Book picks similar to
Elise's Journey by Karla Gracey


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Alma's Mail Order Husband


Kate Whitsby - 2014
     ** A clean historical novella ** Book 1 of The Texas Brides Series unravels the mystery of Jude McCann. Jude travels to the desolate desert flats along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, to marry Alma Goodkind. The Goodkind Ranch runs just fine since Clarence Goodkind broke his back falling off his horse. His three daughters, Alma, Amelia, and Allegra, manage the herds, guard them in their pastures, brand the young calves, and drive the cattle to the sale yards. They do all the jobs of cattle punching on the ranch without any help from anyone. All of that changes when eldest sister, Alma, decides she wants to get married and orders herself a mail-order husband. Alma and Jude McCann get married in the little adobe church in Eagle Pass. But the minute they come home to the ranch, their plans for happily ever after run off the rails. Jude joins the sisters on the range, and conflicts develop in their approaches to managing the ranch. Alma’s new marriage puts her loyalty to her sisters to the test. At the same time, her bond with her sisters strains her budding romance with Jude. Can their marriage survive, and can the ranch survive so many competing interests and personalities? Worst of all, the sisters’ father, Clarence, instantly detects that Jude is hiding something, a secret that threatens to push this family to its limits and shatter the peace they’ve worked so hard to build.

The Teacher's Bride


Natalie Dean - 2017
    Marston isn’t so sure about this arrangement. Will he finally cave-in…just in time for a Christmas wedding? Greta Samuelson was only fourteen the year Kansas bled, but by the time the Civil War had ended, she was a woman of steel. The war had left only broken pieces of men for single women to comb through, so there wasn’t much for her in Atchison, Kansas. She longs to go west where her brother is. When the wagon train driver arrives in town, he’s got a letter he wants her to see. It’s from a schoolteacher announcing his desire for a wife, primarily asking for a woman of good composure, strong sensibilities and sufficient education to assist him. Greta has not had a great deal of formal education, but she has a good writing hand, and sends back a letter saying she is interested. When Marston first meets Greta, he is disappointed. He had expected a mature, scholarly woman, not a mere slip of a twenty-year-old girl. Greta, however, sets out to prove she is a woman to contend with, even for a thirty-two-year-old teacher. She rolls up her sleeves and takes on the Wild West with as much fortitude as she had shown while living through the Civil War. But can she win Marston’s heart in time to be a Christmas bride? Or will he decide she is too young for him… AUTHOR’S NOTE: Enjoy this clean historical western romance short story! I have plans to turn it into a series to keep you happily reading. Also included are 3 bonus stories! Don’t miss out on this one…it’s one of my best written stories yet!

Sacrifice and Reward


Robin Deeter - 2016
    By this time, most of the Kiowa bands have been pushed west by the Lakota, who are on the move southward from the Great Lakes region. These invaders from the north want the game-rich, lush pasture lands of the territory for themselves. However, one small Kiowa band is determined to remain in their early homelands in the region of what will be one day known as eastern South Dakota. These two enemy tribes are brought face-to-face through the vision of a young Kiowa medicine man. Sky Dancer, a beautiful, Kiowa widow, and proud Lakota warrior, Dark Horse, are forced to marry in order to create an alliance between their peoples. Right from the beginning they clash in a test of wills, loathing each other on sight, making a happy marriage seem out of the question. Will the sacrifice that is asked of them save their tribes? Can these two enemies overcome their initial hatred to find love in unlikely place or will distrust keep them from the reward they both crave?

Kitty's Deputy


Tonya VanWinkle - 2018
    On her own for the first time, will she find the place where she belongs? Being a bounty hunter was all Milo thought he could ever be. Baggage from his past keeps him from the one thing his heart desires; a family. Will Kitty and Milo find common ground? Will the law bring them together or will their pasts and fears keep them apart?

Where He Leads


Angela Castillo - 2019
     Compared to an arranged marriage to the odious Bernard Regent, a prairie schooner on the Oregon Trail doesn't seem like such a bad trade to Amethyst Kent. When desperate Martha Davis reveals her need for a mother's helper on the trail, Ami decides to up and leave the pampered life she's always known for a land of freedom. But trail life is hardly a tea party, and Ami must draw from the deepest wells of her faith to survive. With the sunset always before her, and Shiloh Talon, a handsome trail scout, guiding the way, she might just make it through.

Cross her Heart


Jo Noelle - 2020
    The last thing she wants is to fall in love with a cowboy. Oops!Ida Turner was supposed to pass along her father’s directions to the trail boss. Instead, she packs her wagon with silk dresses and joins the cattle drive up the Chisholm Trail from Windward, Texas, to the railhead in Kansas. Contrary to what she thought would be a grand adventure, the trail is fraught with dangers, threatening her life.Robert Conley only learned about the change of plans for the cattle drive two days before they were to leave. Now, half his crew is new, he’ll be on the trail for months instead of weeks, and the beautiful, infuriating woman who is an albatross around his neck doesn’t know she’s riding with an outlaw—and he has to keep it that way.How can Ida overcome Robert’s secretiveness and earn his respect and trust? Will Robert risk opening his heart and his past to gain Ida’s love?

The Ranger's Wife


Eveline Hart - 2017
    Having moved to the American Frontier to escape his life as a political pawn for his family, he is content. Everything changes when he receives a letter from his father explaining that he is to marry one Elizabeth “Piper” Renwick. During their trip from Boston to Detroit, Jack learns what it means to be in love while dealing with bankers, a heist, and ultimately Piper- a woman capable of outwitting him at every turn. Will their adventure together on the frontier draw the two of them together or force them apart?

Love on Her Own Terms


Carol Colyer - 2018
    On her 18th birthday, her parents announce that she has been betrothed to a longtime friend--one she has always known as Uncle Elias. She ponders that fate, but not until she finds out that the betrothal was actually a deal struck in order to save her father's ailing business! As a bold response, she answers a Mail-Order Bride ad for one Dan Gallagher, a ranch owner in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, without knowing what future awaits her...After his late father left it behind, Dan Gallagher struggles to keep the ranch alive, which seems like a difficult feat. His hardships with his brother, and his loneliness lead him to send for a mail order bride, with the expectation to fill his otherwise empty life. He hasn't even seen her, nor has she, which makes it even more difficult for them to meet...Her adventure begins when she leaves Boston, but as it unfolds, she starts to wonder who was the mysterious gentleman she met on the train station. Was it the real Dan Gallagher? Despite the way they meet and all the duplicity around her, who will save whom and, most importantly, will she find love on her own terms?"Love on Her Own Terms" is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Father's Day


Elizabeth Ellen Carter - 2019
    At the same time, Naval veteran and retired spy Adam Hardacre learns he has an adult son he never knew existed. Thrown together one Christmas, by circumstances beyond their control, father and son must find mutual ground on which to come to terms with the past. Life is too short to hold on to regret, and a greater regret awaits if the two men cannot work together to save a life. Love comes in many forms... and none more strongly than the love from father to son.

Embracing New Love


Louise Goddard - 2015
    Nearly the start of a new century, and a new life for Rachel. Her father has moved her out west, after the death of her mother, so he can take on a job in a frontier town. Everything here is different. Rachel has to get used to so much, and it seems the Lord has handed her much, much more than she can handle by herself.In town she meets a young man full of confidence and swagger. There is an attraction she can't deny...until she sees the gun he wears on his hip and realizes that Jake Landers is a man of violence. She finds it hard to reconcile that with what she knows of Christian life. Until she hears him speak, and finds the gentle soul behind his words.Violence does follow him, hot on his heels, and Rachel finds herself swept up into the middle of it. God will protect them, she's sure of it.She just doesn't know what path that protection will lead her to.

Peg Leg's Princess


Cyndi Raye - 2019
    Can they overcome these obstacles for love? Josephine Johnson is determined to get away from her gambling step-father who lost her family home - the Union Station Inn. When she sees an advertisement for a cook in Montana Territory, she recognizes the name Zebediah Harris, a wounded civil war veteran who never came back to their small town. When she decides to leave to take the job as cook, she brings something with her that may very well land her in jail. Zebediah Harris, or, Peg Leg, as everyone calls him, doesn't believe he is good enough for anyone. He claims there isn't a woman within ten miles who would want a one-legged man. When the cook they hire for the Pistol Springs Resort shows up, it turns out Joe was actually Jo, or Josephine, a woman he had saved from drowning years ago. With Josephine hiding something that doesn't belong to her and Peg Leg determined to live life without love, can the two make things right in order to find love? Or, will all hell breask loose in the town of Pistol Ridge once again? This is the first book of seven in The Pistol Ridge Series: Peg Leg's Princess Blaze's Beauty Judge's Jewel Raven's Rebel Rider's Renegade Creed's Confidant Preacher's Pearl

Kari


Miriam Minger - 2019
    She’s supposed to deliver a letter to her late mother’s first love, so now she just has to find him. Should she accept an offer of assistance from that tall cowboy who’s as handsome as any man she’s ever seen? The sooner Mr. Caleb Walker gets her mother’s letter, the sooner Kari can get busy earning money as a seamstress for her train fare back to Minnesota! Seth Davis isn't expecting any surprises when he meets the train. He plans to pick up his uncle’s new racehorse and head back to Walker Creek Ranch. Yet what about that pretty little miss standing alone on the platform…all honey-gold curls, blue calico, and no taller than his chin? Is she lost? He’s never seen her before, though she looks oddly familiar, something telling Seth that his day just got a whole lot more interesting. Walker Creek Brides, a sweet Western historical romance series by award-winning author Miriam Minger that reminds us angels are near and love is where you least expect to find it.

Burgundy Gloves


Julia David - 2017
    Temperamental Allison Kent finally finds a chance to soar into her dreams of adventure. Except… In the spring of 1880, one tragic moment changes everything. Allison's planned future comes to a devastating halt when she is found at the bottom of a ravine, left for dead. Levi Graham is a strong independent backwoodsman, who stumbles upon the injured young woman. Good Samaritan, he’s finding out the hard way, is not his best strength. In addition to caring for this helpless, confusing woman, he encounters a robbery, a fire, visits from relatives, and the cabin’s previous owners, all disrupting his former peaceful life of solitude and trapping. Clutching her mother’s Burgundy Gloves, Allison can only hope time will awaken her from this awful nightmare. Strange people, strange ideas and a strange young man looking long and wanting at her. How can she convince him she has nothing to give when she no place to call home? Will she rouse from the dark fog before she’s left to fend for herself? Will her heart heal before she breaks his to pieces? See below for a look at the Burgundy Gloves Short Video Clip.

Jessie's Bride


Susette Williams - 2014
    There might be twice as many men as women in their town, but there are still other ways to go about finding, or competing, for a wife. Jessie begins writing Sarah Engle in hopes that she will become his mail order bride. Even though there are miles between them, he feels connected to her. He sends her money, along with a stage coach ticket, to come see him so that they can be married. Not everyone is happy with their decision to wed. When the preacher said, till death do you part, did he mean literally? Or can a mail order bride and her groom truly have a happily ever after ending? Mail Order Brides series: Jessie’s Bride Montana’s Bride Caleb’s Bride Marshall’s Bride

Dreams in Deadwood


Kari Trumbo - 2019
    Her family is on their way to Deadwood, SD, when Aiden finds his way to their small wagon train. His teasing and banter leaves her wanting to toss him out the back and in the dust. When, they are separated outside the city, she is left wondering if she’ll ever see him again.Aiden Bradly wants to find his gold and return home, nothing more. He can’t afford to get tangled with a woman. He’s doing just that until he meets the feisty Jenny. She gets him thinking about his past and forgiveness, but what’s more important, his past or his new future?Will Aiden be able to redeem both his past and his future and find a greater treasure than he ever imagined?Dreams in Deadwood is book one of the Seven Brides of South Dakota series by Kari Trumbo. A romantic, Wild West romp in pioneer South Dakota.