Texas Reads Historical Western Romance with Linda Broday
I was thrilled to be asked to write the Texas Reads column this month. Such an honor. Books have filled my life since I was just a child, and I’ve read a LOT over the years. I have to say, we really have a great list of outstanding writers with high-quality books here in Texas. I’m going to tell you who’s at the top of my list of historical western romance.
To Love a Beast (Karen Witemeyer, 2025)
A huge favorite is Texas author Karen Witemeyer. Each book she puts out is amazing and heartfelt. I read her first book, A Tailor-Made Bride, way back in 2010 and became a devoted fan from that moment on. Every release becomes a keeper. Karen is just one of those go-to authors when I need a good story. She’s just finished up her Texas Ever After series with all three set around a fairy tale. Currently, the first book of her new Once Upon a Time in Texas series released in June 2025, and I loved it. TO LOVE A BEAST is a cowboy take on Beauty and the Beast, and it’s set in 1891 in the wilds of Texas.
What I loved most about To Love a Beast was the warmth combined with charming, strong characters and a faith-based plot. The stubborn female lead, Callista Rosenfeld, tangles with a very scarred man hiding from life and everyone in it. Everett Griffin’s gruffness and facial scars do not deter Callista one bit. Strong women always get my vote, and Callista is definitely one of the strongest with a huge heart. These kinds of female characters stand up for what’s right, no matter the circumstances, and they’re not afraid to voice their opinions. That, combined with a wounded alpha hero, is a winning combination in my opinion, and it’s what I always search for, hoping to find.
So, if you’re looking for excellent writing, the best storytelling skill around, and a book that lingers in your mind long after you’re finished, reach for To Love a Beast.
To Love a Texas Rancher (Hannah Lee Davis, 2025)
Hannah Lee Davis released an excellent book November 2025 called TO LOVE A TEXAS RANCHER that kept me up at night reading. She’s written a few books set in Texas, but this is a new one that I recently ran across. For sure, this will not be my only book by her.
Hannah’s strengths lie in strong characters, great dialogue, and twists and turns you don’t see coming. She lures you into her storyworld with an amazing plot that keeps you happily there like a spider in her web, waiting for prey. This story centers around a desperate woman who answers a mail-order bride ad and runs for her life in order to escape a very powerful man who has the means and connections to hunt her down. The story has a few twists and turns that keep you interested, and the writing is stellar. Davis knows how to spin a good yarn, and that’s great news for romance readers looking for stories filled with warmth and family values.
This was a standalone book and a departure from my normal thirst for series, but it was a book I’m ever thankful I took a chance on.
Griff’s Journey Home (Winnie Griggs, 2025)
This next author does not live in Texas, but a lot of her books are set here. Winnie Griggs and I started our publishing journeys about the same time, so long ago, and I’ve enjoyed reading her stories that are infused with warm, strong characters. I really love her three-book Inspirational romance, The Everharts of Texas series, that I missed the first time around. Winnie’s stories are always such a joy to read. They have everything I require in a keeper book—strong characters I can root for, a heartfelt message, and a lasting romance with family at the center.
What I loved most about her newest, GRIFF’S JOURNEY HOME (Book 3 of the series) is that these characters have endured such deep heartache and loss and are afraid to trust again. You know, once you’ve been burned, you’re careful around the stove sort of thing. Ruby asks Griff to escort her to Tyler, Texas, but the journey doesn’t go as planned. Does it ever? That always makes it interesting. Griff and Ruby felt like family to me, and it seemed as though I’d known them forever.
Their romance builds slowly, something else I love, and they have to be convinced they’re worthy of being loved. But true love cannot be denied, and pushing it away never works. The heart knows what it wants.
Winnie has a unique gift of bringing you to tears one minute, then, while you’re dealing with that, she makes you laugh at something the character says. Jodi Thomas used to be an expert at this, and I always wondered how she did it.
So step into The Everhearts of Texas and enjoy Griff’s and Ruby’s journey. You won’t regret it.
Linda Broday is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance novels. Watching TV westerns during her youth fed her love of cowboys and the old West, and they still do. She resides in the Texas Panhandle on land the American Indian and Comancheros once roamed, with ghosts lurking around every corner. She loves researching Texas’ rich history and looking for little-known tidbits to add realism to her stories, and quite often makes a nuisance of herself at museums and libraries. Besides writing, she loves to travel and explore out-of-the-way spots. Just don’t ask her to work in the garden. She kills everything she plants.