5 Reasons I Love Western Historical Romance Novels

It’s a chilly morning here, and I’m sipping coffee, thinking about how nice it would be to snuggle up and read all day. I get on kicks where I devour a certain genre, then taper off to the next one. Currently, I’m between genres, but I’m sure it won’t last.

5 Reasons I Love Western Historical Romance Novels

I remember when I first started reading western historical romance novels. I’m pretty sure a Jodi Thomas novel got me hooked roughly twenty years ago. I don’t remember the title, but I do remember reading through her backlist and buying every new book of hers that came out. I particularly enjoyed her wife lottery series.

Side note: Jodi Thomas has been a guest at the P&P junction many times over the years. “How Deep Do Your Roots Go?” is a fun read by her!

Why do I love western historical romance novels? I’ve got five reasons.

  1. Rugged lifestyle of the American west. I’m a sucker for rural settings, tough living conditions, and a no-rules atmosphere to survive in.
  2. Strong, protective cowboys. Sure, strong, protective cowboys aren’t unique to historical romances, but there’s something special about a tough guy protecting the woman in his orbit. Bonus points for strong heroines and a cowboy reluctantly getting in touch with his feelings. *swoon*
  3. Danger! Outlaws, wild animals, and the weather all play factors in western historical novels, and I can’t get enough of the danger. There’s something delicious knowing the characters can’t call 9-1-1 for help. They’re on their own, and we know it.
  4. Trains, wagons, and horses. The transportation options were limited. Going anywhere took more time in those days. I love the slower pace and the forced proximity of characters due to the time period. If the heroine is mad, she can’t hop in her car or on a plane and leave. There will be an argument or a silent stand-off. Bring it on!
  5. Circumstances all but impossible in modern times. Mail-order brides? Yep. An orphan baby a couple can just keep without stacks of paperwork? Uh-huh. Hiding away in a mountain cabin for the winter? You betcha. I love all of these scenarios.

It’s fun to get lost in a world so unlike our own. And now that I’ve taken this trip down memory lane, I’m off to pick up a western historical romance novel!

Do you love western historical romance novels? Why or why not?

Have the best day, and share your favorite western historical romance novels in the comments!

 

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Jill Kemerer is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of heartwarming, emotional, small-town romance novels often featuring cowboys. Her essentials include coffee, caramels, a stack of books and long walks outdoors in Ohio where she resides with her husband.

39 thoughts on “5 Reasons I Love Western Historical Romance Novels”

  1. I enjoy Western historical romance for many reasons. Besides those mentioned, I think they appeal to Americans’ appreciation of adventure and an independent spirit tempered by a dependence on God.

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  2. I love Western historicals, or any historical really, because life was so challenging in early times. In a Western historical, they didn’t even have the “modern conveniences” they left behind Back East. They had to think on their feet. And Jill, I love your idea that if hero and heroine had a spat, there was no place to go. Wagon trains were like pressure cookers, and with all those people stuck together, like small towns on wheels. Fun fact, my first novel (and a 5-book series) was a Western historical romance with Pelican/White Rose. It’s a genre I hope to return to one day.
    Jill, good to see you in another venue.
    Your goal-setting buddy, Kathy Bailey

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    • Hi Kathy!! Great to see you here! I didn’t know your first novel was a Western historical romance–love it! And you’re right about the modern conveniences. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it far on a wagon train!

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  3. Yes, I love western romance and historical books. Life back then was very hard for a woman as she was basically supposed to be subservient to her man/husband. A very hard place to show her independence, but I enjoy the strength and grit they show to prove they can accomplish their own destiny,

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  4. I relate to the life depicted in Western Historical novels. The fact that one had to do for themselves and as you mentioned couldn’t hop a plane, jump in a car, call 911 when things weren’t going well all resonate with me. I often wonder if in another life I wasn’t part of the western scene in the hey days of cowboys, mountain men and crossing the plains and mountains in wagon trains. I still live on a ranch, am self sufficient but also have the amenities that make life easier, sometimes, in today’s world.

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  5. Yes, I do love western historical novels. Two authors that I really enjoy reading are Mary Connealy and Lacy Williams. I enjoy stories of the Oregon Trail also, and I am convinced I would not have survived.

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  6. Jill – We have Jodi inspiration in common! 🙂 I fell in love with her early books and the Wife Lottery series was one of my favorites, too! Add that to all the old westerns I watched as a kid, and I was destined to write cowboys. Ha!

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  7. Love western historical romance. Cowboys + historical romance is just a wonderful combination. Bonus, sometimes I learn something.

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  8. I love historical western romance novels. In fact the ones I remember reading for the first time was Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series.

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  9. I do!! I used to read Louis L’Amour’s books, and of course, I also grew up watching westerns, so it was a foregone conclusion that I’d love cowboys!

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  10. If I were born in a different time, I would love it to be in the Wild West days , living in Colorado or Wyoming. Western romance has become my favorite genre. I love the cowboys,the horses, and stories about the Indians. I have enjoyed both historical and contemporary western romance stories.

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  11. I second your five reasons, Jill, and will add getting hooked at a young age by the “Western” children’s novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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  12. Hi Jill, yes I do I really like them. Anything can happen in these books . Have.a great rest of the day and a great rest of the week.

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  13. I enjoy many genres including historical westerns. I want a good story to take me places that I can’t get to on my own, real or imagined. I love fairy tale retellings and many are done in historical times.

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  14. I like a good romance but Historical that’s usually iffy mostly because all the historical romance I’ve read so far the women are thought of weak and therefore the men abuse their power and order them and punish them when something does suit them and they’re usually controlled unwillingly, however not against trying a new author and their books at least once just to see if I like it

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  15. My introduction to romance novels was the Medieval stories by Julie Garwood. Many of them were set in the Scottish Highlands. There are a lot of similarities between the Highlands and those kilted heroes and the American West and the cowboy. You can tick off all your 5 points and they apply. There may not have been mail order brides, but there were arranged marriages, handfasting, forced marriages. Feisty females – they had to be to survive. It was an easy transition from loving those Highland books to reading and loving the Western book. They are two of my favorite in the genre. There are so many good authors writing Westerns that I have read, it is hard to select a favorite.

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  16. My maternal grandfather’s best babysitting job with me was to tell me about growing up on the prairies of northwestern Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. He was born in IL, but as a small child, his father moved the family to northwestern Nebraska and he had to leave school at the third grade so he could help the family by herding the family sheep. He saw Sitting Bull and met Red Cloud and I always wished that he could have lived to see “Dances With Wolves” because that was the story he always told, growing up like he did. A couple of years ago, I read a series – but, unfortuntely, I can’t remember the name of the series or the author – which was situated in northwestern Nebraska and talked about the interaction with the Indians like he used to. Great series!

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    • I definitely love western historical. I love the sweet romance and the adventure they had in the west. Love your 5 reason you love them. I just love everything about them.

      Reply

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