Calling on the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund

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1849 – Missouri

Haunted by the death of her sister, Finola Shanahan has resolved that she’s not worthy of a family of her own and commits to spending her days caring for immigrants in the slums. When Finola sabotages yet another unwanted relationship her parents arranged for her, her father calls upon the local Irish matchmaker, who pairs her with successful wagonmaker Riley Rafferty. Finola quickly realizes her usual tricks won’t work on him, however, as she cannot outsmart or outwit the dashing, determined, and daring man.

A candidate in the St. Louis mayoral election, Riley is confident a union with the wealthy Shanahan family will help solidify his chances of winning–and even more assured he and Finola can make a difference together. When a cholera outbreak begins to take St. Louis by storm, they must navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger testing all they know about love and sacrifice.

The Lamp by Edwina Kiernan

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1849 – England

Will God hear their cries and grant them a future together, or will deadly occurrences tear them apart forever?

Beatrice Beckwith is an orphaned young lady living with her aunt. On the brink of her deepest wish coming true, her plans unexpectedly collapse. Then, a startling discovery and an outbreak of cholera set in motion a series of catastrophic events, plunging her into even bleaker darkness.

Isaac Taylor is forced to leave Miss Beckwith just as he’s arranged a meeting to propose. His deceased great-uncle’s derelict house needs restoration. But dust is not his only enemy, and a web of secrets soon entangles him.

Kept apart against their wills, Beatrice and Isaac must navigate deadly illness, family deception, and scheming neighbours, yearning for the time they’ll be reunited. But as they each face their darkest moments, they’ll endure more devastation than ever before.

Can joy once again be found, or will dangerous circumstances extinguish its light—and their very lives?

The Rose by Cara Grandle

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1848 – Traveling

Under the thumb of her overbearing half-brother, Rose Briggs fights for survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Her sole desire is to claim independence and establish a mercantile close to her beloved Porcelain Doll sisters. Unbeknownst to her, she becomes entangled in the perilous schemes of a cunning sibling duo, Boone and Sandy, masterminds of a ruthless ring of thieves.

Amos Pate, a former outlaw, has shed his past and the weight of destitution, determined never to steal again. Yet, when his loved ones’ lives hang in the balance, he is torn between honoring his pledge and taking action.

United by circumstance, Rose and Amos forge ahead as allies, forever evading the clutches of a relentless criminal gang. Their hopes, dreams, and existence hinge on outsmarting their adversaries, for failure would mean surrendering all they hold dear.

The Rose by Cara Grandle

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1848 – Traveling

Under the thumb of her overbearing half-brother, Rose Briggs fights for survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Her sole desire is to claim independence and establish a mercantile close to her beloved Porcelain Doll sisters. Unbeknownst to her, she becomes entangled in the perilous schemes of a cunning sibling duo, Boone and Sandy, masterminds of a ruthless ring of thieves.

Amos Pate, a former outlaw, has shed his past and the weight of destitution, determined never to steal again. Yet, when his loved ones’ lives hang in the balance, he is torn between honoring his pledge and taking action.
United by circumstance, Rose and Amos forge ahead as allies, forever evading the clutches of a relentless criminal gang. Their hopes, dreams, and existence hinge on outsmarting their adversaries, for failure would mean surrendering all they hold dear.

Cavern’s Curse by Lauralee Bliss

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1843 – Kentucky

Jared Edwards has been played the fool. Mammoth Cave’s doctor promised miracles for consumption victims and he believed it. But instead of celebrating the recovery of his aunt Mattie, he’s burying her and being sent away amid his uncle Dwight’s accusations. Driven by guilt, Jared is determined to close the death cave and restore his family.

Rose Barnett longed for finer things after a life of poverty. Mammoth Cave seems to bring this as she and her family work to keep the cave open for visitors and curiosity seekers. But under the threat of Jared and others, she may see her dreams vanish.

Will this cave of a curse become a cave of restoration and bring Jared and Rose together when the odds are the greatest?

The Letter by Edwina Kiernan

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1848 – England

She wants a new life. He’s in danger of losing his. Will love solve everything — or immerse them in even worse peril?

Restless and ready for a change, Grace Stratton gladly accepts the opportunity to leave her remote parsonage home to serve as a wealthy spinster’s companion in the idyllic country town of Lindenfell. Its warm atmosphere and friendly inhabitants sooth Grace’s lonely heart. But when a mysterious stranger arrives, she soon discovers things aren’t always what they seem.

Convinced chloroform will revolutionise the medical world, Dr. David Carbury frequently administers it to his London patients — until one of them dies. Facing a grave trial to prove his innocence and defend a drug most people view as poisonous, he makes hasty plans to buy time to bolster his case. But he wasn’t expecting to face an even deadlier challenge.

As attraction sparks not long after they meet, Grace soon suspects he’s hiding something, and David knows he can’t run from the truth forever.

But neither of them could imagine the sinister threat lurking just around the corner…

Redemption’s Hope by Kathleen D. Bailey

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1849 –  Oregon Trail

Two distinct sets of villains. Two orphaned children. A man without a country and a woman with too much past…All in a rambunctious young country where anything goes, especially in the West. Seriously. What can go wrong?

In this latest installment of the best-selling series, “Western Dreams”, join Jenny and White Bear as they cross the historic West in an epic story peppered with grit, guns, and glory

The Ribbon by Cara Grandle

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1847 – Oregon

Life rips away hope and sweeps her along…until she finds a future worth fighting for.

On the day her mother passes away, Heather Keeton weds a neighbor who promises to provide for her. They journey along the Oregon Trail, but tragedy strikes again. Widowed, alone, and far from home in Oregon Territory, Heather needs work. But where? She determines to use her cooking and baking skills at a logging camp to earn enough to remain independent and, eventually, reach her Porcelain Doll sister, Rebecca.

Land surveyor Zeke Bradley misses being part of a family. A surprise inheritance might open the way for him to settle down and begin a courtship, but he tries to come to the aid of an injured man only to be accused of murder. One wrong move, and he could unjustly swing by his neck from a rope. He flees and hides in a logging camp, waiting for his name to be cleared.

Nothing comes easy at Camp 13 Logging Company, where the work is hard and hazardous. Heather hopes to move on soon, and Zeke longs to be free from his worries. Can these two survivors learn to trust each other before their pasts destroy their future?

The Major’s Family Mission by Elizabeth Rowan

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1846 – New York/California/Travel

They were forced to marry. But will they choose to love?

Moving to the wilds of California is just the fresh start Major Benjamin Sheffield hoped for—but first the widower needs a mother for his two little girls. So when feisty New York socialite Moira Blackthorne’s reckless nature puts her reputation at risk, Ben’s sure a marriage of convenience can solve both their problems. Setting sail for a new home as the wife of a stranger isn’t quite the life Moira pictured. But the more she gets to know the dignified major and his adorable daughters, the harder she falls…and begins to wish for more than a marriage in name only.

Their Business Betrothal by Julie Brookman

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1846 – Missouri

He came to town with a business proposal…

Will he leave with a bride?

John Butler’s positive his old friend is the perfect person to open a general store in his new settlement out West—but first he must convince the man’s daughter. The last thing Clara Morehouse wants as she takes over her family’s general store is to uproot and move out West. And her family won’t go without her. But after a rejected suitor tarnishes Clara’s reputation, a fake engagement for her protection brings Clara and John closer. Can John show her that a new beginning is just what she needs…starting with making their pretend betrothal real?

 

Love’s Escape by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1849 – Virginia

The son of a funeral home owner and his friend, a sea captain, transport the women they love, two enslaved women from Virginia plantations, North.

Letitia, a light-skinned house slave of the prominent Burwell family, learns that her father is the master of the plantation. As she helps them dress and fetches tea for the Burwell women, including her half-sister by blood, Lettie becomes more determined that she’ll not live out her days in servitude. But she’s afraid of what could happen. When her mother dies from a beating that Burwell sanctioned, Lettie seeks any means of escape.

Nathan Pleasant, a bookkeeper and son of a well-respected Richmond funeral home owner, is smitten with the Burwells’ slave. He meets secretly with Letitia. Nathan begins transporting slaves from Virginia and onto the Underground railroad. His dear friend, a ship captain, has also lost his heart to an enslaved woman. When the women’s lives are at stake, the two men risk all by transporting them North. Can they get them to freedom? Who is pursuing them? Once they can shake their shackles of slavery, would the two women even welcome romance with their Underground Railroad conductors? Or will the two men find themselves alone and far from the James River, where they grew up and where their families still live?

The Corporal’s Codebook by Susan Page Davis

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1845 – New York

Jack Miller stumbles through the Civil War, winding up a telegrapher and cryptographer for the army. In the field with General Sherman in Georgia, he is captured along with his precious cipher key.

His captor, Hamilton Buckley, thinks he should have been president of the Confederacy, not Jefferson Davis. Jack doubts Buckley’s sanity and longs to escape. Buckley’s kindhearted niece, Marilla, might help him—but only if Jack helps her achieve her own goal.

Meanwhile, a private investigator, stymied by the difficulty of travel and communication in wartime, is trying his best to locate Jack for the grandmother he longs to see again but can barely remember.

A Father’s Redemption by Tracy Blalock

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1846 – Oregon

Can this lonely father open his heart?

One year after the loss of his wife, Dr. Elias Dawson’s still not quite sure he’ll be any good at parenting his daughter—but his brother insists it’s time he takes over the responsibility. With his mother-in-law trying to seize custody of baby Emma, his late wife’s sister, Abby Warner, is determined to prove to Elias that his love is exactly what her niece needs. And Abby might just be the perfect final piece to complete their little family…

The Butcher’s Daughter by Parker J. Cole

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1849 – Pennsylvania/New York

A woman sent to retrieve a family’s son, a man tired of living a lie, and a scandal that brings them together.

Elsia Letchmore was intent on marrying her childhood friend until he left her and New York behind. She tried to console herself and put the man who rejected her due to her family’s business out of her mind. Now, she’s tasked with finding Zelpher Knight and bringing him to home New York’s Five Point District.

Zelpher Knight dreamed of being on the stage, but opportunities for a colored actor in 1846 were non-existent. Spurning his parents’ wishes for his future, he leaves New York and the only woman he has loved, to find the world isn’t ready to accept him. He starts on the greatest acting career of his life – living a lie. When his identity is discovered, he is shunned from the theater community. Angry, alone, and financially destitute he doesn’t expect to see redemption in the form of an angel from his past.

Returning home is harder than either of them expected as race, class, and freedom collide. Can the disgraced prodigal son ever find love and healing with the Butcher’s Daughter?

The Rock by Cara Grandle

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1846 – Oregon

After a whiskey still explosion destroys her home and nearly her life, Rebecca Packwood and her father must leave Missouri and her dear friends behind. After crossing The Oregon Trail, she sets out to discover her family’s secret history and to forge a home and community out of the raw farm land of Eagle Creek, Oregon Country, never suspecting a ruthless enemy is seeking to thwart her plans.

Hard-working banker’s son, Clark Sutherland, thought the toughest test he would face was getting out from underneath his father’s thumb. The last thing he expected was to be penniless, homeless, and smitten with a shy, dark-eyed stranger. With nothing to offer her, will he find a way to support himself and still pursue his dreams before they’re pulled apart?

When a man in shadows sets his eyes on their coveted prize, danger descends. Rebecca and Clark must act to protect the desires of their hearts before harm befalls them all. Will they learn to trust their future to the God who heals and sets the lonely in families?

Redeemed Love by Linda Ford

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1849 – California

Hope White is one of the preacher’s daughters. She’s a loving, giving person who plans to start missionary work in California.

Clay Adams was raised by a strict preacher grandfather who constantly criticized him and treated him harshly. Now all he wants is adventure and freedom. But his first venture into ‘freedom’ landed him in hot water with a bad bunch. He wants to leave behind this particular adventure and tries to flee to California. On the journey, he grows ill and lies dying on the desert floor.

Hope and her father find Clay and care for him. But there are spots on his chest to indicate he has typhoid fever so the wagon master insists they must keep their distance. While her pa drives the wagon, Hope tends the sick man. As he becomes lucid, they talk, and learn things about each other that convince them they are the worst person in the world for the other.

As they cross the mountains, more of Clay’s secrets are revealed. Hope’s trust is shattered, but when the family wagon breaks an axle, she has no choice but to rely on Clay.

Can she trust him to rescue both her and her father? Can she trust her heart and God? Will Clay prove he’s a changed man?

Reluctant Love by Linda Ford

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1849 – California

Sarah Goodine lost her husband on their journey across the Great Plains. After a herd of stampeding buffalo rampage over her wagon, she has nothing left. Nothing other than the three children depending on her. How can she get them to safety in California? This journey was meant to protect her six-year-old son, but now the little family is in dire straits.

Davis Carpenter’s wife and newborn baby died on the trail. He has his hands full dealing with his two remaining children. His dream of joining his cousin on a ranch in California seems unimportant now but he has no choice but to continue on.

There is only one thing that will help Sarah and Davis complete this journey—a marriage of convenience. They have no intention of falling in love. Can their children help them see that a real family requires love?

Rescued Love by Linda Ford

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1849 – California

Colleen Pringle has been falsely accused and kicked out of her wagon train. She is desperate to get to California, start her own business and be independent. And to keep her secret. Alone on the prairie except for her wee daughter, Sheela, she is rescued by Eli. She’ll accept his help on one condition: they part ways once they reach California.

Eli Oatman agrees to Colleen’s plan. After losing his home and the woman he thought loved him, he can’t risk his heart again. It can’t be that hard to keep his distance from Colleen, can it?

Over and over, Colleen finds herself depending on Eli despite her resolve to be independent. Little Sheela adores Eli and steals his heart. So much for not getting close to anyone.

When the past and the ugly accusations find her, will Colleen ever be able to live a life of freedom? Can Eli forget his reservations and take a risk on love?

The Widow’s Christmas Miracle by Kathleen D. Bailey

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1849 – Nebraska Territory

Red Dawn’s world was shattered in a single vengeful act, an act that brought her to into the home of the enemy. She couldn’t love a white man, not after what they did to her people. Could she?

After losing a limb serving his country, Laban Jones has built a life from nothing. He’s got more than he dare ask for, but what woman would accept a one-legged husband? Can he offer Red Dawn three-quarters of a man, and will she be content with that?

The answer they receive on a Christmas Eve is a miracle neither will ever forget.

Piecing It All Together by Leslie Gould

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1840s – Indiana

When Savannah Mast’s fiance dumps her a week before their wedding, she flees California for the safety of her Amish grandmother’s farm near Nappanee, Indiana. She’s not planning on staying long but becomes unexpectedly entangled in the search for a missing Amish girl. She can’t leave–especially not when her childhood friend Tommy Miller is implicated as a suspect.

When Savannah accompanies her grandmother to Plain Patterns, a nearby quilt shop, the owner and local historian, Jane Berger, relates a tale about another woman’s disappearance back in the 1800s that has curious echoes to today.

Inspired by the story, Savannah does all she can to find the Amish girl and clear Tommy’s name. But when her former fiance shows up, begging her to return to California and marry him after all, she must choose between accepting the security of what he has to offer or continuing the complicated legacy of her family’s faith.

Settlers’ Hope: An Oregon Trail Historical Romance by Kathleen D Bailey

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1847 – Oregon

After years of wandering, Pace Williams expects to find a home in the Oregon Country. He doesn’t expect to fall in love with a fiery Irishwoman bent on returning home to avenge her people.

Oona Moriarty expects one thing: to exact revenge on the English overlords who took her home. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with a man who looks like he’s been carved from this Western landscape.

Together they vow to trust the unexpected and settle into a life, but when Pace’s ancient enemies threaten to destroy the life they’re building, Oona must choose between helping the man she loves and seeking the revenge she craves.

Truitt’s Truth by Julia David

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1849 – California

With the California Gold Rush of 1849, the toughest man in town, Truitt, is ready to face the truth. Putting his fighting career aside, he needs to get out of Hangtown. The unruly mining town named after the night his father was unjustly hung.

But mudslides and Truitt Emerson do not mix. Now he’s stranded with two ladies from back east that his boss expects delivered to Hangtown all in one piece. One lady he would leave to the Indians, the other beauty clutching a silly case has him looking back to watch her every move.

When Cassidy O’Ryan was pulled from her Irish Grandparent’s home as a child, her beloved violin became her prized possession. Unwilling to heed her father’s wishes by marrying his business colleague, she promises to travel to the gold rush town of Hangtown to wed her cousin she’s only met as a child. What she didn’t promise was that she wouldn’t trade places with her ladies maid and pursue her love of singing and violin in the new state of California.

The young women had months to plan the switch. It shouldn’t be a problem until her cousin sends Truitt Emerson to pick them up and escort them to Hangtown. Truitt is not only the town boxer, but he’s also her cousin’s bodyguard. The sudden desire to trust in this handsome stranger is unusual.

Until Truitt burns her beloved violin.

Cassidy now has her own fight to find her truth, her freedom in this rough mining town.

Neither Truitt or Cassidy are prepared for the compelling attraction that’s desperate for an honest future.

Can the truth prevail or is it too late?

The Logger’s Christmas Bride by Kathleen D. Bailey

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1846 – Oregon Country

The only life Viola Chivers ever wanted was here in these Klamath Mountains, loving and serving her family. Pa’s ambitions for her were different: go back East and become a lady, in an elegant “finishing school.” But Vi’s already “finished,” and she knows what she wants: a life here with logger Stephen Miller, a man who shares her faith.

Can Vi and Steve find a way to be together, and can she make sure this isn’t her last Christmas in the Oregon Country?

The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

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1844/1944 – England

A lost painting of Queen Victoria.

A library bricked off from the world.

And three women, separated by time, whose lives are irrevocably changed.

When art historian Keira Foley is hired to authenticate a painting at a centuries-old East Suffolk manor, she hopes this is just the thing to get her career and life back on track. But from the time she arrives at Parham Hill Estate and begins working alongside rumored art thief Emory Scott, she’s left with far more questions than answers. Could this lost painting of Queen Victoria be a duplicate of the original Winterhalter masterpiece, and if so, who is the artist?

As Keira begins to unravel the mystery behind the portrait, two women emerge from the estate’s forgotten past. In Victorian England, talented sketch artist Elizabeth Meade is engaged to Viscount Huxley, then owner of Parham Hill. However, Elizabeth’s real motive for being at Parham Hill has nothing to do with art or marriage. She’s determined to avenge her father’s brutal murder—even if it means a betrothal to the very man she believes committed the crime.

A century later, Amelia Woods—a World War II widow who has turned Parham Hill and its beloved library into a boarding school for refugee children—receives military orders to house a troop of American pilots. She is determined the children in her care will remain untouched by the war, but the task is proving difficult with officers taking up every square inch of their world . . . and one in particular vying for a space in Amelia’s long-shut up heart.

Set in three time periods—the rapid change of Victorian England, the peak of England’s home-front tensions at the end of WWII, and modern day—The Painted Castle unfolds a story of heartache and hope and unlocks secrets lost for generations just waiting to be found.

Westward Hope by Kathleen Bailey

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1846 – Oregon Trail

Why him? Why here? Why now?

Caroline Pierce O’Leary expects to work hard to earn her passage to the Oregon Country. She doesn’t expect to find that the wagon train scout is a man with whom she shares a troubled past. Though Caroline is a Christian now, thanks to her late husband, she finds forgiving Michael to be the hardest part of her journey, harder even than the Trail.

Michael Moriarty thought he’d left his past behind in “green and hurting Ireland.” Seeing Caroline on his wagon train, brings his past to the forefront. With a price on his head, he doesn’t want her to get hurt, but he can’t deny what they were…and could still be.

Michael once betrayed Caroline in the worst possible way. Can she trust him to get her across the Oregon Trail? Can he trust himself to accept her forgiveness and God’s?

One More River to Cross by Jane Kirkpatrick

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1844 – California

Two years before the Donner Party, the Stevens-Murphy company left Missouri to be the first wagons into California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mostly Irish Catholics, the party sought religious freedom and education in the mission-dominated land and enjoyed a safe journey–until October, when a heavy snowstorm forced difficult decisions. The first of many for young Mary Sullivan, newlywed Sarah Montgomery, the widow Ellen Murphy, and her pregnant sister-in-law Maolisa.

When the party separates in three directions, each risks losing those they loved and faces the prospect of learning that adversity can destroy or redefine. Two women and four men go overland around Lake Tahoe, three men stay to guard the heaviest wagons–and the rest of the party, including eight women and seventeen children, huddle in a makeshift cabin at the headwaters of the Yuba River waiting for rescue . . . or their deaths.

The Refuge by Ann Gabhart

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1849 – Kentucky

When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It’s meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique–and lonely–position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

The Golden Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse

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1849 – California

The Daughters of the Mayflower series continues when Olivia Brighton finds herself widowed and working her brother’s restaurant in San Francisco during the height of the rush for gold. Even though she receives at least twenty marriage proposals a day, she will never marry a gold miner. Her brother’s friend Joseph Sawyer has gotten caught up in local politics and the plight of Chinese in forced labor. The more Joseph gets pulled into investigating crime in the city, the less Olivia sees of the compassionate man. And just when she thinks she could love again, a fire threatens to steal all hope.

Wagon Train Christmas by Linda Ford

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1848 – Colorado

Sophia Lorenzo is a young widow. And she’s in hiding at Bent’s Fort with her one-year-old son. Her late husband’s parents are powerful and determined to take her son from her. To protect them both, she must hide her true identity.

Buck Williams is the wagon master for the wagon train recently arrived at the Fort. He has been a loner since his wife died on a wagon train headed for Oregon. He guards his heart against further hurt.

Buck knows Sophia, but doesn’t know why she is lying about her identity. When she reveals the trouble she is in and asks for his help, Buck finds new hope that protecting this woman and child will atone for his failure to protect his wife.

But trouble is on Sophia’s trail. Can Buck protect the woman and child he’s come to love?

Wagon Train Matchmaker by Linda Ford

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1848 – New Mexico

Mary Mae Clark has learned the hard way not to trust what a man says. Broken promises have made her wary and now she only wants to return to Santa Fe to help her friend Sophia keep her wee son.

Warren Russell has been freighting on the Trail for four years. He likes it that way. No ties. No family. No love. He doesn’t deserve it after his neglect of his wife and small son resulted in their deaths.

But the accidental death of his best friend on the trail leaves Warren as guardian to the man’s ten-year-old niece, Polly. He gratefully accepts Mary Mae’s help with the child but only while they are on the trail. Then he and Polly will move on. Only Polly has other ideas. Matchmaking ideas…

Can Polly match Mary Mae and Warren in time for her to have a family for Christmas?

Wagon Train Wedding by Linda Ford

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1848 – New Mexico

Judith Russel is devastated by the death of her fiancé and vows to never again trust her feelings toward a man.

Gil Trapper is the wagon train scout and owner of several freight wagons. Freighting is going to give him the future he’d thought he lost. He has no interest in love after the woman he intended to marry broke his heart.

Judith and Gil are forced to marry after they spend a night alone together saving a lost child. Their marriage of convenience doesn’t change anything. Judith can’t trust Gil and Gil will never open his heart to Judith. But as they work together to care for the tiny child that needs them, they can’t help growing closer to each other.

Will time spent together facing the challenges of the trail, the joy of the child, and the truth about their past experiences force them to admit their growing love or drive them apart forever?

Wagon Train Baby by Linda Ford

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1848 – New Mexico

A life-altering betrayal leaves Donna Grace alone, unmarried, and pregnant. She’s desperate to leave St. Louis, Missouri, and return to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she grew up, and the only way back is by wagon train. The wagon master refuses to let a single woman drive a wagon without a male escort. Donna knows she can’t trust men, but it seems she’s going to have to partner with one if she wants to get back home.

Luke Russell failed to protect his fiancée. Because of his neglect, she was murdered. He vows to never leave another person to face dangers on their own and to never again open his heart to love. When he overhears Donna Grace’s predicament he offers her a marriage of convenience that they will dissolve as soon they reach Santa Fe.

But the trail forces them to work together. The birth of Donna’s baby unites them in a way they can’t deny. Will the dangers and joys of the Santa Fe Trail break down the barriers these two have built around their hearts?

River to Redemption by Ann Gabhart

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1840s – Kentucky

Orphaned in the cholera epidemic of 1833, Adria Starr was cared for by a slave named Louis, a man who stayed in Springfield, Kentucky, when anyone with means had fled. A man who passed up the opportunity to escape his bondage and instead tended to the sick and buried the dead. A man who, twelve years later, is being sold by his owners despite his heroic actions. Now nineteen, Adria has never forgotten what Louis did for her. She’s determined to find a way to buy Louis’s freedom. But in 1840s Kentucky, she’ll face an uphill battle.

Based partly on a true story, Ann H. Gabhart’s latest historical novel is a tour de force. The vividly rendered town of Springfield and its citizens immerse readers in a story of courage, betrayal, and honor that will stick with them long after they turn the last page.

The English Lieutenant’s Lady by Evelyn M. Hill

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1845 – Oregon

It’s 1845. Britain and America both claim the Oregon Territory, and neither side is willing to back down. As the two nations prepare for war, the British government sends Lieutenant Geoffrey Montgomery to Oregon City on a confidential mission. Doing his duty means lying to everyone—including the woman who catches his attention the moment they meet.

Lia Griggs needs to find a home for herself and her nephew. She has the chance to carve a niche for herself in Oregon City—so long as she is prepared to hide her past from everyone, even the Englishman who quickly becomes her friend and ally… and more.

To survive, Geoff and Lia both need to pretend to be someone they’re not. The last thing either of them wants is to fall in love. And as the threat of war grows stronger, choosing to stay together could cost them everything they have.

Gladden the Heart by Olivia Newport

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1847 – Pennsylvania

“When you have experienced the Holy Ghost as I have, you would see that it is difficult to turn back.”
 
When the lively fervor of nineteenth century revivalism endangers the staid customs of the Amish community in the lush but rugged Kishacoquillas Valley of central Pennsylvania in 1847, the Amish church must deal with a divisive question: What is a genuine spiritual experience?

The question turns personal when Susanna’s beloved cousin Noah begins preaching while under trances and even though he is not a minister he gives long sermons that attract increasing attention. Curious, she helps to keep Noah safe during his trances. At the same time Adam, Susanna’s intended, feels pressure from the bishop to speak out against the ways of revivalism.

Susanna and Adam are pushed to opposite sides of a controversy that threatens their traditional Amish faith..  Now they must grapple with whether love is possible…even if they come to different conclusions.
           
When Noah goes missing at a time of day when he often preaches while asleep, circumstances thrust community members with divergent opinions into a crisis that demands they recognize the humanity they share regardless of beliefs.  But can strong-held opinions be softened by the truths that shape their lives?