Book picks similar to
A.J. Smith by C.J. Petit


western
cj-petit
historical-fiction
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The Settlers: Christian, Western Romance Trilogy


Kathleen Ball - 2019
     Greg: A naive gold-digger. A world-weary miner. Will a tragic twist of fate become a rich vein of love? California, 1848. Greg Settler’s golden ambitions have hit stony ground. Forced to rely on his neighbor Hugo and Hugo’s feisty daughter for mining help, he’s had about enough of the woman’s condescending attitude. But when his neighbor’s dying words demand Greg take care of his headstrong daughter, he’s not sure his fortunes have improved… Mercy Watkins believed in her father’s dreams. Now burdened with a man who doesn’t know the first thing about mining, her world collapses further when Greg is accused of murder. With the hanging hours away, Mercy’s only solution to save her former neighbor may be marriage. Juan: He’s a Mexican loner. She’s an unwed mom. Can two outcasts turn misfortune into love’s destiny? Oregon, 1830. Sonia Wist’s luck never came through. Now widowed, broke, and a young mom, she’s too ashamed to stay in town. Stumbling into an empty cabin, Sonia’s all out of hope until a horse wrangler finally gives her the break she’s waited for… Juan Settler has always suffered the pain of prejudice. So when the Mexican horse wrangler discovers a pretty woman and her son hiding out, her wounded eyes go straight to his heart. Welcoming her to his family, he wonders if he’s finally found a place to fit in. Scarlett: A snobby bride. A down-to-earth groom. Can they shape their mail-order marriage into long-lasting love? Oregon, 1831. Scarlett Settler knows she’ll never live down being left at the altar. Quietly agreeing to become mail-order bride, she waits to be pampered by servants and chefs. But when she discovers her husband is a lowly blacksmith without a housekeeper in sight, she wonders if her golden dreams have turned to pig iron. Dillon Stahl can’t wait to show off the house he built for his new wife. But when the haughty, opinionated woman belittles his work and their home, he worries he’s in over his head. Straining to look beyond her frustration, he starts to see the true woman he’d like to get to know for a lifetime.

An Audacious Spitfire


Carré White - 2013
    On her eighteenth birthday, she receives a letter from her deceased mother, detailing her shocking parentage. She learns that her father's name is Gerry Quinn. Armed with a small inheritance, Bridget escapes from St. Joseph's Orphan Home with her trusted ten-year-old sidekick, Sawyer Brown. Together they embark on a wild and unpredictable journey that will lead Bridget straight into the arms of Jesse Owen, who is eager to help her find her father, although his motives are questionable. When the dust settles, a family will be reunited, a couple will be torn apart, and a surprise ending will turn everything on its head, again.This is the first book in the "Arizona Brides Series", which follows the lives of four plucky young ladies, who find themselves on wild and crazy adventures in the Arizona Territory.

Trouble at the Redstone (Leisure Western)


John D. Nesbitt - 2008
    Will Dryden followed the trail of a missing man to the Redstone Ranch, where he will have to find the truth about three other murdered men.

Nathan's Montana Bride


Maya Stirling - 2014
    Montana 1886 Abigail Long had promised to become Nathan Grantly’s mail order bride. But she had changed her mind at the last minute. The tragedy that had struck had made it unthinkable that she go to Montana and start a new life with a man she hadn’t even met. Tall, handsome Nathan Grantly wasn’t the kind of rancher to take no for an answer. The widower had a prosperous ranch to run and he needed a wife to bring up his young daughter. So Nathan did what came naturally. He came to claim his wife. Will Abby be able to resist Nathan and the lure of her new life in Montana? And what will Nathan do when he finds out the real reason Abby was reluctant to become his wife, and what it means for their future together? Can Abby fulfil her dreams in the wilds of Montana? This is the first in a new series of sweet historical romances, Montana Ranchers Brides.

A Rancher's Woman


E. Ayers - 2013
    A series of events soon prove she’s capable of standing on her own two feet. However, she’s not prepared to follow her heart and accept marriage from the one man who truly loves her. Many Feathers' chance encounter with a blue-eyed blonde woman sets him on a path that lands him between the white man's ways and the traditions of his people. Determined to protect his people and prove his worthiness as a suitable husband to a white woman, he stakes claim to land and establishes a ranch. But there's one outlaw focused on destroying Many Feathers and everything he's trying to accomplish.

A Long Way to Go


June Bryan Belfie - 2017
    As David prepares to travel with the 1843 wagon train across the Oregon Trail, he proposes marriage to Rachel. Her decision to accept is based on her need for a husband and a father for her three young children. The hardships of the journey west can either bring the couple together or destroy hopes of ever having a marriage based on love. Can Rachel overcome her guilt at re-marrying so soon after her husband’s tragic death?

Black Hills Song


Kari Trumbo - 2020
    His aunt offers a way out, but is the cost too high? Her dying wish is to give them The Grand Opera House of Rapid City, but there’s one catch. All three brothers must wed first. When he chooses to marry the costume designer out of necessity, will a marriage of convenience ruin the crescendo building between them?Beloved DuetSam Wagner is the forgotten son. He will do whatever he must to take ownership of the Opera House, including send for a mail order bride. When his first plan falls flat, he seeks the hand of the woman who helped him along the way. Except, she’d rather have nothing to do with him or his hand. As time runs short, can he convince her he isn’t the man she believes him to be?Grand FinaleCaleb Wagner flees his home and his family to escape the pressure of finding a wife. He’s certain if he leaves, his aunt will relent and give his brothers their desires. While away, he meets an opera star in hiding. She convinces him to bring her back to Keystone, the perfect place to escape. Will she be the final piece the family needs or will Caleb’s delay mean silence for them all?If wives aren’t found before time runs out three brothers will lose their birthright. Don’t miss this sweet, historical romance with perfect pacing and a final curtain you won’t want to miss.

Lone Star Rising


Elmer Kelton - 2003
    In the throes of the War Between the States, Rusty joins the Rangers and searches for the renegades who killed his adoptive father.In Badger Boy, the Rangers are disbanded and Rusty returns to his home on the Red River only to discover that the girl he loves has married another. In a time of personal turmoil as well as the post-war uphheaval in Texas, Rusty's childhood returns to haunt him as he rescues Andy Pickard, called Badger Boy by his Comanche captors.Andy and Rusty ride together in the newly reformed Rangers in The Way of the Coyote, in a time when Texas is overrun with outlaws, Confederate raiders, Ku Klux Klansmen, and marauding Comanches.

Valley of Fire


Johnny D. Boggs - 2014
    But it's not Christian charity that's driving Sister Genevieve--she wants Micah to take her to a place called the Valley of Fire, deep in the most lawless and perilous part of New Mexico Territory. It was here where an order of nuns met their Maker, and it's Sister Genevieve's mission to see that they are given a proper funeral. Or so she claims. Micah's not in the habit of helping nuns, but it turns out the only true vow Genevieve ever took was to get rich--and there's a fortune in gold buried along with the sisters. With kill-crazy bandits and blood-hunting bounty hunters after them, it'll take a miracle to reach the Valley of Fire, let alone get the gold. But sometimes, the Almighty does work in mysterious ways. . ."Johnny Boggs has produced another instant page-turner...don't put down the book until you finish it." --Tony Hillerman on Killstraight "Johnny D. Boggs tells a crisply powerful story that rings true more than two centuries after the bloody business was done." --The Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier on The Despoilers Raves For The Westerns Of Johnny D. Boggs "Another dramatic story by a finalist for the Spur award of Western Writers of America." --Amarillo Globe-News (on Once They Wore the Gray)"An entertaining western in the classic mold. The characters possess enough human frailty to be believable, the author includes interesting stuff on the weaponry of the times, and there is enough gunplay to satisfy genre purists." --Booklist on Ten and Me"Boggs has once more written a humdinger of a book with wonderful characters, even the villains. The Despoilers tears at one's heart, which is what really good fiction should do." --Roundup on The Despoilers"Boggs' unique approach to the Lincoln County War's legal skirmishing is both eye-opening and memorable." --True West on Law of the Land"... a finely crafted historical novel with fully developed characters playing out their lives against the backdrop of early Texas settlement." --American Cowboy on Spark on the Prairie"Boggs delivers a colorful, clever and arresting tale." --Santa Fe New Mexican on Camp Ford

The Journal of Snow Woman


CR WilsonI - 2017
    One of the wagons belongs to the Applegates. The husband Hank, his wife, Lorie and their eight-year-old son, Mark. Lorie has made up her mind that when they reach the next fort she will stay with her son. She can no longer allow Hank to verbally abuse her and the worst of it is his abuse of Mark. Before they reach the safety of the fort, Hank as an accident and can't be moved. He insist that Lorie and Mark stay behind with him. She agrees, but later as food is getting low and he shows no sign of improving she becomes more worried about Mark. As a storm approaches she decides to get Mark to safety. She leaves in the early morning before Hank is a wake. Before long they are caught in a blizzard and lost. Join them and live a life with them they never would have expected. If you enjoy the story please leave a review. Check out the other Frontier Adventures by CR Wilson on Kindle eBooks and in paperback on Amazon.

The Devil's Brand: The Rider ~ Book One (The Rider Western Series 1)


Seth Nation - 2017
     In the aftermath, Ethan Brody returns from the war to find everything he knows and loves reduced to nothing but ashes. Hell bent on revenge, he sets off to find the murderous gang, only to have them slip away. Losing his faith, he sets off on a life of bounty hunting, vowing to never again let justice go astray. "Alive" is no longer an option and in the process, the legend of the Rider is born. 1894: Oliver Kingston Dukes a man of remittance finds his way to the town of Adobe Wells, immediately becoming embroiled in the town's struggle with the wealthy and powerful Katy brothers. Enter the Rider, on the trail of the notorious bandit Hector Salazar. He joins Dukes and the townsfolk to take back the town once and for all, and perhaps...take back his own salvation.