Book picks similar to
The Unexpected Wife by Mary Burton


historical-romance
western
mail-order-bride
historical

Secrets & Charades


Cindy Ervin Huff - 2017
    When battlefield nightmares disturb his peace and his tomboy niece, Juliet, needs taming, somehow a mail-order bride seems like a logical solution. Dr. Evangeline Olson has no idea her niece is writing to a rancher on her behalf, and she sure isn’t interested in abandoning her medical practice for a stranger. But when an inheritance threatens to reveal a long-buried secret, she travels west to become Jake’s wife. Jake soon realizes Evangeline is more than he bargained for, especially when her arrival causes a stir in the community. As the two try to find their way in a marriage of convenience, their fragile relationship is further tested by cattle rustling and kidnapping. Can their hearts overcome past hurts to create a real marriage?

The Wrong Cowboy


Lauri Robinson - 2014
    Especially when her ingenious plan—to pose as the mail-order bride of the children's next of kin—leads Marie to the wrong cowboy! Proud and stubborn, Stafford Burleson is everything Marie's been taught to avoid. But with her fate and that of the children in his capable hands, Marie soon feels there's something incredibly right about this rugged rancher and his brooding charm…. "A delightful western…humor, realism and sweet emotion." —RT Book Reviews on Inheriting a Bride

From Wallflower to Countess


Janice Preston - 2015
    Most girls would dream of marriage to the dashing Earl of Stanton, darling of the ton. For plain Lady Felicity Weston, used to being ignored, it’s a terrifying prospect! Richard has always thought love is for fools. Although after an explosive wedding night he’s intrigued by his shy new bride. Day by day the tentative trust between these newlyweds grows. But the stakes in this marriage of convenience are raised when Felicity falls pregnant... Will giving the Earl an heir finally help this wallflower blossom into a confident Countess?

When a Laird Loves a Lady


Julie Johnstone - 2016
    A longing to forget compels him. Fate may send them into each other’s arms, but only love can mend their hearts. An Outlander Raised by a tyrannical father, Marion de Lacy yearns for the comfort of belonging to a loving family. So when her father announces her betrothal to an evil knight in exchange for his help to overthrow the king, she concocts a desperate scheme to avoid the marriage: feigning her own death and then fleeing England. But when her plan goes terribly awry and she’s captured by the knight, not even her careful preparations could ready her for the Scottish barbarian who rescues her and then informs her that he’s to marry her by edict of her king. Certain her father will defy the king’s orders and wed her to the knight if she refuses the Highlander’s hand, Marion agrees to marry the strangely compelling but obstinate laird of the MacLeod clan. A Highlander After the death of his beloved wife, Iain MacLeod has no desire to marry ever again. Yet when he finds himself obliged to do so to secure the freedom of his childhood friend and king, he reluctantly travels across England to collect his unwanted bride, expecting to find a cold Englishwoman. Instead, he discovers a fiery, bold beauty who is fiercely loyal, protective of those she loves, and defies him at every turn, challenging his certainty that his heart is dead. Ensnared Following a hasty marriage and perilous journey to Scotland, Marion harbors no illusions that her new husband loves her. Still, her heart cannot resist the noble, brave warrior, and she cannot suppress the hope that she has finally found where she belongs. However, the harder she tries to fit in with the clan and gain Iain’s love, the farther away her dreams drift. Iain is more than willing to give his respect to his courageous wife—her kisses and caresses even ignite his blood and demand his passion—but he refuses to give up his heart. That is, until enemies near and far threaten to take Marion from him. Now the demons that haunt him can only be conquered by surrendering body and soul to Marion, if only it’s not too late…

A Hearing Heart


Bonnie Dee - 2009
    One afternoon, violence erupts in the sleepy town. Catherine saves deaf stable hand, Jim Kinney, from torture by drunken thugs.As she takes charge of his education, teaching him to read and sign, attraction grows between them. The warmth and humor in this silent man transcends the need for speech and his eyes tell her all she needs to know about his feelings for her. But the obstacles of class difference and the stigma of his handicap are almost insurmountable barriers to their growing attachment.Will Catherine flout society’s rules and allow herself to love again? Can Jim make his way out of poverty as a deaf man in a hearing world? And together will they beat the corrupt robber baron who has a stranglehold on the town?Romance, love and sensuality abound in this jam-packed, old-fashioned tale with plenty of heart and some steaming hot sex.

Gideon's Secondhand Bride


Kristin Holt - 2014
    For the sake of his three little ones, he has no choice but to remarry. His mail order bride must agree—this marriage will be strictly business.PERMILIA IS DESPERATE TO FLEE THE BONDS OF MARRIAGE…The War Between The States cost Millie her kind, gentle husband. He came back in body, but his soul was ravaged by war. To save herself and the life of their toddler son, she leaves her abusive husband though she has nowhere to go, no money, no family. A single option surfaces—a farmer has sent for a mail order mother, housekeeper, and help-meet. It’s a marriage in name only, so she justifies disappearing into the west and keeping her secrets.…A MARRIAGE HER HUSBAND VOWED SHE'LL NEVER ESCAPE.Oliver Owens warned Permilia the only way she’d leave him would be through the undertaker. It’s only a matter of time before he catches his runaway wife.He doesn’t want a wife.She doesn’t want a husband.Marriage of convenience?Perfect.

Mustang Wild


Stacey Kayne - 2007
    But his stolen kiss scatters her senses and, quicker than a whirling dust devil, they're wed!To her relief, Tucker's keen to fix the marital slipup--and then he tells her the deed she holds belongs to him, and him alone. Maybe she shouldn't rush to have their marriage annulled. No man, no matter how good-looking, is going to swindle Skylar out of the one thing she yearns for most--a home.

The Rancher Takes A Bride


Sylvia McDaniel - 2000
    This cunning widow is determined to find wives for her brood of handsome sons.Rose Severin speaks to the dead or at least she pretends to until she can earn enough money to make her way to New York and become a famous actress like her mother. Travis Burnett is resolved to rid the frontier town of imposters like Rose. But Eugenia thinks the fiery Rose is just the woman for her obstinate son. She schemes to keep Rose at the family ranch where Travis soon realizes that the supposed spiritualist is more than just a pretty swindler.

Outlaw Hearts


Rosanne Bittner - 1993
    Orphaned and then widowed, desperate to find a safe haven, she sets out to cross a dangerous land alone…until chance brings her face-to-face with notorious gunslinger Jake Harkner.Hunted by the law and haunted by a brutal past, Jake has spent a lifetime fighting for everything he has. He's never known a moment's kindness…until fate brings him to the one woman willing to reach past his harsh exterior to the rebellious heart inside. He would die for her. He would kill for her. He will do whatever it takes to keep her his.Spanning the dazzling West with its blazing deserts and booming gold towns, Jake and Miranda must struggle to endure every hardship that threatens to tear them apart. But an outlaw's promise comes with a price…and even their passion may not burn bright enough to conquer the coming darkness.

Heaven In His Arms


Lisa Ann Verge - 1995
    She’ll even switch places with a King’s Girl, one of many penniless young noblewomen destined to be shipped to the savage French colonies. It’s a dangerous masquerade that comes with a high price: Once in Quebec, Genny must marry a stranger....