Book picks similar to
The Mule Tamer by John C. Horst


ebook
genre-historical-fiction
_afree
western-amish

The First Time I Said Goodbye


Claire Allan - 2013
    In Derry they both start to realise that sometimes you have to say goodbye to what you thought you always wanted, in order to find what you have needed all along. Editorial Reviews “One of the most scrumptious books i think I’ve ever read”All Things Books“Like a hug in a book! ... ideal book for those who doubts there's such a thing as having it all” – Woman’s Way“An amazing story of first love and how, even years later, the feelings can still exist. Based on a true story, this was my favourite tale of true love in recent years. Sweet, warm and endearing, it stayed with me for weeks after I had finished it. For all of us that believe there is a soulmate out there for everyone.” Bleach House LibraryQuite simply, this is one of the nicest, warmest and moving love stories I have read in years and I found myself very emotional while reading it. It had some personal meaning to me, as it was a similar tale to a relative of mine, and I had to stop reading a few times in order to pull myself together. I didn’t want it to end and the lump in my throat remains with me, even as I write this review. Writing.ieI LOVED this book. I was completely absorbed in it ...I really couldn't put it down - At Home with Mrs M“A feel-good, touching and amusing tale which readers will find hard to put down” – Irish Independent

Eochaidh


Terri Reid - 2013
    But they had been betrayed, Morganna caught the young men and despite Merlin’s protection, cast a spell upon them that would age them a year for every day they lived as men. Merlin did the only thing he could; he changed the men to horses so they could roam as immortals until someone could break the spell.For more than one thousand years, the Herdin family was charged with the duty to help the horses and break the spell. Once every hundred years, the signs aligned and another Herdin risked their life to free the knights. This time, Meaghan Herdin’s father, Lord John, is the last surviving male heir in the Herdin line. Will he be able to break the spell or will Morganna and her followers destroy Meaghan’s family?Set in Ireland in the 18th century, Eochaidh – The Legend of the Horseman, is filled with love, adventure, loyalty and magic.

Through Streets Broad and Narrow


Gemma Jackson - 2013
    Her irresponsible Da is dead. She is grief-stricken and alone – but for the first time in her life free to please herself. After her mother deserted the family, Ivy became the sole provider for her Da and three brothers. Pushing a pram around the well-to-do areas of Dublin every day, she begged for the discards of the wealthy which she then turned into items she could sell around Dublin’s markets. As she visits the morgue to pay her respects to her Da, a chance meeting introduces Ivy to a new world of money and privilege, her mother's world. Ivy is suddenly a woman on a mission to improve herself and her lot in life. Jem Ryan is the owner of a livery near Ivy’s tenement. When an accident occurs in one of his carriages, leaving a young girl homeless, it is Ivy he turns to. With Jem and the people she meets in her travels around Dublin, Ivy begins to break out of the property-ridden world that is all she has ever known. Through Streets Broad and Narrow is a story of strength and determination in the unrelenting world that was Dublin tenement life.

Mastering the Marchioness: A Wickedly Erotic Historical Romance


Em Brown - 2009
    If you like your heat “wickedly hot” with yummy alpha males and headstrong young women, then dare to enter the Cavern of Pleasures… The last person Vale Montressor Aubrey, the Marquess of Dunnesford, expects to see walking into Madam Botreaux's Cavern of Pleasures is his wife. Fortunately, she does not recognize him behind his mask for he has no intention of revealing his secret life as a Dom to his new bride. Harrietta, the new Marchioness of Dunnesford, knows that she, modest in means and countenance, should consider herself lucky to be married to such a desirable man as the Marquess, even if he is rumored to have had more mistresses than one can count. But if he can have his fun, why not her? And the dashingly handsome Lord Elroy seems just the man to make her forget about her loveless marriage. Vale knows that Elroy, also a secret Dom at Madame Botreaux's, can’t be trusted not to hurt a submissive. To protect Harrietta, Vale must claim her as his own, but he soon discovers this feisty wife of his isn't so easy to tame. Especially when things start heating up in the Cavern of Pleasures.

A Red, Red Rose


Susan Coryell - 2012
    Their lives, loves and secrets. Especially their secrets. 20-year-old Ashby Overton is invited by her aunt and uncle to spend the summer at historic Overhome Estate as a companion to her young cousin. Ashby has ulterior motives: She hopes to unearth her ancestral roots and the cause of a mysterious family rift surrounding the horseback riding death of her Grandmother Lenore many years ago. Situated high above Moore Mountain Lake, Virginia, the imposing mansion is an idyllic setting for Ashby, the aspiring romance writer. From the moment she enters her room in the oldest wing, Ashby feels an invisible, enfolding presence. This was Rosabelle's room, the housekeeper tells Ashby. But no one is willing to talk about Rosabelle. As summer unfolds, so does the shroud of silence surrounding Overhome. Ever present is a force Ashby never sees, only feels. Candles light themselves, notes from an old lullaby fall from the ceiling, the radio tunes itself each day. And roses, always meant for Ashby, appear in the unlikeliest places. Are the roses a symbol of love, or do they represent something dark, something deep and evil? Full of heartbreak and adventure, fear and passion, the summer leads Ashby on a suspenseful, sometimes terrifying journey as she navigates centuries of family strife alongside the puzzling parameters of the spirit world. Ultimately she discovers that some secrets, even the most fiercely guarded, are destined to be revealed.

Fairchild


Jaima Fixsen - 2013
    They should have a son and if it can be managed, he should be handsome. Cleverness isn’t important. Daughters in limited quantities are fine so long as they are pretty. Bastards are inconvenient and best ignored. It's not a big problem, unless you are one. Unfortunately, Sophy is. Sick of her outcast role, she escapes her father’s house, only to fall from her horse during a spring storm. Injured, soaked, and shivering, she stumbles to a stranger’s door—Tom, a blunt edged merchant from a family of vulgar upstarts. Mistaking Sophy for the genuine article, he takes her in. Sophy can’t resist twisting the truth. Soon she’s caught in her own snare—and it might just be a noose.

Coming Home


Gwen Kirkwood - 2014
    Victory over Japan has been announced and everyone in Megan Oliphant’s home town in Scotland is celebrating the end of the war. The boys are 'Coming Home'. Megan has been waiting desperately for the day when Steven Caraford, the best friend of her older brother, finally returns. After long correspondence during Steven's time away - and after supporting each other through her brother's death - Megan can only hope her feelings for him are mutual. Steven has longed for the day when he can return home to Scotland, and – although it will mean long days, little money and no security – his heart’s desire is to have a farm of his own. While Megan heads off for college, Steven struggles to build up his new home - and both must try to work out what the other is feeling about their future together. Coming Home is a moving romantic drama about building a new life after the Second World War - and about searching for love, stability and happiness. Praise for Gwen Kirkwood: 'A gripping read' - Robert Foster, best-selling author of The Lunar Code Gwen Kirkwood is the author of sixteen Scottish novels and six shorter romantic novellas, including A Question of Love. She won the Elizabeth Goudge Trophy, judged by Richard Lee, when it was re-introduced to mark the millennium in 2000. She lives in Scotland.

State of Grace: A time-travel vampire romance


Elizabeth Davies - 2012
    Roman has an addiction to blood, and could possibly live forever.Grace is twenty-seven years old. When they meet in the twelfth century Roman is several hundred years old. And Grace has another problem - she's from his future and neither of them believe it. This is the first novel in the Resurrection series. This series will appeal to fans of Bella Forrest, S. J. West and J. R. Ward You will also like this book if you enjoy - Time travel romances - Urban fantasy - Swords and castles - Historical paranormal romances - Magical realism - Romantic suspense - Mythological creatures

The Storm Within


Jessica L. Degarmo - 2011
    Amanda screams, but the visitor turns out to be Raif Weston, a very handsome off-duty fireman come to rescue her and the other residents of Johns Creek.They attempt to get to the shelter where the residents are being evacuated, but the storm is so fierce that they only get a short way down the road before they hit a tree and are forced to turn back, and so they both end up trapped in Amanda's house."So, now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?" Raif asks.…. and the storm begins for real.

The House on Tenafly Road


Adrienne Morris - 2013
    When morphine-addicted veteran John Weldon marries into the comfortably suburban McCullough family on the eve of Reconstruction and the Indian Wars, life gets complicated. How will Weldon hide his addiction from the family he resents and admires, keep his standing in the army and find the strength to survive the tragedies that come when loving others?John Weldon spends a lifetime journeying across the prairie frontier of America only to find that he already has a home. The House on Tenafly Road is the first book of The Tenafly Road Series about the Weldon and Crenshaw families of Gilded Age New Jersey. *Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice and Notable Indie Book of the Year “The various members of the McCullough family are portrayed with careful detail and some moments of unexpected humor, but it’s the tortured John Weldon who commands the book; his slow and halting search for personal redemption makes for mesmerizing reading. . . . extremely evocative. . . . a long and very satisfyingly complex novel. “ Steve Donoghue

The Last Train Home


Tony Wilson - 2012
    Their lives are worlds apart, yet inextricably linked. In this captivating twist on a seasonal tale, the three men are brought together on the last train home and given their chance at redemption. But will they take it? Always gripping, sometimes sad, yet ultimately uplifting, don’t miss your place on The Last Train Home.

Not What He Expected


Annie Boone - 2015
    She's missed out on love and romance and she's decided to take matters into her own hands. If love won't find her, then she will surely find love. Is becoming a Mail Order Bride a good idea or will she just find more disappointment? Meet Levi. He's the handsome ranch owner Lucy is headed to meet. There's just one little problem. She's a little overweight and she neglected to share this detail about herself. How will Levi handle this touchy issue when they finally meet? The beautiful, and equally determined Clara hits the quaint Nebraska town about the same time Lucy does and sparks fly. Who will win this cat fight? "Not What He Expected" is the first publication by Annie Boone. Pick it up and see if you like her short story style.

A Stranger on My Land


Sandra Merville Hart - 2014
    Though Carrie is reluctant to take Adam to their cave where her family hides their livestock from both armies, she cannot turn her back on him. But her Aunt Lavinia, bitter over what Yankees have done to their land, urges Carrie to allow Adam to die. Carrie refuses, but cannot remove the bullets. Adam's friendship with Jay softens her heart toward him. It's not long until his gratitude and teasing manner spark a friendship between the young couple. Even though Carrie's father fights for the Confederacy in far-off Virginia, her feelings for the handsome young soldier begin to blossom into love. When Adam's condition worsens, Carrie knows a Union surgeon is needed to save his life. How can she accomplish this and keep her family's hiding place a secret?

Still Life with Murder


P.B. Ryan - 2003
    Born into dismal poverty, young Nell Sweeney scratches by on her wits and little else until fortune blesses her with a position as nursery governess to the fabulously wealthy Hewitts. But she soon learns that ugly secrets lurk beneath the surface of their gold-plated world.The Hewitts’ eldest son, William, a former Union Army battle surgeon and the black sheep of the family, was reported to have died three years before in a notorious Confederate prison camp. But one snowy February afternoon, his parents learn that he is, in fact, still alive—and in jail for having murdered a man while intoxicated on opium. Infuriated by his son’s deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt forbids his wife from coming to Will’s aid, so she begs Nell to help exonerate him. Nell finds that she must delve into the kind of dark and treacherous underworld she thought she’d left far behind if she is to unearth the truth before the hangman’s noose tightens around William Hewitt’s throat.

Ella Wood


Michelle Isenhoff - 2015
    War. Both equally destructive to Emily's ambitions.Though she left Charleston a spoiled daughter of the South, Emily returns from her stay in the North a changed young woman. Her assumptions about slavery have been shattered, and her secret dream of attending university has blossomed into fierce ambition. As the passions that are sweeping the North and South toward war threaten to envelop the city she loves, Emily must battle her father's traditional expectations in her own bid for independence. Meanwhile, the real fight may lie with her heart, in the form of a patient young man who is gently but steadily pursuing her.Four years ago I published The Candle Star, a stand-alone title among my collection of Civil War middle grade fiction. The book was well received by a general adult readership, and I began receiving emails asking questions like, "Why didn't you follow Emily's storyline?" and "What happens to Emily?" Ella Wood is my response.Parents of middle graders, please note that I have bumped Ella Wood into the young adult genre. Emily is now sixteen, standing at the edge of war and struggling with questions of morality, purpose, and love. Slavery, dealt with so carefully in my series for young readers, is shown in a much harsher light, and some themes are adult in nature. A "clean" read, Ella Wood is nevertheless intended for an audience of some maturity.You need not read The Candle Star to enjoy Ella Wood, though the Kindle edition is free.