From women struggling to be accepted in what was a man's profession to doctor heroes trying to cope with the overwhelming trauma of war, these American Historical Romance Novels tell wonderful love stories. Enjoy!

 

My lists are never in any particular order. 

 

1. The Texan's Touch by Jodi Thomas

 

Captured by Confederate spies to heal thier comrade, Yankee doctor Adam McClain realized the man in grey named "Nick" was actually a woman! Her beauty and bravery struck him to the core, and after a brief kiss, she helped him leave her life forever...

 

Nichole never forgot the man who'd evoked powerful new feelings within her. And months later, she was sent to the Texas frontier to ask for his help once again. But could she also hope for love from this handsome Texan?

 

2. Fired Up by Mary Connealy

 

When a doctor who attracts danger falls for a cook determined to make it on her own, there's going to be trouble in Texas!

Glynna Greer came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation. Now her husband, Flint, is dead, and she's determined to make a go of it on her own. In a town full of men, Glynna decides she can support her two children by opening a diner--never mind that cooking is not her greatest talent.

Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment--which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.

Though his doctoring business is booming due to Glynna's questionable cooking, Dare seems to encounter unexpected dangers wherever he goes. There's the avalanche. And the fire. And then the shadowy figure with a knife. Can Dare survive it all long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance on love?

 

3. Bluebonnet Belle by Lori Copeland

 

April Truitt didn't trust doctors, battle of wills was raging in the Lone Star State in 1876. least of all handsome newcomer Gray Fuller, who opposed her efforts to offer the women of Dignity, Texas, an herbal alternative to surgery. He treated her like some quack, but April was determined to save other women from dying on the operating table, like her mother did.

Gray couldn't help admiring April's spirit and good intentions. Yet he couldn't let this bluebonnet belle steal all his patients—even if she was on her way to stealing his heart.

 

4. Once an Outlaw by Debbi Rawlins

 

In the rough-and-tumble town of Deadwood in 1876, cowboy Sam Keegan is about as hard as they get. Considered a real sexy piece of man by the local womenfolk, Sam runs the town livery stable. And he was last seen in the company of a pretty gal in a wedding dress, Reese Winslow…who escaped one of the local brothels!

The little lady claims to be a doctor—from the future, no less! Beware of her, as she's causing no end of problems. Mostly for Sam, who is real skittish about the law. But trouble or not, the man can't seem to stop himself from wanting Reese…and learnin' firsthand what women from the future like to do with hot, hard cowboys!

 

5. Her Hesitant Heart by Carla Kelly

 

Tired and hungry after two days of traveling, Susanna Hopkins is just about at the end of her tether when her train finally arrives in Cheyenne. She's bound for a new life in a Western garrison town. Then she discovers she doesn't even have enough money to pay for the stagecoach! Luckily for her, the compassionate Major Joseph Randolph is heading in the same direction.

As a military surgeon, Joe is used to keeping his professional distance. But, despite Susanna's understated beauty, he's drawn to this woman who carries loss and pain equal to his own and has a heart that is just as hesitant and wary….

 

6. Plum Creek Bride by Lynna Banning

 

Erika Scharf Had Always Followed Her Heart

Now it had led her to America, and a tortured man with a motherless infant. But would the widowed Dr. Jonathan Callender ever recover from his grief?

 

Whatever drove him had died with his young wife—or so it seemed to Jonathan Callender. He knew only that nothing mattered anymore—until the day a German whirlwind disguised as the very determined Erika Scharf charged into his life—and made his heart live again.

 

7. Fair Play: A Novel by Deeanne Gist

 

Saddled with a man’s name, the captivating Billy Jack Tate makes no apologies for taking on a man’s profession. As a doctor at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, she is one step closer to having her very own medical practice—until Hunter Scott asks her to give it all up to become his wife.

Hunter is one of the elite. A Texas Ranger and World’s Fair guard specifically chosen for his height, physique, character, and skill. Hailed as the toughest man west of any place east, he has no patience for big cities and women who think they belong anywhere but home…

Despite their difference of opinion on the role of women, Hunter and Billy find a growing attraction between them—until Hunter discovers an abandoned baby in the corner of a White City exhibit. He and Billy team up to make sure this foundling isn’t left in the slums of Chicago with only the flea-riddled, garbage-infested streets for a playground. As they fight for the underprivileged children in the Nineteenth Ward, an entire Playground Movement is birthed. But when the Fair comes to an end, one of them will have to give up their dream.

Will Billy exchange her doctor’s shingle for the domesticated role of a southern wife, or will Hunter abandon the wide open spaces of home for a life in the “gray city,” a woman who insists on being the wage earner, and a group of ragamuffins who need more than a playground for breathing space?

 

8. Crescent City Courtship by Elizabeth White

 

Abigail Neal dreams of escaping her life in the slums of New Orleans someday. But how can a woman alone and unprotected ever fulfill her dreams of becoming a doctor? Then, young medical student John Braddock comes to pay a call on a neighbor. Though the scars left on her heart have taught her never to trust anyone, Abby is drawn to John's caring nature. Soon an unlikely friendship develops between the son of privilege and the poor daughter of missionaries. But when Abby's mysterious past comes back to haunt her present, will she call upon her faith to help right a wrong and make a new life with her very own Prince Charming?

 

9. An Outlaw in Wonderland by Lori Austin

 

Saving soldiers’ lives at the Confederate army hospital Chimborazo, Annabeth Phelan is no ordinary Southern belle. She’s never known work more exhausting or rewarding. And she’s never known a man like Dr. Ethan Walsh, with his disarming gray eyes and peculiar ways. But now the Confederacy is charging her with another service: find the Union spy at Chimborazo.

 

Ethan’s one passion is saving lives, and if he can do that by helping to end the war, he will—even if it means spying for the North. He’s gotten used to fooling Confederates, but he can’t bear lying to Annabeth. And together, they are about to discover a new passion—one that could even transcend the chaos of war.

 

10. That Certain Spark by Cathy Marie Hake

 

Gooding, Texas, is about to gain a double blessing--a veterinarian and a doctor. But when siblings Enoch and Taylor Bestman arrive, the discovery that the long-awaited doctor is in fact a woman has the town up in arms. Karl Van der Vort is no exception, though he becomes Taylor's first patient...against his will.

Karl finds he can't deny Taylor's doctoring skills, but he also can't come to terms with her unladylike occupation. Taylor, on the other hand, wants only to prove that doctoring is her life's calling, despite the town's opposition. But when her practice--and Taylor herself--are threatened, Karl's protectiveness flares into a different emotion altogether.

 

Do you have a favorite doctor from this time period and setting? Let me know! and vote on the Goodreads list: Medicine Bag: Doctors in American Set Historical Romance.

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

This is the first time I have read this author, and what a interesting plot that this turned out to be. It has been a while siine I have read a historical western romance, so I found this story to be like a breath of fresh air. I was really surprised in how much I really liked reading this one. I wasn't expecting it, I had read the blurb and it sounded intriguing but I think I chose to read it for the gorgeous cover we have here. The style was very original and it didn't turn out in the way I ever expected it to. One of the major aspects I enjoyed was how this book constantly was surprising me, whenever I thought I could predict what would happen next, well then there would be a certain "bump" in the plot and it would totally put me on edge in supsense. There is so much in this story that I would highly recommend. I have to admit, I have been wanting to read this one since it first came out at the beginning of the year, but wanting to wait till it became available at my local library It was definitely worth the wait.

The story begins when a young woman, who left everything she knew in the city, from a rich family, to marry a farmer in Kansas. But then the Cheyenne attack and take her daughter from her. For over a year Rose has been searching for any clue as to her daughters whereabouts. When she hears of the "white ghost" she knows that she must find him at all costs, because he may be key to finding her daughter, rumored to have lived with the Cheyenne for some time. When she finds him, he isn't willing to help in any way, and almost kills her, but for the first time Luke doesn't listen to the Wind, there is something about Rose that keeps him for killing her as he as the others that have hunted him. As they search together for Lily, you see a desire between them burn, but meanwhile they are chased by outlaws and bounty hunters, and they will find Lily in the least expected place...but it will come at a price.

There was such a strong connection between Luke and Rose from the start. Unlike other native american romances I have read, this story really threw me off....in the least expected ways. I adored this story, and the way the author had the ability to create a plot that you find yourself captivated and drawn into the story. The descriptions and the history were very vivid and I enjoyed seeing the authors voice come shining through in the story as well. I found myself fully satisfied by the end of the story, and I definitely can't wait to try the preveious books of the series....they just sound delightful and if you have read the previous books...you get to see those characters in this story. Even thyough I read this out of order, I never felt like I had to read the previous books. This story can be read as a stand alone if need be. Although I would have liked a chance to read it in order. Overall a captivating story of passion and history!! COMPELLING ON EVERY PAGE!!

Dusty, Saddle Sore, Gun Slinging, come get ya some Historical Romance Bounty Hunters! 

 

 

1. Beauty and the Bounty Hunter by Lori Austin Cat O’Banyon

2. The Bounty  by Beth Williamson Tyler Calhoun 

3. A Kiss To Die For  by Claudia Dain Jack Skull

4. The Bounty Hunter by Cheryl St.John Nick Harding

5. Leah and the Bounty Hunter  by Elaine Levine Jace Gage

6. The Inheritance by Joan Johnston Nicholas Calloway

7. Desperate Hearts by Alexis Harrington  Jace Rankin 

8. Sunshine and the Bounty Hunter by Bobbie Fite Howard “Gunn” Gunnarsen

9. The Bounty Hunter's Bride by Victoria Bylin  Beau Morgan

10. Bounty Hunter's Bride  by Carol Finch Cale 

 

Let me know you favorite Historical Romance Bounty Hunter!

 

To vote for the best for the best, check out this Goodreads list: Trail: Best Bounty Hunter in Historical Romance. 

 

If you missed the Paranormal or Contermporay Romance Bounty Hunter lists, here they are! 

 

Skip: Best Bounty Hunters in Contemporary Romance

So Who is the Best Paranormal/Science Fiction Romance Bounty Hunter?

 

Be sure to take a gander at awesome Bounty Hunters from all the Romance genres on my Pinterest Board: Skip: Best Bounty Hunters in Romance Novels.

 

By carriage, train, stagecoach,wagon, horse, ship or foot Historical Road Romances give us the joys of couple time, new scenery, and challenges. So, what if we wonder about bathing?

 

Here are some great ones for your reading pleasure! My list are never in any particular order...picking the top ten or so at this moment is hard enough. 

 

1. Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin 

2. Marrying The Royal Marine by Carla Kelly 

3. The Pirate Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

4. The Windflower by Laura London

5. Only You by Elizabeth Lowell

6. Tallie's Knight by Anne Gracie 

7. French Leave by Sheri Cobb South

8. Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey 

9. Rachel Lemoyne by Eileen Charbonneau 

10. Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase 

11. Prisoner by Cheryl Reavis 

12. Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran 

13. The Lone Warrior by Lori Austin 

14. The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens

15. Unlacing Lady Thea by Louise Allen 

 

Let me know your favorites!

 

To vote for the best of the best of Historical Road Romance, go to the Goodreads list. Overland: Best Historical Road Romance. 

 

 

To get recommendation for all the subgenres of Road Romances, take a gander at my Pinterest Board: On the Road: Best Road Romance.