USA Today bestselling author Loretta Chase continues her Difficult Dukes series with this charming brother's best friend second-chance historical romance.

Of all the dukes in all the world, why does it have to be him?

Lady Alice Ancaster needs a husband, and fast, because her reckless brother is going to get himself killed, leaving the dukedom--and her future--in their repellent cousin's clutches.

The Duke of Blackwood has known Alice since childhood, and they've always had a special connection. But years ago he broke it, when he chose a riotous life with his two best friends instead of a reasonable one with her.

The trouble is, the tall, dark, sardonic rogue keeps turning up exactly when needed, and ready--though he sometimes needs a push--to play the hero, if only for as long as it takes.

Being irresistibly drawn to the Wrong Man is not convenient, but when events come to a crisis, Alice has to make a choice. The question is, can she live with it?

I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters--sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!--Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one's duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener's spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission--to frame Sir David for Prince Henry's murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King's Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

More praise for Susanna Kearsley:

I loved the story. Couldn't put it down. It was thoroughly researched and told with brilliantly compelling authenticity. --Barbara Erskine for The King's Messenger

Susanna Kearsley just keeps getting better and better! --Lauren Willig

I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters--sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!--Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one's duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener's spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission--to frame Sir David for Prince Henry's murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King's Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

More praise for Susanna Kearsley:

I loved the story. Couldn't put it down. It was thoroughly researched and told with brilliantly compelling authenticity. --Barbara Erskine for The King's Messenger

Susanna Kearsley just keeps getting better and better! --Lauren Willig

A timeless historical novel about two lonely people who witness the miracle of second chances, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Women

Beautiful and uplifting . . . will bring both tears and laughter.--Romantic Times

He never intended to stay. She couldn't bear to let him go.

Mad Dog Stone was a carefree drifter, a man who loved life on the open road and never looked back. Mariah Throckmorton was lonely and frightened, hiding from a past filled with heartbreak and scandal. A man in need of love, a woman in need of laughter . . .

He wandered onto her quiet apple farm in search of a few days' work, threatening her peace of mind and stirring the emotions she tried so hard to hide. Theirs was a love born against all odds, impossible to count on, impossible to hold.

Together they would face the heartache of loss, the price of passion, the aftermath of betrayal. For only then would they learn the bittersweet truth--that love exists only if you believe. . . .

Sweeping and evocative, The Hidden Girl is a lost treasure from the global number one bestselling author Lucinda Riley.

You can't alter destiny . . .

Born and raised in a small village on the Yorkshire moors, Leah Thompson grows more beautiful with each passing day. When she catches the attention of the influential, troubled Delancey family, she knows her life will never be the same again.

Years later, Leah takes the modelling world by storm, travelling from Milan to London and New York and living life in the lap of luxury. But her past follows her like a dark shadow, mysteriously intertwined with the tragic tale of two young siblings in Poland during the Second World War.

As two generations of secrets threaten to explode, Leah is haunted by a fatal, forgotten prophecy from her past, and must fight to challenge the destiny that has been mapped out for her in the stars . . .

Long before she became the bestselling author of The Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley wrote Hidden Beauty as Lucinda Edmonds. This standalone novel has been reworked and given new life as The Hidden Girl by Harry Whittaker, Lucinda's son and co-author of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt.

The Sunday Times number one best-selling author

The six D'Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister?

They only have one clue - an image of a star-shaped emerald ring. The search to find the missing sister will take them across the globe; from New Zealand to Canada, England, France and Ireland, uniting them all in their mission to at last complete their family.

In doing so, they will slowly unearth a story of love, strength and sacrifice that began almost one hundred years ago, as other brave young women risk everything to change the world around them.

The Missing Sister is the seventh instalment in Lucinda Riley's multimillion copy epic series.

Discover yourself at the heart of history.

In order to save her life, this Beauty will have to marry the Beast.

Sage Rhodes is eager to escape Manchester, England, and leave behind the pain of a broken engagement. When she's offered the job as a lady's maid to Augusta Lennox, who is traveling to Vancouver Island to visit her brother, Sage happily accepts the position.

Not so long ago, brilliant engineer Jackson Lennox faced a terrible tragedy during the building of a suspension bridge in the Fraser River Valley and becomes a recluse in his fine home in Victoria. When his sister and her beautiful lady's maid arrive on his doorstep, he's reluctant to welcome the visitors.

Organized and efficient, Sage starts to bring order not only to Jackson's home but also to his life. Even though at first they clash, the attraction between the beauty and the beast is undeniable. Still, they do their best to ignore it. But when Augusta goes missing and they're thrust into a dangerous adventure together, circumstances require them to pretend they're married.

Will the charade-and their forced proximity-change their hearts...or ruin them both forever?

• Broken past engagement
• Beauty and the beast
• Different social classes
• Reclusive hero
• Opposites attract
• Fake relationship/marriage
• Forced proximity

Bride Ships: New Voyages

Book 1: Finally His Bride

Book 2: His Treasured Bride

Book 3: His Perfect Bride

Book 4: His Unforgettable Bride

Mary Magdalene's confessions reveal a sensual world of love and betrayal, magic and mystery, hidden within the Gospels

- Reroots Mary Magdalene and Jesus in the lush ecology and complex spiritual culture of Second Temple Period Judea and Galilee under Roman rule

- Rewilds the Gospels with the forgotten voices of defiant and oppressed women, the nature-based storytelling of oral communities, and the embodied eroticism of a lovable rabbi with appetites and desires, doubts and shame, and a playful sense of humor

- Retells a familiar narrative informed by extensive research in botany and ecology, scriptural analysis, feminist studies, and the mythic traditions of the Mediterranean

When Leukas, a Christian convert, ventures into the wilds of Gaul to receive the hidden teachings from Mary Magdalene before she dies, he discovers that hidden within the Gospels he thinks he knows is an epic love story--between an educated Jewish woman overwhelmed by her mysterious spiritual powers and a sensual magician devoted to the wisdom of the earth. The secrets she will reveal are both more shocking and more tragic than anything readers have encountered before.

Beginning with Miriam's childhood as a member of a wealthy Jewish family living outside of Bethany, we see her struggles as a young woman with spiritual curiosity and intellectual aspirations that drive her to combat the violence of Empire and the sexism of her own culture. Propelled by mystic visions, Miriam is finally drawn into the wilds of Galilee, where her destiny collides with a mischievous rabbi who will change her and the world forever. Trapped in a mythic story unfolding in events around them, the lovers strive not to repeat a tragedy older than the pyramids.

In The Madonna Secret, Sophie Strand resurrects a richly textured world where complex characters reveal the lived reality of scripture and open familiar sayings to radical new meanings and possibilities.

Sebastian Lavalle is just 15 when he leaves home in 1934 to join the Navy. Seven years later, Sebastian unfortunately knows all too well about the horrors of World War II and what it is like to fear the unknown. When repairs forced his ship to the rugged shore of Newcastle, the young French naval officer is invited to a tea dance. He seizes the opportunity hoping to find comfort and a small taste of home. Amelia Sullivan, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, is thrilled to be attending the tea dance. When Sebastian's eyes find her in the crowd, he drinks in her exotic beauty. Moments later as he draws her into his arms for a dance, there is no doubt in his mind that he has just met the woman of his dreams. Days later, Sebastian professes his love and marries her, sending them both on an unforgettable journey through betrayal, survival, and forgiveness. Their soul searching journey, not only will take the reader from England's coast to the French Riviera, but also to Tennessee. Their journey explores the many facets and depths of love leading to the realization of what true happiness means. the quality of the writing and the sweetness of the story. will carry readers to the poignant conclusion -Kirkus Reviews will appeal to fans of family saga although it easily transcends the genre. -Blue Ink Reviews elegantly written, a must read, one that begs to be enjoyed again and again. -Clarion Forward Reviews

When a young man witnesses the rescue of a woman's body from the ocean, he is shocked to recognize the tattoo on her shoulder as belonging to his prospective fiancé, Sarah. Traumatized, he flees the scene, unaware of the ensuing homicide investigation into the suspicious drowning and its findings.

Having arranged his business schedule hoping for a reconciliation following their disagreement in England, he had planned on proposing to Sarah during her visit to Vancouver Island. Devastated by her loss, he relocates to Germany, committing to a life without his soulmate. Struggling with grief, he is persistently tormented by the circumstances of her death and how her body came to be floating off Vancouver, more than 100 miles from her intended destination. Homesickness eventually drives him back to England, where he learns the shocking truth about the homicide investigation and the twist of fate that forever changes his chosen path.

As the story unfolds, it reveals the dramatic impact the deceased woman had on those whose lives she touched, particularly the man suspected of murdering her. The characters are tightly intertwined in this generational, multicultural saga of suspected homicide, enduring love, emotional trauma, and the fight to recapture those closest to the heart. With its roots set in England, Deadly Assumption is a tale rich in history, encompassing Canada, Germany, and France, and spanning the period from the years prior to World War II into the 1980s.

USA Today bestselling author Loretta Chase continues her Difficult Dukes series with this charming brother's best friend second-chance historical romance.

Of all the dukes in all the world, why does it have to be him?

Lady Alice Ancaster needs a husband, and fast, because her reckless brother is going to get himself killed, leaving the dukedom--and her future--in their repellent cousin's clutches.

The Duke of Blackwood has known Alice since childhood, and they've always had a special connection. But years ago he broke it, when he chose a riotous life with his two best friends instead of a reasonable one with her.

The trouble is, the tall, dark, sardonic rogue keeps turning up exactly when needed, and ready--though he sometimes needs a push--to play the hero, if only for as long as it takes.

Being irresistibly drawn to the Wrong Man is not convenient, but when events come to a crisis, Alice has to make a choice. The question is, can she live with it?

Like Lorna Landvik and J. Ryan Stradal, Jan Lefebvre has a wonderful ear for the cadence of Midwestern life, and an appreciation for the small moments between us that are so much bigger. There's heartbreak in this book, but also so much good humor, and hope. Reading this beautifully tender novel, I kept thinking that if A Man Called Ove were set in Central Minnesota in the 1970s, it might be a little bit like this. In the end, Little Stars is a plea for compassion and kindness in this world, and we need it.

Shannon Olson, author of Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken and Children of God Go Bowling.

Sal Schmidt, a middle-aged bachelor in 1974, lives a lonely life in central Minnesota, employed as a maintenance worker while caring for his mentally ill brother, Art. When a sudden event forces Sal into a moment of heroism and, thereby, local celebrity, his secluded ways spin out of control, forcing him to live in the larger world he avoids and mistrusts. He discovers that, when he was young and serving in the Navy, his mother betrayed him, causing Sal to lose his chance at love and leading him to descend into seclusion. The shock of his mother's betrayal sets Sal yearning for what might have been, and he finally acts, daring to dream of romance and wondering if he might attain a ray of happiness if he is brave enough to let in a little light.

Fueled by the knowledge that notoriety is better than failure, witty, unconventional Josie does what no proper young lady should--she challenges fate. She discards her corset and flirts outrageously. She attends the horse races and allows an arrogant rakehell to whisk her behind the stables for a surreptitious kiss . . . and is caught

She doesn't want to marry the young hellion--but who's to help? Her chaperone keeps disappearing for mysterious appointments; her guardian is on his wedding trip; and his friend the Earl of Mayne is too busy staring into the eyes of his exquisite French fiancEe.

Can a marriage forced by stuffy convention and unwilling desire become the match of the season?

I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters--sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!--Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author Susanna Kearsley explores romance, court alliances, and the limits of one's duty in this rich story of an honorable man in service to a treacherous king, and the mission that brings him to love and his true calling.

It is the year 1613, and King James is sending his messenger Andrew Logan into Scotland with secret orders to arrest Sir David Moray, close friend and advisor of the late Prince Henry. Secrets are second nature to Andrew, who must hide his Second Sight to stay alive. Joined by a court scrivener and the scrivener's spirited daughter Phoebe, Andrew slowly untangles the true purpose of his mission--to frame Sir David for Prince Henry's murder. But Andrew is unwilling to betray an innocent man.

Phoebe Westaway dislikes Andrew, and their history makes it hard for her to trust him. But as their journey draws them deeper into the dark web of court intrigue, Phoebe begins to suspect that she might have more need of the King's Messenger and his unusual gifts than she could ever have foreseen.

More praise for Susanna Kearsley:

I loved the story. Couldn't put it down. It was thoroughly researched and told with brilliantly compelling authenticity. --Barbara Erskine for The King's Messenger

Susanna Kearsley just keeps getting better and better! --Lauren Willig

'I just love these characters...they truly feel like people I know.' Lisa Boyle, author of the Paddy Series

An extraordinary bequest alters their fate...

In the winter of 1846, Cormac and Bridget receive two letters that will change their lives forever. Lord Bewley has died and left Bewley Hall to Cormac, while potato blight has struck the Oakleigh Estate, driving the tenants to appeal to Bridget for help. With their world turned upside down, they decide to leave America and cross the Atlantic to meet the challenges of their pressing responsibilities.

As for their daughter Emily, she faces a choice of her own: will she go with her family or stay in America for her art...and for Rory?

Heading towards new horizons, they must all strive to re-establish themselves while hampered by distrust and prejudice on multiple fronts. When separation once again plunges a member of the family into grave danger, will they be able to distinguish friend from foe?

A Class Inherited is the sixth book in Susie Murphy's historical fiction series A Matter of Class. The story will continue in the seventh book, A Class Liberated.

Praise for A Class Inherited:

'This lovely saga has more than earned its name...the book is a delight to read.' Historical Novel Society (May 2024 issue Historical Novels Review)

'Susie Murphy's writing and storytelling skill has once again kept me spellbound, as I stayed up way past my bedtime, telling myself just one more chapter.' Lisa Reads Books, book reviewer

'I am really experiencing such an array of emotions...This series is so worth your time.' Book Reviews for U, book reviewer

'Susie Murphy has a style that puts you at the heart of the book from the start giving you characters that you want to see succeed.' Mandie Griffiths, book reviewer at Jen Med's Book Reviews

'I was drawn into the story right away...Don't miss this series!' The Lit Bitch, book reviewer

What readers are saying:

★★★★★ 'My favorite book of the series so far!'

★★★★★ 'Very strong women characters. I was totally engrossed.'

★★★★★ 'This beautifully written series just keeps getting better.'

★★★★★ 'Susie Murphy comes through again!'

★★★★★ 'She has brought the characters to life and made the story real.'

★★★★★ 'Every time I think I know what's coming next, it's a surprise.'

★★★★★ 'I could not put this book down!'

★★★★★ 'One of the best series of books I've ever read.'

★★★★★ 'Wow, what a story, absolutely brilliant.'

★★★★★ 'Fantastic read yet again and can't wait for the next one!'

*** Now with new material -- Hester and Galen's favorite Mud Pie Recipe ***

As a child Hester Wyatt escaped slavery, but now the dark skinned beauty is a dedicated member of Michigan's Underground railroad, offering other runaways a chance at the freedom she has learned to love. When one of her fellow conductors brings her an injured man to hide, Hester doesn't hesitate...even after she is told about the price on his head.

The man in question is the great conductor known as the Black Daniel a vital member of the North's Underground railroad network. But Hester finds him so rude and arrogant, she begins to question her vow to hide him.

When the injured and beaten Galen Vachon, aka, the Black Daniel awakens in Hester's cellar, he is unprepared for the feisty young conductor providing his care. As a member of one of the wealthiest free Black families in New Orleans, Galen has turned his back on the lavish living he is accustomed to in order to provide freedom to those enslaved in the South.

However, as he heals he cannot turn his back on Hester Wyatt. Her innocence fills him like a breath of fresh air and he is determined to make this gorgeous and intelligent woman his own...

Yet...there are traitors to be discovered, slave catchers to be evaded and Hester's heart to be won before she and Galen can find the freedom that only true love can bring.