Books Set in Kentucky
Our journey through the 50 states continues with a stop in Kentucky!
Book Club Pick – Kentucky
An Arrangement with the Heiress by Lisa Prysock
What is An Arrangement with the Heiress about?
She’s a wealthy debutante with the finest ancestry in Kentucky horseracing circles…
He’s a member of New York’s Gilded Age elite, yet on the brink of financial ruin…
Neither of them want an arranged marriage…or do they?
Veronica Lyndon has a plan for her life, and it doesn’t include being married off to a perfect stranger. After all, she is descended from generations of Kentucky horseracing royalty. She has no need for a marriage arranged solely to secure her place among the elite of Manhattan’s Gilded Age society. But that’s exactly what her parents expect of her. Determined to defy the arrangement, Veronica formulates a plan to drive her intended away. But when Edward arrives in anticipation of the match, she doesn’t expect to find him so attractive, nor can she deny the feelings he stirs in her heart, complicating her plans. Has true love galloped into her life by conventional means, or are her estimations mistaken?
Edward Beckett realizes the futility of avoiding the arranged marriage to Miss Lyndon. His family is already on the brink of financial ruin and Veronica’s dowry may be their best opportunity to recover. But he didn’t expect to fall for the Kentucky debutante so easily. He finds himself attracted to her natural beauty and vivacious spirit, free from the conventions of other ladies in his customary circles. In fact, he’s downright smitten after meeting Veronica. Unfortunately, Edward’s sisters don’t feel the same, and if their attempts to sabotage the relationship are successful, his whirlwind courtship to Veronica may be over before it’s really begun.
Lisa Prysock on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Lisa and her books? Listen to this conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
More Sweet Reads Set in Kentucky
Enjoy this additional selection of books set in Kentucky, featuring cozy mystery, historical and women’s fiction, and sweet romance. Perfect for easy reading, these delightful tales promise happy, hopeful endings.
Which one will you choose for a literary escape to Kentucky?
Always Alex by Becki Lee
Genre: Sweet Romance
What if Cinderella’s biggest challenge wasn’t finding her prince—but revealing who she truly is?
Nikki McAllister has always been content to be the girl behind the scenes—best friend to the glamorous Krisi St. Claire, and never the one to capture attention. But when a Christmas masquerade ball throws her into a Cinderella moment, she steps into her best friend’s gown and, for one night, becomes someone else. At the ball, Nikki unexpectedly captures the attention, and heart, of Alexander St. Claire—Nashville’s most eligible bachelor and the man she’s secretly loved for years.
For Alex, the mystery woman in the stunning blue dress is like a dream—one that stirs something inside him he can’t ignore. But when the clock strikes midnight and the mystery woman disappears, will Alex be able to find his Cinderella?
And will Nikki’s fairy tale end before it even begins?
With Christmas magic in the air and secrets at every turn, Nikki must decide if she’s ready to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight of her own life. In this heartfelt retelling of Cinderella, love isn’t just about finding the perfect prince—it’s about discovering who you truly are.
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Genre: Sweet Romance
Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,” Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.
Will—the sexy , tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.
Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational” tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.
Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries by Tonya Kappes
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Hi. I’m Mae West. No. Not the actress.
If you would’ve told me year ago that I was going to be broke and penniless after my husband took everyone to the cleaners after he pulled off one of the biggest Ponzi schemes, leaving me a run-down campground, a set of camper keys, before he escaped prison and when the FBI came to the campground to see if I helped him escape, then the no good you know what floated up to the top of the lake in that campground making me the number one suspect, I’d said you were lying.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Genre: Historical Fiction
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home.
Murder on Sugar Creek by Michelle Goff
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Mac Honaker begins his morning with an Iced Honey Bun, a cup of coffee, and a fatal shot to the chest. Mac’s murder stuns Sugar Creek, a small community nestled in the hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky. It also fuels Sugar Creek resident Maggie Morgan’s enthusiasm for true crime, but her interest turns personal when her brother’s childhood friend is arrested for the murder. Maggie dedicates herself to proving his innocence, which puts her in contact with her ex-fiancé, the police detective, just as she starts a new romance. As Maggie pieces the clues together, an unflattering picture of Mac emerges and she comes to the realization that her brother’s friend might not be so innocent after all.
The House by the Creek by Elizabeth Bromke
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Morgan Jo Coyle has been trying to escape her past but when she receives a heart-breaking call from her mother, telling her that her Memaw Essie is on her deathbed, Morgan drops everything to go home to the small town of Brambleberry Creek and face her family—before it’s too late.
Stepping through the door of the charming old farmhouse, Morgan is reminded of all the happy times she spent there baking cookies with memaw. It’s not long before her childhood sweetheart, Emmett Dawson, with his sparkling blue eyes and confident smile, comes to find her. Morgan can’t deny her attraction to him. But Emmett is now a successful lawyer, getting rich with his smart-talking in court. He’s nothing like the kind boy who used to make her laugh… is he?
The sprawling Kentucky countryside also brings memories of the fateful accident that changed Morgan’s world forever and drove her away from everything she loved. And it’s only when Morgan discovers an ink-stained letter written in her memaw’s distinctive hand that she finally starts to understand the truth behind that moment.
Will the unravelling of a shocking family secret help Morgan to reunite her family and find love in Brambleberry Creek? Or will heartbreak see her leaving the rolling hills of Kentucky for good?
Where the Grass Grows Blue by Hope Gibbs
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Penny Crenshaw’s divorce and her husband’s swift remarriage to a much younger woman have been hot topics around Atlanta’s social circles. After a year of enduring the cruel gossip, Penny leaps from the frying pan into the fire by heading back to Kentucky to settle her grandmother’s estate.
Reluctantly, Penny travels to her hometown of Camden, knowing she will be stirring up all the ghosts from her turbulent childhood. But not all her problems stem from a dysfunctional family. One of Penny’s greatest sources of pain lives just down the street: Bradley Hitchens, her childhood best friend, the keeper of her darkest secrets, and the boy who shattered her heart.
As Penny struggles with sorting through her grandmother’s house and her own memories, a colorful group of friends drifts back into her life, reminding her of the unique warmth, fellowship, and romance that only the Bluegrass state can provide. Now that fate has forced Penny back, she must either let go of the scars of her past or risk losing a second chance at love. Can she learn to live an unbridled life?
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