63 Books Like Undeniably Yours

Shanna Hatfield is one of the few authors that makes me laugh out loud. Catching the Cowboy is no exception. Emery Brighton is as spoiled as billionaire heiresses comes, and rancher Hudson Cole is just the cowboy to put her in her place. This is a story of consequences and forgiveness that made me cheer for both the hero and heroine. It’s a feel-good love story filled with humor, hope, and a good dose of self-reflection aimed at reputation.   

A ranch in Apple Valley, Washington, is filled with promise and second chances. Especially for a beautiful little boy with Down Syndrome, who is in need of a nanny. I loved this character! He’s spunky, and fun, and captured my heart from the moment I met him on the page. I also enjoyed his spunky secret half-sister. Stories with children helping couples in second-chance romances renew their relationship tug at my heartstrings. The Rancher’s Surprise proved to be a heartwarming romance that made me close the book and want more. This is definitely a “comfort” read. 

These authors had me on the edge of my seat in A Fiery Match. What’s better than a Texas love story set on a ranch with exciting characters and danger? Not much. I admired Janie Olson’s feistiness and drive she obtained from her time in the Army. The way the authors polished Fire Chief Mack Griffitt's rough edges was organic and fun. Though the book is filled with tension, the matchmaking busybodies toss in a helping of humor, which made for a super balance of suspense and comedy I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Lone Star Sanctuary is one of those books that stirs up emotions and leaves you thinking about the characters and storyline for years. The Bluebird ranch in Texas Hill country is a place I’d love to live, and Allie Siders and Rick Bailey are folks I’d love to sit down with on a cool summer evening and swap stories. Infuse the plot with a daughter who won’t speak due to a traumatic event, and you have a tale of folks who want safety first and foremost, then they make a plan to help heal broken hearts. 

Louise S. O'Connor, a fifth-generation descendant of an early settler of Texas has always loved the stories of the "old timers,” the cowboys and hands who worked the ranch where she grew up. O’Connor spent seventeen years collecting oral histories about ranch life on the Coastal Bend and compiled those stories into Cryin' for Daylight. Though published in 1989, the language of O’Connor’s isolated, rural, mostly elderly subjects rings with 19th Century authenticity.

I treasure O’Connor’s labor of love for its emphasis on the tragically neglected black cowboys. One such cowboy supplied the title by swearing, “We loved to work cattle so much, we’d just be sittin’ around cryin’ for daylight to come.”

Remember that song from Disney's Mulan – "I'll Make a Man Out of You"? Move that to the wild west with an English lady named Sydney disguised as a boy and a ranch owner determined to turn his partner's British fop of a "nephew" into a cowhand worth his salt, and you've got a good idea of the crazy antics awaiting you in Fancy Pants. With a strong supporting cast of characters and a giggle-inducing plot, this book is sure to leave you grinning.

Cattle drives although a relatively brief episode in history largely contribute to tales of the cowboy that helped writers and Hollywood to later make him an American icon. Texas Women on the Cattle Trails provides a history of sixteen of the women who contributed to and participated in cattle drives originating from Texas. This edited collection offers individual stories of these women and based on their own accounts which give us an inside glimpse into how this era shaped their lives. Meet real cattlewomen who built ranching empires, who showed courage and spunk, and enjoyed a closeness with nature while viewing buffalo and gazing at the stars along their journeys.

The Time It Never Rained tells the grim battle between ranchers and drought in 1950s western Texas.

I grew up on a small Minnesota farm and remember my father’s struggle to keep the farm going, but at least he never faced a seven-year drought. A stubborn rancher who reminded me of my father, refuses to give in or ask for help.

I especially liked the secondary story of illegal immigrants, attitudes of ranchers toward the Feds tasked with arresting and deporting them, and the government programs that backfired in the end. It’s an excellent read that left me thankful for every drop of rain and blade of green grass. Its lessons of racism and kindness are pertinent to today’s world.

In 1886, the XIT became the largest cattle brand in Texas. They ran 150,000 head of cattle on three million acres—that’s most of the Texas Panhandle. The author, Cordia Duke, was married to one of the division managers. Over the years, she asked the cowboys to write down their memories and experiences, which she eventually published. For me, as a western author, these stories were (and still are) vital for authenticity, and I keep going back for inspiration. The cowboys’ voices are crystal clear, and we get to read firsthand descriptions of cattle roundups, branding, prairie fires, rustlers, fine cowhorses (good horses), spoilt gotch-eared outlaws (bad horses), and even a recipe for “son-of-a-gun stew,” straight from the mouth of a chuckwagon cook.

Who doesn’t love a cowboy, a marriage arranged by two loving fathers, and two souls who have lost something precious?

Cowboy novels are downright delicious and Linda Broday has a knack for making you fall for tough but sensitive cowboys who passionately protect those they love. Lara and Houston meet for the first time on their wedding day. When Houston lifts the wedding veil, he finds a woman with beautiful green eyes, an ugly scar marring her cheek but a defiant glean in her hope-filled eyes.

Houston decides he will protect this woman and will avenge those who hurt her if it’s the last thing he does. I’ve loved cowboy novels for years and will devour Linda Broday’s novels as soon as they are released.