Meet nine men and women whose competitive goals take them to state and county fairs between 1889 and 1930. From baking pie to polishing pigs, from sculpting butter to stitching quilts, everyone has something to prove to themselves and their communities. But in going for the blue ribbon, will nine women miss the greatest prize of all—the devoted heart of a godly man?

Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town. Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved? Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine. The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own. A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms. Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love. Come What May by Patty Smith Hall Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own. Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas. When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home? Louder than Words by Gina Welborn After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.

Every kid’s a winner! Ziggy dreads track-and-field day. He isn’t good at running races or at high or long jumping. He isn’t good at throwing balls, either. Ziggy is good at drawing pictures, but there’s no picturedrawing event on track-and-field day. At least he can decorate the envelope that will hold his disappointing gray ribbons. To Ziggy’s surprise, his drawing becomes a huge hit! The kids all want their envelopes decorated by Ziggy – and offer him their blue ribbons in exchange. Bright, animated pictures add spunk to a story about the joy of doing what one does best.

Mary-Kate could be kicked out of the upcoming horse show if the Trenchcoat Twins do not find out who at the horseback riding school keeps putting Mary-Kate's horse in the wrong stall and feeding it the wrong food. Original.

Most Americans assume that shared genes or blood relationships provide the strongest basis for family. What can adoption tell us about this widespread belief and American kinship in general? Blue-Ribbon Babies and Labors of Love examines the ways class, gender, and race shape public and private adoption in the United States. Christine Ward Gailey analyzes the controversies surrounding international, public, and transracial adoption, and how the political and economic dynamics that shape adoption policies and practices affect the lives of people in the adoption nexus: adopters, adoptees, birth parents, and agents within and across borders. Interviews with white and African-American adopters, adoption social workers, and adoption lawyers, combined with her long-term participant-observation in adoptive communities, inform her analysis of how adopters' beliefs parallel or diverge from the dominant assumptions about kinship and family. Gailey demonstrates that the ways adoptive parents speak about their children vary across hierarchies of race, class, and gender. She shows that adopters' notions about their children's backgrounds and early experiences, as well as their own "family values," influence child rearing practices. Her extensive interviews with 131 adopters reveal profoundly different practices of kinship in the United States today. Moving beyond the ideology of "blood is thicker than water," Gailey presents a new way of viewing kinship and family formation, suitable to times of rapid social and cultural change.

Through nine historical romance adventures, readers will journey along with individuals who are ready to stake a claim and plant their dreams on a piece of the great American plains. While fighting land disputes, helping neighbors, and tackling the challenges of nature the homesteaders are placed in the path of other dreamers with whom romance sparks. And God has His hand in orchestrating each unique meeting.

Seven romance stories take you back to the building of the Erie Canal and the opening of the Midwest to greater development. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, and soon other states like Ohio created canals linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Suddenly the Midwest was open to migration, the harvesting of resources, and even tourism. Join seven couples who live through the rise of the canals and the problems the waterways brought to each community, including land grabs, disease, tourists, racism, and competition. Can these couples hang on to their faith and develop love during times of intense change? The Way of a Child by Lauralee Bliss Little Falls, New York 1817 Widower David Marshall has no interest in selling his farm to the Erie Canal project presented by agent Ray O’Neil and his daughter Melanie. But his sons Matthew and Luke have taken a peculiar liking to Melanie. What the children reveal paves the way to a surprising future. Wedding of the Waters by Rita Gerlach Goshen Creek, New York. 1819 Charlotte Verger, a physician’s niece, is unexpectedly reunited with her first and only love, Blaine McKenna. When word comes that the Erie Canal builders at the Montezuma Swamp, where Blaine is working as a surveyor, are stricken with malaria, Charlotte risks a journey to reach him. Digging for Love by Ramona K. Cecil Rochester, New York 1822 For budding artist Emily Nichols, the coming Erie Canal brings dreams of leaving Rochester for the art markets of New York City. As he builds the canal, Irish laborer Seamus O’Grady is building his American dream in Rochester. When hearts meld, divergent dreams and old prejudices threaten burgeoning love. Return to Sweetwater Cove by Christina Miller Sweetwater Cove, New York, 1825 Reverend Josiah Wells travels to his hometown to pastor the church and make restitution for his youthful sins. Betsy Bennett wants to honor her late husband’s memory and make sure Sweetwater Cove never discovers the secret she shares with Josiah. Can they leave behind the past and find love beside still waters? Journey of the Heart by Johnnie Alexander Circleville, Ohio, early 1852 Charity Sinclair secretly writes abolitionist pamphlets while thwarting architect Tavish Dunbar’s effort to redesign her father’s post office, a hidden stop on the Underground Railroad. When a slave-hunter captures a runaway, Charity vows to rescue the fugitive. But can she trust Tavish with her secret. . .and with her heart? Pressing On by Rose Allen McCauley Zoar, Ohio, 1856 As a child, Amanda Mack loved her life in Zoar, Ohio, where she was born to Separatists. Now an adult, she starts to chafe at its many restrictions. After meeting riverboat captain Daniel Jeremiah, they both must make decisions about their futures. Can she leave or will he convert or…? The Bridge Between Usby Sherri Wilson Johnson Albion, New York, 1859 John Hawkins steps back into Susannah Higley’s life just in time to save it. Despite her father’s longstanding disdain for John’s family, can Susannah and John settle the family feud and save her father’s struggling sawmill—and their chance for love? Or will the feud continue?

Hope for Happy Endings Is Renewed in Nine Historical Romances Meet nine women from history spanning from 1776 to 1944 feel the sting of having lost out on love. Can their hope for experiencing romance again be renewed? Love in the Crossfire by Lauralee Bliss - Trenton, New Jersey, 1776 Gretchen Hanson watched her beau go off to war and never return. She soon falls for an enemy scout who stumbles upon her farm. If Jake is discovered, it could mean death for them all. Will Gretchen let go of love or stand strong? Daughter of Orion by Ramona K. Cecil - New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1859 Whaling widow, Matilda Daggett, vows to never again give her heart to a seaman. But when debt drives her to masquerade as a cabin boy on a whaling ship, a young harpooner threatens both her vow and her heart. The Substitute Husband and the Unexpected Bride by Pamela Griffin - Washington Territory, 1864 Cecily McGiver, a mail-order bride, arrives in the rugged Washington Territory shocked to find herself without a husband—that is until Garrett, a widower, offers to take the position. Can the challenges that face them lead to love? The Prickly Pear Bride by Pam Hillman - Little Prickly Pear Creek, Montana Territory, 1884 Shepherdess Evelyn Arnold left her intended at the altar so he could marry the woman he really loved. Dubbed Miss Prickly Pear, Evelyn is resigned to a loveless life and the ridicule of her neighbors. When Cole Rawlins sweeps her out of a raging river, she realizes even a prickly pear can find love. The Widow of St. Charles Avenue by Grace Hitchcock - New Orleans, 1895 Colette Olivier, a young widow who married out of obligation, finds herself at the end of her mourning period and besieged with suitors out for her inheritance. With her pick of any man, she is drawn to an unlikely choice. Married by Mistake by Laura V. Hilton - Mackinac Island, 1902 When a plan to pose for advertising goes awry, Thomas Hale and Bessie O’Hara find themselves legally married. Now Bessie and Thomas must decide whether to continue the charade or walk away. Either choice could ruin them if the truth gets out. Fanned Embers by Angela Breidenbach - Bitterroot Mountains, Montana/Idaho border, 1910 Stranded in the treacherous railroad camp after her husband’s murder, Juliana Hayes has no desire to marry a ruffian like Lukas Filips. Can she release prejudice to love again? Or will they even survive the fiery Pacific Northwest disaster to find out? From a Distance by Amber Stockton - Breckenridge, Colorado, 1925 Financial Manager Trevor Fox sets out to find a lady to love him and not his money, then meets and falls for an average girl only to discover she’d deceived him to protect her heart after he unknowingly rejects her. What the Heart Sees by Liz Tolsma - Hartford, Wisconsin, 1944 American Miriam Bradford is shocked to see Paul Albrecht, her summer fling from Germany in 1939, escorted into church as a POW. Can they rekindle their romance amid the overwhelming objections of almost everyone in town–including her father?

Two children wanting to award a blue ribbon to the best puppy decide they are all best in some way.

Romance is a delicate dance bound by rules and expectations in Regency England... Seven couples must navigate society’s gauntlet to secure the hand of true love.... Charity and Luke are strangers who were forced to marry three years ago. Adelaide and Walter share a love of music and disdain for elitism. Caroline and Henry are thrown together by three orphans. Helen and Isaac harbor his unlikely secret. Esther is empowered to choose between two men. Sophia is determined not to choose a man like Nash. Jamie and William face a daunting London season together. Will their faith grow and love prevail in a time when both were considered luxuries the elite could not afford?