Recommendations based on "A Stroke of Good Fortune"

Under the reign of Louis XV, corruption and intrigue have been allowed to blossom in France, and Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon and proud of his soubriquet 'Satanas', flourishes as well. Then, from a dark Parisian back alley, he plucks L-on, a red-headed urchin with strangely familiar looks, just in time for hi

Meet the Bedwyns…six brothers and sisters—men and women of passion and privilege, daring and sensuality.Enter their dazzling world of high society and breathtaking seduction…where each will seek love, fight temptation, and court scandal…and where Freyja Bedwyn, the wild-hearted daughter, meets her match in a man as passionate, reckless, and scandalous as she.Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire, a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom.Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty. So intrigued, in fact, that he makes her a surprising request: to pose as his fiancée and help thwart his family's matchmaking schemes. For two people determined to be free, it's the perfect plan…until passion blindsides them both. For as Joshua sets out to achieve his complete seduction of Freyja, a woman who has sworn off love is in danger of losing the one thing she never expected to give again: her heart…

Two women—separated by decades and continents, and united by an exotic family heirloom—reclaim secrets and lost loves in this sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives. “My favorite kind of page-turner—unputdownable!”—Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Golden Doves New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads—her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life, Mallory’s forced to confront two harrowing secrets from her past: her mother’s adoption from an infamous Irish orphanage in 1952, and her own all-consuming summer romance fourteen years earlier with her childhood best friend, Monk Adams— one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters—a fairy tale cut short by a devastating betrayal. Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself—marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo. But a fateful encounter with the enigmatic manager of a hotel bristling with spies leads to a passionate affair that will reawaken Hannah’s longing for everything she once lost. As revolution simmers in the Egyptian streets, a pregnant Hannah finds herself snared in a game of intrigue between two men . . . and an act of sacrifice that will echo down the generations. Timeless and bittersweet, Husbands & Lovers takes readers on an unforgettable journey of heartbreak and redemption, from the revolutionary fires of midcentury Egypt to the moneyed beaches of contemporary New England. Acclaimed author Beatriz Williams has written a poignant and beautifully voiced novel of deeply human characters entangled by morally complex issues—of privilege, class, and the female experience—inside worlds brought shimmeringly to life.

Nothing is simple when you're thirty-fifth in line for the British crown, least of all marriage. But with love on their side, and plans to elope, Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her beau Darcy O'Mara hope to bypass a few royal rules... With Darcy driving me out of London in a borrowed motor car, I soon discover that he isn't planning to introduce me to the pleasures of sinning in secret--as I had hoped--but to make me his wife! Of course, there are some quibbles to be dealt with, such as my needing special permission from the King to marry a Roman Catholic and the question of where we might live after the honeymoon. Though he will inherit a title, Darcy is as broke as I am. Even his family's Irish castle has been sold to a rich American who now employes Darcy's father as a hired hand. Throwing these cares to the wind, nothing could deter us from our mission--except perhaps the news that my future father-in-law has just been arrested. It seems the rich American was murdered and Darcy's father had more than enough motive to do the deed. With the elopement postponed, we head for Ireland where he insists he's innocent, and it's up to us to prove it--for better or worse.

A scandalous arrangement between a hellion heiress and destitute duke reveals truths that neither can outrun…. As the youngest and most rebellious daughter of the overly protective Luna family, Gabriela Luna Valdés claws after her freedom in any way she can. This time, her hunger for adventure has led her aboard a windswept ship bearing for her homeland, away from a mob of fumbling British suitors. But Gabby can’t escape her father’s expectation that she settle down to find a proper husband—a compromise she’s unwilling to make. For Sebastian Brooks, Duke of Whitfield, the trip to Mexico is his last chance. His last chance to rectify his family’s estate and refill their dwindling coffers. And his last chance to match wits with the sharp-tongued but deliciously tempting Gabriela. When Gabby finds herself in need of a hasty escape, Sebastian agrees to assist her…but their close proximity sparks a red-hot passion that could ruin all their plans. With scandal looming, can Sebastian convince Gabby his regard is sincere or will she sail away with his heart?

In a dazzling new novel in the Mamma Lou series, matchmaker Louise Gates helps two adversaries turn their simmering anger into fiery passion. For historian Sheri Summers, Crescent Island is an unspoiled treasure, and she hopes to keep it that way. If that means shutting down a new beachfront project that could destroy the historic site, so be it. Sheri can deal with developer Jordan Hamilton's anger. But what she doesn't count on is their combustible chemistry.... Jordan has powerful allies, and asks Mamma Lou to help arrange a truce. Sheri is as sexy as she is stubborn, but every kiss and heated caress is just one more complication in their ongoing dispute. With no compromise in sight, it's not just a battle of wills that's at risk, but something far more precious....

In When Christ and His Saints Slept, acclaimed historical novelist Sharon Kay Penman portrayed all the deceit, danger, and drama of Henry II’s ascension to the throne. Now, in Time and Chance, she continues the ever-more-captivating tale.It was medieval England’s immortal marriage—Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But while lust would divide them, it was friendship—and ultimately faith—that brought bloodshed into their midst. It began with Thomas Becket, Henry’s closest confidant, and his elevation to be Archbishop of Canterbury. It ended with a perceived betrayal that made a royal murder seem inevitable. Along the way were enough scheming, seductions, and scandals to topple any kingdom but their own. . . .Only Sharon Kay Penman can re-create this truly tumultuous time—and capture the couple who loved power as much as each other . . . and a man who loved God most of all.

A widower as a result of a tragic accident three years ago in 1875, Braden visits America with his five-year-old son. He still mourns his deceased wife until he meets the beautiful Kerry McGillinen. Kerry fires his passion and soon his heart is lost and his love will not be denied by family, an old suitor, or jealous governess. Kerry loses her heart to an adorable boy named Bennett Wessex. She meets his father and her innocence of life is lost as Braden and fate take her hand fulfilling the legacy of Geneva’s Hope.

Royal beauty Catherine von Husden wanted Dr. Riley Jacobs to notice her. But the handsome doctor was all business and didn't give her the attention she craved. Nevertheless Princess Catherine loved a challenge, and helping Riley open up resulted in her discovering riches beyond her wildest dreams.Riley had all the qualities she'd ever wanted in a man. And then she was handed a royal dilemma—would Catherine have to take up her duty to her country and leave behind the love of a lifetime?

Strong historical fiction and powerful romantic drama set in border country during Elizabethan times - forbidden passions and family loyalties; heresy and witchcraft, but at the heart of it, the burgeoning love of a young girl. The year is 1578 and Queen Elizabeth 1 is on the throne. Sixteen year old Beatie, the daughter of a North Country farmer is defying her family over the matter of her proposed marriage to her cousin Hugh. She is too busy being the elder daughter and watching over her family - overseeing the kitchen work; riding her horse, Saint Hilda, and most importantly keeping a watchful eye out for the first sign of marauding Scots from over the border. The family live in Barrowbeck Tower - a stronghold which should keep out invaders. But the Scots do invade and Beatie has to push at the face of one of them who appears - courtesy of a grappling iron - at an upper window. It is a young face and one that Beatie will never forget. It is the first Scot she has injured, probably killed. Next day, Beatie finds a dirty, bleeding body in the old hermit's hut in the wood, and discovers that it belongs to the Scot she pushed from the window. Through guilt she determines to nurse this enemy back to health, despite the terrible danger to herself which could have her burned at the stake. A smouldering tension of love and intimacy develops between patient and carer, but that isn't the only possible relationship for Beatie. She is also growing very close to the young parson, John Becker. This is an exceptionally atmospheric novel, written in the first person through the voice of this feisty Elizabethan teenager. The reader is immediately taken on a journey to Elizabethan England - the country, not the city - and the smells and sounds are vividly brought to life. Maggie Prince draws a vivid picture too of the wild landscape of the Border Country and the eternal teenage struggle to break free of childhood and lead an independent life.