Book picks similar to
An Unwilling Husband by Tera Shanley


western
historical
historical-romance
romance

Lasso the Moon


Beth Ciotta - 2006
    Never mind that she doesn't possess a lick of experience or that her true passion is songwriting. Before he died, her beloved papa encouraged her to reach for the stars. She promised to lasso the moon! She's already slipped free of her over-protective brothers. Nothing and no one, especially some badge-wearing Romeo, is going to rein her in or stand in her way. Joshua Grant's life went from diamonds to dirt in less time than a rattler strikes. His uncle was killed, leaving him with an opera house he doesn't want, and forcing him to quit the law enforcement job he loved. The topper: In order to keep his sidewinder snake of a cousin from inheriting, he has to honor his uncle's will and marry within two weeks. Life can't get much worse, and then he falls for an eccentric, spitfire songwriter with a mysterious past and a passel of troublesome admirers. Marrying Paris is about as smart as kissing a coyote, but that's exactly what he intends to do—whether she likes it or not. Together they could realize their dreams. That's if they don't drive each other crazy first!

Cherish Me, Cowboy


Alissa Callen - 2014
    She must save her home, Beargrass Hills Ranch. She also has no time for men. She already is boot-deep in blue-eyed cowboy trouble.City-boy, Cordell Morgan, isn't who he seems. His fancy suit and slow smile hide dark secrets. Secrets as to why his hands are callused, why he never stays around and why he has really come to Marietta, Montana.Between a shrewd old rancher, a cantankerous rodeo horse and a stud bull called Trouble, Payton and Cordell have no chance to lead separate lives. No matter how much their futures may depend upon them doing so.Can a sassy cowgirl lower her guard for a man who will soon be gone? And can a man who believes emotions are nothing but a liability take the ultimate risk?Wildflower Ranch SeriesBook 1: Cherish Me, CowboyBook 2: Her Mistletoe CowboyBook 3: Her Big Sky CowboyBook 4: His Outback CowgirlBook 5: Hold Me, CowboyBook 6: His Christmas Cowgirl   The 75th Copper Mountain Rodeo seriesBook 1: Tempt Me, Cowboy by Megan CraneBook 2: Marry Me, Cowboy by Lilian DarcyBook 3: Promise Me, Cowboy by CJ Carmichael (also the first book of The Carrigans of Circle C series)Book 4: Take Me, Cowboy by Jane PorterThe 76th Copper Mountain Rodeo seriesBook 1: Tease Me, Cowboy by Rachael JohnsBook 2: Cherish Me, Cowboy by Alissa Callen Book 3: Kiss Me, Cowboy by Melissa McClone Book 4: Please Me, Cowboy by Megan CraneThe 77th Copper Mountain Rodeo seriesBook 1: Claim Me, Cowboy by Charlene SandsBook 2: Hold Me, Cowboy by Alissa CallenBook 3: Keep Me, Cowboy by Nicole HelmBook 4: Choose Me, Cowboy by Barbara Ankrum

Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk


Lenore Wolfe - 2010
    But Hawk is no ordinary cowboy. He carries a powerful secret. A secret that leads to betrayal.Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk is the first book in the Dark Cloth Series. It was 3rd in Amazon's Free Top 100 and was Amazon's paid Top 100 for over 3 weeks running.

Faith


Lori Copeland - 1998
    Applicants may apply by mail. Must allow at least two months for an answer.With the matrimonial prospects in her little Michigan town virtually nonexistent, nineteen-year-old Faith, along with her two sisters, Hope and June, answers an ad for mail-order brides. Before she knows it, shes on her way to Deliverance, Texas to marry wealthy rancher Nicholas Shepherd.But from the moment she arrives in Deliverance, sparks fly between Faith, a strong-willed tomboy, and her prospective husband, a man with a strong will of his own! After a string of wedding postponements and a slew of interferences, a union between Faith and Nicholas begins to look less and less likely.In the meantime, Faith and Nicholas are beginning to care for each other, but is their matching stubbornness destined to forever be a barrier between them?

Lead Me Home: Hardship and hope on the Oregon Trail


Theresa Hupp - 2015
    As he passes through Missouri, he rescues Jenny Calhoun, a lonely girl in trouble. To join a wagon train bound for Oregon, Mac and Jenny pose as a married couple. On the arduous six-month trek, they confront raging rivers, rugged mountains, and untrustworthy companions. Together, Mac and Jenny face the best and worst in themselves and in each other, while discovering the beauty and danger of the western frontier. Fans of Lonesome Dove and True Grit will enjoy Lead Me Home—a gripping saga of courage, sacrifice, and enduring friendship.

Uneasy Fortunes


Mandi Ellsworth - 2012
    But when time can’t heal a wound, love steps in to make it right. Based on a true story of the post–Civil War South, this gentle rustic romance will pull you in from the first page and leave you with a renewed hope in the power of real love.

Secrets & Charades


Cindy Ervin Huff - 2017
    When battlefield nightmares disturb his peace and his tomboy niece, Juliet, needs taming, somehow a mail-order bride seems like a logical solution. Dr. Evangeline Olson has no idea her niece is writing to a rancher on her behalf, and she sure isn’t interested in abandoning her medical practice for a stranger. But when an inheritance threatens to reveal a long-buried secret, she travels west to become Jake’s wife. Jake soon realizes Evangeline is more than he bargained for, especially when her arrival causes a stir in the community. As the two try to find their way in a marriage of convenience, their fragile relationship is further tested by cattle rustling and kidnapping. Can their hearts overcome past hurts to create a real marriage?

His Topaz


Maggie Chase - 2017
    All he wants is one night to feel like a man again. But when he’s paired with Miss Topaz Gold, he’s stunned by how deeply she makes him feel.Former mail-order bride Millie Townsend came to the Jeweled Ladies and gave up her name because she thought it was the key to her salvation after her husband died. It doesn’t take long to realize she isn’t Topaz Gold. She only wants to be a wife and mother, not a whore. But when Matthew offers to take her away from the Jeweled Ladies, will Millie be allowed to leave?

Spring for Susannah


Catherine Richmond - 2011
    Agreeing to marry her pastor's brother, Jesse, Susannah leaves the only home she's ever known for the untamed frontier of the Dakota Territory.Her new husband is more loving and patient with her than she believes she deserves. Still, there is also a wildness to him that mirrors the wilderness surrounding them. And Susannah finds herself constantly on edge. But Jesse's confidence in her--and his faith in God's perfect plan--slowly begin to chip away at the wall she hides behind.When she miscarries in the brutal Dakota winter, Susannah's fledgling faith in herself and in God begins to crumble. Still, Jesse's love is unwavering. Just when it seems like winter will never end, Susannah finally sees the first tentative evidence of spring. And with it, the realization that more than the landscape has changed.She looks to the future with a renewed heart. Yet in her wildest dreams, she couldn't predict all that awaits her.

Stuck With You


Kristy Tate - 2014
    Whit, an investment banker and adventure travel magazine writer, wants nothing more than to escape his mother’s match-making schemes. When Andie breaks Whit’s glasses, he offers to forgive her debt if she’ll pose as his date to his brother’s wedding. It's the perfect mixture of business and pleasure, until business threatens to get in the way of a happily-ever-after neither Andie nor Whit could have ever imagined.

Under a Texas Star


Alison Bruce - 2010
     When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him. Texas Ranger Jase Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the cost. Marly carries out her own investigation and comes to the aid of Amabelle Egan, the sister of one of the suspects. But appearances are deceiving, and Marly is mistaken for Amabelle's suitor, making her a target for the killer. Not to mention, Charlie Meese is still out there. Under the Texas stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control, yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?

Love Comes Softly


Janette Oke - 1979
    They would stake a claim of their own on the new frontier, and build a home for themselves and their family.But just after they'd arrived and Clem had chosen the perfect setting for their new home, an accident took his life...leaving Marty alone and pregnant. Then, on the day of his funeral, Clark Davis came along...and asked Marty to marry him!Marty was infuriated -- but with no money, no shelter, and a baby on the way, what choice did she have? Besides, Clark said he only wanted her to be a mama to his baby girl, Missie. If Marty was still unhappy come spring, he would pay for her ticket back East.Determined not to be a burden to Clark, and intending only to earn her keep. Marty threw herself into her new role of "Mama." But she had never been anyone's mama before, and she didn't even know how to keep a house! If only she could do right by this lonely man and his daughter just long enough to earn her train fare back home...Now, Marty must learn wholeness and love through patience and faith

Barely a Bride


Rebecca Hagan Lee - 2003
    But when he is suddenly called off to war, he has no choice but to obey his father’s wishes and find a wife… Just days later, he marries the lovely Lady Alyssa. For a man committed only to his freedom, she seems a perfect—and perfectly undemanding—bride. Intelligent and self-sufficient, Alyssa craves her independence just as much as Griffin loves his. But as the irresistible attraction between them flourishes with every look and touch, they discover there is something they desire even more than a loveless marriage of convenience—the passion they find in each other’s arms…

Away in Montana


Jane Porter - 2016
    Four years in New York and travel abroad have opened her eyes, making her realize she wanted more than marriage and a simple Montana life. But when McKenna commits an unforgivable transgression and destroys her reputation, her dreams are shattered and she is forced to return to Montana disgraced, disowned and unmarriageable. Sinclair Douglas left Butte to escape the Frasier power and Frasier name, but suddenly all anyone talks about in Marietta is scandalous McKenna Douglas, Paradise Valley’s new teacher. Sin doesn’t want to know about McKenna anymore. He doesn’t want to have to help her, and he sure as hell doesn’t want to love her. But McKenna has lived so long in his heart that it’s her home–even if she doesn’t deserve to be there. But if there is one man who knows how to rebuild a life when all dreams have been smashed, it’s fierce, uncompromising Sinclair Douglas. Can Sinclair and McKenna heal enough to find their own Christmas miracle, and one more chance at love?

Smolder on a Slow Burn


Lynda J. Cox - 2014
    But there is no romance in being pursued by a man who wants her dead for educating the children of former slaves. Unlike the heroines she reads about she doesn't have a trusty companion to rescue her...until she literally runs into A.J. Adams, a former Confederate cavalry officer. Now, she just has to convince A.J. he really is the honorable man and hero depicted in the dime novel she is reading.Branded a "traitor" for more than ten years, scarred by harsh treatment in an inhumane prisoner of war camp, A.J. Adams wants revenge. Allison Webster's arrival into his life provides the bait to destroy the men who murdered his wife and daughters and kidnapped his little brother. The men pursuing Allison are the very same men he has sworn to kill. Falling in love and admitting he might actually be a hero means surrendering his need for vengeance. Surrender is not part of A.J.'s battle strategy.