'Texas Homecoming' by Leigh Greenwood is book One in the "Night Riders" series. This is the story of Pilar and Cade. Please note that this book was first released a few years ago but is not being re-released with a new cover. In addition, this has mild sex scene. Ms. Greenwood is a long outstanding writer who just by her name you know that you will be getting a really good book. Cade and his fellow riders have come home to find Pilar brother who they want to get revenge from what they feel was a betrayal. Cade thinks to befriend Pilar in hopes of locating her brother. But will this lead to stronger feelings? Of course! *A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection*

This week's recommendation of a book I really liked-- Matt (The Cowboys, #9) Leigh Greenwood, Everyone should read more Westerns. 

This whole series is constantly great but this romance has a special place in my heart because of the hero. This is my favorite kind of love story where the couple is must contend with each other just as they are. They have both suffered in the past and come together to have a healing love.

Greenwood writes a compelling love story, You will be deeply moved. 

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Matt Haskins proved to be the most difficult of all the orphans in The Cowboys to write about. It's not easy to make a hero out of a man who has been sexually molested, especially when the abuse has given him a mental block against physical contact. I had to find a way to make the reader see that Matt's strength was of a different kind from most cowboys. It was almost as difficult to make Ellen Donovan see it.

Ellen's experience with men has been all bad. When she's forced to marry Matt so they can each keep the children they're trying to adopt, she's certain he has ulterior motives. She sets up stringent conditions before agreeing to the marriage of convenience. She expected Matt to accept them -- she wouldn't have married him otherwise -- but she was a little surprised, and disappointed, when he stuck to them after they were married. Ellen didn't want a quiet, unassuming husband. She wanted one who would take on the world in her defense. Matt had the size and the strength, but she didn't see much else to recommend him.

Taking on the responsibility of the two boys Matt wanted to adopt was one more thing she didn't need. She planned to stay married just long enough so the crusading Revered Wilbur Sears couldn't take her kids or Matt's boys. Then she was headed for San Antonio to open her own hat shop.

But while Ellen was making plans to leave Matt and his two troublesome boys behind, she discovered there was a lot more to this good-looking cowboy than met the eye.

Bridgette had been engaged to Logan. Bridgette and Dr. James Pittman had been poisoning Logan - slowly- and since Logan believed he was going to die he was a quest to find at least one of his two brothers which meant Bridgette would not get all his money when he died[ Bridgette was his cousin even though he was going to marry her]. Logan even publicly released Bridgette from the engagement through the newspaper. Dr. Pittman suggested Bridgette hire a man - a Pinkerton- to find Logan. Logan was on the trail to find a brother , he wanted to make a camp base in the woods where he could return while he was out he went into a bank that was being robbed and saved the bankers- Norman- wife- Sibyl and killed the four bank robbers. Logan had a lot of problems with violently throwing up and after having abdomen spasms. Then after the spasms stopped he was so weak and that was the worst thing to go through. When Logan became to sick to go on Sibyl took him in and took care of him. Sibyl and her daughter Kitty had never had affection or caring before the met Logan. Then Bridgette shows up in Cactus Creek to convince Logan to go back to Chicago. From there Bridgette just causes havok. But Logan and Sibyl grow closer through it all.

I really liked this story. I enjoyed the fact Logan’s final act- or so he thought - was to find his brothers even though he was sick and thought he was dying. I loved how the town’s people totally ending up excepting Logan as one of their own and stood by him as well as Sibyl. It was really amazing to read that. I loved the characters but i hated Bridgette - especially Logan and Sibyl and all the ups and downs they went through. I recommend.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.

I love unusal setting in Romance. What could be more intersting than a love story that takes place around a Wild West Show? Or a character that was a part of such a show?

1. Wild West Shows were traveling performances in the United States and Europe. The first and most famous, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, was founded in 1883 and traveled around the world until 1913.

    

Here are some great Romance Novels that start Wild West Shows and Performers. 

My lists are never in any particular order. 

1. Drew by Leigh Greenwood

Drew Townsend wants to buy a ranch close to Jake and Isabelle. In order to earn the money to pay for it, she goes to work for Earl Odom's Wild West Show as the sharpshooter.

Cole Benton, an undercover agent for the United States government, has been given the job of arresting the leader of a gang that has been robbing banks all over the Midwest. He has just three solid clues. The leader is a woman, she's a top-notch marksman, and the robberies always take place in the vicinity of the Wild West Show's performances. His top suspect is Drew Townsend. Pretending to be an amiable drifter, Cole gets a job in the Wild West Show.

Drew does everything she can to keep Cole out of her act . . . and out of her heart. But Cole's smile and unwavering attention batter down Drew's defenses. Drew is hurt and furious when she discovers Cole is trying to collect evidence to prove she's a thief. She leaves the Wild West Show determined never to see him again. Despite accumulating circumstantial evidence, Cole believes Drew is innocent. He convinces her that rejoining the show is the only way to capture the real thieves. He intends to capture her heart as well.

2. The Last Warrior by Karen Kay

Black Lion was sent into the real world to break the curse that dooms his clan to a half life in the mists. Yet no matter how many times he has shown an enemy mercy, the Thunderer’s spell remains intact.

In his beseeching prayers, he hears a song that leads him to join Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show on its travels to London. There he encounters the daughter of two opera singers—the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. A woman already engaged to another man.

Months later, Suzette Joselyn travels to America, a woman changed. Friendless, abandoned by her former fiancé—and pregnant—she finds it impossible to refuse the gentle Lakota Sioux’s proposal to save her child from being born a bastard. Even if it means flashing a pistol to force a reluctant parson to marry them.

Yet her brave new husband is consumed with a mission that may force him to choose between his people and the woman he loves. For the Thunderer is waiting, watching for the perfect time to work his evil deed.

3. Always in My Heart by Donna Valentino

Transported a century into the past only to find himself wounded and getting married to a strange woman, Matt struggles to return to his own time despite his feelings for Kate, who dreams of joining Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

4. Ticket to Tomorrow by Carol Cox

Annie Trenton and her late husband's partner, Silas Crockett, step off the train at the great world's fair in Chicago and walk smack into political intrigue. When a stranger accidentally collides with Silas, more than a satchel is unintentionally exchanged, drawing Annie, Silas, and a handsome rodeo rider into a world of deceptions and conspiracies. When Annie's keen powers of observation threaten to expose devious plots, more than her exhibition plans hang in the balance. Will Annie lose her life before she has a chance to surrender her heart?

5. Weston's Lady by Bobbi Smith

There were Cowboys and Indians, trick riding, thrills and excitement for everyone. And if Liberty Jones had anything to say about it, she would be a part of the show, too. She had demonstrated her expertise with a gun by shooting a playing card out of Reed Weston's hand at thirty paces, but the arrogant owner of the stampede wouldn't even give her a chance.

Disguising herself as a boy, Libby wangled herself a job with the show, and before she knew it Reed was firing at her—in front of an audience. It seemed an emotional showdown was inevitable whenever they came together, but Libby had set her sights on Reed's heart and she vowed she would prove her love was every bit as true as her aim.

6. Fortune's June Bride by Allison Leigh

COULD A WEDDING FOR A WEEK…  

For weeks now, sexy-as-heck Galen Fortune Jones has been playing the ardent groom in the Wild West Wedding show at Cowboy Country USA. The bride? His sweet, redheaded neighbor Aurora McElroy. Of course, Aurora has had a hidden crush on the rancher for years, but she's been careful to keep that secret close to the vest! 

…LEAD TO MARRIAGE FOR A LIFETIME? 

Things get a little out of hand, however, when Galen agrees to pretend he and Aurora are real life husband and wife. It's only temporary, of course, and it's for a good cause. But being Aurora's hubby "off stage" is starting to mess with the confirmed bachelor's head. He's having far from friendly feelings for his in-name-only spouse, and it's freaking him out! Has love finally found Horseback Hollow's last unfettered Fortune? 

7. Unbridled Dreams by Stephanie Grace Whitson

An unpredictable tale of an independent young woman who disappears from her trip to finishing school to hook up with Wild Buffalo Bill's show.

8. Coming Up Roses by Alice Duncan

Rose Ellen Gilhooley didn't get to be a star in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for nothing. Bareback riding and shooting, along with some pretty sharp instincts, have taken her worlds away from the sleepy Kansas town she grew up in. So if Mr. H.L. may thinks a lack of book learning makes her an easy mark, he's in for the shock of his life. Any girl can see the handsome newsman is only interested in one thing. Trouble is, the more he squires her about Chicago and the grand Columbian Exposition, the more Rose yearns for the same! But when H.L. swears he's not the marrying kind, Rose thinks it's high time she taught him a lesson -- about listening to his heart . . . and trusting a future with the woman he loves.

9. Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

When Cassie Lockwood's mother died, Cassie began travelling with her father's Wild West Show. Along the way, she became an amazingly skillful trick rider and sharpshooter, likened by some to the famous Annie Oakley. When her father passed away, she continued to work with the show, having nowhere else to go. 

Now Cassie has discovered that "Uncle" Jason, the show's manager, has driven the show into debt, and he's absconded with what little money was left. Devastated, Cassie decides to try to find the hidden valley in the Black Hills of South Dakota where her father had dreamed of setting down roots. She has only one clue. She needs to find three huge stones that look like fingers on a giant hand. With Chief, a Sioux Indian who's been with the act for twenty years, and Micah, the head wrangler, she leaves the show and a bundle of heartache behind and begins a wild and daring adventure.

Will they find the valley before winter closes in on them?

10. Gabriel's Lady by Charlotte Hubbard

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Those were the words spoken at his beautiful young bride's graveside, but Gabriel Getty found they held little comfort for him. At twenty-seven, his life was over: his wife and unborn child gone, his career as a lawyer ruined, his hopes dashed. Then, in his darkest hour, he found Solace.

I will fear no evil, for You are with me.

She was full of life, energy and daring. Solace Monroe was a writer of dime novels, a horse trainer, a rider in a Wild West show, and she didn't seem to be afraid of anything. Not until a rival was murdered, she was accused and all society shunned her for the very individuality Gabe loved. This time he had the strength and knowhow to protect his woman; this time he would have faith that...

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

Did I miss one? Let me know!  Vote for the best of the  best on my Goodreads list: Wild West Shows in Romance Novels.

Do you sometimes just want to get away from it all? Well, recluses do it with style.  In Historical Romance, they do it drafty castles, windswept ranches, and manors on the moor. 

Here are some great Recluses of Historical Romance for your reading pleasure! My lists are never in any particular order.  I left the more obvious Beauty and the Beast retellings for another time. 

1. To Charm a Naughty Countess by Theresa Romain

Can a reclusive duke...

Brilliant but rumored mad, Michael Layward, the impoverished Duke of Wyverne, has no success courting heiresses until widowed Lady Stratton takes up his cause—after first refusing his suit.

Win London's most powerful countess?

Caroline Graves, the popular Countess of Statton, sits alone at the pinnacle of London society and has vowed never to remarry. When Michael—her counterpart in an old scandal—returns to town after a long absence, she finds herself as enthralled with him as ever. As she guides the anxiety-ridden duke through the trials of London society, Caroline realizes that she's lost her heart. But if she gives herself to the only man she's ever loved, she'll lose the hard won independence she prizes above all.

2.  The Lightkeeper by Susan Wiggs

Once, the sea took everything he loved… 

Jesse Morgan is a man hiding from the pain of his past, a man who has vowed never to give his heart again. Keeper of a remote lighthouse along a rocky and dangerous coast, he has locked himself away from everything but his bitter memories. 

Now, the sea has given him a second chance. 

A beautiful stranger washes ashore, the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Penniless and pregnant, Mary Dare is a woman who carries painful memories of her own. 

With laughter, hope and joy, Mary and her child bring light into the dark corners of Jesse's world. But when their friendship turns to passion and passion becomes love, secrets from the past threaten to take it all away.

3.  Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

As the daughter of a famed author, Isolde
Ophelia Goodnight grew up on tales of brave knights and fair maidens.
She never doubted romance would be in her future, too.  The storybooks
offered endless possibilities.

And as she grew older, Izzy crossed them off.  One by one by one.

• Ugly duckling turned swan?
• Abducted by handsome highwayman?
• Rescued from drudgery by charming prince?

No, no, and... Heh.

Now Izzy's given up yearning for romance.
She'll settle for a roof over her head.  What fairy tales are left over
for an impoverished twenty-six year-old woman who's never even been
kissed?

This one.

4. The Lone Warrior by Lori Austin

Rose Varner needs a man…

But not just any man. The one known as “White Ghost with Hair of Fire.” He may be the only way to rescue her daughter, Lily, from the Cheyenne. Legend has it he was once the Cheyenne’s captive, but his courage impressed them so much that they accepted him as one of their own. Yet the man Rose finds seems far from legendary…

Luke Phelan’s tortured past has driven him to live as a recluse in the Smoky Hills of western Kansas. Having vowed to keep his distance from the Cheyenne, Luke refuses to accompany Rose on her rescue mission. But her bravery in the face of dangerous odds changes his mind. Now as they ride toward their destination, they’ll battle outlaws, bounty hunters, and their own rising desires before finding Lily. But the cost to Rose will be high, and her budding love for Luke will be put to the test…

5. Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran

Sensible and lonely, Olivia Mather survives by her wits - and her strict policy of avoiding trouble. But when she realises that the Duke of Marwick might hold the secrets of her family's past, she does the unthinkable, infiltrating his household as a maid. She'll clean his study and rifle through his papers looking for information.

Alastair de Grey has a single reason to live: vengeance. More beautiful than Lucifer, twice as feared, and thrice as cunning, he'll use any weapon to punish those who fooled and betrayed him - even an impertinent maid who doesn't know her place. But the more fascinated he becomes with the uppity redhead, the more dangerous his carefully designed plot becomes. For the one contingency he forgot to plan for was falling in love...and he cannot survive being fooled again.

6. Daisy by Leigh Greenwood

While Tyler Randolph is prospecting for gold in New Mexico to get the money to build the hotel of his dreams he finds a woman wounded and left to die in a blizzard. He can't take her into Albuquerque because he doesn't know who's trying to kill her, so he takes her to his cabin. When the killers come after her, he makes it his job to protect her. Tyler is a loner not used to have a woman around. He's very self-conscious about his tall, lanky body and the fact that he isn't handsome like his brothers.

Daisy Singleton has no idea who killed her father and tried to kill her, or why. Awakening with a head wound in a strange man's cabin, she doesn't know whether to be afraid or angry. Being stranded in a mountain cabin with a silent, kind, bossy, bear of a man is frustrating. She just wants to go to Albuquerque and stay with her friends, but Tyler won't let her leave because he still doesn't know who's trying to kill her. When Daisy tells Tyler she's engaged to be married, he hustles her down the mountain.

Although Daisy stays with Hen and Laurel and Tyler returns to this mine, their story isn't finished. There remains a killer to unmask, Daisy's independence to establish, and the need to learn the truth about their feelings toward each other.

7. My Shadow Warrior by Jen Holling

Rose, the youngest of the MacDonell sisters, is more concerned with her father's mysterious illness than with her impending marriage to her childhood sweetheart. A gifted but frustrated healer, she decides to beg help from William MacKay -- a reclusive laird who is renowned not only for his ferocity, but also for his healing powers. Denied entry to his fortress in the cold, harsh mountains of the far northwestern highlands, Rose uses cunning to force her way in, and William is duly intrigued with this bold slip of a girl. But securing his help may not be enough to save Rose's father. For there is something darker at work in the glen, something more powerful than William's and Rose's magic combined, and only the soul-deep passion that shadows their mutual desire can help their love prevail.

8. The Prince of Midnight by Laura Kinsale

He was once a legendary highwayman. Now he’s a recluse in a ruined French castle, with only a half-wild wolf for a companion. When Lady Leigh Strachan comes looking for a man to aid in her revenge, she is disillusioned to find that the famed Prince of Midnight could not help even if he cared to—which he does not. S. T. Maitland wants nothing to do with his legend, or with this fierce, beautiful, broken woman . . . until the old thrill of living on the cutting edge of danger begins to rise in his blood again.

9. The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas

Thrown off a wagon train with two other women and trying to avoid jail for a murder they committed, Bailee Moore agrees to enter a "Wife Lottery"—a ploy concocted by the Cedar Point sheriff to secure wives for the men in the small Texas town. For the sensible Bailee, however, marrying Carter McKoy is like exchanging one life sentence for another—especially since her new husband hasn't even seen fit to utter a single word in her presence. But still, she can't help thinking that something about this strong, silent farmer could be the key to leaving her troubled past behind…and making a worthy wager with her heart.

10. The Summer of You by Kate Noble

Lady Jane Cummings expects her summer at Merrymere Lake to be hum-drum compared to London, but when rumors of a local highwayman lead her to discover the handsome gentleman Byrne Worth, nothing can keep her from Merrymere's most wanted.

Please vote for your favorite Historical Romance Loner on my Goodreads list: Hideaway: Recluse in Historical Romance