Books Set in Wyoming
Our journey through the 50 states continues with a stop in Wyoming!
Book Club Pick – Wyoming
Knowing Amelia by Jen Atkinson
What is Knowing Amelia about?
True love can change the future—but it cannot fix the past.
Twenty-two year old Olivia Benson has a secret—one she’s never told anyone. Only it isn’t her secret, not really. It’s not even something she can make sense of. But with the passing of her Grandma Amelia and the inheritance bequeathed upon her, she hopes to dig up the past and finally shed light on Amelia’s truths.
Logan’s been living on his own since he was a teenager. He’s never met anyone like Olivia. Sure, she’s got a boyfriend and she’s only in town for a funeral, but he can still be neighborly, right?
It doesn’t have to mean anything. When Logan offers to help Olivia figure out the mysteries of her grandmother, the time they spend together and the truths they discover begin to mean everything. Amelia’s secrets could change the Benson family forever. And, though Olivia believes she can trust Logan with her secrets, can she trust him with her heart?
Jen Atkinson on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Jen and her books? Listen to our conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
[coming 1/25/24]
More Sweet Reads Set in Wyoming
The Sheriffs of Savage Wells by Sarah M. Eden
Genre: Sweet Historical Romance
Paisley Bell knows the eccentric people of Savage Wells. From the absentminded shopkeeper who always thinks she’s been robbed to the young man who has returned shell-shocked from the war, Paisley has compassion for them all. When the sheriff up and leaves town, Paisley steps up and assumes the responsibility, partly because she loves the work, but also because she needs the income to take care of her sick father. So when the town council decides that the position of sheriff should really go to a man, Paisley finds herself fighting to prove that she’s the perfect candidate for the job, even though she wears a skirt.
Cade O’Brien is heartily sick of shooting people. In his many years as a lawman, Cade has seen his share of blood and violence. So when he answers an advertisement for a sheriff job in the sleepy town of Savage Wells, he believes he’s found the peace and quiet he’s always desired. But when he discovers that his biggest competition for the job is a woman, he begins to question his decisions.
Tension between the two begins to sizzle when both Cade and Paisley realize the attraction they have for each other, but when Paisley’s former beau shows up in town, along with a band of bank robbers, the blossoming relationship between the two sheriffs is tested. They will have to work together to thwart the bank robbers and keep the town safe.
Sign Off by Patricia McLinn
Genre: Mystery
Divorce a husband, disrupt a career … grapple with a murder.
TV journalist Elizabeth “E.M.” Danniher will tell you she committed two sins – she didn’t stay young, and she made an enemy of a powerful news executive – her ex. She used to break national news. Now her top story as the Helping Out! reporter at dinky KWMT-TV in Sherman, Wyoming is getting a refund for a defective toaster.
Tough, funny and determined, Elizabeth wrestles with isolation, keeping a professional edge, and an evolving self-image. Is Wyoming – the land of cattle, cowboys and tumbleweeds – her new home or a road to permanent obscurity?
Soon she’s in a battle of wills with ex-football player turned journalist Mike Paycik, who sees her as a handy rung on his career ladder. And there’s the matter of a deputy sheriff-missing or murdered? Elizabeth finds herself investigating at the insistence of a girl who’s set on proving her father’s innocence. Not that enigmatic rancher Tom Burrell makes investigating easy.
But Elizabeth won’t fade to black without a fight, no matter how final some might want to make her Sign Off.
In Love with a Rogue by Ginny Sterling
Genre: Sweet Romance
A ranch in Wyoming becomes the backdrop for a heartwarming love story, where wounded heroes and strong women form a makeshift family.
Where all roads end… Jake Ortega wanted what the other guys on his team in Ghazni had – an easy relationship that just fell in his lap. Everyone knew about the stupid ‘Romeo Curse’ floating around on the base. You take a pen pal and end up with a wife in record time… sunshine, rainbows, care packages, and random trips back to the States with someone who loves you. Yep. He could handle a dose of that, but Fate had other ideas.
A new world begins… Lena Bow had no idea what to make of the strange request, but hey? If it cut her expenses in half and put a roof over her head, then perhaps she could finally get a break. All she needed was a chance, but what she got was completely different. Macho, arrogant, and stubborn, Jake certainly had a distinctly defined idea of how this partnership was going to go between the two of them, and clearly, he was wrong. If up was down and left was right – did that mean ‘Go Away’ meant ‘Stay Forever’?
Note: Ginny Sterling was our featured author for Texas.
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Helen Carpenter can’t quite seem to bounce back. Newly divorced at thirty-two, her life has fallen apart beyond her ability to put it together again. So when her annoying younger brother, Duncan, convinces her to sign up for a hardcore wilderness survival course in the backwoods of Wyoming—she hopes it’ll be exactly what she needs.
Instead, it’s a disaster. It’s nothing like she wants, or expects, or anticipates. She doesn’t anticipate the surprise summer blizzard, for example—or the blisters, or the rutting elk, or the mean pack of sorority girls. And she especially doesn’t anticipate that her annoying brother’s even-more-annoying best friend, Jake, will show up for the exact same course—and distract her, derail her, and . . . kiss her.
But it turns out sometimes disaster can teach you exactly the things you need to learn. Like how to keep going, even when you think you can’t. How being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes getting really, really lost is your only hope of getting found.
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