Book picks similar to
Trilby by Diana Palmer


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romance
historical-romance
historical

Cowboys & Kisses


Vanessa Vale - 2015
    For years, she's been content working on the family ranch, but lately she's wanted more. She's determined to strike out on her own and find freedom from her unorthodox family.Chance Goodman has watched Rose grow up from a spitfire little girl into a fiery woman. He's wanted her for years, waiting patiently until he could make her his. When she leaves the Lenox ranch determined to abandon her former life and to say good-bye to him, he knows now is the time he must act. Letting her go isn't an option.This book was previously published as Rose in the Wildflower Brides series.

Nobody's Darling


Teresa Medeiros - 1998
    Lucky for him, she's a mighty poor shot. Instead of killing him, she hires him to find her runaway brother. He should turn down her offer. He should resist her charms. But he doesn't. Because there comes a time in every man's life when he's got nothing left to lose...but his heart.

For the Roses


Julie Garwood - 1995
    In Blue Belle, Montana, everyone knew better than to mess with the Claybornes. The brothers had once been a mismatched gang of street urchins—until they found an abandoned baby girl in a New York city alley, named her Mary Rose, and headed west to raise her to be a lady. They became a family—held together by loyalty and love if not by blood—when suddenly they faced a crisis that threatened to tear them apart....Trouble came to town with one Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald. Armed with a swagger and six-shooter, he cut a striking figure—but it soon became apparent to Mary Rose that he was too much of a gentleman to make it in her rough-and-tumble town. She asked her brothers to teach him the basics of frontier survival, which he acquired with ease. And soon he possessed a deep and desperate love for Mary Rose. She returned his affection wholeheartedly... until MacDonald revealed a secret that challenged everything she believed about herself, her life, and her newfound love. Now her search for identity and meaning would begin, raising questions that could only be answered if she listened to the truth within her heart....

Rainwater


Sandra Brown - 2009
    She cooks, cleans, launders, and cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose busy behavior and failure to speak elicits undesired advice from others in town. Ella’s plate is full from sunup to sundown. When a room in her boarding house opens up, the respected town doctor brings Ella a new boarder―the handsome and gallant Mr. David Rainwater—but Ella is immediately resistant to opening up her home to this mysterious stranger. Even with assurances that Mr. Rainwater is a man of impeccable character, a former cotton broker and a victim of the Great Depression, Ella stiffens at the thought of taking him in. Dr. Kincaid tells Ella in confidence that Mr. Rainwater won’t require the room for long: he is dying. Begrudgingly, Ella accepts Mr. Rainwater’s application to board, but she knows that something is happening; she is being swept along by an unusual series of events. Soon, this strong-minded, independent woman will realize that the living that she has eked out for herself in the small bubble of her town is about to change, whether she likes it or not... Racial tensions, the financial strain of livelihoods in cotton drying up into dust, and the threat of political instability swirl together into a tornado on the horizon. One thing is certain: the winds of change are blowing all over Texas—and through the cracks in the life that Ella Barron has painstakingly built. This is the story of a woman who takes her life’s circumstances in both hands, but who will be forced to reckon with the chaos of her historical circumstances..

The Rainbow Season


Lisa Gregory - 1979
    Sarah McGowanHer roots were deep in the Texas soil. But her secret shameful love for her sister's husband kept her from happiness.Pride and their love of the Texas land threw them together in an unlikely marriage. Then, as unexpectedly as a spring flood, long pent-up passion exploded in a storm that was to consume them both...

Flame


Connie Mason - 1997
    Although the proud Yankee was prepared to face any hardship on her journey to Fort Bridger, she was horrified to learn that single women weren't welcome on any wagon train. Desperate to cross the plains, Ashley decided to pay the first bachelor willing to pose as her husband. Then the fiery redhead came across a former Johnny Reb in the St. Joe's jail, and she couldn't think of any man she'd rather marry in name only. But out on the rugged trail, Tanner MacTavish quickly proved too intense, too virile, too dangerous for her peace of mind. And after Tanner stole a passionate kiss, Ashley knew that, even though the Civil War was over, a new battle was brewing -- a battle for the heart that she might be only too happy to lose.

Sagebrush Bride


Tanya Anne Crosby - 1993
    . . and solemnly vows to raise her innocent orphaned niece. But the little girl's grandfather has declared the unwed doctor to be an unfit guardian -- and refuses to deliver the child to Liz's care until she finds herself a man.DEVIL IN DISGUISE...Dangerous and secretive, hated by the settlers for his Cheyenne blood, rugged Cutter McKenzie volunteers to pose as the husband of the fiery, golden-haired healer. But even a sham marriage to the handsome half-breed promises very real perils. For his raw, seductive magnetism threatens Liz's cherished independence. And she dares not trust her own impassioned heart . . . nor the yearning voice within that begs her to yield to the power of love.

Just Imagine


Susan Elizabeth Phillips - 1984
    Disguised as a boy, she's come to New York City to kill Baron Cain, the man who stands between her and Risen Glory, the South Carolina home she loves. But unknown to Kit, the Yankee war hero is more than her bitterest enemy—he's also her guardian. And he'll be a lot harder to kill than she's figured on . . .Believing that Kit's a boy, Cain offers the grubby rapscallion a job in his stable. But he has no idea what he's in for, and it's not long before the hero of Missionary Ridge discovers the truth. His scamp of a stable boy is a strong-willed, violet-eyed beauty who's hell-bent on driving him crazy.Two hard-headed, passionate people . . . Two stubborn opponents with tender souls . . . Sometimes wars of the heart can only be won through the sweetest of surrenders.This book is an updated version of the original title, Risen Glory.

Brighter than Gold


Cynthia Wright - 1990
    Spirited Katie MacKenzie helps her father run a saloon and writes articles for the local newspaper about the Griffin, a Robin Hood-style highwayman who robs the unscrupulous mine owners and gives back to the townspeople. Irresistibly roguish Jack Adams, an adventurer with a dark secret, rides into the sleepy Sierra town one summer day and changes everything.A powerful attraction smolders and burns between Jack and Katie despite their efforts to resist, but when a tragic death occurs during one of the Griffin's stagecoach robberies, Katie is haunted by thoughts of revenge. Can Jack reconcile his life in Columbia with his surprising true identity in San Francisco... and will this couple find their way to happiness in spite of the dangerous secrets that separate them? Journey back to Civil War-era California with Jack, Katie, and historical characters like Samuel Clemens for a passionate & adventurous romance that will keep you turning the pages to the very end!

Short Straw Bride


Dallas Schulze - 1996
    Tired of worrying about who to leave the ranch to when they were gone.Luke could imagine the perfect wife --- biddable, tidy and willing --- and when he saw Eleanor Williams in church one Sunday, he thought she'd do just fine. But little did he know that the practical Eleanor had a mind of her own --- and other ideas about marriage!

Mustang Wild


Stacey Kayne - 2007
    But his stolen kiss scatters her senses and, quicker than a whirling dust devil, they're wed!To her relief, Tucker's keen to fix the marital slipup--and then he tells her the deed she holds belongs to him, and him alone. Maybe she shouldn't rush to have their marriage annulled. No man, no matter how good-looking, is going to swindle Skylar out of the one thing she yearns for most--a home.

A Bride for Keeps


Melissa Jagears - 2013
    Not again. He's already been jilted by three mail-order brides and figures a wife just isn't in his future. However, a well-meaning neighbor hasn't given up on seeing him settled, so she goes behind his back to bring yet another woman to town for him.Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. A mail-order marriage in faraway Kansas is a last resort, but she'll do anything to leave her life in Massachusetts and the heartbreak she's experienced there.Although Everett doesn't see how a beautiful, cultured woman like Julia could be happy sharing his simple life, he could really use a helpmate on his homestead. Determined to prove she's more than just a pretty face, Julia agrees to a marriage in name only. Faced with the harsh realities of life on the prairie and hesitant to explore the tentative feelings growing between them, can Everett and Julia ever let each other in long enough to fall in love?

Caine's Reckoning


Sarah McCarty - 2007
    Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine's honor won't let him refuse. From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she's determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands...everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head, and keeping her sexually satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.

Silver Lining


Maggie Osborne - 2000
    Now meet the most irresistible and independent heroine of them all, a woman called Low Down, who never had anything good happen to her until the day she asked for the one thing that only a man could give her. . . .As scruffy and rootless as the other prospectors searching for gold in the Rockies, Low Down wanted nothing in return for nursing a raggedy bunch through the pox. But when pressed to reveal her heart's wish, she admits, "I want a baby." Not a husband, not a forced marriage to the proud man who drew the scratched marble and became honor bound to marry her. To be sure, Max McCord was easy on the eyes, but he loved another woman and dreamed of a different life. Yet they agreed to a temporary marriage that could end only in disaster. But can this strange twist of fate lead to the silver lining that both have been searching for?

Hidden Fires


Laura Jordan - 1982
    Instead, the matriarch makes Lauren a scandalous offer to marry her son in name only. Lauren has strong feelings for him but are they strong enough?