Book picks similar to
The Searching Hearts by Dorothy Garlock


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historical-romance
western
romance

Paper Roses


Amanda Cabot - 2009
    Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom, Austin Canfield, a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is one problem--he has died. And Sarah cannot go back East.As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother, Clay, struggles with his own muddled plans. Though he dislikes working on the family ranch and longs for a different life, Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. But something between them is growing and neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit it. Book 1 of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses will sweep readers into the Hill Country with a tale of love and loss, closed doors and beautiful possibilities that will leave them wanting more.

Scarred Mail-Order Bride and the Widower


Amelia Rose - 2020
    Desperate for a brighter future, she responds to a mail order bride ad, and soon the Deputy of Daisy Creek is her shimmer of light in the darkness.Deputy Bill Paulson knows grief too. When his wife died in childbirth, he thought he would never find happiness again. Encouraged by his sister, Bill finally begins his search for a wife: he knows his children need a mother, and Jill’s letters are a beacon of hope.Jill finally makes the journey to Daisy Creek to meet the deputy. With her anxiety about her scars and Bill’s grief about his wife, their union is a gamble for both of them, and they’re surprised by their instant connection.But no matter how strong a bond, sometimes reality is hell-bent on testing it, and events soon show that the pair’s trials aren’t over. With a crisis that triggers each of their worst fears, the couple is thrown into turmoil.But they have one thing they didn’t have before: each other. Could it be that this is enough to get them through?Scarred Mail Order Bride and the Widower is a heart wrenching story of two lost souls determined to find love and correct the course of their future.

Summer Moon


Jill Marie Landis - 2001
    For Kate Whittington, the modest words of a newspaper ad are the answer to her desperate prayers. Daughter of a dockside harlot and raised in a bleak orphanage, she has no prospects in the unforgiving Maine village of her birth. Correspondence from the lonely Texas widower looking for a mail-order bride sparks tempting dreams of a house, a family, and a future in a land filled with possibilities.Kate arrives at the magnificent Lone Star Ranch eager to meet her new husband. Instead she is greeted by the news that Reed Benton has been wounded during a raid on a Comanche village and has returned with a prisoner--a wild-looking young boy who may be his long lost son. Even more shattering, however, is the fact that Reed has never heard of Kate, never wrote the searing letters that charmed her heart.Reed Benton doesn't want a wife. But he does need someone to look after the boy--a bitter reminder of a past ravaged by lies and betrayal. It will take a miracle to heal these two damaged souls . . . or the faith of one woman with nothing left to lose but her heart.Summer Moon is a deeply moving story of broken promises and new beginnings, crafted by a true master of romantic fiction.

Train Station Bride


Holly Bush - 2012
    Julia strikes out on her own to gain independence, traveling to the Midwest to marry an aging shopkeeper and care for his mother. Julia finds her new home rough and uncivilized after the sophistication of a big city, while closely held secrets threaten to ruin Julia’s one chance at love. Jake Shelling was sixteen and grew up quick when his parents died from influenza on the South Dakota prairie. Left with a half-cleared farm and two young sisters, he spent little time on his own needs . .till now. At thirty-five, he figured it was high time to have some sons and a mail order bride would suit him just fine. No expectations of love, just a helpmate from sturdy stock, ready for farm life. Will fate and chance play a trick on Julia and Jake?

Pieces of Sky


Kaki Warner - 2009
    An authoress and milliner, she carries the weight of a scandalous secret-a horrible shame that has brought her to the West on a desperate search for the only family she can trust: her brother.Fall in love with the first book in the Blood Rose trilogy-a romance of the Old West by a phenomenal new talent.

Relentless


Bobbi Smith - 2010
    On the trail of a ruthless gang of outlaws, a Texas Ranger and a female bounty hunter clash as each tries to best the other and deny the attraction drawing them inexorably closer.

One Real Cowboy


Janette Kenny - 2007
    Money in hand, he's going to get as far away from Revolt, Kansas, as a fast horse can take him.PBut Cord soon finds that he admires his Trixie's reckless courage -- not to mention she's one great kisser. Maybe he's crazy to hope for a real future with her instead of heading for the hills, but now that someone's staking a dangerous claim to her farm, Cord's decided to stick around as long as the lady needs protecting. That wedding ring he put on her finger means her reputation is safe -- and he's determined to win her heart. Cord Tanner may not be the most refined man on the frontier, but he sure is the lovingest...

In His Eyes


Peggy L. Henderson - 2015
    When a tragic accident claims her father’s life, Katherine is left to deal with an overbearing mother whose agenda does not include a young daughter. Fate deals her another devastating blow, leaving her to face an uncertain future far away from everything and everyone she’s loved. Trace Hawley used to push the limits of the law, and no one was going to plan his future for him. The death of the man who always had his back leaves him to finally face responsibility. The promises he made a decade ago have shaped him into the man he is today, and will bring him face to face with the one girl from his past he always tried to avoid. After a ten year absence, Katherine returns to the ranch she once loved to discover the shocking reason her mother summoned her home. Surprised to find Trace still at the ranch, her childhood infatuation grows into something far stronger as he challenges her to lead the life she once wanted, but seems to have forgotten. When Katherine is forced to make a choice between saving her father’s dreams or following her own, Trace might be the only one who holds the key to both. ***Content Warning: This book contains mild language, mild violence, and adult situations including physical intimacy, and is intended for mature readers.

Second Chances


Megan Michaels - 2015
    What was a woman supposed to do with one dead husband, one untended farm, and zero options? Strength, sass, and a never-give-up attitude had served Sophie well, but after the death of her strict, but loving, Clive, she’d need a lot more than those qualities to survive. There might be one way though, one last desperate option... and they called it the Widow Wagon. Widows and their children could purchase safe passage in a covered wagon to the Oregon Territory — where they would all meet up with the strong, determined men looking for mail order brides. The Widow Wagon might be one man’s last, best hope. For Daniel Weston, losing his beloved wife had broken more than his heart, it had broken his confidence that he could conquer the west. From the first moment he set eyes on Sophie he knew he wanted her, to make her his in every way. Her dramatic curves, bewitching eyes and fiery temper drew him, called to him, fired his possessive lust. But would that attraction be enough? He could already tell there was going to be a reckoning — and that reckoning would be the heated meeting of his work-roughened palm with her soft, bare bottom. Yes, she was beautiful, intelligent, and with a little more attitude than would be good for the health of her backside, but Daniel thought he had what it took to break the spirited filly. What’s more, could Daniel dare hope for a second chance? How she reacted that first time he bent her over his lap — or strung her up in his barn — might be the key to whether or not this marriage of convenience in the American west might bloom into something so much more. Would this young, headstrong, mail-order bride allow herself to be molded, tempered, and disciplined into the woman — and wife — this demanding, dominant frontier man desired? Publisher's Warning: Intended for mature readers. 18 and over only! This is a MF BDSM Western erotic romance. Themes include: graphic sexuality, exhibitionism, spanking, bondage, anal play and other BDSM activities. If such content might offend you, please do not purchase this book. Word count: 37,078 words

Coming Up Roses


Catherine Anderson - 1993
    She'd married young, hoping to put down roots in a safe haven, but her husband had shattered her naiveté, and made her fear for her beloved daughter's safety until the day he died.When she first met her new neighbor, Zachariah McGovern, all she saw was danger. But Zach saw much more. He saw beauty, he saw tenderness. He knew he could rescue Kate Blakely from her past - if only she would let him. What Zach couldn't know, however, was the price that had to be paid to save the woman he loved.

Willow


Carolyn Brown - 2003
    She sure didn't like him when he tried to talk Hank Gibson out of letting her and her four newly-found sisters travel to California with the wagon train of mail-order brides.Rafe was totally against the idea of Jake Dulan's daughters going with the train. He would like nothing better than to leave Willow for the rattlesnakes and Indians. The feeling is mutual.They lock horns and refuse to budge. Both have a scarred heart from previous experiences, and a temper, so the fireworks explode every time they're in each other's presence, which is often since Rafe drew the short straw and has to bring up the rear of the train...right where the Dulan girls' wagon is located.Willow and Rafe both realize that out there, beyond the sunsets they both love, lies the Promised Land. It's not a place or destination, but a spirit and a journey which draws them into the peace of its bosom to rock away the cares of life. But will they ever admit they need each other to reach that Promised Land?

Chase the Wind


Cindy Holby - 2002
    For a poor Scottish immigrant with a gift of talking to horses, it all began with love.A Daring EscapeFrom the moment he set eyes on his beautiful Faith, Ian Duncan knew she was the only girl for him. But her unbreakable betrothal to his employer's vicious son forced him to steal his love away on the very eve of her marriage.A Secret WeddingRunning for their lives, Faith and Ian were married clandestinely, their only posessions a magnificent horse, a family Bible, a wedding-ring quilt and their unshakable belief in each other.A Double BirthWhile their homestead waited to be carved out of the Iowa wilderness, Faith presented Ian with the most precious gift of all: a son and a daughter, born of the winter snows into the spring of their lives. The golden years were still ahead, their dream was coming true, but that was just the beginning.

The Bride Wore Spurs


Sharon Ihle - 1994
    How could John Winterhawke, a fiercely independent and unsettlingly handsome half-Indian, possibly make room in his heart and in his life for her?As far as Hawke was concerned, the last thing he needed was a high-spirited, overeager Irish wife who knew nothing about surviving on the harsh prairie. But once the determined Lacey sensed the rough kindness and simmering hunger under Hawke's forbidding demeanor, she set out to match his dark passion with her own – and claim his wild heart on her terms.

Short Straw Bride


Dallas Schulze - 1996
    Tired of worrying about who to leave the ranch to when they were gone.Luke could imagine the perfect wife --- biddable, tidy and willing --- and when he saw Eleanor Williams in church one Sunday, he thought she'd do just fine. But little did he know that the practical Eleanor had a mind of her own --- and other ideas about marriage!

Santa Fe Woman


Gilbert Morris - 2006
    But when the severe economic depression of the 1800s destroys the family’s fortune, the Haydens must venture west together along the Santa Fe Trail in search of a new livelihood. With her father in poor health and her Aunt Kate–a dedicated Christian–keeping charge over the younger siblings, Jori hires Chad Rocklin right out of prison to lead their wagon train. And in a journey marked with danger at every turn, romance, faith, and family prove to be the biggest fortunes of all.