Book picks similar to
Charlotte's Summer by Annie Lane
historical-fiction
western
historical
mail-order-bride
The Cowboy Inherits a Bride
Cora Seton - 2015
Luckily her Aunt Cecily has provided her with the perfect combination living and restaurant space to start over. Even though the building is located in small town Chance Creek, Montana, Sunshine is certain it’s only a matter of time before she’s back to take the big city by storm. When she arrives in Chance Creek, however, she gets a surprise. Her restaurant space—and apartment—are occupied by a rival to her inheritance: the incredibly sexy, incredibly wrong for her, Cole Linden. Cole’s been struggling to save his family’s holdings for far too long. The indoor rifle range he inherited from his father barely pays its rent, but it’s all that’s keeping his other concerns—two apartment houses—afloat. If he was smart, he’d walk away from all of it and start over, but if he does, several dozen of Chance Creek’s inhabitants will find themselves without a home. He thought Cecily meant to leave him the range building in her will. Instead she’s set him up in a four-month-long competition with her big-city niece to see who will win the place. A niece whose knockout looks are making it damn hard for him to concentrate on the job at hand. Sunshine can’t believe she’ll have to open a vegan restaurant in a rifle-range waiting room, and she can’t believe she’ll have to share her apartment with Cole, either. Cole can’t believe his friends are falling over themselves to help Sunshine succeed—and get a date with her. Now the competition is getting hot, but the sparks flying between them are even hotter. Can Cole and Sunshine find a way they both can win?
How to Seduce a Queen
Stella Marie Alden - 2016
Only when she realizes the group of men who exit the Saxon rowboat are tonsured does she allow herself to breathe. She need not shoot another of King Alexander’s suitors. At least not today. With a wicked grin, she lets go the bowstring, and the arrow makes a perfect arc to land directly in front of the one in the lead. She isn’t so fond of priests, either. Nicholas Bruce jumps when the barb lands within inches of his sandaled feet. The former queen of the Isle of Man is just as beautiful and deadly as he remembers. Suddenly, he is not so certain that this holy disguise will work. Surely she’ll remember him, the bastard grandson of the mighty Earl of Annandale. But what choice does he have? If he wants to survive, he needs to bed her, and soon.
Lady Gone Bad
Sabine Starr - 2012
Lady has never met a cowboy she couldn't entice, or a lawman she couldn't outrun. But when Lady tangles with a sexy U.S. Marshall, she's tempted to stick around long enough to watch him lay down the law - in her bed. U. S. Marshall Rafe Morgan wants to lock up Lady Gone Bad for good - and he won't let his attraction to her slow him down. But when his attempt to bring Lady to justice goes awry, Rafe is nearly hanged - and by dawn, his face is plastered next to hers on every "Wanted" poster in Texas. Now on the run together, Rafe and Lady find themselves in very close quarters - and even more compromising positions. As Lady surrenders to Rafe's touch, she slowly begins to reveal all her secrets - including her real name. Maybe "Lady Gone Bad" isn't beyond redemption after all. Either way, Rafe is in for one wild ride...
Mail Order Prairie Bride
Julianne MacLean - 2000
He knows how hard the prairie can be on a woman, and all he wants is a stalwart bride who won’t complain about hauling water from the creek…. SHE’S A CITY GIRL WITH NO IDEA WHAT SHE’S IN FOR… All Sarah MacFarland wants is to escape her fearful life in Boston and start fresh with a new identity. Answering an advertisement for a mail order bride seems like the perfect solution, until she meets her soon-to-be husband—a ruggedly handsome, strapping farmer who leaves her breathless on their wedding night. But is it possible that two tormented souls can find happiness, when all they know is betrayal, and when trust is the only way out of a tumultuous past that simply won’t stay buried? (Originally published under the title PRAIRIE BRIDE in 2000) The Compete Trilogy: MAIL ORDER PRAIRIE BRIDE – Dodge City Brides – Book 1 TEMPTING THE MARSHAL – Dodge City Brides – Book 2 TAKEN BY THE COWBOY – Dodge City Brides – Book 3 “You can always count on Julianne MacLean to deliver ravishing romance that will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.” —Teresa Medeiros
Wilhelmina, A Winter Bride
Hildie McQueen - 2017
Out of options, Wilhelmina Wilkins heads west to marry a total stranger upon answering a mail order bride ad. What could have been a fairytale beginning turns out to be this bride’s nightmare. Instead of meeting Wilhelmina at the train station, her husband-to-be is in the center of town brawling. Marcus Hamilton is blindsided twice, first, by a mail order bride ad posted for him by his mother and sister, and secondly, by the beauty of the woman who arrives to marry him. That the bride wishes to cancel all plans after he fails to make a good first impression will not do. How far will Marcus have to go to prove his worth?
The Christmas Bargain,
Shanna Hatfield - 2012
Calling in a long overdue loan, Luke finds himself reluctantly accepting a bargain in lieu of payment from the shiftless farmer who barters his daughter to settle his debt.Philamena Booth is both mortified and relieved when her father sends her off with the banker as payment of his debt. Held captive on the farm by her father since the death of her mother more than a decade earlier, Philamena is grateful to leave. If only it had been someone other than the handsome and charismatic Luke Granger riding in to rescue her. Ready to uphold her end of the bargain as Luke’s cook and housekeeper, Philamena is prepared for the hard work ahead. What she isn’t prepared for is being forced to marry Luke as part of this crazy Christmas bargain.
Emma & Simon's Story
Megan West - 2015
Overhearing a conversation between the couple who has kindly taken her in during this horrible time in her life, she realizes that if she cannot deal with her grief and start to move on, she just may find herself married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather. Understanding that fact is exactly what she needs in order to start living her life. That’s when she agrees to become a mail order bride. Simon Callaghan is a rancher in Idaho Springs, Colorado and in need of a wife to help him run it. He has taken out a classified ad to find the right woman to travel west and become his wife. Handsome, damaged, and holding painful secrets, he did not want to risk finding a woman to love. Yet, when he meets Emma, he knows that losing his heart might be something he has no control over. Could a woman like this ever grow to love a man like him? MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR MEGAN WEST: Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to check out my first ever published story :) I hope you enjoy the story and it fills your hearts with love and happiness! Please stay tuned for many more stories! Megan West
Lead Me Into Temptation
Devon McKay - 2017
The last thing she wants is to get married, especially to a stranger twice her age. However, agreeing to be a mail-order bride had been her only option and it paid the steep passage to San Francisco so she could locate her father. She’d find him too, if only her betrothed’s son would stay out of her way. Garrett Sutherlin is on a mission. Delivering the striking, ebony haired beauty to his father’s doorstep not only paid off his debt, the effort would grant him freedom from the man’s condescending hold. As far as he’s concerned, Miss Webster made her own bed. Unfortunately, his father will be the one to lie beside her.
The McCoy Brothers Boxed Set
Callie Hutton - 2019
Now the war is over. Can two determined women heal their hearts?DANIEL'S DESIREWhen Confederate soldier, Lt. Daniel McCoy makes his escape from a Union prison toward the end of the Civil War, his only thought is to get as far away from enemy territory as possible. But he doesn't count on saving young widow Rosemarie Wilson's life from an infected leg wound.Rosemarie has no use for Rebels soldiers, having lost everything, including her husband, the last time they came to her home. However, Daniel has not only saved her life, but is sticking around to help with the farm and her three children until she recovers.With Union soldiers searching for him, every day Daniel remains puts him in danger. Or is the beautiful widow who has captured his heart the greater risk?STEPHEN'S BRIDEWhen Stephen McCoy leaves the home he shares with his brother Daniel, Daniel's wife Rosemarie, and their four children to go into town to load up on supplies, he never expects to return with a bride.Calliope Bender steps off the stagecoach in a wedding gown, carrying a wilted bouquet. She is running from an unwanted marriage, but needs a husband who will meet her requirements.Stephen agrees to one of her conditions, but the "marriage in name only" doesn't sit quite well with him. Neither one of them are looking for love, but will it creep up on them when they aren't looking?
A Cowboy to Remember
Barbara Ankrum - 2014
But that was before they grew up and went their separate ways. Now, after a disastrous divorce and a career-changing accident, Olivia limps home, minus her mojo, her courage and her faith in love. She retreats to her parents’ ranch, determined to play it safe, but when ex-Army helicopter pilot Jake Lassen arrives to make good on their promise, he reignites passion and hope, two things Olivia had forgotten existed. Olivia resolves to keep Jake at arm’s length, even though the memory of his kisses keeps her up at night. She knows better than to let her heart get involved, but Jake is planning for the future. Their future. Can Jake convince her to risk it all one more time and really make this a fair to remember? *Previously titled A Fair to Remember
The Lady and the Mountain Man
Misty M. Beller - 2014
Through God’s leading, she finds herself accepting a newspaper marriage proposal from a God-fearing young rancher in the Montana Territory. But when Leah arrives at the mountain ranch, she learns her intended husband was killed by a grizzly, leaving behind a bitter older brother and a spunky younger sister.Gideon Bryant has lost too many people to the wild elements of these mountains—his parents, his wife, and now his brother. His love for this untamed country will never die, but he’s determined not to open his heart to another person, especially this beautiful Easterner who shows up on their doorstep.But when an accident forces Leah to stay at the ranch for several months, can Gideon guard himself from a love he doesn’t want? Will Leah find God’s true direction for her life?
Loving Lucas
AnnMarie Oakes - 2013
The Colorado Territory of the 1870s is tough on women alone; the two Canton sisters have no one but each other after the death of their father. All the locals want to marry Audra for the Canton homestead, and they're not above scaring her into it. Audra needs help learning to protect herself and her sister.That's when Lucas Blake drifts into Audra's life. She takes him on as a hired hand, though he's anything but. He's a lawman hot on the trail of a hardened criminal, and working the Canton homestead is the perfect cover.But just when Audra thinks she's out of the line of fire, Lucas accidentally puts her straight into the sights of a new, more deadly gun that makes her drunken suitors look like toy soldiers. Now Lucas and Audra must fight for their lives—and each other.
Unconquerable Callie
Deann Smallwood - 2013
She is also a dreamer. Her greatest hope is to reach a new life in South Pass City, Wyoming, where she can open a bakery and live an independent life. To be successful, she will need her greatest deception to date, a mythical fiancé who waits at the end of the line. As a woman alone, she has to prove to Seth McCallister, the wagon master, that she has the wherewithal and the stamina to survive months of drought, dust, hardships, and even the risk of death.Seth McCallister is mystified by the audacity and determination of Callie Collins. His initial distrust and concern for Callie, a woman traveling alone, opens first to admiration, then friendship, then love, a love that he is forced to hold at bay. What he doesn’t realize is that there is no fiancé. To make matters worse, Callie develops feelings for Seth McCallister, too. Yet she feels certain that once he realizes her deception, he’ll turn away, ashamed of his love and trust in her.
The Judge's Bride
Patricia PacJac Carroll - 2017
He was taking the farm. Wasn't it enough she'd been widowed 2 years ago. Worse, good meaning townspeople wanted her to disperse her ten children to families who needed them. She had to keep her family together. The letter from the judge in Montana. Her only hope of keeping her family together was to go west to Montana as a mail order bride. Judge Solomon Taggart groaned at having to referee a dispute between the two feuding families. That even their children were at each other made him doubt the wisdom of sending that letter to the widow in Minnesota. She had children. She didn't say how many, and he hadn't asked. He grabbed his rifle and swung up in the saddle, praying there'd be no bloodshed. And then he prayed he'd been wise to send that letter.
Shadow's Passion
Molle McGregor - 2014
Now he has to choose—revenge or love?Exiled by her people after an accidental death, Celeste’s power is so unstable the elegant Shadow healer is considered a deadly menace. Fifty years of isolation have left her a little lonely. And more than a little bored. When a nearby family falls victim to demon infection, she decides to go hunting. Without backup, it won’t be long before the demons are hunting her. A dangerous assassin, Gabe has better things to do than save a Shadow from her own reckless behavior. Like find the demon who killed his brother. Sure, the Shadow is gorgeous, alluring, and she needs his help. But he can’t afford to get distracted. Everything changes the second he spies his brother’s killer among the demons after Celeste. Now, nothing will tear him from her side. Gabe is dangerous and secretive. He’s also a skilled fighter and sexy as hell. Celeste knows better than to team up with a Warder, but she’s not sure she cares. It’s been a long dry spell since her exile. Neither of them expects their fling to turn into something more. But when Gabe’s past catches up with him, he learns that his brother’s murder was just the beginning. A new evil is rising, and its sights are set on Celeste. Now Gabe has to make a choice: revenge or love?