The Golden Sword by Janet Morris

 

 

Estri battles to regain her identity after being denied her memories by her captor.

Will love find a way?

The Golden Sword

The Silistra Quartet Book 2

by Janet Morris

Genre: Dystopian Epic SciFi Fantasy Romance

Dystopia. Biology shapes reality. The further adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in the galaxies of tomorrow.

She had the power to create planets. The sixty carved bones of the Yris-tera foretold her ancient fate. Her heritage of power took her beyond time and space and stole from her the one man she loved.

Enslaved on the planet Silistra tomorrow's most beautiful courtesan unleashes the powers of the gods.

 

What readers are saying:

 

“Pure excellence…. A heroic quest of the highest calibre.” - Goodreads

 

“This is a book which makes one’s blood sing and one’s mind ponder. I loved the first in the series and enjoyed this as much, perhaps more. The ending leaves the reader desperate to know what happens to Estri next – courtesan, slave, warrior, lover, rebel. What is next for our heroine?” – Goodreads

 

“Call it what you like: science fiction, space opera, sword and planet or erotic fantasy . . . The Golden Sword is all these things, and so much more. A highly intelligent and sensual novel filled with ideas and revelations, this is a gripping story that explores human sexuality and the role it plays in politics. Although the memorable characters are bisexual, toss away all your preconceived notions, for there is a humanity, a strength of will and determination, a realism and depth of emotion to these characters that will have you thinking twice about all you know and all you think you know. This is a book for mature and discerning readers who like some meat on the bones of the books they read. Janet Morris led the way for all the science fiction authors, both male and female, who came after. “ – Joe Bonadonna, Goodreads

 

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I wondered what it meant, to be a “ten,” as the crellkeep chose a spot apparently like any other upon one chain and fastened me to it by means of heavy metal anklets that were spaced along its length.

“I put you next to Aje. You will sleep through the nights,” he informed me, as if I should be grateful for some thoughtful service. Seeing me safely bound, the two jiasks turned and left the chamber.

“What is your name?” the crellkeep asked.

I almost told him, but caught myself. It took me a moment to remember the crell name Chayin had given me.

“Miheja,” I said finally.

“Meh-he-ya,” the crellkeep corrected me gently. “The Eastmost Star’s Daughter. Suits you. So you have the dharener entranced, do you? A ten, indeed. Crell life is no burden to one so highly numbered.” He stood up, rubbing his back, “I go to get Aje. You will like him. They all do,” he said and patted my naked shoulder. Moments later I was alone in the deserted ever-dusk of the crellpits. A single torch burned at the chamber’s entry, throwing life into the feature- less rock walls.

I crawled the length of my tether, and by lying stretched out could just get my fingers upon the central ring. I tested its strength, as had countless crells before me. There was no weakness in it. I had expected none. I then examined each link of my chains with my fingers, to see if perhaps somewhere there was one unsoldered among them. There was no error among the 387 links that bound me firmly to the central ring. Its twin was sunk where the cold stone floor met the wall behind me. Perhaps there was a weakness in that area, but I had not enough tether to explore it. I lay down upon my left side and curled my knees against my chest. I could not think. I merely lay there.

High Couch of Silistra

The Silistra Quartet Book 1

Biology shapes reality...

One woman's mythic search for self-realization in a distant tomorrow...

Her sensuality was at the core of her world, her quest beyond the civilized stars.

Aristocrat. Outcast. Picara. Slave. Ruler.

"Engrossing characters in a marvelous adventure." - Charles N. Brown, Locus Magazine

"The amazing and erotic adventures of the most beautiful courtesan in tomorrow's universe" - Frederik Pohl

"The best single example of prostitution used in fantasy is Janet Morris' Silistra series... Estri's character is most like that of Ishtar who describes herself as "'a prostitute compassionate am I'" because she "symbolizes the creative submission to the demands of instinct, to the chaos of nature ...the free woman, as opposed to the domesticated woman". Linking Estri with these lunar and water symbols is not difficult because of the moon's eternal virginity (the strength of integrity) links with her changeability (the prostitute's switching of lovers). [...]

Morris strengthens the moon imagery by having Estri as a well-keepress because wells, fountains, and the moon as the orb which controls water have long been associated with fertility, [...] In a sense, she is like the moon because she is apparently eternal, never waxing or waning except in her pursuit of the quest; she is the prototypical wanderer like the moon and Ishtar. She is the eternal night symbol of the moon in opposition to the Day-Keepers [...]

 At her majority (her three hundredth birthday), she is given a silver-cubed hologram letter from her mother, containing a videotape of her conception by the savage bronzed barbarian god from another world. [...] If Estri's mother then acts as a bawd, willing her lineage as Well-Keepress to her daughter, then Estri's great-grandmother Astria as foundress of the Well becomes a further mother-bawd figure when she offers her prophetic advice in her letter: "Guard Astria for you may lose it, and more. Beware of one who is not as he seems. Stray not in the port city of Baniev ...look well about you, for your father's daughter's brother seeks you". Having no brother that she knows of does not stay Estri from undertaking the heroic quest of finding her father."

 - Anne K. Kaler, The Picara: From Hera to Fantasy Heroine

 

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I am Estri Hadrath diet Estrazi, former Well-Keepress of Astria on the planet Silistra. I have begun three times to tell this story, and three times I have been interrupted. This, then, the fourth attempt, will surely prove successful.

Perhaps you have heard of Silistra, the planet that was catalyst to the sexual revolution in the year twenty-two thousand, seven hundred and four Bipedal Federate Standard Time, or of the Silistran serums that lengthen life and restore vitality in virtually any bipedal life form, or perhaps you have at some time contracted the services of a Silistran telepath, or a precognitive, or a deep reader. It is possible that you have in your own home the scintillating, indestructible web-cloth woven by our domestic arachnids, or have seen holograms of our golachits, those intelligent builder-beetles who exude from their mouths a translucent, superhard substance called gol and create from this gol, under the guidance of the chit-guards, the formidable and resplendent structures in which we live and work.

And perhaps you have seen no web-cloth, no gol, never been ill, and are not interested in sex. If so, you may never have heard of Silistra.

I carry Silistra in my mind’s eye, here under this alien sun. In my mind alone can I look out the east window of my beloved exercise hall in Well Astria and see the sun’s rising burst upon the jewel-like towers and keeps of the Inner Well and a thousand rainbows arc and dance in the greening sky.

Best selling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. She contributed short fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, in which she created the Sacred Band of Stepsons, a mythical unit of ancient fighters modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. She created, orchestrated, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris. She wrote the bestselling Silistra Quartet in the 1970s, including High Couch of Silistra, The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne. This quartet had more than four million copies in Bantam print alone, and was translated into German, French, Italian, Russian and other languages. In the 1980s, Baen Books released a second edition of this landmark series. The third edition is the Author's Cut edition, newly revised by the author for Perseid Press. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.

Janet said: 'People often ask what book to read first. I recommend "I, the Sun" if you like ancient history; "The Sacred Band," a novel, if you like heroic fantasy; "Lawyers in Hell" if you like historical fantasy set in hell; "Outpassage" if you like hard science fiction; "High Couch of Silistra" if you like far-future dystopian or philosophical novels. I am most enthusiastic about the definitive Perseid Press Author's Cut editions, which I revised and expanded.'

  

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Critters and Crimes by Elizabeth Pantley

 

 

A quaint riverside town holds many secrets ... 

and the only ones who’ve seen it all are the critters.

Critters and Crimes

Magical Cozy Mystery Book Club #11

by Elizabeth Pantley

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery 

A quaint riverside town holds many secrets ... and the only ones who’ve seen it all are the critters.

This book club dives (literally!) into the pages of a cozy mystery. The quirky group must solve the mystery to get out of the book. It’s so much fun - you’ll wish you had a book club like this!

In this journey, they choose a book set in a lovely riverside town. They land in a charming neighborhood and find they are part of a local book club. They are having a great time – and then a dead body shows up. (Of course it does!)

The clues to what happened come to them in a unique way – via the critters in the house.

As usual, the club finds plenty of time to enjoy the unique setting of their journey, as they solve the mystery – one critter at a time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


This book is part of a magical cozy mystery series of 11 books and growing.

Each book can be read as a standalone, but are much more fun in order.

Available in eBook, paperback, Kindle Unlimited, and audiobook.

 

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Chapter 1

  

“Hey!” Frank shouted the word as he landed with a thump on the deck right in front of me.

“Ack!” I jumped and grabbed the pillow beside me for protection. I nearly fell off the porch swing. “Don’t do that!”

Frank snickered. His tail flicked back and forth and his ears twitched.

“You startled me!”

“Really? It was so hard to tell.” He snorted with laughter.

I peeked from behind the pillow and shook a finger at him. “Bad cat!”

That just made him laugh harder. He rolled over on his back and waved his paws in the air.

He looked so silly that I relaxed and began to laugh, too.

“Good morning to you,” I said, as I smoothed out the pillow that had been my so-called protection.

Frank finally caught his breath and sat up. “What’cha doing out here all alone, Paige-o-roonie?”

“I was having a quiet, reflective morning. Did you catch the definitive word there? I ‘was’ having a quiet morning.”

“Are you implying that I interrupted you?”

“Not implying. Stating a fact.”

“For good reason.” He chuckled. “I see you have some coffee there.” He pointed his nose at my cup. “Want to go get this kitty a bowlful?” He crossed his front feet, tipped his head to the side and widened his eyes. Then to up his cuteness quotient, he batted his lashes. “Please?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I laughed, getting up from the swing. “I’ll be right back.”

I went into the kitchen to exchange my coffee for a cup of tea. Frank had jump started my heart, so I didn’t need any more caffeine. I fixed Frank a bowl of his favorite morning beverage: half-coffee, half-creamer. Any normal cat would be sick from the brew, but our magical library cat was not anything resembling normal.

The house was quiet as I grabbed our drinks and returned to the porch. I set Frank’s bowl on the table and sat on the swing. I took a big sip from my cup.

Frank took a leap over to the table and inhaled the aroma wafting from his bowl. He slurped greedily then gave a moan of delight. He tipped his head at me. “What were these reflective thoughts that I interrupted?”

I tapped a finger to my lips in thought, and glanced at my book, which lay quietly on the table beside me. For once, I didn’t have my nose in a cozy mystery. Instead, I had been rocking back and forth on the porch swing, enjoying the sounds of the birds and the quiet whisper of the wind through the trees as I had let my mind wander, until Frank had disrupted me.

“I’d been cycling through many topics, one after the other.”

“Maybe you were clearing your mind’s way for the upcoming new book adventure?”

“That’s probably true. Once we get inside a book, I won’t have time to ponder anything but the mystery we need to solve.”

 

Don’t miss the rest of the series!

Find them on Amazon

 

Join Elizabeth’s mailing list and get a free book from her Magical Cozy Mystery Book Club series! https://elizabethpantleyauthor.com/mailing-list

Elizabeth Pantley is a bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction books. She writes two well-loved cozy mystery series: The Magical Mystery Book Club, and the Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic series. She has also written the international bestselling No-Cry Solution parenting book series that is available in over twenty languages.

Elizabeth lives in the majestic Pacific Northwest and spends winters in the sunny desert of Arizona. While neither location is home to any paranormal beings (that she knows of) the vastly different yet equally lovely locations are the inspiration for the settings in many of her books.

 

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Ghost Mountain Ranch by Jan Scarbrough

Ghost Mountain Ranch Series

by Jan Scarbrough

Buy Link

Book Blurbs:

The Ghost Mountain Ranch series is a good blend of mystery and romance. 

The secrets of the past still haunt the living… 

DARBY: 

Thirty years ago, Darby Heston fled her family’s Montana dude ranch. Now she must return to help her father. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there? Hank Slade has never stopped loving Darby, but is he willing to risk his heart again? Secrets tore them apart once. Given a second chance at love, will more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future? 

SLADE: 

Slade Heston is spending the summer as a hired hand at his grandfather’s dude ranch, trying to figure out life, not fall in love. Laurie Chastain is supposed to write promotions for the ranch, but she has a secret goal. What did a 1970s radical resistance group have to do with her grandfather? Laurie’s only clue leads her to Ghost Mountain Ranch. Will their growing attraction be enough to protect Slade and Laurie from the ghosts of the past? 

KELSEY: 

Kelsey Heston’s using the skills learned at her family’s Kentucky horse farm to improve tourism at her grandfather’s dude ranch. But what is her old college sweetheart doing here? Max Lee has come to Ghost Mountain Ranch searching for a missing woman. Instead, he finds Kelsey. But old secrets are stirring, secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love? 

 

"Kudos to Jan Scarbrough for keeping the characters interesting and the plot twists intriguing from the first book to the last." Reader Review 

 https://books2read.com/GhostMountainRanch (ebook) 

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3vHieeS 

Excerpt 

 Hank Slade placed the receiver back on the cradle, hauled a lung full of air, and faced Leo’s I-can-take-it expression. “She won’t come.” 

“I didn’t think she’d come.” Leo’s voice was flat. His old, rheumy eyes followed Hank across the office floor. 

Hank sank into his desk chair. His shoulders slumped. “She said she was busy.” 

“But you sure did shame her good.” 

Hank tilted back in his chair. “Tried to.” 

“Well.” Leo pushed himself out of the armchair across from Hank’s desk. “I thank you for doing what you could do.” 

“For as much good as it did.” Hank rummaged through the stack of papers on his desktop shifting an invoice into another pile on the right. When he came on at the Ghost Mountain Ranch back in January, he hadn’t realized the extent of Leo’s estrangement from his only child Darby. “Thirty years is a long time to hold a grudge.” 

Leo hefted on a Carhartt coat over his down vest and picked up his cowboy hat from a side table. “Girl ran away, and she’s just not coming home.” 

Hank’s gut snarled into a knot like the one he’d felt that Friday night when he and Darby were eighteen. He’d been worried then about the first kiss he wanted. Now he worried about the man he’d known most of his life. Leo was no longer the energetic cowboy he remembered. Bad heart, plus a fall from a horse had taken its toll on the eighty-five-year-old. “I hope I didn’t have anything to do with it.” 

“Nope.” The old man grasped the office doorknob with a gnarled hand. “Her mother dying like she did caused Darby to leave.” 

“But why would she leave you?” 

“She had her reasons.” 

His answer made no sense, but that was all the taciturn man would give. Leo set his cowboy hat on his head, opened the office door, and stepped out onto the porch. 

Montana cold blew into the cabin, and Hank felt the chill more keenly than normal. It seeped inside him, turning the concern he felt into an icy shard in his stomach. Hank tapped a finger on the desk. He’d left the ranch at eighteen, after he and Darby had broken up, and he’d never been back. But if his dad had been alive and he knew he might be dying, he’d have come home straight away. 

“Damn, Darby, this isn’t right.” 

He stood, snatched up the phone, and dialed the office number back in Kentucky where a woman who said she was Darby’s daughter might answer again. 

 

Bio: 

The author of two popular Bluegrass romance series, Jan Scarbrough writes heartwarming contemporary stories about home and family, single moms, and children. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books and the excitement of a Bluegrass horse race or a competitive horse show. 

The Ghost Mountain Ranch series is a contemporary western series with a good blend of mystery and happily-ever-after romance. The Dawsons of Montana is another four-book contemporary western series. The character of Hank brings together two series: The Dawsons of Montana and Ghost Mountain Ranch. 

Jan leaves her contemporary voice behind with two paranormal gothic romances, Timeless and Tangled Memories, a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart finalist. Her historical romance, My Lord Raven, is a medieval story of honor and betrayal. 

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan self-publishes her books. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with two rescued dogs and two rescued cats. 

https://janscarbrough.com/ website 

Newsletter signup (free ebook) https://janscarbrough.com/contact/ 

 

Primal Destiny by Dania Voss

 

Fate that refuses to be ignored

Primal Destiny

by Dania Voss

Genre: Steamy Paranormal Romance

The secret is out. Shifters exist and live among humans.

Humans fall into two camps: Those who consider shifters monsters but manage to co-exist with them, and those who want to get close to them, relishing their power.

Tessa Cooper, a single mother devoted to her three-year-old daughter, is firmly in the first camp, doing her best to keep her biases to herself. But one look at Dario Kingston Renzetti, a wealthy lion shifter, and she senses her life will never be the same.

The moment Dario sees Tessa in his bar, he knows he’s found his fated mate – age difference be damned. Learning she wants nothing to do with shifters – especially romantically – is another matter altogether. But nobody said he wasn't determined.

Can Dario’s persistence convince Tessa he’s not hiding dark secrets that would reinforce her opinion of shifters, or will she deny them their primal destiny?

Pick up this steamy, age gap, rejected mate paranormal romance today and find out.

 

 

**NEW RELEASE! On Sale for Only $1.99!**

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Tessa was impressed by Dario’s and Fabrizio’s generosity. She now understood why Emelia had sung Dario’s praises since she’d started at the magazine two years ago.

Over delicious and filling appetizers, they helped Emelia calm down and organize what needed to be done in the next couple of hours before she and Fabrizio flew to Boston.

“I hate leaving you in the lurch for so many weeks though, Dario,” Emelia lamented. Then she glanced at Tessa with excitement in her eyes. “I know! Tessa should fill in for me while I’m gone. The idiots she worked for laid her off two days ago. That job was beneath her anyway. It would be perfect.”

Tessa’s head was spinning. In a matter of minutes, she had all of Emelia’s magazine system login credentials, had hugged her goodbye, and was now alone with Dario.

Who had removed his costume cape and was now gloriously shirtless.

She bolted out of her chair, needing to put some distance between them, and leaned against his desk. “Surely you can find someone else to fill in for Emelia. Someone already at the magazine? I appreciate her confidence in me, but I can’t work for you.”

Dario raised a brow from his seat at the conference table. Hunger flared in his hypnotic blue eyes. “Because of your shifter bias, as Emelia put it?”

A flush crept across Tessa’s cheeks as he called her out on her shifter issues. “I… I’ll admit shifters make me uncomfortable. I mean no offense to you and yours personally.”

Dario regarded her compassionately before he stood and walked toward her. He stopped in front of her, leaving some much-needed space between them. Still, she felt his body heat and her pulse ratcheted up.

“I appreciate that. Think of the practicalities, though. You’d be helping your friend when she needs you and finally getting work experience worthy of your Columbia MBA.”

Dario was right of course, but he did strange things to her emotions. Tessa felt out of control around him and that scared the shit out of her. “I could get that work experience anywhere. I don’t need to get it from your magazine. Why are you so insistent?” He stealthily got closer, making her tremble against her will, his unique scent driving her insane with desire.

He twirled a lock of her hair around his fingers, and Tessa’s body lit up with awareness. How did he do that?

“Because you, per sempre mio, are my mate.”

Tessa couldn’t bring herself to resist when Dario captured her lips in a hungry kiss. Their tongues tangled greedily, and her head swam. Their connection was electric. He tasted like heaven and sin, and she was hopelessly hooked.

They were both panting when they broke apart. “No. I can’t be your mate.” She whispered, but in her heart, she believed Dario was probably right.

“I know it doesn’t fit with your shifter bias narrative, but I and my lion knew the moment we saw you; the moment we smelled your delectable scent that you were our destiny. Our primal destiny.” Dario didn’t stop her when she moved away from him and rubbed her arms, nearly in a panic.

“You might be mistaken.”

“I’m absolutely certain and I think you are too. You feel the mating bond just as I do, don’t you?

If that’s what she felt toward him was called, she did. “No, I don’t. I’ll help Emelia out because she needs me, but we can’t ever kiss again. I mean it.”

The deep timbre of Dario’s laugh sent chills down Tessa’s spine.

“Oh, my sweet mate, but we will. Many more times. Because you’ll want to. You can count on it,” Dario declared as a wicked grin spread across his face.

Int’l bestseller and award-winning author Dania Voss writes compelling, sexy romance with personality, heat, and heart. Born in Rome, Italy and raised in Chicagoland, she creates stories with authentic, engaging characters. She loves anything pink and is a huge fan of 80s hair bands.

A favorite with romance readers, her debut novel “On the Ropes,” the first in her Windy City Nights series, became an international bestseller. Dania’s books have won multiple awards, and her work has been highlighted on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX. She has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Southern Writers Magazine, and Chicago Entrepreneurs Magazine (selected as the #8 Top Chicago Author in 2021).

When she’s not writing, you can find Dania at a sporting event, a rock concert, or the movies (preferably a comedy).

 

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What to Read Next If You Loved [Popular Series] by Caroline Clemmons

Have you ever reached the final page of a beloved series, closed the book with a sigh, and thought, “Now what?” If you’re anything like me, the book hangover after a good Western romance series is very real. Today, I want to play matchmaker between your last favorite binge read and your next happy reading streak. 

Instead of naming only one “popular series,” I’m going to give you a few common types of reader favorites—then suggest what to read next if that sounds like you. That way, you can plug in whichever series you’ve just finished and find your next stop on the Western romance trail. 

If you loved big family sagas 

If your last read followed a sprawling Western family—siblings, cousins, and in‑laws all getting their own stories—you probably loved the sense of home those books created. You want another series where you can move from one couple to the next and still feel rooted in the same world. 

What to read next: 

Try another family‑centered Western series, where each book follows a different sibling or relative, but the ranch, town, or valley stays familiar from book to book. 

Look for reading‑order pages or series lists from your favorite authors so you can follow the family in the right order. Many Western romance authors keep these handy on their websites or Goodreads. 

Why you’ll like it: You’ll get that same “come back to the ranch” feeling, new love stories, and the joy of seeing past couples pop up as side characters. 

If you loved mail‑order brides and small frontier towns 

Maybe your recent favorite series involved mail‑order brides arriving by train, meeting husbands they’ve only seen in letters, and building a life in a dusty frontier town full of secrets and surprises. You loved watching strangers become a community. 

What to read next: 

Look for mail‑order bride or marriage‑of‑convenience series set in one town or region, where each bride brings a different personality and backstory. 

Seek out multi‑author Western bride projects; many invite different writers to create stories in one shared town or theme, giving you lots of variety within a familiar framework. 

Why you’ll like it: You’ll find more strong, resourceful women, good men doing their best in a hard land, and that cozy feeling of recognizing the sheriff, the shopkeeper, and the town busybody from book to book. 

If you loved rugged lawmen and high stakes 

Perhaps your last binge was all about sheriffs, Texas Rangers, Pinkerton agents, and ranchers caught up in danger. You turned the pages for the suspense as much as the romance. 

What to read next: 

Try Western romance series that blend romance with mystery—look for blurbs that mention outlaws, stagecoach robberies, land disputes, or long‑buried family secrets. 

Explore multi‑author Western projects centered on lawmen or protectors; these often feature connected characters across several books and authors. 

Why you’ll like it: You’ll get that same mix of danger, loyalty, and justice, plus the satisfaction of seeing love bloom in the middle of trouble. 

If you loved time‑travel twists 

Some readers fall hard for Western time‑travel romances—stories where a modern woman ends up in 19th‑century Texas or Montana and has to puzzle her way through corsets, cattle, and a very different kind of cowboy. 

What to read next: 

Look for Western time‑travel trilogies or connected books: modern‑day heroines stepping back in time, or historical characters visiting our world. 

Check your favorite Western author’s backlist; quite a few have one small time‑travel series tucked among their historicals. 

Why you’ll like it: You’ll still get wide‑open skies and frontier communities, but with fun fish‑out‑of‑water moments and the question of whether love can cross centuries. 

If you loved multi‑author Western worlds 

Sometimes what hooks you is not just one author, but a whole shared Western town or theme—Christmas brides, widows, proxy brides, matchmakers, or frontier holidays—written by a circle of authors. You enjoy hopping from one writer’s style to another while staying in a connected world. 

What to read next: 

Explore the other multi‑author series your favorite Western author has joined. Many writers participate in several shared universes, so if you liked one, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy the others.  

On author sites and Goodreads, look for sections labeled “multi‑author series,” “worlds,” or “shared towns” to find the full list.g 

Why you’ll like it: You can mix and match reading order, discover new favorite authors, and still enjoy overlapping locations, families, and events. 

How to find your next read, whatever you loved 

Even if your last favorite series wasn’t Western—or wasn’t mine—you can use a simple trick to find your next book: follow the feeling. Ask yourself: 

Did I love the family dynamics most? 

Was it the small town where everyone knows each other? 

Did the danger and mystery keep me turning pages? 

Was it the mail‑order, second‑chance, or forced‑proximity setup? 

Once you know which part of the story hooked you, look for another series that promises the same emotional flavor, even if the exact tropes or setting change. Goodreads, author websites, and reader groups are wonderful for this kind of “If you liked X, try Y” exploring. 

A gentle nudge to explore my Western world 

If you’ve already read and enjoyed some of my series, you might like to know there’s a whole connected Western world waiting for you—Texas families, mail‑order brides, lawmen, Montana ranchers, time‑travel twists, and more. My reading‑order page gathers many of them in one place so you can pick where to ride next. 

Of course, the real joy of reading is finding stories that feel like they were written just for you. Whether you continue exploring my books or branch out to new authors and series, I hope this gives you a few ideas for what to read next when you reach that last, bittersweet page. 

 

The Rescuer by G.K. Brady

 

 

She’s moving on. 

He’s running out of time. 

One reckless night changes everything.

The Rescuer

Fall River Series Book 3

by G.K. Brady

Genre: Small-Town Second Chance Romantic Suspense

She’s moving on. He’s running out of time. One reckless night changes everything.

Reece Hunnicutt has spent his life coming to the rescue—whether it’s pulling climbers off treacherous mountain faces or volunteering to string the town’s Christmas lights. But after walking away from the elite search and rescue squad that gave him purpose, Reece is a man untethered, without a landing pad and dodging questions about his future. The one constant in his life? His quiet dedication to his small mountain town and his brothers who have no idea he’s about to embark on a new future that will take him to the other side of the continent.

Town veterinarian Neve Embry has been nursing a one-sided love for Reece since childhood. But she’s done waiting for him to see her as more than a kid sister who needs his protection. Between juggling a struggling clinic and starting up an exciting new relationship with a charming billionaire resort owner, Neve is determined to move on. Sparks might not fly with her new beau, but at least her heart isn’t on the line.

Until one impulsive night in Vegas changes everything.

Waking up married to Reece is the last thing Neve expects—or wants. But when her clinic is vandalized and her life upended, Reece insists on sticking around until the culprit is caught. Forced to live under the same roof, their shaky alliance begins to crack under the weight of their undeniable chemistry.

As danger closes in and secrets come to light, Reece and Neve must confront the truth about their desires—and decide whether this love can be rescued.

 

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The urge to giggle had everything to do with nerves and nothing to do with how he looked. No, nothing about his physique was giggle-worthy. If Neve could have crafted the perfect male specimen, he would have looked exactly like Reece. A sculpted torso that started at wide shoulders and tapered to a trim waist, like a V, above a perfectly square butt. Smooth, tan skin.

His back was to her, so she couldn’t assess the man package, but judging by the way it had felt against her in bed, he wasn’t lacking in that department either.

He came to a stop and glanced over his shoulder. “You’re staring.”

She swallowed a yelp.

A slow grin spread over his face—at least the side she could see in profile. “You know what they say. You see mine, I see yours.”

“That’s so childish!” she spluttered. “Besides, you’ve already seen it, and so have I.”

“We were five years old, Neve. I think things have changed since then.”

Details.

She brushed at something tickling her shoulder and looked up. “They have robes in here. His and hers, judging by the sizes.”

“Good because I can’t find a single stitch. Throw one out, would you?”

Hoisting herself to her feet, she slid the smaller robe from its hanger and quickly pulled it on before handing him the other one through the closet door.

“Thanks.” Fabric rustled. “As much fun as it is talking to you through a closet door, I think it’d be much easier if you came out.”

“Are you decent?”

“Always.”

She opened the door and stepped out—and tried not to laugh, especially given the seriousness of their dilemma. The robe hit him at the knees, and the sleeves were halfway up his forearms.

“We need to figure this out,” they both said at the same time.

“Maybe there are some clues in here.” Reece loped toward their adjoining doors, which stood wide open, but before she could follow, he let out a strangled sort of noise from his bedroom.

“What is it?” She hurried through the doorway.

“Found our clothes.”

His bed looked as though a herd of elephants had tap-danced on it. Scattered around said bed were various bits of his and her wedding outfits. Her panties lay in a crumpled heap beside his boxers, and her matching strapless bra hung over a chair that sat cockeyed to the desk. On the nightstand stood two empty champagne bottles, along with a half-dozen martini glasses, also empty.

She gasped and tried not to hurl.

He held up his hands. “Don’t panic.” Traipsing over to the desk, he switched on the lamp and picked up a piece of paper. A groan punched from his lungs.

“What? What is it?”

He locked gazes with her. “You can panic now.”

A mere beat passed, and she was by his side, gawking at what he held in his hands. Her already-unsettled stomach plummeted to her toes. “That’s … that’s …”

“A marriage license. Yeah.”

“It’s got to be a joke. Are those our real names?”

“Looks like.”

He plucked up what looked like a receipt and whipped his head toward her. His eyes dipped to her hand. “Holy Mother of …”

She followed his gaze, and her mouth swung open.

He pointed at her hand. “That is not fake.”

On her left ring finger was a big-ass diamond and a matching band.

Now she darted her eyes to his left hand. “Uh, you seem to be wearing what looks like the man version of mine. These must be fake! Right?”

“Don’t think so.” He held up the receipt.

She covered her mouth to hold back a choked cry. “Is that a six? With four zeros after it?”

“No, that’s an eight.” He rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “Damn! I bought these!”

She inspected the ring, which was almost too big for her small finger. “It is beautiful.”

“I have great taste. Did you have a say in it, or did I just … buy it?”

She blinked. “You’re asking me?”

“You were there, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, I was there, but I was as drunk as you, and everything’s a black hole.”

Dear God, what had they done?

 

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Since childhood, all sorts of stories and characters have lived in G.K. Brady’s imagination, elbowing one another for attention, so she’s finally giving them their voice on the written page.

 

An award-winning writer of contemporary romance, she loves telling tales of the less-than-perfect hero or heroine who transforms with each turn of a page. She also writes historical fiction under the pen name Griffin Brady.

 

G.K. is a wife and the proud mom of three grown sons. When she’s not writing, she might be reading, traveling, drinking wine, listening to music, or gardening—sometimes all at once! She currently resides in Colorado with her very patient husband.

  

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