Books Set in Oklahoma
Our journey through the 50 states continues with a stop in Oklahoma!
Book Club Pick – Oklahoma
Unbreaking the Cowboy’s Heart by Angela Scarborough
What is Unbreaking the Cowboy’s Heart about?
A tragedy destroyed their future. Will his heart risk a second chance?
Five years ago, Sadie McKenna loved her fiancé and her home, but the death of her younger brother forced her to pack her bags and say goodbye to the only life she knew. She made a successful, but lonely life for herself. Her dad’s heart attack brings her home to help care for him. Crossing paths with her ex is bound to happen in their small town, and when they do, she can’t deny the attraction.
After being deserted by his fiancée, Conner Dalton’s heart never recovered. He married, only to divorce shortly after, and a string of failed romances enforced his belief that women aren’t to be trusted. Then the one who got away returns. Although he’s afraid to trust again, his heart yearns for a second chance with her.
It doesn’t take Sadie long to realize what she left behind, but can she make Conner see her love never faded? When tragedy strikes once more, Conner is afraid she’ll run again, leaving his heart more broken than before.
Can she unbreak the cowboy’s heart and allow him to be her safety net, or will history repeat itself?
Angela Scarborough on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Angela and her books? Listen to our conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
More Sweet Reads Set in Oklahoma
Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Bailey Ruth Raeburn has always been great at solving mysteries. Why should a little thing like her death change anything? In fact, being dead gives her more of an opportunity to be on top of events. Bailey Ruth is delighted that her unique position as a ghost makes it possible for her to lend a helping hand, sometimes seen and sometimes not. And if anybody needs a little help, it’s Kathleen, the pastor’s wife. There’s a dead man on her porch, and once the body is discovered, the pastor is sure to become a suspect.
Uncharitable people might call it meddling, but Bailey Ruth knows Kathleen needs her help! As a member of Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions, Bailey Ruth goes back to earth to extricate Kathleen from a dire situation. If Bailey Ruth has to bend a few rules to help Kathleen save her family, Wiggins, her fussbudget supervisor, will make sure it all turns out right in the end.
The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
When it comes to family, Ruby Baxter hasn’t had much luck. The important men in her early life abandoned her, and any time a decent boyfriend came along, she ran away. But now Ruby is thirty-one and convinced she is failing her teenage daughter. Mia is the one good thing in her life, and Ruby hopes a move to Kansas will fix what’s broken between them.
But the road to redemption takes a detour. Hank McArthur, the biological father Ruby never knew existed, would like her to claim her inheritance: a dusty oil ranch just outside of Unforgiven, Oklahoma.
As far as first impressions go, the gruff, emotionally distant rancher isn’t what Ruby has hoped for in a father. Yet Hank seems to have a gift for rehabilitating abused horses—and for reaching Mia. And if Ruby wants to entertain the possibility of a relationship with Joe Dawson, the ranch foreman, she must find a way to open her heart to the very first man who left her behind.
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Talk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change. But Novalee is about to discover hidden treasures in this small Southwest town–a group of down-to-earth, deeply caring people willing to help a homeless, jobless girl living secretly in a Wal-Mart. From Bible-thumping blue-haired Sister Thelma Husband to eccentric librarian Forney Hull who loves Novalee more than she loves herself, they are about to take her–and you, too–on a moving, funny, and unforgettable journey to . . . Where the Heart Is.
So, This Is Christmas by Tracy Andreen
Genre: YA Romance
When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn’t changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother’s inn. And she certainly didn’t expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother’s doorstep. It’s up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley’s Christmas. It’s about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.
Blood on the Cimarron by Mary Coley
Genre: Mystery
Claire Northcutt discovers she and her family are caught in the crosshairs of a vengeance-seeking murderer after she finds wild mustang rescue ranch owner J.B. Floren slashed to death on his Cimarron River ranch. The bloody scene reactivates her post-traumatic stress; she killed a stalker who invaded her home years ago.
The rancher’s murder investigation soon focuses on her nephew, Denver, a horse trainer and Afghanistan veteran. Her teenage son, Cade, is certain of Denver’s innocence. Claire struggles to keep it together and keep the attentions of her neighbor Holt Braden at arm’s length after Denver is arrested for drugs; the police seem intent on charging him with the murder as well.
Operating with hypervigilance, Claire digs deeper into the rancher’s mustang rescue operation, uncovering possible motives for his murder and a silent partner. When Denver’s girlfriend is badly beaten soon after Denver is released on bail, Claire’s fears for her family intensify. Claire has attracted another stalker. The clock is ticking.
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
Genre: Romance
Coming August 2024
Ember Lee Cardinal has not always been a liar—well, not for anything that counted at least. But her job search is not going well and when her resumé is rejected for the thirty-seventh time, she takes matters into her own hands. She gets “creative” listing her qualifications and answers the ethnicity question on applications with a lie—a half-lie, technically. No one wanted Native American Ember, but white Ember has just landed her dream accounting job on Park Avenue (Oklahoma City, that is).
Accountant Ember thrives in corporate life—and her love life seems to be looking up too: Danuwoa Colson, the IT guy and fellow Native who caught her eye on her first day, seems to actually be interested in her too. Despite her unease over the no-dating policy at work, they start to see each other secretly, which somehow makes it even hotter? But when they’re caught in a compromising position on a work trip, a scheming colleague blackmails Ember, threatening to expose their relationship. As the manipulation continues to grow, so do Ember’s lies. She must make the hard decision to either stay silent or finally tell the truth, which could cost her everything.
Join us in the book club!
