Historical American West

A historical fiction book set in the American West during the mid-19th century. "Death and Dust: The Oregon Trail" invites readers on an unforgettable journey through the rugged landscapes of the 1840s, following a courageous band of pioneers as they chase dreams of fertile land and a brighter future. Led by the steadfast Jesse Wingate, this tale is not just about the struggle against nature, but also the fierce competition and intricate romances that unfold along the dangerous path of the Oregon Trail. The story begins in 1848, as the Wingate family, along with other settlers, gathers at a...

Leah Johnson has spent years hiding her heartache. As a Black woman in a town where society dictates who she can be—and who she can love—she knows better than to dream of a future with Adam Davenport. Her best friend. Her fiercest protector. The only man she has ever wanted. But longing for him is dangerous, and giving in could cost her everything. Adam Davenport has built his life around keeping Leah safe, even from himself. He has always known that loving her openly would put a target on her back. In Bonham, a man like him can take whatever woman he pleases—except her. So he forces ...

The town's blacksmith is in need of a bride--but he didn't expect to also become a father. Merrick Benton wants a family of his own, but he can't seem to string two words together around the eligible ladies in town. A mail-order bride is the perfect solution to his problem. Eleanor Stevens and her sister were both widowed when their husbands died in a mine explosion. Desperate for a new beginning, they each answer advertisements from men in Crest Stone, Colorado. Eleanor is certain that a new husband in a faraway place will be exactly what her sister Rebecca and her children need to heal. ...

The Long Trail is the first book in the best-selling series about the McCabes, a family building a ranch in the rugged wilderness of post-Civil War Montana, and of a young man seeking his family and his destiny.

In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of “Manifest Destiny,” this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness.

Can a mistaken identity lead to love? When Matthew Canton's mail-order bride is kidnapped from her wagon train, he doesn't hesitate to rescue her. But he didn't expect to have to bargain for her--and he certainly didn't expect her to be someone entirely different. Sophia Zane needed a quiet, quick way out of Kansas City with the money she inherited. Opting to join a wagon train headed west, she doesn't correct the wagon master when he assumes she's someone else. It's safer to leave under a different name, and her way is now already paid. When outlaws kidnap Sophia from the wagon train, she ...

It's summer 1849 and when thirty-year old widow Colette Weylyn decides to leave the heartbreak of her old life behind in Philadelphia and head west to Oregon as a mail order bride, she encourages her twenty-five year old sister-in-law Sera to join her as her companion. But that means these two women who have spent their whole lives in Philadelphia, one of the busiest cities on the east coast, must travel to Independence Missouri then overland by wagon train to Astoria Oregon. This book is a heartwarming story about two young women starting a whole new life far from home. Colette never ...

New York Times best-selling author Catherine Anderson pens riveting historical romances. Loretta Simpson lost her parents to a daring Comanche raid seven years ago - and now she lives as a mute with her extended family. Meanwhile, Comanche Hunter of the Wolf sees her as the embodiment of an ancient prophesy and chooses her for marriage. Still fearful of his tribe, Loretta soon finds her will bending, even as conflict between their two peoples intensifies.

An untouchable gunslinger. A lost hoard of gold. A host of brutal adversaries. What could possibly go wrong? Deputy Marshal Porter Rockwell can't be harmed by a bullet or a blade. As long as he never cuts his hair, Rockwell is free to right wrongs and chase criminals without worrying about the consequences. But when he learns about a map to a mysterious cache of gold, he's embroiled in a battle for the treasure with enemies lining up on every side. As outlaws, villains, and a surprisingly formidable Ute chieftain stand between the Deputy Marshall and the gold, bullet and blade might not be ...

Some legacies are carved in stone. Others are soaked in oil, blood, and regret. Spanning five generations of the Chiswell family—from 1845 to the modern day—The Gospel According to Texas is a haunting, literary saga of land, sin, and redemption. When Elias Chiswell abandons everything to chase a new life on the Texas frontier, he believes he’s outrunning his past. But the land he claims has a voice—and a memory. Told in part by Texas itself, this Southern Gothic novel weaves journal entries, confessions, and mythic narration into a sweeping story of faith, failure, and family legacy...

A collection of stories capturing what it means to be a cowboy.

Ordered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him into the Indian camp, where he began a dangerous adventure that changed his life forever. Set in 1863, the novel follows Lieutenant John Dunbar on a magical journey from the ravages of the Civil War to the far reaches of the imperiled American frontier, a frontier he naively wants to see "before it is gone".

Mystery matchmakers strike again in the town of Bethany Springs Elizabeth comes to Texas to care for an orphaned girl abandoned by her mother. The child has never known a mother’s touch. While Elizabeth isn’t her mother, she knows how to care for children. She’s a governess, after all. A famous one, at that! According to the letters sent to the matchmaking firm, the plan is for Elizabeth to marry the child’s father. On arrival to Texas, however, Elizabeth discovers that the father has vanished. The little girl is being cared for by her Uncle Dalton, a wealthy, surly rancher. Right ...

The Earl Claims His Wife is the latest romance from New York Times best-selling author Cathy Maxwell in her new Scandal and Seductions series, where pride clashes with passion and temptation leads to love. Preoccupied with wars and women, the earl ignored his wife. But when he finally wants her by his side, the fiery Lady Gillian won't go without a fight....

Haunted by the murder of his wife and daughter, former lawman John Turner rides into Blackstone – a town suffocating under the iron fist of Roderick Garrison and his ruthless gang. Blackstone is a place of shattered hope, where extortion and violence reign. The sheriff is wounded, the townsfolk are desperate, and the women and children suffer most of all. Among them is Emma Dawson, a widow whose strength and kindness rekindle a spark of hope John thought was lost forever. When John witnesses their pain, he can’t turn away. But taking on Roderick’s gang won’t be easy. Mason Hawkins, ...

Can love overcome danger? Remaining in her Virginia hometown won't mend Clara Brown's broken heart. Determined to set her life back in order--and go somewhere she won't have to see her former beau--she answers an advertisement for a mail-order bride. Before she knows it, she's arrived in Crest Stone, a rugged new railroad town nestled between the mountains in Colorado. And when she meets her intended, he's better than she ever could have dreamed--handsome and kind, even if he does seem preoccupied. Roman Carlisle is a cowboy turned livery owner. More than anything, he wants what his ...

A Mystery Matchmaker in Bethany Springs has a plan for the single father, a plan that includes an unsuspecting Mail-Order Bride. Nick McCord never expects to settle down, much less take a mail-order bride. He’s used to figuring out matters by himself. Afterall, Nick’s a legendary bounty hunter, known for tracking down and outsmarting hundreds of villains. But when he inherits a generous sum of money along with his young, orphaned niece, he must learn to become a family man. Someone in Bethany Springs believes Nick is in need of a wife. That someone has sent for a mail-order bride. ...

His mail-order bride is his best friend . . . When Jeremiah Wiley advertises for a mail-order bride, all he wants is a lady who can impress his parents. If he succeeds, he’ll secure the loan he needs to buy into the livery stable where he works. But he doesn't expect for the woman who answers his advertisement to be someone he already knows—much less his closest friend. Deirdre Hannan is certain Jeremiah is the man for her. But the only way she can seem to convince him is to marry him. She secretly responds to his advertisement under a name he won’t recognize, but worries he’ll turn...

A lovely cook with a bounty on her head, the Native pioneer determined to protect her with his name and honor, and the unscrupulous mail-order bride agency determined to marry her off to the highest bidder… Chief Pecos is far from thrilled by the sudden influx of new settlers to Christmas Mountain. He prefers things to continue as they’ve been for centuries with his tribe, whose main livelihood is taming and riding the mustang herds that roam the foothills. Until a mail-order bride steps off the train with a price on her head… All of a sudden, he can think of one good exception to the...

The Open Range cattle era lasted barely a quarter-century, but it left America irrevocably changed. These few decades following the Civil War brought America its greatest boom-and-bust cycle until the Depression, the invention of the assembly line, and the dawn of the conservation movement. It inspired legends, such as that icon of rugged individualism, the cowboy. Yet this extraordinary time and its import have remained unexamined for decades. Cattle Kingdom reveals the truth of how the West rose and fell, and how its legacy defines us today.