Book picks similar to
Maverick Heart by Joan Johnston
joan-johnston
romance
historical-romance
historical
The Sun Witch
Linda Winstead Jones - 2004
The villagers stay away from the Fyne sisters, fearing their witchery. But Isadora, Juliet and Sophie use their sorcery for good—most of the time.A curse put on their family long ago makes true love unattainable for the Fyne women. Sophie's two elder sisters, both skilled witches, have accepted this and have vowed a lifetime of chastity. But young Sophie has yet to find her own power. With more luscious curves than her sisters, Sophie wonders if the fire coursing through her body might be an indication of her true strength. She dreams of a green-eyed stranger, and when she finally does meet the man of her dreams, Sophie knows her power: nature has gifted her with fertility.Although groggy from war wounds, Kane could have sworn that an angel came to him, healed and made love to him. Now, after a year of searching for the girl who may or may not have been a dream, Kane is stunned to find Sophie—with his child at her breast. But when a scorned suitor captures their infant daughter, they must call on all their strengths, both earthly and supernatural, to fight the curse which promises to end their happiness.
Westward Winds
Linda Bridey - 2014
Her doting parents want her to make a good match with a worthy gentleman and live a respectable life. She is beautiful and intelligent and she comes with a hefty dowry. There is no reason that she shouldn’t be able to find an eligible man and settle down.Tessa herself is the reason. The men who are attempting to court her are, in her opinion, boring and conceited. Not only that, Tessa craves excitement and adventure, of which there is little in her social circles. By chance, she comes across an advertisement for a bride brokerage company seeking eligible women of good breeding to go west and find husbands.One man on the list catches her eye and she begins corresponding with him, eventually agreeing to go to Montana to meet him. She can’t resist the possibility of finding someone different and even if she doesn’t, the adventure itself would be worth her time. Tessa makes a successful escape and sets out to make a new life in Montana.Dean Samuels is a Montana rancher who is in over his head. His ranch is struggling and his two children are unruly and in need of a caretaker. It’s clear to his younger brother, Marcus, that he needs help. He tells Dean about a mail order bride service and convinces him that he should utilize it to find a wife.After his wife, Sarah, had passed away, Dean never intended to marry again. His ranch and his children became his life. However, it becomes apparent that Sadie, his daughter, and his son, Jack, need stability and love. The demands of raising his children and keeping his head above water financially have taken a toll and Dean grudgingly gives in to Marcus’ idea.Sarah had been the love of his life and Dean doesn’t intend to let any other woman into his heart. He’s locked those kinds of emotions deep inside, not wanting to take the chance of getting hurt like that again. Because Dean has trouble expressing his feelings in writing, his younger brother Marcus agrees to help write the letters to Tessa. Dean is happy to leave that part up to him.When Dean and Tessa meet, sparks fly between the two strong willed people. Tessa is disappointed that Dean isn’t the romantic, sophisticated man she was lead to believe he was in the letters she received. Dean is aggravated that she isn’t a meek woman who is easily managed. Never mind the fact that she has no idea of how to take care of children and keep a home.Dean and Tessa struggle to find common ground and make their marriage work. Will they each take the risk and open their hearts to one another? Can their marriage survive and will they find love and contentment in each other? Their future happiness hangs in the balance under the Montana skies.
True Colors
Susan Kyle - 1991
Now, stronger and wiser, she's back, but this time as the poised, powerful head of a multinational corporation--and she's planning a hostile takeover of Harden Properties.Cy doesn't know the secrets Meredith is hiding, and she has no intention of telling him. She plans to let him think she's the same shy girl he abandoned years ago..but she hasn't counted on the way her body still thrills to his touch. And when Meredith begins to fall for Cy all over again...even her carefully made plans can't protect her.
Hearts Awakening
Delia Parr - 2010
But Jackson Smith quickly realizes that Ellie's presence may solve his own problems--both the rearing of his young boys and the scandal that surrounds his first marriage.When a marriage of convenience is offered, Ellie is initially humiliated. Though she is past the age most women marry, she has more pride than to agree to his outlandish suggestion. Yet what options does she have? To marry would mean a home and stability. So despite the rumors circling Jackson and his first wife, Ellie accepts this unlikely proposal...
Texas Outlaw
Adrienne deWolfe - 1995
No man can resist her smoky voice and violet eyes—and that includes the federal tinstar, Cord Rawlins.Cord may have tracked her all the way to Texas to recover the U.S. minting plates that she stole, but the Nevada penitentiary is a long ride north, giving her plenty of time to charm, seduce, or just plain outsmart the handsome Texas lawman.Deputy U.S. Marshal Cord Rawlins is sworn to bring renegades to justice—including the brazen lady train robber who turned the tables on him near Carson City.Tracking Fancy down is Cord's job, but resisting her persistent persuasions is a matter of personal honor. With Fancy's life in his hands, Cord begins to wonder if his clever prisoner is really as shameless as she pretends. Could her wicked smile be hiding a desperate secret—one that can steal his heart?AWARDS:Rita Finalist, Best First Book, Romance Writers of AmericaRita Finalist, Best Historical Romance (under 100,000 words), Romance Writers of AmericaFinalist, Reviewers Choice Award (Best Debut Novel), Romantic Times MagazineWinner, Honey of a Heroine Award, West Houston Chapter, Romance Writers of America
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.
Montana Surrender
Trana Mae Simmons - 1993
And while the fiery passion between them is undeniable, falling in love is far too dangerous.REVIEWS:Trana Mae Simmons understands the wild land, its untamed characters and brings their complex stories to life. ~Romantic Times Magazine"Filled with unexpected plot turns and an intriguing cast of unusual characters. A winner! ~Michalann Perry, Zebra Books AuthorThe DARING WESTERN HEARTS SERIES, in order Montana SurrenderBittersweet PromisesMountain Magic
Say You Love Me
Patricia Hagan - 1995
But, she needed to know the truth about her mother. Was she still alive, a captive of the Comanche?Luke Howling Wolf can't lose his beloved adopted mother, Sunstar, his Comanche tribe's white medicine woman. Somehow, he must keep Sunstar's identity secret, especially from the interloper claiming to be her daughter, no matter how the young white-woman's determination and innocence challenges his heart.Publisher's Note: Contains graphic sexual situations and violence in keeping with the era.
Lost and Found Groom
Patricia McLinn - 2000
--Romantic Times"While following a story in distant Santa Estella, hardheaded journalist Kendra Jenner finds herself in the middle of a vicious hurricane. . .and unexpectedly in the arms of a stranger who speaks virtually no English. Fear leads to passion leads to their making a baby, a baby which Kendra fully expects to raise on her own, since her search for Matthew's father - who she only knows as Paulo Ayudor - is a fruitless one. Then, three years later, her "Paulo" shows up out of the blue at her home in Wyoming, speaking the perfect English of an American, and identifying himself as Daniel Delligati. He announces he's come for his son. . .and for her." -- (From an Amazon review by Karen Templeton)
Never a Lawman
Rachel Bird - 2018
Since then, guilt and regret have made him impervious to love. But when he rescues a family of would-be homesteaders attacked by the notorious Deckom gang, one of the sisters shines a light on his cold, locked-down heart.The last thing Brady deserves is happiness, and he fights his unwelcome feelings for Belle. Which is fine with her, since she'll never let herself care for another lawman—even one as wonderful as Brady.Heat level 3/5: contains some violence, minor cursing, and not-so-minor kissing.
Nobody's Angel
Karen Robards - 1992
Her herbal healing skills made her an angel of mercy, her determination held together the family's farm, and her strong will always got her what she wanted--even the buying of a man. But no suitor had ever courted her...Ian Connelly, Marquis of Derne, had been betrayed, branded a criminal, and beaten. Still defiant, he had been indentured and transported to the Colonies, where a bossy, primly proper woman had bought him! But he alone saw the strength of her character, the gold in her tawny hair, and, in her eyes, the fire of her long-hidden desire...Now Susannah "owned" this magnificently handsome rogue, but it was his passion that could free her imprisoned, lonely heart. From the frontier South to society London or even to hell itself, with her body she would worship him and with her soul she would love him, for she was...Nobody's Angel.
Rogue's Honor
Brenda Hiatt - 2001
When she is rescued from the near-disaster of recognition by a charming serving-man, Pearl pretends to be simple-minded to safeguard herself from any unwanted advances. But soon she begins to suspect that her rescuer is far more than the common servant he seemed at first.Luke St. Clair lives a double life, pretending to be a gentleman while in reality sustaining himself and the needy as the notorious Robin Hood-type thief, the Saint of Seven Dials. The last thing he needs in his life is a beautiful simpleton in need of protection. But "Purdy" proves to be anything but simple-or common! Once he learns the truth, does he dare continue, in the ballrooms of the elite, the flirtation that began in the slums of London? The risk is enormous, but Lady Pearl's sweet kisses may just be worth it.
Worth the Scandal
Karen Erickson - 2012
His unwavering sense of responsibility to the family business requires him to always be in complete and utter control. Until it comes to Tessa Crawford. She's quietly professional, shy, voluptuous...and she works for him. Which means she is the one woman he must never touch, no matter how hard his gut twists with need for her. After rising above her disadvantaged childhood, Tessa knows the last thing she should do is risk throwing it all away by falling into bed with her sexy boss. But on an extended European business trip, all self-imposed barriers burn away in the heat of their sizzling chemistry. Once back home, though, whispers of corporate espionage turn into full-blown scandal—and Tessa finds out the hard way where Alex's loyalties lie. Determined to soldier on, she picks herself up and carries on with a secret, yet welcomed burden. Never guessing that Alex will make a reappearance in her life, ready to show her once and for all that family does, indeed, come first. Warning: Contains a sweet-yet-strong woman, and a bossy alpha male brought to his knees by the woman he desperately loves. Involves enough begging and groveling that the reader may be tempted to "accidentally" leave it for her significant other to "find." For instructional purposes only, of course
Shotgun Grooms
Susan Mallery - 2001
So he proposed a chaste businesslike "merger" to Miss Emily Smythe, a uniquely enterprising schoolmarm. But how could he keep them wed in name only when all he wanted to do was bed down with his bride in her brand-new inn?And as for his brother ...The fur would fly sure enough when his bear of a brother, Jackson, woke up to find himself hitched to Miss Molly Malone. He'd thought surely she was mistaken. But delirious with fever, he'd unknowingly consummated their marriage. And the Irish firebrand was determined that their union stick "'til death did them part"! Well, now he was guaranteed his inheritance, but what was the miner to do with a wife?
Lawless
Nora Roberts - 1989
Sarah Conway was something else again. She was every inch an Eastern lady, yet she was determined to make Lone Bluff her home.Jake was annoyed to find himself playing guardian angel to this tantalizing innocent--even more disgusted to find he liked it. Little did he suspect that beneath Sarah's ladylike demeanor beat the heart of a frontier woman ant that her body yearned for his hard embrace, her heart for his words of love .. . .