70 books like The Mountain Man’s Bride

A confession...as a reader, sometimes I’ll pick up a book just because I love the concept. I’ll read it even if it’s not that good because I have to find out how it plays out. But in the Sincerely Yours series, we have a great concept that Lana Dash then absolutely nails with perfect execution. All the books are about curvy heroines who write secret letters to their crushes, thinking the letters will never be sent...but of course, they are and romance ensues. I think what I love most is that the hero and heroine feel real, with real emotions and inner struggles and it actually feels as if it could happen. It’s sweet and hot, good-hearted, and well worth checking out.

Muffin Top has been out for quite a while now but I still vividly remember reading it for the first time, the week of release. It was October 2016, I’d missed my train out of London and I had a full hour to wait. I grabbed a coffee and a copy of Muffin Top, which was at the top of the charts, and, sitting on a very cold platform, I got so engrossed that I very nearly missed my next train. I love the reversal here that the hero is the one running a bakery and that, although he’s former military, he’s just a big sweetie. I love the fact there’s a twist of suspense (without it detracting from the comedy and the romance) and it’s just delightfully moreish.

The Curvy Girl Can series are short reads. Like my series, they can be read in any order and all have a guaranteed happily-ever-after. They’re a great choice to read on a lunch break, but they’re also as binge-able as a box of chocolates (nom nom nom). This first book is a great place to start but honestly, you can dive in anywhere. Layla is one of my favorites because I love the idea of the heroine’s reading cafe: who wouldn’t want a cozy place with beanbags, great coffee, and freshly-baked cookies to curl up with a book? Kane makes for a great flirty, rough hero and his chemistry with Layla will have you hooked.

Okay, I admit it, I may have picked this one up because I was curious, as a romance author, to read a romance about a romance author. Fern Fraser totally delivers and although we have some tried-and-tested tropes here (instalove, young heroine who wants to get her v-card punched, secret billionaire who hides his wealth, then has to come clean), Fern assembles all the ingredients into such a delicious, feel-good pie that it feels fresh. There’s a whole series if you find you like them, but each one stands on its own as a fun, steamy read.

Keith gripped me with his Mountain Man series. If ever there was a reluctant hero who accidentally self-sabotages often, one who is so real and relatable that you can’t help but love him, then Keith’s Gus character is for you. Tackling the zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a regular, everyday man, this series grabs hold and doesn’t let go.

The Folks is pure drive-in backwoods horror goodness, chock full of all the slum and sludge and inbred, mutated teeth-gnashing mountain men that made horror fans fall in love with films like The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn. It’s disturbing, but it also has heart, thanks to a likable protagonist who may have more in common with the deadly family chasing him than he wants to admit.

The Big Sky is a masterpiece of historical fiction and an often-cited classic novel of the American West. It earns this distinction because of its original characterization, its use of historical and geographical accuracy, its thematic depth, and its symbolism. It is set in the mountain man or fur trade era, and it shows the consequences of White men going into the wilderness. This book introduces the idea, in cultural and environmental terms, that in the occupation of the American West, people ruin the thing they love. This book not only makes it to the top of the lists by western writers, but it also is well appreciated by scholars and students in Western American Literature. 

White Crow is a story that takes place in the early 1800s in California when it was still a territory, a part of Mexico, and before it became a state. The book details the story of a white boy, raised by Indians because his parents were killed. He becomes an Indian warrior whom they call White Crow and accept into their tribe. The book is like a western story, but much more complex. It shares the struggles of the lead character, Isaiah Crow, and how he becomes a part of the tribe. He marries an Indian woman and they have a child. Their son, Jedadiah grows up and carries on many of the traditions and customs he learns from the tribe but in a more modern California. I enjoyed this story because it's such a gripping story and Wood does an outstanding job of character development in this book.… show more.

The size of Barkskins made me pause, but I had read other books by Annie Proulx that I liked, and the description appealed to me.

Admittedly, I learn a lot of my history through historical fiction, and I learned a lot from this story of two families through three hundred years. Over the course of the novel, the arc of many generations—and therefore characters—arises and subsides, but the consistent theme throughout is the European utilitarian perspective on the forest and how this perspective undermined and marginalized the Indigenous way of life.

The scope of the book and its style create a somewhat dispassionate narrative, which may be off-putting to some, but still many images and pieces of the history remain with me years after reading it.

I firmly believe that Halloween books are for everyone, even kids who don’t want their pants scared off or kids who aren’t big readers. In comes Lumberjackula! An adorable graphic novel with a great Halloween esthetic.

Jack is a half vampire, half lumberjack kid who has to make a big decision: should he go to Lumberjack school like Mom wants, or Vampire school like Dad wants? Jack doesn’t want to disappoint either parent, but he has a secret…he wants to dance!

Lumberjackula has all the fun of Halloween without the fear, and the illustrations are adorable. It’s a great book to make sure all of your middle graders get to join in the Halloween fun. (And as a former goth myself, Dad’s band is awesome!)