Book picks similar to
Suddenly a Bride by Cynthia Thomason


romance
historical-romance
historical-fiction
historical

Dillon


Linda Ford - 2021
    She found Dillon down on his luck and gave him, and five other young men, a home and trains them. Seven years later she is set on finding brides for all of the young men. Dillon’s not interested. He was robbed of everything by Slick McCall—someone he trusted. A girl he loved has also treated him poorly. He doesn’t intend to open his heart to anyone. His plan is to stay right there on the ranch and take care of Maude and John.Abigail has been duped by a slick-talking charmer and is now expecting a baby with no ring on her finger. Posing as a widow, she flees west, intending to start over and create a new life for herself and her unborn baby. However she arrives at Logan Crossing and discovers her money is missing—stolen. She has nothing. Maude offers her a job on the ranch, thinking this pretty young widow will be suitable for one of the boys.Abigail eagerly helps at the ranch house, determined to make a temporary home for herself and the baby. Dillon is always ready to take her for a walk or otherwise entertain her. The baby’s birth creates a new level of attraction and intimacy between them. He tells her of how a certain Slick McCall has stolen everything and a former girlfriend hurt him, teaching Dillon to guard his heart.Slick McCall was the man who sweet talked her into making Abby’s baby. She was prepared to tell Dillon the truth about being an unwed mother but hearing his words makes her realize she must guard her secret.But how long can she hide the truth when she and Dillon are falling in love? Will Dillon still love her when the truth comes out? Most of all, will her newborn son ever be accepted?

Crimes Of The Brothers


D.L. Carter - 2013
    caring... supportive... protective. Catherine Walman's brother, however, is not. He has maligned her reputation until no honorable man will seek her company, wasted her dowry and endangered her home with his gambling and now his new wife has made it clear Catherine is no longer welcome. The hand of fortune intervenes when a letter arrives advising Catherine that a stranger has bequeathed to her "a home and money to keep it." Catherine seizes upon this chance, hoping that it might be enough for her to be independent, to be free - only to discover this stranger also had a brother, or two, or three.

Dark Shadows


Jana Petken - 2014
    It is only when she faces imminent death in the snow and ice-encrusted Virginia wilderness that she finally understands the power of destiny. Mercy is passionate. She loves and hates in equal measure. Can love and hatred give her the strength she needs now to reach a Northern state, and free a runaway slave wanted for murders, she committed? America and her people are strangled in an uncompromising political stalemate. Southern states have seceded from the Union, and a civil war is imminent. Mercy Carver: her journey is just beginning.

Bone Deep


Bonnie Dee - 2005
    Later she discovers him hiding in her hayloft, escaped from virtual imprisonment since childhood by the carnival's evil owner. She shelters him on her farm, fighting a powerful sexual attraction while learning about his mysterious past and gentle nature. When a local child goes missing, Tom uses his psychic gifts to locate her, but his assistance in the case doesn't allay the town's mistrust of such an exotic stranger in their midst. Small-town prejudice tears the lovers apart and a very real threat from carnival owner Art Reed endangers them. Can they rise above obstacles of fear and hate to create the family both have always craved?

Sacrifice and Reward


Robin Deeter - 2016
    By this time, most of the Kiowa bands have been pushed west by the Lakota, who are on the move southward from the Great Lakes region. These invaders from the north want the game-rich, lush pasture lands of the territory for themselves. However, one small Kiowa band is determined to remain in their early homelands in the region of what will be one day known as eastern South Dakota. These two enemy tribes are brought face-to-face through the vision of a young Kiowa medicine man. Sky Dancer, a beautiful, Kiowa widow, and proud Lakota warrior, Dark Horse, are forced to marry in order to create an alliance between their peoples. Right from the beginning they clash in a test of wills, loathing each other on sight, making a happy marriage seem out of the question. Will the sacrifice that is asked of them save their tribes? Can these two enemies overcome their initial hatred to find love in unlikely place or will distrust keep them from the reward they both crave?

The Wild One


Danelle Harmon - 1997
    When he takes a bullet for boldly thwarting a stagecoach robbery, he is stunned to discover that the beautiful young woman he has heroically rescued, Juliet Paige, is his deceased brother’s American fiancée, accompanied by her infant daughter. Despite his brother the duke's refusal to acknowledge Juliet, Gareth is determined to do right by the courageous woman who crossed an ocean to give her baby her rightful name. But Juliet is wary of marrying this black sheep aristocrat, even while she is hopelessly charmed by the dashing devil. Never has she met anyone who embraces life so thoroughly, who makes her laugh, who loves her so well. And, even when it seems the odds are against them, Juliet has absolute faith that Gareth will go beyond the call of duty, risking his life itself to give her and her daughter a home — and a love that will last a lifetime.

Ride with Me


Janith Hooper - 2013
    She is invisible to him...Jessica Harper is a sweet and innocent woman, held back from a life of her own. Clint Wilkins is a cut above the rest, but he’s broken, and emotionally unavailable. When Clint’s vow to never marry and his attraction to Jessie square off, will he take her innocence...or her heart, and change both their lives forever.Jessica Harper only daydreams of escaping her demanding family. So when her Uncle Roy begs her to come to his large cattle ranch in Montana to help Mabel, his cantankerous cook, she jumps at the chance. Once Jessica arrives, the cook isn't her only problem. Right out of the chute she meets the compelling, handsome ranch foreman. Though she recognizes him as her life-long dream, she must face the fact that they are not a matched set. He’s much too...everything, for her. Yet, Jessica can’t seem to keep her mind or her eyes off him. Her desire runs rampant, her faith is tested, her courage fails her, and that’s all before an unforeseen disaster strikes.Clint Wilkins, the rugged, stand alone foreman — and Gallatin County’s most sought-after bachelor — has successfully fought off marriage for years. But, before he knows it, Jessica’s sweet nature and strong character burrow under his skin, blazing a path straight for his philandering heart. When he finds himself poleaxed by the wholesome Jessie, he must re-evaluate his calloused lifestyle. But, as he tries to change, he is reminded how damaged and used up he is, and how pure she remains. Yet, he can’t seem to resist her powerful tug on his reins.Will they trust the path God has set for them, or turn away from each other for good?

Beautiful Exiles


Meg Waite Clayton - 2018
    Headstrong, accomplished journalist Martha Gellhorn is confident with words but less so with men when she meets disheveled literary titan Ernest Hemingway in a dive bar. Their friendship—forged over writing, talk, and family dinners—flourishes into something undeniable in Madrid while they’re covering the Spanish Civil War.Martha reveres him. The very married Hemingway is taken with Martha—her beauty, her ambition, and her fearless spirit. And as Hemingway tells her, the most powerful love stories are always set against the fury of war. The risks are so much greater. They’re made for each other.With their romance unfolding as they travel the globe, Martha establishes herself as one of the world’s foremost war correspondents, and Hemingway begins the novel that will win him the Nobel Prize for Literature. Beautiful Exiles is a stirring story of lovers and rivals, of the breathless attraction to power and fame, and of one woman—ahead of her time—claiming her own identity from the wreckage of love.

The Handsomest Man in the Country


Nancy Radke - 2012
    This is a western pioneer historical romance, told from the mountain girl's POV. There is dialect in this novella. Mally loses her family just after the Civil War and travels west to form a new one.

Pistols and Petticoats


Barbara Ankrum - 2014
     ETHAN'S BRIDE - 27,000 word sequel to CHASE THE FIRE (Wild Western Hearts, Book 4) Violet Bradford desperately wants a child. Believing herself barren, she answers Dr. Ethan Walker's advertisement for a mail-order bride in Colorado, knowing he only wants one thing: a mother for his young daughter. Surely the joys of motherhood can compensate for a loveless marriage. But Ethan's broken heart won't stop tugging at hers. And Ethan soon realizes he must risk his heart again or risk losing it all. SHADY LADY - 26,000 word prequel to DEVIL IN TEXAS (Velvet Lies, Book 4) Fiery singing sensation, Sadie Michelson, thinks falling in love is bad for business—until William "Cass" Cassidy, a hotheaded gunslinger, sets his sights on wooing her. But when a Texas Ranger arrives in Dodge City to extradite Cass for a crime of passion, Sadie must use all her wits and wiles to lure the law from her man's trail. And that means risking everything—including Cass's love. BAREBACK BRIDE - 25,000 word sequel to THE BRIDE WORE SPURS (The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 1) Expert horsewoman, Shannon Winterhawke runs away from home to join the Buffalo Bill Wild West extravaganza. Shannon is hired on the spot, but the show's head horseman, Seth Edwards, simply sees another flighty gal looking for a cowboy fling before settling down with some unsuspecting fool. But all bets are off as Shannon slowly sneaks into Seth's heart and lassoes him with his own rope.

The Edge of Forever


Barbara Bretton - 1986
    After her sister's heroic death, Meg had given up her career as a photographer and opened up a limousine service, but a camera was never very far from her hands.Now Meg stood on the threshold of a new adventure. She'd been left an estate in the remote hills of New Hampshire where she must complete one last job for a former friend and mentor. A job she shared with novelist Joe Alessio.Meg should have been worried about the weeks she'd spend alone with Joe. She should have dreaded his writer's curiosity and imagination, for both would challenge her talent, her determination and her heart.

An Unexpected Widow


Carré White - 2013
    After arriving by wagon to the howling wilderness of the unexplored west, they settled on land, built a home, and began what they thought would be a long and prosperous life together. After an accident leaves Frank without feeling in his legs, the dream of self-sufficiency suddenly slips away, but even more tragedy is on the horizon for Hannah.Once widowed, she struggles to cope with her loss, relying on those her husband had hired, especially Nathan Weaver, a no good gambler and drunkard. While the tenuous hold she has on her sanity crumbles, her connection with Nathan becomes something far greater than she could have ever imagined, but her family would be scandalized if she married such a man.One should never judge a book by its cover, and Nathan, although rough around the edges and crude, has his heart in the right place, and it belongs to Hannah…if only she could see it.This is the first book in The Colorado Brides Series, chronicling the lives of the Hoffman sisters and their adventures in finding love out west.

Married In Montana


Kirsten Osbourne - 2015
    She knows her mother will never move on with her own life as long as Savannah is single. Savannah goes to see a matchmaker, specializing in setting up couples who meet at the altar. At first, she thinks Scott is a dream come true, but his blundering soon makes her crazy. Scott, a Montana bison rancher, doesn't have time to find a wife. His work is all-encompassing. Besides, he tends to have a hard time getting women to go out with him more than once. When he runs into a matchmaker he's known all his life, he tells her about the problems he's had to see if she can help him. When he meets Savannah at the altar, his heart stops for a moment. She's exactly what he's looking for. Will their diverse backgrounds keep them apart? Or will they be able to work through their differences to make their marriage a loving relationship?

Abby: Mail Order Bride


Verna Clay - 2012
    Left with three children, he's desperate to find a mother for them. Ten year old Jenny does her best to care for two year old Ty, and fourteen year old Luke works the ranch with his father, losing himself in dime novels to ease the pain of his mother's passing. Brant's options are limited since eligible women seldom pass through Two Rivers, much less settle in the small Texas town. In desperation, he places a classified advertisement for a mail order bride. Marrying a woman he'll come to know through a newspaper advertisement scares the bejesus out of him, but at this point, he's out of options.Abigail Mary Vaughn always dreamed of having her own family, but caring for her elderly parents, as well as working as a teacher to help with finances, ended that dream. Her parents are now dead and she's faced with the reality of her lonely existence. After reading Mr. Samson's advertisement in the Philadelphia Inquirer, she garners enough courage to respond. Since she is considered an old maid at the age of thirty-eight, she'll more than likely spend the rest of her life wondering "what if" unless she does something unconventional.Sensual love scenes.

Master of Paradise


Virginia Henley - 2011
    He buys land, clears it, and plants cotton. Eventually he builds a magnificent house known as Paradise Plantation. He falls in love with the daughter of Bernard Jackson on the neighboring plantation, but when Civil War threatens circumstances force him to agree to a marriage in name only. The sexual tension is stretched to breaking point as the would-be lovers are torn between honor or surrendering to the love and longing in their hearts.From the AuthorMaster of Paradise portrays the historically accurate evils of slavery.