Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

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Love in Disguiseloveindisguise

1881 – Arizona

When costume-maker Ellie Moore suddenly finds herself out of a job in the middle of a bleak Chicago winter, she uses her knowledge of theatrical disguise to secure a position as an undercover operative with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Her assignment: find the culprit behind the theft of silver shipped from the mines near Pickford, Arizona.

Disguised as Lavinia Stewart, a middle-aged widow, Ellie begins her investigation. Soon she finds she must also pose as the dazzling young Jessie Monroe, whose vivacious personality encourages people to talk.

Mine owner Steven Pierce is about to lose his business after the theft of several bullion shipments–until hope arrives in the unlikely form of Lavinia Stewart, who offers to invest in Steven’s mine. In his wildest dreams, Steven never expected to be rescued by an inquisitive gray-haired widow…or to fall head over heels for Lavinia’s captivating niece, Jessie.

But then the thieves come after both Lavinia and Jessie. Ellie isn’t safe no matter which character she plays! Will she be forced to reveal her true identity before the criminals are caught? What will Steven do when he discovers the woman he loves doesn’t exist?

Mary’s Blessing by Lena Nelson Dooley

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Mary’s Blessing (McKenna’s Daughters)marysblessing

1885 – Oregon Trail

Mary Lenora Caine knows she is adopted. As she was growing up, her mother called her “God’s blessing.” But now that she’s gone, Mary no longer feels like any kind of blessing. Her father, in his grief, has cut himself off from the family, leaving the running of the home entirely in Mary’s hands.

 
As she nears her eighteenth birthday, Mary can’t see anything in her future but drudgery. Then her childhood friend Daniel begins to court her, promising her a life of riches and ease. But her fairy-tale dreams turn to dust when her family becomes too much for Daniel, and he abandons her in her time of deepest need.

Will Daniel come to grips with God’s plan for him? And if he does return, can Mary trust that this time he will really follow through?

Spring Hope by Martha Rogers

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Spring Hope (Seasons of the Heart)springhope

1890s – Texas

Can runaway Libby Cantrell finally get a new start?
 
Libby Cantrell’s life has gone from bad to worse since her mother’s death. After working in a brothel to support her abusive father, she sees no hope for her future until one cold winter night when she finds the courage to escape.
 
When she collapses in Portersfield, Texas, exhausted, ill, and hungry, Sheriff Cory Muldoon finds her and takes her to the doctor. Against Cory’s better judgment, Seth and Erin Winston take her in and offer her a job as a nanny for their young son. As a minister, Seth sees it as his duty to take care of her. As a deputy, Cory needs to know the truth about her even as he is attracted to the waif of a young woman.
As Cory’s feelings for her grow and winter becomes spring, will he be able to accept her as she is now and truly forget and forgive her sordid past?

The Homesteader’s Sweetheart by Lacy Williams

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The Homesteader’s Sweetheartthehomesteaderssweetheart

1890 – Wyoming

Sanctuary in Wyoming?

To escape a dreaded arranged marriage, Penny Castlerock will face anything–even life on her grandfather’s farm. But it isn’t the rustic lifestyle that’s got the Philadelphia socialite tied in knots. It’s the handsome homesteader and his eight adopted children next door….

With seven boys and a girl to raise, transplanted farmer Jonas White could sure use some help. He just didn’t expect it to come from the high-spirited, copper-haired beauty he’s always admired from afar. But surely working the land is no life for a woman like Penny. Yet a threat to Jonas’s farm just might show him how perfect Penny is for him after all.

The Marshal’s Promise by Rhonda Gibson

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The Marshal’s Promisemarshalspromise

1885 – New Mexico

Mail-order bride Rebecca Ramsey arrives in the New Mexico territory full of dreams—but they’re shattered when she discovers her intended husband has been killed. If it weren’t for U.S. marshal Seth Billings’s housekeeping job offer, she’d have nowhere to go. Rebecca loves tending to Seth’s home, but the strong and silent lawman is harder to figure out. What secret is he hiding?

Caring for Jesse Cole’s would-be bride is the least Seth can do. If it weren’t for him, the young man would still be alive. Seth had promised to look after Rebecca—and to keep her safe from Jesse’s enemies. Now if only he can keep his heart safe, as well….

The Bride Wore Blue by Mona Hodgson

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The Bride Wore Blue (The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek)brideworeblue

1897 – Colorado

Headed toward a fresh start but tethered by her past, Vivian longs to break free, to find forgiveness and love.
At last, the sisters are reunited! The youngest Sinclair, the family“ baby”, is moving from Maine to Cripple Creek, Colorado and joining Kat, Nell, and Ida. But Vivian is a young woman with a will of her own, and made some decisions back in Portland that have begun to haunt her. Will she be able to live up to the expectations of her three perfect and now happily-settled sisters?

The sisters warmly welcome Vivian to the mountain west, but the wild-and-woolly mining town isn’t ripe with opportunities for a respectable young woman. The youngest Sinclair sister is determined to make her own way, so
when she’s off ered a job as a hostess in a sporting house, she takes it, thinking the position is appropriate for a tainted, unlovable woman like herself. Although she’s convinced she’ll never be asked to entertain privately, Vivian
keeps her employment a secret from her sisters, knowing they’d be mortified—as will Carter Alwyn, the kind and godly sheriff ’s deputy who’s sweet on her.

Vivian is descending into a life of secrets, lying to the very people who love her and could help her heal from her mistakes. Will an outpouring of grace remind her that she is still God’s beloved and that her past can be washed as clean as Rocky Mountain snow?

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning by Olivia Newport

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The Pursuit of Lucy Banningthepursuitoflucybanning

1893 – Illinois

Lucy Banning may live on the exclusive Prairie Avenue among Chicago’s rich and famous, but her heart lies elsewhere. Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work–and the classes she is secretly taking at the newly opened University of Chicago. When she meets an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World’s Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family’s expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is?

Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick

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wherelilacsstillbloomWhere Lilacs Still Bloom

1889 to 1940s- Washington

One woman, an impossible dream, and the faith it took to see it through.

German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager possesses only an eighth-grade education—and a burning desire to create something beautiful. What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda’s driving purpose: a time-consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth-century expectations for a simple housewife. 

Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus. In a time of practicality, can one person’s simple gifts of beauty make a difference? 

Based on the life of Hulda Klager, Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a story of triumph over an impossible dream and the power of a generous heart.

The Cowgirl Trail by Susan Page Davis

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Cowgirl Trail (The Texas Trail Series)cowgirltrail

1884 – Texas

Cowgil Trail is part of a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896.  Although a series, each book book can be read on its own.

In 1884 Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father’s health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, head ranch hand, Alex Bright, cannot convince the men to stay. How could Alex let this happen?

Maggie is desperate to save the ranch and she turns to the town’s women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. With only two days left, outlaws charge the small band of cowgirls in an effort to start a stampede. The cattle begin to scatter. Will they lose everything? Where will their help come from?

Love Finds You in Wildrose, North Dakota by Tracey Bateman Cross

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Love Finds You in Wildrose, North Dakotalovefindsyouinwildrose

1895 – North Dakota

Rosemary Jackson has traveled all the way to the frozen tundra of North Dakota territory to visit her twin sister, Rachel. It’s been three long years since Rachel left Kansas with her new husband for this wild place. But Rosemary arrives to find only a grave, a grieving brother-in-law, and an underfed baby. She has no choice but to stay and see her sister’s family through the long winter.
Finn Tate has just buried his beloved wife, and he cannot seem to take care of himself or his infant daughter. He needs help. But he cannot stand the sight of Rosemary, who reminds him so much of Rachel, standing at his cook stove.
When Rosemary settles into a neighboring homestead, Finn realizes she is far more strong-willed than he ever anticipated. But after a series of mishaps on Rosemary’s property threaten her livelihood, it becomes clear that Finn is not the only one who wants her to go back to Kansas.
When the wildflowers arrive with the spring, will Rosemary be forced to leave everything she’s come to love in Wildrose, North Dakota?

Revealing Fire by Connie Stevens

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revealingfireGoodreads ~ Purchase ~ Sample

1884 – Iowa

Pearl Dunnigan is in her September years, well beyond the age when most women fall in love. She married her childhood sweetheart years ago. Now as a widow, she operates the only boardinghouse in Willow Creek, Iowa, and is content with  life. . .until Hubert Behr convinces her to dream again.

Hubert’s estranged son arrives in town, and his anger and scorn threaten to undo Hubert’s and Pearl’s plans. When all the truth is revealed, will their love be destroyed or refined by fire?

 

Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley

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Dawn Comes Early (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series)dawncomesearly

1895 – Arizona

Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest novel for the emptiness of the desert. Answering an ad to be “heiress” to a vast cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory, Kate hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.
 But what awaits her is a life harder than the one she just left. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early. But she is tenacious.
Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn’t expect to meet Luke Adams, either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn’t recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.
 Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

The Bridal Swap by Karen Kirst

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bridalswapThe Bridal Swap

1880 – Tennessee

The heiress Josh O’Malley has courted by mail is on her way to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to become his wife. His dreams are coming true, and together, they’ll create the family he’s always wanted. But when the stagecoach arrives, it’s not his intended who exits, but her sister, Kate!

She came to end her sister’s engagement, but with her duty completed, Kate Morgan is in no hurry to leave. She can’t help but like the beautiful mountain town…and her sister’s would-be groom. If only Josh would realize that his dream can still come true—and love can be found where least expected.

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The Heart’s Frontier by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith

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The Heart’s Frontier (The Amish of Apple Grove)theheartsfrontier

1881 – Kansas

An exciting new Amish-meets-Wild West adventure from bestselling authors Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith weaves an entertaining and romantic tale for devoted fans and new readers.

On a trip to visit relatives, Emma Switzer’s Amish family is robbed of all their possessions, leaving them destitute and stranded on the prairie. Walking into the nearest trading settlement, they pray to the Lord for someone to help. When a man lands in the dust at her feet, Emma looks down at him and thinks, The Lord might have cleaned him up first.
Luke Carson, heading up his first cattle drive, is not planning on being the answer to anyone’s prayers, but it looks as though God has something else in mind for this kind and gentle man. Plain and rugged—do the two mix? And what happens when a dedicated Amish woman and a stubborn trail boss prove to be each other’s match?

Hometown Cinderella by Ruth Axtell Morren

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hometowncinderellaHometown Cinderella

1884 – Maine

After years traveling in Europe with her musician husband, all that widow Mara Keller wants is security for her son. A half-share in her father’s Maine farmhouse is the only refuge she has left, even if her resentful stepmother treats Mara as little more than a servant. But there is one bright spot: the unexpected kindness of neighbor Gideon Jakeman.

A widowed farmer with a teenage daughter, Gideon hardly pictures himself as anyone’s Prince Charming. Especially a woman of Mara’s refinement. Yet his quiet, rugged strength makes her feel as though she’s found her rightful place by his side, if they can find faith enough to forge their own happy ending.

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

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Song of My Heartsongofmyheart

1895 – Kansas

Sadie Wagner has always been devoted to her family. So when her stepfather is injured and can’t work, she decides to leave home and accept a position as a clerk at the mercantile in Goldtree, Kansas. Goldtree also offers the opportunity to use her God-given singing talent–though the promised opera house is far different from what she imagined. With her family needing every cent she can provide, Sadie will do anything to keep her job.

Thad McKane comes to Goldtree at the request of the town council. The town has been plagued by bootlegging operations, and Thad believes he can find the culprit. After he earns enough money doing sheriff work, he wants to use it to pay for his training to become a minister.

Thad is immediately attracted to the beautiful singer who performs in Asa Baxter’s unusual opera house, but when he hears her practicing bawdy tunes, he begins to wonder if she’s far less innocent than she seems. And when Sadie appears to be part of the very crimes he’s come to investigate, is there any hope the love blossoming between them will survive?

The Unlikely Wife by Debra Ullrick

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The Unlikely Wifeunlikelywife

1885 – Idaho

The arrival of Michael Bowen’s bride, married sight unseen by proxy, sends the rancher reeling. With her trousers, cowboy hat and rifle, she looks like a female outlaw—not the genteel lady he corresponded with for months. He’s been hoodwinked into marriage with the wrong woman!

Selina Farleigh Bowen loved Michael’s letters, even if she couldn’t read them herself. A friend read them to her, and wrote her replies—but apparently that “friend” left things out, like Michael’s dream of a wife who was nothing like her. Selina won’t change who she is, not even for the man she loves. Yet time might show Michael the true value of his unlikely wife.

Winter Promise by Martha Rogers

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Winter Promise (Seasons of the Heart)winterpromise

1890 – Texas

A painful past has left Doctor Elliot Jensen uninterested in love.
Until he meets Abigail.
 
Single, educated, and looking for a new start, Abigail Monroe decides to join her brother and his wife in Portersville, Texas. Near her twenty-fifth birthday and without a suitor, she fears she will become a spinster if she stays in Briar Ridge, Connecticut.
 
A sprained ankle sends Abigail to the new doctor in town, Elliot Jensen. He is smitten, but tragedy in his past has left him bitter, guilt ridden, and afraid to fall in love again.
 
When the town’s deputy sheriff rescues Abigail after a robbery, Elliot’s feelings for her get stronger. He is jealous of the attention Abigail is getting, but he fears he can’t compete with the handsome deputy sheriff and his heroic deeds.
 
Has he waited too long to share his feelings for her? Or will Christmas bring them both the gift they seek?

 

Summer of Promise by Amanda Cabot

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Summer of Promisesummerofpromise

1885  -Wyoming

Though she had planned to spend the summer in Vermont with her sweetheart, Abigail Harding cannot dismiss her concerns over her older sister. Charlotte’s letters have been uncharacteristically melancholy, and her claims that nothing is wrong ring false, so Abigail heads West to Wyoming. The endless prairie seems monotonous, but when her stagecoach is attacked, Wyoming promises to be anything but boring. Luckily, the heroics of another passenger, Lieutenant Ethan Bowles, save the day.

When circumstances–and perhaps a bit of matchmaking–put Abigail and Ethan together, there’s certainly attraction. But Abigail is planning to marry another man and return to life in Vermont as soon as she is finished attending to her sister. And Ethan loves his life in the Army and the wilds of Wyoming. When summer ends, will Abigail go back East? Or will she fall in love with this rugged land herself?

Whither Thou Goest I Will Go by Nomi Dathan

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Whither Thou Goest, I Will Gowhitherthougoest

1888 – Nebraska

For everything there is a season. A season for joy. A season for sorrow. A season for testing.

Jem Perkins has it all – money, a fine house, a handsome husband, and a new baby boy. But when her family fortunes turn, Jem’s husband Seth leads her to a new home: a sod house on a Nebraska homestead.

It is a season of growth for Jem as she reluctantly confronts her new realities: back-breaking labor, dangerous illness, and mind-numbing isolation. She learns to embrace her new role as a capable woman and marriage partner and discovers an awareness of God’s hand in her life.

Then, on January 12, 1888, the history-making Children’s Blizzard sweeps across the land, ushering in a season of hardship she never expected. Can Jem’s confidence, marriage, and new-found faith weather the storm?

Snowflake Bride by Jillian Hart

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Snowflake Bridesnowflakebride

1884 – Montana

Grateful when she’s hired as the Davises’ maid, Ruby Ballard vows to help save her family’s farm. There’s just one problem: the boss’s handsome son, Lorenzo. He makes her forget family duty, forget her lowly place, even forget her friends who are in love with him! But his love is a gift that could never be hers—not even for Christmas.
Lorenzo knows Ruby is the only woman he could marry. Yet the quiet beauty refuses his courtship. As the holidays approach, he will make both their wishes come true, when he claims her at last as his snowflake bride.

Long Trail Home by Vickie McDonough

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Long Trail Home (The Texas Trail Series)longtrailhome

1896 – Texas

The Long Trail Home is third in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.When Riley Morgan returns home after fighting in the War Between the States, he is excited to see his parents and fiancee again. But he soon learns that his parents are dead and the woman he loved is married. He takes a job at the Wilcox School for the blind just to get by. He keeps his heart closed off but a pretty blind woman, Annie, threatens to steal it. When a greedy man tries to close the school, Riley and Annie band together to fight him and fall in love.But when Riley learns the truth about Annie, he packs and prepares to leave the school that has become his home and the woman who has thawed his heart. Will he change his mind and find the love he craves’ Or will stubbornness deprive him from the woman he needs’ Through painful circumstances, Riley and Annie learn that the loving and sovereign hand of God cannot be thwarted.

Autumn Song by Martha Rogers

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Autumn Song (Seasons of the Heart)autumnsong

1889 – Texas

Why does everyone think a girl’s only lot in life is to find a husband and settle down?

Kathleen Muldoon is twenty-three and tired of ranch living. Fiercely independent and determined to become a nurse, she has left her family’s ranch to study medicine under Old Doc Jensen and live in town with her Aunt Mae, who runs a boardinghouse.
 
Daniel Monroe has just arrived in Porterfield to set up his law practice. Sparks fly when he is introduced to Kate at the boardinghouse, but the initial attraction quickly dissolves into an argument—the first of many. Daniel is enamored with Kate but uncomfortable with her independent spirit and dreams of becoming a nurse.
 
When trouble erupts between the ranchers and lumberjacks over timber rights, Kate is furious to learn that Daniel has worked out an agreement she believes will destroy her father’s land. Can they overcome their pride and help each other become everything God wants them to be?

 

Once Upon a Thanksgiving by Linda Ford and Winnie Griggs

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Once Upon a Thanksgivingonceuponathanksgiving

1890 – Montana and Texas

Season of Bounty by Linda Ford
At first glance, privileged Kathleen Sanderson and cowboy Buck Donahue couldn’t be more different. Yet the bond between Buck and his adopted son awakens a wish in Kathleen for a family of her own—and a future they can build together.

Home for Thanksgiving by Winnie Griggs
All that stands between Ruby Anne Tuggle and a fresh start is an escort to Tyler, Texas. Rancher Griff Lassiter is too kind to refuse, but too wary of being hurt again to offer anything but friendship. Then a fever forces an unexpected detour and a chance to find the place they both belong…

Maggie’s Journey by Lena Nelson Dooley

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Maggie’s Journey (McKenna’s Daughters)maggiesjourney

1885 – Oregon and Arkansas

A girl who’s been lied to her whole life…

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her.
Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn’t fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.

When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?

Bandit’s Hope by Marcia Gruver

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Bandit's Hope (Backwoods Brides)Bandit’s Hope (Backwoods Brides)banditshope

1882 – Mississippi

Stream on down to Mississippi, the setting of Marcia Gruver’s second book in the breathtaking Backwoods Bride series. Reddick “Tiller” McRae is tired of the outlaw life, even more so when he falls for a respectable innkeeper’s daughter. Will he face the gallows before he can win her hallowed heart? Maria Bell is tired of waiting for God to bring her a husband and protector. Taking matters of the law and love into her own hands, she sets a trap to catch a thief and a husband. What will she do when she finds out they are one and the same?

Hailee by Penny Zeller

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Hailee (Montana Skies V3)hailee

1893 – Montana

For years, orphan Hailee Annigan was just a ragamuffin in the Cincinnati streets, stealing food to keep her two younger brothers fed. Her thievery landed her in a home for delinquent youngsters, where her life was changed, thanks to her teachers. Now, nineteen-year-old Hailee excitedly heads to Montana to be a teacher, yet she’s still plagued by her shameful past and the fear of never seeing her brothers again.

Based on his upbringing in high-society Boston, no one would have guessed that Maxwell Nathaniel Adams Jr. would attend seminary and become a church pastor in rugged Montana. Even now, Nate’s parents refuse to put aside their own plans for his future and accept his calling.

When their paths converge, an immediate attraction draws Hailee and Nate together, even as the pressures and demands of others pull them apart. Can the unlikely pair come to terms with their pasts and face the future together?

Deeply Devoted by Maggie Brendan

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Deeply Devoted: A Novel (The Blue Willow Brides)deeplydevotedDeeply Devoted: A Novel (The Blue Willow Brides)

1887 – Wyoming

She is staking her future on a man she’s never met. Can she learn to love him?
When Catharine Olsen leaves Holland for Wyoming as a mail-order bride, she brings some extra baggage with her: two sisters, her mother’s set of Blue Willow china, and a tragic past. As she steps off the train, Peter Andersen is glad to see that she is everything her letters showed her to be. But he is a bit perturbed by her unexpected companions. How will he support them all? And what other secrets might Catharine be keeping from him?
Filled with sweet romance and vivid characters, Deeply Devoted highlights a clash of cultures as a highborn European and a simple wheat farmer learn to love one another and trust God with the past–and the future.

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Tall, Dark, And Determined by Kelly Eileen Hake

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Tall, Dark, and Determined (Husbands for Hire)talldarkanddetermined

1887 – Colorado

Welcome to Hope Falls where three enterprising young females are accepting applications for husbands-for-hire. With one woman already snagged, Lacey Lyman is one of only two remaining. No one really catches her eye until a handsome hunter arrives. Will Lacey find a way to bag her prey? Determined to investigate why Hope Falls’s mine collapsed, Chase Dunstan poses as a potential husband and a hunter, giving him the perfect excuse to poke around inside and outside of town. If only he could get the chatterbox Lacey Lyman off his trail. Can he keep his cover while solving the mystery of the mine?

 

A Whisper of Peace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

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A Whisper of Peacewhisperofpeace

1898 – Alaska

Ostracized by her tribe because of her white father, Lizzie Dawson lives alone in the mountains of Alaska, practicing the ways of her people even as she resides in the small cabin her father built for her mother. She dreams of reconciling with her grandparents to fulfill her mother’s dying request, but she has not yet found a way to bridge the gap that separate her from her tribe.

Clay Selby has always wanted to be like his father, a missionary who holds a great love for the native people and has brought many to God. Clay and his stepsister, Vivian, arrive in Alaska to set up a church and school among the Athbascan people. Clay is totally focused on this goal…until he meets a young, independent Indian woman with the most striking blue eyes he’s ever seen.

But Lizzie is clearly not part of the tribe, and befriending her might have dire consequences for his mission. Will Clay be forced to choose between his desire to minister to the natives and the quiet nudging of his heart?

The Reluctant Outlaw by Karen Kirst

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reluctantoutlawThe Reluctant Outlaw

1880 – Tennessee

A Kidnapper—and a Gentleman?

The ruthless criminal who took Juliana O’Malley hostage was a thief and an outlaw—or so she thinks. But on a perilous journey through the Smoky Mountains, he becomes her unlikely protector. And when he pledges to return her home safely, she somehow finds herself believing him.

Evan Harrison has risked everything to find the men who killed his brother. Saving spirited, strong–willed Juliana could blow his cover with a deadly gang. Yet her courage and unwavering faith make him dream of the home and family he thought he could never have. And suddenly, that future is incomplete—without Juliana in it.

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To Have and To Hold by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

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tohaveandtoholdTo Have and To Hold (Bridal Veil Island)

1886 – Georgia

When Audrey Cunningham’s father proposes that they move to Bridal Veil Island, where he grew up, she agrees, thinking this will help keep him sober and close to God. But they arrive to find wealthy investors buying up land to build a grand resort on the secluded island–and they want the Cunninghams’ acreage.

Contractor Marshall Graham can’t imagine why the former drinking buddy of his deceased father would beckon him to Bridal Veil Island. And when Boyd Cunningham asks him to watch over Audrey, Marshall is even more confused. He has no desire to be saddled with caring for this fiery young woman who is openly hostile toward him. But when Audrey seems to be falling for another man–one who has two little girls Audrey adores–Marshall realizes she holds more of his heart than he realized. Which man will Audrey choose? And can she hold on to her ancestral property in the face of overwhelming odds?

A Biltmore Christmas by Various Authors

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A Biltmore Christmasabiltmorechristmas

1890s – North Carolina

Explore the luxuries of America’s largest home through the eyes of the fiction Bradford sisters. Having been orphaned, they each secure work and lodging at the Biltmore estate. Charity, a laundress; Peggy, an assistant cook, Selma, a chambermaid; and Melissa, a stable “boy” each experience adventures in employment and romance that culminate at Christmastime when the Vanderbilts’ hospitality is at its grandest level.

 

Belonging by Robin Lee Hatcher

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Belonging (Where The Heart Lives) Belonging (Where The Heart Lives)belonging

1897 – Idaho

In the high desert town of Frenchman’s Bluff, Idaho, Felicia Kristoffersen has set out to create a future for herself that is better than her painful past. Alone in the world with only her faith to sustain her, she must prove herself as this tiny community’s new school teacher. She cannot, must not, fail. But, there are those who never wanted her there to begin with. Five years after the death of his wife, local merchant Colin Murphy cares about just one thing: raising his daughter, Charity. Colin wants to give her the educational advantages he never had. The new schoolmarm’s inexperience doesn’t sit well with him, and if this teacher up and marries like the last one did, Charity’s heart will be broken once again. A woman who hasn’t known love. A man who lost the love he had. In the midst of the wide, sage-covered plains, each is about to discover that life’s bitterest circumstances truly can work together for good.

A River to Cross by Yvonne Harris

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River to Cross, AA River to Crossarivertocross

1886 – Texas

Texas Ranger Jake Nelson patrols the U.S.-Mexico border, protecting the settlers from cattle rustlers, outlaws, and bandits. Sparks fly when Manuel Diego stirs up a revolt against the government, which leads to the murder of a newspaperman, who is the son of a U.S. senator, and the kidnapping of his sister, Elizabeth Madison, a journalist in the making.

With Elizabeth’s photograph in hand–a dark-haired beauty with smiling eyes–Jake rides over the border to find her. After the Rangers defeat the marauders and rescue Elizabeth, Jake is surprised to learn she’s not the spoiled daughter of a senator that he was expecting. In fact, he finds himself taken by her. And she by him.

But the Mexicans won’t give up that easily, as Elizabeth becomes the target of an all-out hunt. Leaving Elizabeth back at Fort Williams, Jake and his men set off again, this time to go after Diego himself–to apprehend him and his renegades and bring them all to justice.

Meanwhile, Jake knows what’s begun between him and Elizabeth is undeniable. Amid all the turmoil, Jake finally admits how much he loves her. She tells him the same. Until now, they’ve lived in different worlds, yet it is those differences that drew them together.