Book picks similar to
Dueling Hearts by Kat Martin


historical-romance
romance
kat-martin
historical

Innocent Fire


Brenda Joyce - 1988
    Here is the beginning of the Bragg empire-opulent and glamorous-vast, dangerous, and as untamed as the sweeping plains of Texas…Leaving behind the sheltered life of a French convent, Miranda journeyed to the New World and an arranged marriage to a prosperous Texan rancher. Arriving in America, the innocent European met her fiance's friend Derek Bragg, a rough-hewn Texas Ranger, whose harsh manner and candid comments about her beauty enraged the shy miss. Although Bragg fought to deny his feelings for his charge, he knew that he was falling in love with her. Miranda, too, was struggling with her desire for her escort as they trekked across the treacherous wilderness. Drawn to the lawman--enflamed by his raw masculine virility--will Miranda sacrifice her innocence to the fire blazing out of control in her heart?

Adam's Promise


Julianne MacLean - 2003
    When a gentleman from her past requests that she set sail for the New World to become his wife, she jumps at the chance to become a mail order bride and marry the man she has loved since she was a girl.Adam Coates was a mere tenant farmer when he left England for the British Colony of Nova Scotia, but now he is a prosperous and influential landowner. What Madeline doesn’t know is that her father has hoodwinked them both—for the bride Adam truly wanted was her beautiful, older sister, Diana—his first love. When Madeline steps off the ship with romantic dreams of her long-awaited happily-ever-after, she is shocked and dismayed to discover the truth. Madeline is furious with her father for his treachery, but she has sailed across an ocean to an unfamiliar land and must remain, at least temporarily, under the protection of the man she still loves—the man who still intends to wed her sister.Over the coming weeks, as their friendship deepens and grows, will Adam come to realize that he’d set his heart on the wrong sister all along? Or will it be too late to find the happiness they both desire?

Perils of the Heart


Jennifer Ashley - 2002
    Her stepbrother’s life--and the life of the rugged sailor she must tempt--depended on her success. Evangeline swore to surrender her body, her virtue . . . anything Austin Blackwell demanded. But she never expected to relinquish her heart. On a mission for the American colonies, Austin suspected the timid temptress was a skilled spy ordered to sabotage his plans. She played the part of an untried miss to perfection, her inexperienced fumbling driving him wild with desire. But after sampling her sweetness, after one harrowing night fraught with passion and peril, the commander vowed to navigate any course to discover the truth. For his soul mutinied at the prospect of sailing into the future without the courageous lady by his side.

Nobody's Angel


Karen Robards - 1992
    Her herbal healing skills made her an angel of mercy, her determination held together the family's farm, and her strong will always got her what she wanted--even the buying of a man.  But no suitor had ever courted her...Ian Connelly, Marquis of Derne, had been betrayed, branded a criminal, and beaten.  Still defiant, he had been indentured and transported to the Colonies, where a bossy, primly proper woman had bought him!  But he alone saw the strength of her character, the gold in her tawny hair, and, in her eyes, the fire of her long-hidden desire...Now Susannah "owned" this magnificently handsome rogue, but it was his passion that could free her imprisoned, lonely heart.  From the frontier South to society London or even to hell itself, with her body she would worship him and with her soul she would love him, for she was...Nobody's Angel.

Dakota Dreams


Madeline Baker - 2006
    His only chance is to break free from prison --- but with his escape comes a grave injury that threatens his life.THE PRISONER OF LOVE ... Catharine Lyons is struggling to maintain the family ranch in the wake of her parents' untimely death. When Nathan shows up on her property, badly wounded and close to death, Catharine provides him with sanctuary.THEIR DAKOTA DREAM ...As they grow closer, Catharine offers Nathan more than the healing of his body and mind. She agrees to join him on his journey into Lakota territory to avenge his wife's death. But as they trek through the dangerous West, they discover a passion just as untamed --- one that will change their destinies forever.

Touched By Fire


Gwyneth Atlee - 1999
    Passing herself off as an innocent mail-order bride, she arrives in Wisconsin to meet her future husband--never anticipating the flames of passion that will sear her soul, and send her into the arms of another man. TEMPTED BY DESIRE Strong, steadfast John Aldman is pleased with his pretty bride-to-be, but it is his brother, Daniel, whose every glance, every gesture touches Hannah's heart with fire. Just when desire threatens to burn out of control, Hannah's deception is discovered, sparking off bitterness that may cost her Daniel's love. Now, while raging brushfires blaze through the land-as red hot and unstoppable as the passion of two lovers-Hannah knows she must confront her past...before she can claim a love destined to burn brightly forever.

Beautiful Bad Man


Ellen O'Connell - 2012
    For years afterward, each nursed a secret dream—that the other had grown into a special person—brave, good, kind.When Norah Hawkins and Caleb Sutton cross paths again, dreams die. She is a bitter, suicidal widow. He is a gunman with little conscience and few scruples. Alternately angry, repelled, and attracted, the two form an uneasy partnership to hold land she owns and he covets against a marauding neighbor. Their bargain never included love, or did it?

Seduced


Molly O'Keefe - 2014
     Melody Hurst’s days as a Southern belle are over. Now she’s widowed and alone in the foothills of the Rockies, struggling to make a life in a dangerous world. She’s determined to secure a future by marrying – but love is out of the question. Cole Baywood has turned bounty hunter after serving in the horrors of the Civil War, but the ghosts of the men and women he’s killed still haunt him. He’s drawn to the beautiful widow trying to seduce him, only the darkness in his soul forces him to reject her. Is it possible that Melody’s touch can heal the demons of his past? And how can he convince a woman who has lost so much to risk her heart?

A Cowboy for Keeps


Jody Hedlund - 2021
    First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revolutions arise, can a union born out of desperation survive?

The Wedding Raffle


Geralyn Dawson - 1996
    True, the thrice-widowed beauty's elaborate plan to lure him to her remote ranch is a little unethical, but she'll make it up to him. Or so she thinks.Captain Luke Prescott, a renowned ex-Texas Ranger and bona fide hero, can't help but find his suspicions (among other things) aroused by the town's mysterious widow. But when he wins Honor's raffle for a valuable racehorse and arrives to collect, he soon discovers he wants a different kind of prize altogether. Honor doesn't want to sacrifice her heart, but Luke has the means to force her hand. After all, he holds the winning ticket.

Rimfire Bride


Sara Luck - 2013
    . .Only the boldest of women would set off for the Dakota Territory without a man by her side. But schoolteacher Jana Hartmann is determined to build a new life for herself and her frail sister, Greta. True to her courageous spirit, Jana takes the only job she can find in the town of Bismarck—modeling dresses in a shop window—which has every man staring and every woman gossiping. Adding fuel to the fire, she’s agreed to help raise money in the annual kissing booth, where one handsome cowboy wants to buy every kiss for himself.A scorching attraction . . .Drew Malone is a lawyer, rancher, and father of two little boys. Although Jana is immediately attracted to the handsome and helpful Drew, she fights it, torn between a budding romance and her responsibility to Greta. But Drew persists and sweeps her away for a romantic Christmas at Rimfire Ranch in the Badlands, where Jana finds herself having to win over the toughest critics of all— Drew’s young sons. As Greta becomes more independent, Jana lets down her guard and opens her heart to the three Malone men. But when the boys are kidnapped on her watch, Jana blames herself and flees to the frontier. Drew must race against the clock to get back his sons . . . and to make Jana his Rimfire bride.

A Tryst in Time


Eugenia Riley - 1992
    Grieving over the death of her soldier brother in Vietnam, Sarah Jennings seeks comfort in her family's crumbling Southern plantation and is transported back to the time of the Civil War, where she meets the battle-weary Damien.

Dearest Enemy


Nan Ryan - 2006
    But her grief only strengthened her resolve to spy for the Confederacy. The once-pampered Southern belle charmed her way through Washington society, falling brazenly into the arms of Rear Admiral Mitchell B. Longley, a commanding Union sailor. She seduced, used...and loved the powerful man.In the heat of ecstasy, Susanna forgot Mitch was her enemy--she surrendered her body and her heart. But her ruthless betrayal in the name of the South would cost Mitch everything--his command, his men and very nearly his life. She left a shattered, soulless man in her wake.And now Susanna's dearest love, her dearest enemy, will show her that the sweet kiss of vengeance is a game he, too, can play....

No Place for a Lady


Maggie Brendan - 2009
    After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land—even if a certain handsome foreman named Luke doubts her abilities.Just when she thinks she's getting a handle on the constant male attention from the cowhands and the catty barbs from some of the local young women, tragedy strikes. And saving the ranch from a greedy neighboring landowner means Crystal must take charge of a cattle drive, ready or not. Can she rise to the challenge? Or will she head back to Georgia defeated?

Nellie


Cynthia Woolf - 2014
    In post civil-war New York, the men are scarce and none want the burden of a wife with children. Her dead husband's family is wealthy, and cruel. Desperate to escape their influence, and eager for a home, a husband, and a stable life for her children, Nellie decides to make a new life in San Francisco as a mail order bride. Saloon owner Blake Malone is a bachelor and likes it that way. He worked hard for everything he has, but the San Francisco City Council won’t approve his plans to build a family emporium unless he is a family man himself. The solution? A mail order bride from New York who will bring him a ready-made family, stability, and the council's approval. Blake expects his future wife to care for his home and, other than helping him impress the city council, to stay out of his business. He expects life as usual. What he gets is an unexpected desire to win Nellie's heart, a dangerous threat to his new bride, and a rich benefactor determined to steal his new family out from under him. Blake believed his battle for success a hard one. But he will discover that the battle to win Nellie's heart and keep his family safe is going to take everything he's got.