Book picks similar to
The Lady Takes A Gunslinger by Barbara Ankrum


historical-romance
western
romance
western-romance

One Shingle to Hang


Deann Smallwood - 2014
    Her fragile mind couldn’t handle it. That’s what Lil had been told when she went against convention and became an attorney. The 1800’s had fewer women lawyers than women doctors. Her pride knew no bounds when she hung her shingle—L.M. Wentfield, Attorney At Law. Drew was a struggling cattle rancher, building a fledgling Hereford empire. He was working toward that goal when he was accused of rustling and faced possible hanging. He needed a lawyer—a good one—a man. Chesterfield had one lawyer—a new one—L.M. Wentfield. He wasn’t prepared for a beautiful blonde with a sharp tongue and fiercely won independence. Lil had no homemaking abilities. Her love was the law. And if the thoughts of the gray-eyed cowboy, who had the audacity to refuse her legal help, stayed in her mind, she’d push them aside. She had nothing to offer a rancher . Even her wealth wouldn’t be considered an asset to a prideful man. And Drew Jackson was proud. So proud, he knew he couldn’t ask a woman of Lil’s stature to share his life—but he wanted to—from the moment he’d stolen that first kiss.

The Wren


Kristy McCaffrey - 2003
    Now, at nineteen, she’s finally returning home to North Texas after spending the remainder of her childhood with a tribe of Kwahadi Comanche. What she finds is a deserted home coated with dust and the passage of time, the chilling discovery of her own gravesite, and the presence of a man she thought never to see again.Matt Ryan is pushed by a restless wind to the broken-down remains of the Hart ranch. Recently recovered from an imprisonment that nearly ended his life, the drive for truth and fairness has all but abandoned him. For ten years he faithfully served the U.S. Army and the Texas Rangers, seeking justice for the brutal murder of a little girl, only to find closure and healing beyond his grasp. Returning to the place where it all began, he’s stunned to encounter a woman with the same blue eyes as the child he can’t put out of his mind.A sensuous historical western romance set in 1877 Texas.2003 CAPA WINNER The Romance Studio ~ Best New Author Traditional2004 Holt Medallion FINALIST ~ Best First Book2004 Texas Gold FINALIST ~ Historical Category“…McCaffrey’s mastery of setting and historic details gives this western gritty realism.” ~ RT Book Reviews“…a heart wrenchingly emotional story…” ~ Coffeetime Romance“The main characters were well matched and the secondary characters were just as good. Don’t miss this incredible read in what is sure to be a great series to follow.” ~ The Romance Studio“Handsome, rugged heroes, strong heroines and a super storyline make The Wren a keeper.” ~ The Best Reviews“…well written…captivated me from the first line to the poignant last.” ~ NovelspotDon’t miss all the books in the series~The Wren: Book 1The Dove: Book 2The Sparrow: Book 3The Blackbird: Book 4The Shiny Penny: Short Story 4.1 (available free exclusively to Kristy’s newsletter subscribers)Song Of The Wren: Novella 4.2 (available free exclusively to Kristy’s newsletter subscribers)The Bluebird: Book 5Echo of the Plains: Novella 5.5

Kat's Law


Samantha St. Claire - 2016
    He was a lawman who had turned in his badge after failing to protect the innocent. Two unmistakable callings. One unmistakable love. READERS' FAVORITE FIVE STAR REVIEW Idaho Territory-1888 She was a doctor seeking justice for her town. He was a lawman who had turned in his badge after failing to protect the innocent. Idaho Territory-1888 DREAMS OF AN EDUCATED WOMAN Kat Meriwether left her hometown of Snowberry in Idaho Territory as a tomboy with a saucy reputation as a fighter of bullies, but she returns as an educated woman polished by four years in Boston. Throughout those years she's kept her mind on her studies, avoiding romantic entanglements that might hinder her from achieving her goals. NIGHTMARES OF AN EX-TEXAS RANGER Jonathan Winthrop, is a haunted man, running from his own tormented past. Snowberry offers him a chance to start over, but lawless men are changing the once peaceful town, and innocents will die without a defender. LOVE CAN ALTER THEM ALL Young medical school graduate, Dr. Kat Meriwether, doesn't like what she finds upon returning home, but she also finds a good man whose sense of justice is as strong as hers. Together they would find not only their unmistakable callings, but an undeniable love.

Landry's Back in Town


Margery Scott - 2016
    The residents of Rocky Ridge, Colorado aren’t the forgive-and-forget type, so all he wants now is to be left alone. As a young child, Olivia Harding learned the hard way that approval only came from doing for others. Now, since she has no family of her own to love and care for, she spends her days at the town orphanage help to look after the children there. When Landry rescues Olivia from a dangerous situation, she sees a man who is lonely, a man who is hurt, a man who needs her whether he realizes it or not. As their feelings for each other grow, he starts to believe they might have a future together. Until trouble comes back to town …

The Beginning


Cassie Hayes - 2014
    Not willing to return to her father's restrictive home — or face the arduous six-month voyage back to Boston — she hatches a plan to start her own business. She'll never have to trust her future to a man again. Jack Dalton struck it rich in the Sierra Nevada and is having a mighty fine time spending his gold at dance halls and saloons in town. He can't for the life of him figure out why so many of his drinking buddies are signing up for ads in the matchmaking paper that snooty 'Miss Priss' is starting up. The last thing he wants to do is to settle down. When an unscrupulous charlatan threatens to shatter Delilah's dream, Jack takes pity and steps in to lend a helping hand. Then he gets suckered into partnering with the very woman he desperately wants to avoid. Long hours working together force them to face their deepest fears and admit they're drawn toward one another. Can they let go of their pasts and find hope for their future or will they let their fears tear them apart?

Dance With A Gunfighter


JoMarie Lodge - 2011
    She grows up quickly when she witnesses the murder of her family by a gang of outlaws, and vows to make them pay for their crime. When the law won't help her, she takes matters into her own hands. Jess McLowry left his war-torn Southern home to head West, where he hired out his gun. When he learns what happened to Gabriella's family, and what she plans, he knows a young woman like her will have no chance against the outlaws, and vows to save her the way he couldn't save his own family. But the price of vengeance is high and Gabriella's willingness to sacrifice everything ultimately leads to the book's deadly and startling conclusion.This is a harsh and gritty tale of the old West, somewhat reminiscent of Charles Portis' True Grit or Nancy Turner's These is My Words. [This novel was previously published under the pseudonym JoMarie Lodge.]

Teton Sunrise


Peggy L. Henderson - 2013
    For six long years, she’s waited and wondered if he would return. After the shocking murder of her parents, her brother is the only family she has left. Refusing to accept a betrothal to a man she doesn’t love, she decides to take control of her destiny and confront her parents’ killer. Growing up, Alexander Walker has known only violence at the hands of his cruel father. After the death of his mother, he embarks on a journey into the uncharted wilderness to test his resolve as a fur trapper and mountain man. When an impulsive decision leads him back to his childhood home, he finds more than he bargained for.Amid the rugged Teton wilderness, fate suddenly throws Alex and Evelyn together. The quiet protective boy she remembers is now as strange to her as the world she’s been forced into. Wary of the hardened man he has become, Evelyn must put her trust in him in order to survive. Alex’s memories of Evelyn are of a pesky little girl, but he can’t deny his growing feelings for the beautiful and spirited woman she is now. His biggest obstacle in winning her heart may not be her uncertainty of him, but a fear that has haunted him all his life. In a primitive and brutal world, can Alex and Evelyn forge a love as solid as the mountains, or will the past come back to haunt them both?

Rachel and the Hired Gun


Elaine Levine - 2009
    But she didn't realize that she had been summoned west to be used as a pawn in a ranch war with her father's neighbor--or that her fierce, sudden attraction to Sager, her father's hired gun, would put her heart and her life in jeopardy.Seducing Rachel and feeding a bitter feud between the two ranches was Sager's plan of vengeance against those who slaughtered his Shoshone family. Instead, Rachel's guileless mix of courage and vulnerability touches the conscience he thought he'd buried long ago, and draws them both into a passion without rules, without limits--one that will change their destinies forever. . . Note: This is a reprint of a previously published book.

Our Little Secrets


Merry Farmer - 2012
    So when the beautiful and wily Charlotte steps off the train looking for a new life he jumps at the business opportunity she presents. Engaged forty-five minutes after meeting, married the next day, Michael thinks he’s found everything a respectable man should have. Except that Michael is as far from respectable as they come. They agreed not to ask questions about each other’s pasts, but when the past seeps into their present Michael suspects his passionate new wife is not who she says she is. Too bad he’s already fallen in love with her.Charlotte Baldwin has a secret. She fled Philadelphia to escape the sins of her past but someone is following her. What better way to hide than by marrying Michael West, Cold Springs, Montana’s enigmatic shopkeeper? A new name, a new life, and a passionate husband is exactly what she needs to leave her sins behind. But when it comes to keeping secrets Charlotte may have met her match in Michael. When a connection neither of them expects catches up with them, the shocking revelation means Charlotte may have run right into the arms of her enemy.No sin stays a secret forever…

Dance on the Wind


Brenda Jernigan - 2002
    Desperate but determined, lovely Brandy answers an advertisement for a mail order bride, hoping to build a new life out West for herself and the five orphans she’s taken under her wing. She needs a guide to reach Fort Laramie by wagon train and turns to Thunder, a Cheyenne scout, for help. When he curtly refuses, Brandy is undaunted. And when he’s jailed after a gunfight she makes a devil’s bargain: he gets his freedom and she gets a guide.Thunder has learned the hard way that prejudice runs deep for half-breeds. Now, his only desire is to live among the Cheyenne people. He doesn’t want the temptation beautiful Brandy offers and the wild passion that explodes between them only hardens his resolve to avoid what he cannot have: another man’s soon-to-be-wife. Can he truly walk away from Brandy and the ragtag family? Or has his destiny been sealed by a kiss.

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?

Texas Outlaw


Adrienne deWolfe - 1995
    No man can resist her smoky voice and violet eyes—and that includes the federal tinstar, Cord Rawlins.Cord may have tracked her all the way to Texas to recover the U.S. minting plates that she stole, but the Nevada penitentiary is a long ride north, giving her plenty of time to charm, seduce, or just plain outsmart the handsome Texas lawman.Deputy U.S. Marshal Cord Rawlins is sworn to bring renegades to justice—including the brazen lady train robber who turned the tables on him near Carson City.Tracking Fancy down is Cord's job, but resisting her persistent persuasions is a matter of personal honor. With Fancy's life in his hands, Cord begins to wonder if his clever prisoner is really as shameless as she pretends. Could her wicked smile be hiding a desperate secret—one that can steal his heart?AWARDS:Rita Finalist, Best First Book, Romance Writers of AmericaRita Finalist, Best Historical Romance (under 100,000 words), Romance Writers of AmericaFinalist, Reviewers Choice Award (Best Debut Novel), Romantic Times MagazineWinner, Honey of a Heroine Award, West Houston Chapter, Romance Writers of America

Love's New Beginning


Dorothy Wiley - 2016
     It's 1800 Philadelphia, and the city cowers before a mysterious killer—Yellow Fever. Daniel Armitage and his family are respected members of Philadelphia society. But their status cannot save Daniel’s loved ones. His entire family succumbs to the horrifying disease. His mother’s startling deathbed confession, shakes Daniel to his soul. Another man is really his father. His search for his real father takes him to Kentucky—the edge of the frontier. Seeking a father with a different last name, he is now considered an illegitimate bastard and is scorned by everyone, even himself. Except for the people who matter the most—his true father Daniel "Bear" MacKay and Ann Byrd. Captivated by her beauty and fierce independence, Daniel seeks to court Ann but her father won't allow her near a man born out of wedlock. The humiliation of illegitimacy subjects Daniel to social and legal discrimination. And ruthless, back-stabbing Charles Snyder is obsessed with having Ann for himself. Snyder terrorizes Daniel’s new family and the entire town. Bear’s act of unequivocal love grants Daniel a chance for happiness. But only Ann’s courage can save it. "Dorothy Wiley takes you on an action-packed adventure on the Kentucky Frontier in this enthralling tale of self-discovery, finding true love, and the meaning of family." – Peggy L. Henderson, Bestselling Historical Romance Author "Wiley's writing has such realism that I am transported to Kentucky and that time period as I read and feel I know the characters well!" – JoAnne Weiss, Romancing the Book Reviewer

Fire Eyes


Cheryl Pierson - 2009
    Marshal Kaed Turner understands what the inevitable outcome will be for him: death. But Fate and a war party of Choctaw Indians intervene, delivering him instead to a beautiful angel with the skill to heal him. Jessica Monroe has already lost a husband and a brother to the outlaws who tortured Marshal Turner. As the rugged lawman lies bleeding on her bed, she faces a difficult decision. Can she afford to gamble with her heart one last time? For when Kaed recovers, he is sworn to join the other Territorial Peace Officers in their battle to wipe out the renegade gang once and for all. When vengeance is done, will Kaed keep riding? Or will he return to claim his future with the beautiful woman the Choctaw call Fire Eyes?

To Love a Texas Ranger


Linda Broday - 2016
    A Cowboy. An Outlaw. Men of LegendThe Texas RangerGravely injured on the trail of a notorious criminal, Texas Ranger Sam Legend boards a train bound for his family ranch to recuperate...only to find himself locked in battle to save a desperate woman on the run. Determined to rescue the beautiful Sierra, Sam recruits an unlikely ally. But can he trust the mysterious gunslinger to fight at his side?Sam is shocked to discover his new ally is not only an outlaw, but his half-brother. Torn between loyalty to his job and love of his family, Sam goes reeling straight into Sierra's arms. Yet just as the walls around his battered heart begin to crumble, Sierra is stolen away. Sam will risk anything to save her-his life, his badge, his very soul-knowing that some bonds are stronger than the law...and some legends were born to be told.Praise for Forever His Texas Bride "Broday's Westerns always captivate." -RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars"One of the best historical western authors." -Fresh Fiction"Poignant, dramatic and packed with action and mystery." -Addicted to Romance