Book picks similar to
A Homespun Christmas by M.L. Gardner


historical-fiction
romance
historical
fiction

You Can't Ruin Christmas


Olivia Noble - 2019
    He's going to volunteer his services as my personal trainer, so I can get a revenge body and make my ex regret leaving me. But during our long, sweaty sessions at the gym, I find myself becoming more and more attracted to Sven.His muscles are enough to make any girl swoon. He is sweet and caring with a panty-melting smile.Did I mention he's my ex's brother?Ignoring that, Sven might manage to save my Christmas from being an utter disaster, after all.Note: These are steamy Christmas rom-coms to bring some heat to your cold December. Filled with lots of giggles and super happy endings. Bite-sized reads that can be enjoyed quickly during the busy holidays!

A Crew Christmas: An Evolve Series Novella


S.E. Hall - 2017
     No really... things get smashed. Crashed. Crazy. But what's a few minor casualties, as long as you have your family? Merry Christmas from The Crew!

She Had No Choice


Debra Burroughs - 2011
    Disease was ravaging village after village. Young Sofia's parents decided to take what was left of their family and brave a perilous midnight crossing into the United States, hoping to save the lives of their remaining children. They did not anticipate the hardships that lay ahead of them. After a family tragedy, Sofia is sent to live with a well-to-do aunt in Phoenix. Sofia's father assumes this is for the best, that his sister would educate her and treat her as a daughter. He could not have known it would plunge her into a life of hard labor and bad relationships with the wrong men. Hungry for love, her first lover leads to a daughter, Eva, born out of wedlock. When he abandons her and their baby, another unsavory man is quick to come to her rescue. But when he tries to convince Sofia to leave what little family she has left to go west with him, to work in the fields of California, she is torn. Weighing what few options are available to her, she believes she has no choice but to go with him. If only that was the lone circumstance in which she had no choice. Sofia's difficult, yet inspiring life unfolds over the next twenty years, through a series of highs and lows, with her devoted, headstrong daughter by her side. As a young woman, Eva hopes to avoid the mistakes her mother made with men, but she is not always able to steer clear of them. When life becomes dangerous and unbearable for Sofia, will Eva and her beau be able to save her, or will Sofia have to save them? This poignant and gripping drama plays out from 1918 to 1960, and is full of love and heartbreak, prejudice and betrayal, lovers, friends and family. It is inspired by the true stories written in Debra Burroughs' book CARMEN.

One Enchanted Christmas


Melissa Tagg - 2015
    On a glimmering winter evening, she got to watch the photo shoot for her very first book and ended up on a magical date with the cover model himself—Colin Renwycke. Fast forward one year. This December, with a looming deadline, restless spirit and her creative spark long since gone, Maren is desperate to get unstuck. And she can’t get Colin out of her head…or his year-old open invitation to spend a couple weeks writing at his family’s farm. Drew Renwycke never planned to come home and take over the Renwycke family farm. But he’s spent too many years watching his siblings unravel, including his brother, Colin, after one terrible family mistake. If moving to Maple Valley, Iowa, renovating an old farmhouse and switching careers is what it takes to put the Renwycke family back together, he’ll do it. But his simple plan upends when a scrappy author lands on his doorstep. And she just might be the key to coaxing his brother home. But what if he wants her all to himself? Drew will have to choose between his Christmas wish and the enchantment of a holiday romance that just might be the happy ending they all long for.

Snowy Night with a Stranger


Jane Feather - 2008
    Julia London's Snowy Night with a Highlander sends a debutante into the wintry Scottish wilds....Searching for her rakehell brother, an earl lying low in the wake of a scandalous affair, Fiona Haines is led by a rugged Highlander who obscures his scarred face. As they journey on, Fiona draws closer to her brave, enigmatic protector -- but will fury or passion ignite when he reveals his identity?

Love and Christmas Wishes


Rose Pearson - 2018
     Two sisters, Katie and Jane, and their impoverished cousin and companion, Sarah, struggle with life's constraints and difficulties to find love and happiness, despite their mother's wishes. Won't you join them? They need your support! Sarah’s Magical Christmas Sarah Powell is a beautiful but impoverished young woman. She is unlucky in love and trapped in a position she hates. Working for her cruel aunt as a ladies’ companion to her wealthier cousins means she will never find romance or happiness. Stuck in a life of servitude, she has no reason to think her life will ever change until she meets a mysterious gentleman, Mr. Charles Langford of London. Charles Langford breezes into her life with a charming smile and a disdain for following the rules of Regency Society. Without position or title, he has no prospects but he shows her that sometimes all you need is a little Christmas magic to be happy. Everything seems to be a dream come true, until she discovers all is not perfect in love. He makes no promises for the future and her family disapproves of him. With a future as an old maid looming ahead of her, Sarah Powell faces a lonely holiday. Can she depend on Christmas magic or is she doomed to a life without the man she loves? Katie’s Christmas Wish Katie Brookes is beautiful, elegant and quite her mother’s favorite. She has long been friends with Samuel Putnam but cannot understand why he has taken a step back from their acquaintance recently. It is made all the worse by the fact that she has realized that she has a deep affection for him, one that leads to love, not just friendship. Unfortunately for Katie, Samuel refuses to consider any potential future between them. Telling her to forget him, he pushes Katie away, breaking her heart in the process. When her mother decides that it is time for Katie to marry, she insists that her daughter tries to attract the attention of Viscount Halifax, who is visiting some friends. Disappointed and broken-hearted by Samuel’s rejection, Katie reluctantly does just as she is told, only to find that the viscount is more than eager to court her. Will she truly be able to forget her love for Samuel and accept the viscount’s proposal? Or will she be able to discover the truth behind Samuel’s reluctance and finally be granted her very own Christmas wish? Jane’s Christmas Confusion Jane Brookes has often been told that she is plain and uninteresting, much too quiet and therefore, will be entirely unable to find a suitable match. She has learned to keep her thoughts to herself, never truly able to share what she feels for fear of bringing down her mother’s wrath on her head. Overlooked by her mother in favor of her younger sister, Jane keeps her broken heart to herself. Having fallen deeply in love with Viscount Halifax, the gentleman courting her sister, she scurries away to London in an attempt to find some sort of healing there. What she does not expect to find is that Viscount Halifax has also come to London, instead of remaining with her sister. Sudden meetings, Christmas balls, lies, deceit and a promise of future happiness all tangle up together, leaving Jane with more of a struggle than she’d ever thought she’d face. Can she work her way through it all and find the happiness she thought she might never have? Will Lord Halifax be her precious Christmas gift? Other books by Rose Pearson: A Smithfield Market Regency Romance Series &l

Christmas Brides


Cheryl Bolen - 2012
    How painful it will be, though, to be trapped in a marriage of convenience with the only man she has ever loved.Marriage to the wealthy heiress will help restore de Vere's decaying estates, but that is not why he accepts her bizarre proposal. He has grown to love her father as if he were his own, and if Mr. Pemberton selected him for his only child's husband, then Lord de Vere must honor the man's final wishes. Little does he suspect his father-in-law knows him better than he knows himself."HOME FOR CHRISTMAS"20,000 words (about 85 pages)Heat index: Sweet For six long years, Captain David St. Vincent has dreamed of returning home to Ramseyfield—and to its prettiest resident, Elizabeth Balfour. To his astonishment, though, it is not Elizabeth, but her plain younger sister, Catherine, whose company he seeks. Cathy Balfour has worshiped David for as long as she can remember. It was she who wept when he left, she who presented him with a cross to keep him safe while in service to the crown, and she who read and carefully collected the newspaper accounts of his sea battles. But how can one as plain as she ever hope to win his heart?"CHRISTMAS AT FARLEY MANOR"Best Historical Novella of 2011* (This novella was first published as an eBook in 2011.)Approximate length: 21,000 words (about 100 pages)Heat index: SweetIt wasn't to be a real marriage. . .Harry Tate is an army captain of some means who is almost certain to die when he returns to Spain on the morrow. Elizabeth Hensley is a destitute beauty he's only too happy to help.Two years later. . .When they meet again at his ancestral home, Harry is now Viscount Broxbourne, bent on showing his wife how much he wants her to be his real viscountess by Christmas.

The Birds' Christmas Carol


Kate Douglas Wiggin - 1886
    They had intended to name the baby Lucy, if it were a girl; but they had not expected her on Christmas morning, and a real Christmas baby was not to be lightly named - the whole family agreed in that.

Christmas with the Sheriff


Victoria James - 2016
    Returning is hard, but keeping the devastating secret about her late husband is even harder. Her place isn't in Big Sky Country any longer...but the more time she spends with the irresistible Sheriff who saved her once before, and his adorable little daughter, the more Julia starts wishing she could let go of the past and start a new life. Single dad and county Sheriff Chase Donovan had been secretly in love with his best friend's wife for years. But after her traumatic loss he knew Julia needed to get away from Shadow Creek, even though helping her leave was the last thing he wanted to do. Now she's home and he doesn't intend to lose her a second time. Chase is going to prove to Julia just how good they can be together this Christmas...and forever.

Santa's Secret


Serenity Woods - 2013
    Read in any order and enjoy!Book 1: Santa’s SecretPrevious published by Lyrical Press. Will the magic still be there when they wake on Christmas morning? Rudi comes to Santa’s Secret Village in the Arctic Circle looking to sell the resort, having long since lost his Christmas spirit. His seven-year-old daughter already knows the truth about Santa, and neither of them is in the mood for the festive season.But then they meet Eva, struggling with a suitcase that bursts and scatters her underwear in the snow. Practically a recluse since the death of her husband eighteen months before, Eva’s not looking for romance and is there to try to make Christmas more festive this year for her young son. But she brings an unexpected sparkle to Rudi and Isabel’s lives that renews their belief in the magic of Christmas.As the weather grows colder, things heat up between Rudi and Eva. But will the magic still be there when they wake on Christmas morning?Warning: contains hot and sexy scenes in a Finnish sauna and a huge dollop of Christmas magic.

The Christmas Blanket


Kandi Steiner - 2020
    I haven't been home in four years, not since I left this town with my eyes set on adventure.And my heart set on forgetting the only man I’ve ever loved.River Jensen -- my ex-husband.I don't plan on seeing him during my visit. I definitely don't plan on him saving me when my little rental car slides off the icy road. And the last thing I could have ever prepared for is being stuck in a tiny cabin with him, waiting out the storm.Four years have passed since I've seen him -- the boy I loved, now a man I don't know at all. But being stuck inside with him leaves us nothing but time together.Everything about him has changed, and yet, he still has the same forest green eyes that have haunted me since I left. Back then, we were at an impasse. Back then, there was nothing left to talk about, nothing left to fix. Back then, the only choice I had was to leave and start anew.But the more I re-discover the man I left behind, the more I question why I ever left at all.And if I’m too late to find my way back home. The Christmas Blanket is a stand-alone holiday novella set in a snowy small town in Vermont.

Storm Clouds Rolling In


Virginia Gaffney - 1996
    Born with a fiery spirit and a strong mind, she finds herself struggling between the common wisdom of the South and the truth she has discovered. The activities of the Underground Railroad and her close friendships with the Cromwell Plantation slaves create difficult choices. But when her decisions put her at odds with her heritage, and challenge her dreams, will she be able to give up all that is precious to her?Originally released as "Under the Southern Moon" by Virginia Gaffney.

12 Rogues of Christmas


Ebony McKennaAva January - 2020
    His mother was right. He still had deep feelings for her and wanted to make things right between them.Two Tempted Loves - Ebony McKenna writing as Ebony OatenA newly-minted marquis meets an heiress on a missionThree French Men - Ava JanuaryThree ladies need to rid themselves of the men they find living in their house. Or will they find a way to keep them in instead?Four Calling Cards - Susanne BellamyHer fiancé is missing and his best friend takes his place. What can possibly go wrong?Five Gold Flings - Beverley OakleyWicked and lively Fanny and Antoinette Brightwell have made spectacular marriages. Now, it’s their children’s turn to play matchmaker...Six Belles Need Saving - Janis LinfordA reluctant debutante and a viscount on the brink of ruin, tangle at a Christmas school of manners.Seven Lords Proposing - Erin GraceAmateur botanist Charlotte Grey has long declared she should never wed. When six eligible gentlemen offer for Miss Grey’s hand at a party, she sets them impossible tasks.Eight Spinsters Singing - Catherine BilsonAn heiress fleeing an unwanted marriage must place her trust in an American ship captain.Nine Years A'Yearning - Alison StuartA wounded soldier and a lonely girl find love at Christmas time, but the fortunes of war will tear them apart.Ten Shipwrecked Books - Renée DahliaLord Rupert Stanmore was banished to the continent for a grand tour after being caught kissing his best friend, Lord Benburgh. Two years later and life back in England has caught up to him.Eleven Christmas Pipers - Pamela HartA Widow who'll never love a soldier again. Especially one who plays the bagpipes!Twelve Drummers Coming - Heidi Wessman KnealeMaude regarded her teacup. So that was Uncle Nate's eldest son? She'd heard much about him, of his grand career as a soldier. Funny that nobody mentioned he was only a drummer.

Three Daughters


Consuelo Saah Baehr - 1988
    Uprooted by war, Miriam enters a world where the old constraints slip away with thrilling and disastrous results. Miriam’s rebellious daughter, Nadia, is thrilled with the opportunity for a modern life that her elite education provides. But when she falls in love with an outsider, the clan reins her back with a shocking finality. Nijmeh, Nadia's daughter, is an only child and the path her father, the sheik, sets for her is fraught with difficulties, yet it prepares her for her ultimate journey to America, where she finds her future.Each woman, in her own time and in her own way, experiences a world in transition through war and social change...and each must stretch the bounds of her loyalty, her courage, and her heart.

Anabella: Strength From Within (The Mail Order Brides of Russets Reach #1)


Indiana Wake - 2016
    A day when she must leave her home and travel halfway around the world to marry a man she has never met. She has been sold! Anabella is a lady. This is the last thing she expected. Yet, mismanagement and brutal debt have forced their father to peddle his three daughters as brides to three brothers in the Wild West. All that keeps Anabella sane is being strong for her sisters. Ashley Carrow is tall and broad, with sun-lightened hair and vivid blue eyes. Finding out his Ma has bought him a bride made him almost choke on his steak. Then when he sees the proper English lady he knows things will end badly. Not that he needed a wife... but if he did, she would be strong and capable, able to work beside him and make him proud. This Anabella is soft, spoilt, and totally out of her depth... as well as being scared of almost everything. Still, she provides him with a laugh as she chases a snake with a broom amongst other disasters. Can love can cross borders and mend bridges in this sweet and clean historical western romance?