Book picks similar to
The Law and Miss Penny by Sharon Ihle


historical-romance
western
romance
historical

Heart of Stone


Jill Marie Landis - 2010
    And he had everything to lose by loving her. Laura Foster, free from the bondage of an unspeakable childhood, has struggled to make a new life for herself. Now the owner of an elegant boardinghouse in Glory, Texas, she is known as a wealthy, respectable widow. But Laura never forgets that she is always just one step ahead of her past. When Reverend Brand McCormick comes calling, Laura does all she can to discourage him as a suitor. She knows that if her past were discovered, Brand's reputation would be ruined. But it's not only Laura's past that threatens to bring Brand down---it's also his own. When a stranger in town threatens to reveal too many secrets, Laura is faced with a heartbreaking choice: Should she leave Glory forever and save Brand's future? Or is it worth risking his name---and her heart---by telling him the truth?

A Fool Again


Eloisa James - 2011
    Now, a few years later, she attends the funeral of her elderly husband (not the man she ran away to marry) and who does she see but The One Who Got Away! Can they make their love work this time around or will Genevieve be A Fool Again?

Never Dare a Duke


Meara Platt - 2018
    In winning the dare, will she also lose her heart to the duke?

Shunned No More


Christina McKnight - 2014
    Eight years later, she has her life in order: a fulfilling business, a few trusted friends, and no plans to return to London society. What she doesn’t expect is to come face to face with her past.A Lord Betrayed by One…Brock Spencer, Earl of Haversham, only wants vengeance. Recently returned from his military service to the King, his plans include repairing his family estate, finding a bride, and destroying the girl responsible for the untimely death of his twin brothers. What he doesn’t anticipate is falling in love with the only woman who should never be part of his future.An Impossible Match, Destined to Be…

Twin Willows


Kay Cornelius - 1997
    It is there, too, that the chestnut-haired beauty will be reunited with her beloved Stuart, the brave soldier-turned-schoolteacher, whose kisses ignite her with overwhelming desire.But frontier life holds promise and peril far greater than any Anna could ever imagine. The growing conflict between native tribes and white settlers threatens to erupt in bloodshed. And in this untamed land is a sister Anna doesn't even know exists, a twin named Willow, hidden at birth and raised among the Indians. As settlers and Indians clash, fate will bring Anna together with her unknown sister...and lead her to a passion beyond her wildest fantasies.

Marshal in Petticoats


Paty Jager - 2006
    Her accident-prone nature, however, makes the task difficult as well as throws her into the arms of an unsuspecting drifter. All Gil Halsey wants is to bring back the boss's son and secure the foreman job on a large cattle ranch. He's been running from his past and has finally found a place to settle. That is until a scrawny, greenhorn marshal turns out to be an enticing, young woman who lures him from his path.

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 Bride Wore Blue


Cheryl Bolen - 2002
    While amassing his fortune in India, not a day passed he did not recall Felicity's fair loveliness, did not recall the silken tones of her sweet voice, did not desire to possess her. Now a widow, Felicity Harrison does not recognize the handsome nabob as the young man left for dead by highwayman years earlier. Though she wants nothing more than to snub the arrogant man who promises to rescue her family from financial ruin in exchange for presenting his sister to Society, she cannot snub him. She must force herself to bear his company. But the longer she is with him, the more she has to force herself to remain true to her dead husband's memory. Why is it the humbly born Thomas Moreland possesses more nobility that any man of her class? And why is it she finds it harder and harder to mourn a dead man when Thomas's virility awakens her deepest desires?

A Study in Scandal


Robyn DeHart - 2006
    Now the game is afoot in earnest—and Amelia nearly swoons to discover the detective assigned to "assist" her is a handsome, brilliant, and breathtaking investigator who might as well be a young Sherlock Holmes himself!Inspector Colin Brindley has no interest in encouraging a meddling beauty who imagines herself Watson to his Holmes. But Amelia is as sharp-witted and brave as she is lovely—and in their wild hunt for an elusive thief, Colin's heart may end up being the precious object that's gotten truly purloined.

A Mail-Order Heart


Janelle Daniels - 2016
    But when nine women arrive, all claiming to be mail-order brides for the same man, his once quiet life is thrown into chaos. Safeguarding them from aggressive suitors is nothing compared to the inner battle he faces over Clara, a woman who heats his blood… but can never be his own.But when Clara is kidnapped by the same person who’s sabotaging their mine, Sawyer must choose between the life he knew and the future he craves.

A Countess for Christmas


Anthea Lawson - 2013
    Between caring for her elderly father and managing a household barely out of mourning, she has no time for the softer things in life.Liam Barrett, the Earl of Tarrick, is certain he will not accept Marcus Fairfax's invitation to spend Christmas at the Fairfax family's estate - and the man's tales of a family ghost have nothing to do with his decision.Of all the blessings of the season, sometimes the most unexpected is love...Heat level: SWEETOriginally published in the anthology Christmas Ghosts, A Countess for Christmas is a Regency-set short story of 13,000 words (approximately 50 pages).

The Lady and The Cowboy


Catherine Winchester - 2013
    When she inadvertently argues with her new business partner on her first day though, things don’t look hopeful.Sam Wakefield doesn’t know what to make of the refined and timid woman who now shares his house along with his mother. What he does know, is that he much prefers the firebrand who confronted him the first time they met, and he can’t help antagonising Ruth in the hope that she’ll resurface.Ruth is just about ready to give up on her dream when her beloved horse, Angel, arrives from England and Sam realises that they may have more in common that he thought. Angel could prove to be the key in reviving his dreams of one day breeding racehorses, while the one place that Ruth isn’t timid, is in the saddle.As they come to trust each other, Sam teaches her about ranch life and love but someone else has their eye on the Wakefield Ranch, someone who could ruin everything for them.

Wild Wild Widow


Emma Jay - 2011
    She and her husband delighted in shocking San Francisco society with their sexual exploits, not hard to do in 1888. But now her husband is dead. He left her penniless, forced to live under her wealthy father’s thumb. While searching for a protector, she once again becomes the focus of society gossip, and her father exiles her to her brother’s ranch in Central California.Rebecca is miserable, until she meets the very handsome, very virile ranch foreman Judah Merrill. A real cowboy. Though she’s aware of their differences in status, she pursues him with a single-mindedness, until he catches her in the creek (and in the barn and on horseback). But what happens when she falls in love with him? Will he accept her wild wild heart?

Love by the Letter


Melissa Jagears - 2013
    He's been too busy helping to provide for his family. Now that he's heading west, Dex is hoping to start a family of his own. However, his attempt to acquire a mail-order bride fails miserably when the lady writes back ridiculing his terrible spelling. Rachel Oliver may be the last person he wants to know what a dunce he is, but she's also the smartest woman in town--and it's clear he needs her help.Rachel Oliver has lingered in town for three years secretly mooning over Dex Stanton, but now she's done. If the fool wants to write to a mail-order bride company, so be it. Once she begins giving Dex lessons, however, Rachel realizes she may not be prepared to give up just yet.As their time together runs short, can two of the most stubborn people in town set aside their pride long enough to find love?Love by the Letter is a companion novella to A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears's full-length debut novel available fall 2013. Includes an extended sneak peek at A Bride for Keeps.

A Heartless Design


Elizabeth Cole - 2013
    Yet men still try to win her, drawn by her sharp wit and intoxicating green eyes. But Cordelia knows a marriage could reveal her deepest secret and truly endanger her life. Besides, she hasn't met a man worth considering, until... Sebastien Thorne, a spy in the service of Crown. One of the elite agents in the group known as the Zodiac, he comes to London determined to solve a mystery with roots on the Continent. He won't let anything distract him. But is Cordelia a distraction, or the key to the mystery? As he learns more about the "heartless" woman, he becomes embroiled in secrets, plots, and a design that could change the future...and Cordelia is at the center of it all.