strangers placed in an impossible position, Michael and Rosalie can agree on one thing. Neither of them wants to stay together any longer than they must. What they don’t know is that fate might have a better future in store for them than either could imagine.

Crack Money With Cocaine Dreams


Jahquel J. - 2014
    And so are the drug dealers that flood them. When your pockets are empty but your needs are full, you do the unthinkable. After her mother walks out on her at seven years old, Messiah Garibaldi was groomed to be a boss. Being the daughter to a mob boss and maid, she learned early to never mix business with pleasure. Messiah and her best friend, Jaylah, cook some of the best dope to man, which is how the ruthless drug lord, Tech, enters her world. Never being the one to be in love, Rasheed enters Messiah’s life and opens her to the possibility to love. Will Messiah mix business with pleasure? There’s only one thing in his way: Eli, Messiah’s companion. Eli is money hungry and broke. When giving the opportunity, Eli pulls off a stunt that might end his life. LB is a low-level nickel and dime drug dealer for Tech. Tech has been promising to put him on for years. Tired of being broke and watching Tech reaps the benefits of his labor, LB decides to step out and link up with Rasheed. Staten Island is small, everyone knows everyone…but do they really? When you have crack money but cocaine dreams, envy becomes your best friend.

They Called Him Cav: Reloaded


William Coury - 2014
    He has long since passed away, but his book remains, gathering dust on my shelf when it should have been entertaining good folks like you. So here it is at last: a western with heart written on an old manual typewriter. The story takes place in the badlands of West Texas (where he lived), and is chock-full of all the sprawling drama, heartache, triumph, tragedy, and gun-slinging grit one could desire. The cover of the book is adapted from an oil painting brushed by our father back in 77—one of many. I remember it hanging on the wall when I was a kid. I believe it was his favorite, so thought it only fitting that it be the cover. Now, finally, after all these years, our dad will get the recognition he deserves for both his writing and his painting. I sure hope he can see what's going on down here, 'cause I know it would make him smile. So take a deep breath, and let the troubles of the modern world slip away as you journey back to a simpler time (two simpler times, actually), the old west, and the 1940's....

Sweet Rosie


Iris Gower - 1999
    Content to adore him from afar, when he comes to her seventeenth birthday party she realizes that he is the only man she will ever love. But Watt, unaware of her feelings, is becoming increasingly drawn into the problems facing pottery owner Llinos Mainwaring, whose romantic marriage to Joe, the American Indian who stole her heart all those years ago, now seems in trouble. Before long, Rosie discovers that she is changed for ever from the innocent girl she once was, as she becomes involved with a man whose love she is destined never to have. A story of human love and conflict that spans two continents.

Gunfight In Mescalito


John Legg - 1991
    Hounded by Marshal Tom Baylor and his posse, Crockett, runs from one fearful, violent encounter to another. As time passes, he learns to make his way with the gun. But he is always looking for a place to call home, a place where he could live life in peace. He thinks he has found it when he lands in Mangas, Arizona Territory. There he meets wealthy, regal Don Esteban. And the hacendado’s daughter, the beautiful and spirited Magdalena. But a rival for Magdalen’s affections draws Crockett back into the world of danger and gunfire — and eventually a showdown that can only bring death.

The Heir's Pretend Bride: The Brides of Lost Creek


Rosie May Garrett - 2020
    Having married into wealth, she lived for a number of years surrounded by every luxury money could buy. Now, with her husband gone, the truth is revealed. And it’s worse than she could possibly have imagined. Penniless, alone, and shunned by the friends she used to know, Greta is desperate.Wesley lives a happy but simple life in Lost Creek, a long way from his rich family and a heartbreak he never recovered from. When he receives a letter from his grandmother, he discovers he needs a wife. He needs one soon.Neither of them are looking for love, but they are soon to learn that sometimes life’s not about what you seek, but what you find. Can our two heroes leave their pasts behind them? Can they open their eyes to the possibilities that lay ahead?Join them as they navigate the scenic streets of Lost Creek, carefully finding their way to their own, and each others’, hearts.

Montana Shootists


Sandra Cox - 2018
    Growing up they were inseparable. When he joined the Marines she did too. Then disaster struck. After leaving the Marines, she returns to the family ranch in Montana hoping to heal her shattered heart. On a ride into the foothills she sees something glowing in the side of the mountain. When she goes to investigate she discovers a fist-sized sapphire that turns her already fragile world upside down. 1882: Jake Barrow is a part-time gambler, full-time hired gun. His decisions are based on hunches and the turn of a card. He’s in the foothills when a young woman comes tumbling down the mountain. Unsure whether Lady Luck has dealt him a good hand or a bad, he takes one look at the beauty at his feet and doesn’t need to shuffle the deck to know she’s his destiny.

Blood Storm: A John Henry Cole Western


Bill Brooks - 2012
    Recent unexpected gunplay has whittled his detective agency down to a single operative: a man named John Henry Cole. Cole is the only man left when a new assignment comes in from a former lover of Kelly’s, a woman operating an escort service in the new mining camp of Deadwood in Dakota Territory. Three of the young women working for her have been murdered, and someone is trying to cover up their deaths.It’s a dangerous job, and Cole is advised that he must take every precaution—as if he needed such advice. The legendary Wild Bill Hickok was recently murdered at Deadwood, and Calamity Jane Canary and Doc Holliday are among Cole’s potential suspects. Add that to a corrupt constable and a bounty hunter who just happens to be an old enemy of Cole’s, and it’s clear there are many who will not welcome his arrival in Deadwood. Cole is a lonely man in a lonely profession, and finding a murderer in the wild mining camp could be less of a challenge than simply staying alive.Using real-life characters and settings from one of the most notorious times in the history of the Wild West, veteran author Bill Brooks spins another edge-of-your-seat thriller.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.