Book picks similar to
The Widow Smalls by Jamie Lisa Forbes


short-stories
historical-fiction
fiction
americana

Who Is to Blame? A Russian Riddle


Jane Marlow - 2016
    Set during the mid-1800s in the vast grainfields of Russia, Who Is to Blame? follows the lives of two star-crossed serfs, Elizaveta and Feodor, torn apart by their own families and the Church while simultaneously trapped in the inhumane life of poverty to which they were born.At the other end of the spectrum, Count Maximov and his family struggle to maintain harmony amidst a tapestry of deception and debauchery woven by the Count’s son. The plot twists further when the Tsar emancipates twenty million serfs from bondage as the rural gentry’s life of privilege and carelessness takes its final bow, and much of Russia’s nobility faces possible financial ruin.

Rescued by the Rancher


Soraya M. Lane - 2013
    When he looks into the frightened eyes of Faith Walker, he can’t imagine who would want to hurt her or her son, so why was the fire intentionally lit?Faith has only been back in town a week, and already she’s wishing she’d never returned. Until handsome cowboy Jake rescues her and invites her to stay at his ranch, her old home town has been nothing short of unwelcoming. When she was sent away years ago, as a teenager and pregnant, she had hoped to never come back. Her dad turned his back on her, and she'd learned to fend for herself – the hard way.Jake doesn’t particularly want a woman in his life, but he can’t turn Faith away. He’s been a bachelor since his fiancée died in a car crash five years before, and that’s how he wants to stay. Even if staying away from Faith starts to feel like the hardest task he’s ever endured…Can anyone heal this rugged rancher’s broken heart?

Whispers Among the Prairie: A Western Historical Romance


Michelle Roberts - 2018
     The Indians wish to continue living in freedom as they always have, but the White Man see them as savages who need to be eradicated. Chief Black Kettle, of the Southern Cheyenne Indians, and his adopted daughter, Morning Dove, try and keep the peace with the Whites, wishing to protect their people from the needless bloodshed sweeping across the land. Enter Clinton McKay, a veteran of the Civil War, who re-enlists in the cavalry and crosses paths with Morning Dove. The pair soon develop feelings for one another but fight against them, knowing society wouldn’t allow them to be together, as they are on opposite sides of a war. What will happen? Will they bow to an unjust society? Will their love flourish? Will Black Kettle keep his tribe safe? Join the adventure on the Great Plains in Whispers Among the Prairie.

Because of You


Allie Boniface - 2019
    Blake Carter's fraternity was scandalized. Misterion College closed down altogether. And Blake's girlfriend, Emerson Doyle, fled the island after her best friend died and never looked behind her.Now they're back.Blake's the CEO of a multi-million dollar tech firm looking to relocate to the island. Emerson owns a yoga studio in the building he wants to buy. They haven't spoken in ten years. They're on opposite sides of the bargaining table.But old flames die hard.And the more Blake and Emerson fight both the past and each other, the more they realize that coming to terms with tragedy is their only chance of finding love again...

Coming Home


Jennifer Vander Klipp - 2019
    And avoid Seth Blake. Becca dreads seeing her girlhood crush to whom she confessed her love before she went off to college. Embarrassed by her childish behavior, she can only hope Seth has forgotten and will see her as a woman. She plans to return to school as soon as possible and make a life for herself. Rumors of ghosts, accidents at the camp, and overheard conversations convince Becca that her brother’s death was no accident. Despite evidence that she’s the next target, she puts her own feelings and college aside to stay and uncover the truth. Seth is happy to see Becca, but as a grown woman she’s a stranger to him, stirring up feelings he can’t identify. When he finds a piece of evidence implicating him in Thomas’s death, he struggles with helping Becca find answers while keeping her from learning he could have prevented it. As the stakes get higher, Seth must keep both of them alive long enough to offer a future to this grown woman he’s fallen in love with.

Home from Within


Lisa Maggiore - 2015
    But her mother wears a frown and her father wears his Colt .45s, with a warning: no dating allowed. Seeking warmth, Jessica finds herself in a secret relationship with bad boy Paul Peterson. When the relationship-and Jessica's pregnancy-are discovered, Paul will be dead by nightfall.Seventeen years later Jessica and her daughter live a quiet life with horse farmer, Matt Johnson. Marriage is on the table but Jessica's remorseful heart will not comply. When an unexpected death brings Jessica back home, she uncovers her father's secrets and discovers that her true path in life, and love, are just a choice away.

Young Bass Reeves: The Life and Legend of Bass Reeves (Revised Edition)


Fred Staff - 2012
    A man who rose from slavery and escaped into Indian Territory, during the Civil War, to become the most feared lawman of his times. He served for over thirty years and brought more than three thousand violent men to justice before the famous Hanging Judge Issac Parker in Fort Smith Arkansas. His amazing story is full of adventure and courage. His place in history has been for to long neglected because he was black. Don't forget to pick up the next two books in this fantastic Western series!

Crossed Arrows: Mountain Men


Terry Grosz - 2010
    The rugged mountains that lay beyond America’s frontier remained mostly unexplored. In those days, when beaver were plentiful and the buffalo roamed freely, the killing was good. The two young men would also find that life would be hardscrabble in the high frontier. They would face grizzly bears and hostile Indians. And they would risk horse wrecks and mountain storms to trade their furs each year at “rendezvous.” Crossed Arrows is the story of two adventurers who lived hard in the earliest days of the Wild West.

Before You Were Mine


Em Muslin - 2017
    Devastated, she tries desperately to rebuild her shattered life.Then, over thirty years later, Eli catches sight of her daughter. And she knows that she must do everything to find a way back into her life. Even if it means lying…While her husband Tommy must grow to accept his own part in the events of her early life, he can only try to save her before her obsession with the young woman ruins them both.Don’t miss the breathtaking debut Before You Were Mine by Em Muslin! Perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Alice Peterson and Lucy Dillon.

K Company (K Company 1)


Robert Broomall - 1992
    He is assigned to K Company, on the western edge of the Kansas frontier. What he finds there is brutal discipline combined with bad food, monotonous drill, and make-work details. Even worse, he makes an enemy of Link Hayward, toughest soldier in the company, who’s been broken in rank more times than he can count. Link thinks Harry is a coward and urges him to desert. Taunted by Link, not accepted by K Company’s veterans, Harry begins to doubt himself.Then the company is ordered into the field, and in a battle with the Cheyenne, Harry learns what he’s really made of.

Inzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders (Book 1)


L. Leander - 2012
    She lives in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina in the year 1843. Her world changes forever when she is enticed to join The Romanoff Brothers Circus and her name is changed to Inzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders. Inzared discovers her true calling while learning to live with the nomadic Gypsies. From the hatred shown by some of the performers to the love she finds along the way, Inzared finds herself immersed in the rich folklore and customs of the misunderstood people who call the circus their home. Her one constant is Cecil, the elephant, and together they form a bond that no one can break as Inzared finds herself lured into the world of the Gypsies while clinging to her own roots and trying to break free of the chains that keep her from her destiny.

Finding Charlie


Katie O'Rourke - 2015
    When Charlie vanishes without warning, the people who love her are worried sick. Even if the law considers her an adult at nineteen, Charlie's still the baby of her already broken family. Older sister Olivia is determined to figure out what's happened. She finds a lost cell phone, an abandoned car and a shady boyfriend she's never met before. And he's not the only secret Charlie's been keeping.This disappearance feels uncomfortably familiar, reminding Olivia and her father of another loss years before. But this will be different, Olivia swears. Charlie's coming back.

What's Left Unsaid


Emily Bleeker - 2021
    But in cleaning out its archives, Hannah discovers a compelling distraction from her life: a series of rejected articles from the 1930s that illuminate a long-hidden mystery.The articles, penned by a young woman named Evelyn, are haunting accounts of first love, trauma, and surviving a mysterious shooting that left Evelyn paralyzed at the age of fourteen. The articles stir up more questions than answers, and Hannah becomes consumed by what’s left unsaid. Encouraged by Guy Franklin, a local middle school teacher, Hannah’s investigation into Evelyn’s past becomes more personal with each new reveal. For Hannah, as both a journalist and a woman bearing her own emotional wounds, this is a chance to move forward and bring closure to the story of the girl whose secrets are buried in Senatobia.What Hannah’s about to discover next is that, even after nearly a century, the truth she’s been looking for still has the power to change lives. Especially her own.

The Icecutter's Daughter


Tracie Peterson - 2013
    She enjoys being part of the family business, harvesting ice during the brutal Minnesota winters. Merrill actively takes part, possessing a keen ability to work with the horses--despite the advice of her good friend, who disapproves of her unladylike behavior. When Rurik Jorgenson arrives in their small town to join his uncle doing carpentry, he soon crosses paths with Merrill. But unlike other men, who are often frightened away by her older brothers, Rurik isn't intimidated by them or by Merrill's strength and lack of femininity. As he thrives under the mentorship of his uncle, Rurik dreams of inheriting the business and claiming Merrill as his wife. But while he is determined to start a new life, the past is determined to follow him when his former fiancee and her brother show up in town. Soon Rurik is put in the center of a major scandal that may damage his relationship with Merrill. Can they learn to trust God--and each other--and embrace the promise of love?

The Tin Horse


Janice Steinberg - 2013
    While she's packing her possessions, she finds a clue to the whereabouts of her twin sister, who disappeared from the little-known Jewish mecca of Boyle Heights on the eve of WWII when the girls were eighteen. Plunging back into memories of her childhood and the momentous historical facts that impacted her family, Elaine recalls her family's stories-those from the Old Country, and tales of immigration travails, and the heartache of being the "smart" one of the twins instead of the "popular" one.In an utterly unforgettable, salty voice, Elaine revives the memories of growing up with her twin sister Barbara, her parents, her Zayde, her aunts and her younger sisters as the Greensteins bear the disappointments, heartbreaks, and fallout from the immigrant baggage that they have been unable to shed despite settling in southern California-the land of sunshine and opportunity, fig trees and equality.Janice Steinberg's novel is not only about the stories that make up our family histories, but also about those we tell ourselves in order to believe in who we've made ourselves out to be.