Book picks similar to
The Searching Hearts by Dorothy Garlock


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historical-romance
western
romance

Frontier Courtship


Valerie Hansen - 2008
    But the endless journey across the frontier was proving a heartbreaking test of courage and endurance for Faith Beal. All she had to sustain her was her steadfast belief in a loving God--and the guiding hand of a stranger who truly seemed heaven-sent. Connell McClain was her selfless guardian as their wagon train slowly made its way west. And as they shared the dangers of the trail--and the closeness of a covered wagon--Faith felt the first tender stirrings of love for this roughhewn yet caring man. But would the secrets that seemed to haunt him threaten their growing feelings for one another?

Sixteen Brides


Stephanie Grace Whitson - 2010
    Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

A Taste Of Fire


Hannah Howell - 1988
    Now, in "A Taste of Fire", she spins a poignant tale of promises made and kept, as a deathbed vow sends a feisty young woman to find the Texas cattle rancher she must save from danger...and claim as her beloved.Antonie Ramirez could ride and shoot as well as any man—and better than most. Now, the headstrong beauty had come to Texas to honor her father’s last words: find the cattle rancher named Royal Bancroft and repay him for saving their lives long ago.Royal Bancroft didn’t who was behind the outlaws trying to drive him off his land, but he would fight to the death rather than lose it. Yet with his sister and brother kidnapped, he felt defeat run through him like a chill wind… until a girl with cornsilk and a steady gunhand rode into his life.Antonie was wild, hard, and hurting inside, and Royal knew from the moment he saw her that, if he tried to tame her, he’s break her spirit. Instead, he would let her ride with him as an equal partner, fight beside him for a future, and come to him as a woman on fire for blazing love…

Saddled


Delores Fossen - 2001
    It would take a lot of work. Easy enough to change her own appearance --- to make herself seem more ladylike than perhaps she was, to present herself as the type of girl a man might want to marry --- but to get Rio to do everything she wanted, she'd have to resort to a lie. Or two. And if she wanted to save her sister from the Apaches and keep her inheritance for her own, this half-Comanche gunslinger was the only answer. Still, while Abbie was relatively wily when it came to getting what she wanted, there were a few things that could throw her for a loop ... Like what would happen when her handsome husband realized he'd been tricked? Abbie had a feeling it'd be like riding a bucking bronco --- and part of her shivered in pleasure at the thought.

Promises Linger


Sarah McCarty - 2004
    Asa dreams of a place of his own, a wife, and the respect that comes with both. Marrying Elizabeth may have started as a means to an end, but nothing in Asa's wildest dreams prepares him for the excitement of unleashing the carnal woman beneath his wife's prim and proper exterior.

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.

How To Lasso A Cowboy


Lissa Larer - 2003
    She was dedicated to making a go of the dusty ranch her late father inherited from a mysterious lady. Her future depended on it. That is until she literally bumped into the broad chest of a wickedly handsome cowboy—and she knew she was headed for big trouble! A Cowboy In Shining Spurs... Justin Chadwick came to Silver Falls, Oregon with a six-shooter at his side and a devilish glint in his eye. He's a drifter avenging his brother's murder and doesn't have time for distractions. He came to get some answers and then he'd be riding out of town—until he met the wild filly Miss Kate who sparked his interest. And when she wagered a bet—upping the stakes—he was willing to take a gamble.

The Outsider


Penelope Williamson - 1996
    One day, a handsome stranger dying from a gunshot wound walks into her ranch. With simple kindness, she treats his injury and nurses him back to health. Soon Rachel finds herself drawn to this mysterious outsider with a violent past--and must put her future on the line for a last chance at happiness.

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....

First Love Wild Love


Janelle Taylor - 1984
    And in First Love, Wild Love, she continues her bestselling traditional on the sprawling plains of western Texas where a sheltered beauty loses her heart to a rugged rancher leading a dangerous double life... First Love, Wild Love Reared in the civilized society of far-off England, Calinda Braxton was unschooled in the ways of passion until she arrived in the exotic wilds of the untamed western frontier and a rugged, gunslinging stranger stole into her hotel room - and her bed! Roused from slumber by his breathless kisses, the beguiling innocent surrendered to her bold seducer's virile charms...never dreaming that he was a Texas ranger on a dangerous secret mission... or that his searing caress would awaken her heart to the soul-stealing ecstasy of a magnificent, once-in-a-lifetime love!

The Beginning


Cassie Hayes - 2014
    Not willing to return to her father's restrictive home — or face the arduous six-month voyage back to Boston — she hatches a plan to start her own business. She'll never have to trust her future to a man again. Jack Dalton struck it rich in the Sierra Nevada and is having a mighty fine time spending his gold at dance halls and saloons in town. He can't for the life of him figure out why so many of his drinking buddies are signing up for ads in the matchmaking paper that snooty 'Miss Priss' is starting up. The last thing he wants to do is to settle down. When an unscrupulous charlatan threatens to shatter Delilah's dream, Jack takes pity and steps in to lend a helping hand. Then he gets suckered into partnering with the very woman he desperately wants to avoid. Long hours working together force them to face their deepest fears and admit they're drawn toward one another. Can they let go of their pasts and find hope for their future or will they let their fears tear them apart?

Wildfire


Norah Hess - 1989
    but beautiful, golden-haired Serena Bain faced the future boldly as the wagon trains rolled out. Ahead lay countless dangers. But all the perils in the world wouldn't change her bitter resentment of the darkly handsome Yankee wagon master, Josh Quade. BORN LOVERS Soon, however, her heart betrayed her will. And Serena could not resist her own mounting desire for the rough trapper from Michigan. His strong, rippling buckskin-clad body set her senses on fire. But pride and fate tore them apart as the wagon trains rolled west. Until one night, in the soft, secret darkness of a bordello, Serena and Josh unleashed their wildest passions and opened their souls to the sweetest raptures of love...

Emma


Ashley Merrick - 2014
    She and her group of girlfriends, who all met in the orphanage, are barely getting by, working as nannies, cooks, and live-in maids for rich families. When Emma's employer, Gerald, threatens her with losing her job if she doesn't submit to his very unwanted advances, she stumbles onto an opportunity to be a mail-order bride and decides that couldn't possibly be worse. Except that the groom in question had no idea that his brother sent for a wife. When Emma shows up, at the train station in Bozeman, MT, it's her groom's brother, Joshua that is there to greet her. As it turns out, Ethan is furious that his brother went behind his back and sent for a wife. He's still grieving from the unexpected death of his wife Allison only a year earlier, and spends all his time when he's not working, being a good dad to his only child, Emily, who is three. Montana is hugely different from Boston, and Emma is surprised that she immediately falls in love with the area. Though taken aback at first to discover that Ethan wasn't aware that she was coming, she's secretly relieved to have a little time to get to know him and her new home. She is also quite fascinated by his family. Ethan is the oldest of ten, and eight of them are brothers, and except for Joshua, all are single. Emma has an urge to play matchmaker, and in book two, her best friend, Julia comes West to meet the brothers.

Deeply Devoted


Maggie Brendan - 2011
    As she steps off the train, Peter Andersen is glad to see that she is everything her letters showed her to be. But he is a bit perturbed by her unexpected companions. How will he support them all? And what other secrets might Catharine be keeping from him?Filled with sweet romance and vivid characters, Deeply Devoted highlights a clash of cultures as a highborn European and a simple wheat farmer learn to love one another and trust God with the past--and the future.

Reese


Lori Handeland - 2001
    Mary hires Reese, the mysterious, and reluctant, leader of a band of deadly Confederate veterans, to protect them.Reese is haunted by the war and what he did during it. The only constant in his life are the five men willing to come to his side whenever he calls them.Though Mary prides herself on managing everyone and anything, she can't manage Reese or her feelings for him. Reese doesn't believe he is worthy of loyalty and devotion; he certainly isn't worthy of love. In Rock Creek, with Mary, he learns differently.