I received a free, advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

What started out as a cowboy second chance romance (at twelve years old, leaving in a nearby cabin, while her father worked for the forest service, Poppy Carmichael had fallen in love with the Sterling Montana Guest Ranch, Kate Sterling, who embraced the motherless girl and taught her how to cook and fifteen year old cowboy Will Sterling, who ignored her), escalated into a page turning murder mystery. Years have passed. The three Sterling brothers are now grown, having lost their mother years ago and their father the previous year. Will, the oldest was going to run the guest ranch, while his brothers ran the ranch. This was to be the first year when he was in charge of the guest ranch and things are not starting out well. One of the cabins has a leak in the roof, their cook broke his leg and he had been talked into having guest earlier than they normally do, because the request was from an old friend of their father's. Needing a cook, Garrett, his brother, suggests that he call Poppy, who has returned to town and opened a catering business. Desperate, he calls her, hoping she doesn't still hold a grudge against him. She accepts, planning revenge, having him fall in love with her and her cooking and then breaking his heart. When the guest arrive for a team building long weekend, none of them look happy to be there. As Will and Poppy dance around each other, someone starts to pull dangerous pranks and then there is a murder and a massive snow storm. I was reminded of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Wonderful characters and a riveting plot had me staying up much pasted my bed time, but I knew I would not be able to sleep until I finished it. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Wil and Poppy had a young love years ago and it ended on a bad note, Wil broke Poppys heart and she was determined not to let him do it again. However things do not always go as planned. Wil is having as a bit of bad luck he is running his families ranch and his cook gets hurt so he needs Poppy I mean he could handle four days with her, and so he thinks. As these do spend time together things start heating up but do they really have time to devote to it because they are surrounded by danger and suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Enjoy!

This was a very good book and my first read by B.J. Daniels. It had a great friends-to-lovers feel and the setting was captivating! It definitely is a good read for fans of romantic suspense!

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

Fair and honest review. Well, I didn't really like this one, which is really tough to say because B.J. Daniels is an author I've read and loved for years. "Stroke of Luck" just wasn't up to her usual high standard. It has a great plot but the characters are stilted and one dimensional. I just wasn't feeling the happy childhood summer or the young teen angst that was the foundation of this couple or that Will is a confirmed bachelor that no woman has been able to lasso. The mystery/suspense was a great element. If the first 80% of the book was as good as the last 20% it would have been fantastic.

Poppy Montgomery is back in Whitefish, MT after 20 years. She loved this area when she was a child and has decided to start her catering business here. The area isn't the only thing she loved and left. 12 year old Poppy left the love of her young life and the parting wasn't pretty. Is she now back to exercise a ghost or rekindle a past love? Or exact a little revenge?

Will Sterling is now the sole operator of the Sterling Guest Ranch after the death of his father. He is looking forward to making much needed improvements to the rustic ranch experience that his father ran. When he is requested to open the ranch early to accommodate a corporate retreat by an old family friend and for a substantial amount of money, he goes against his gut feeling and opens the ranch in March even though the weather can be unpredictable. When his cook breaks his leg, Dorothea, the housekeeper, is sure nothing good is going to come from this event.

Poppy agrees to cook for Will's retreat guests, the money he is offering is very good and it also gives her the opportunity to implement her plan for Will to fall for her and then to break his heart. But, apparently, it isn't true about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach, because although Will is enjoying the food, he hasn't succumbed to anything more than her culinary seduction.

Big Jack's company retreat was off to a bad start. His employees didn't want to be there and they didn't even like each other. With a Montana blizzard bearing down on them, suspicion and mistrust turn deadly catching Will and Poppy in the middle.

B.J. Daniels has presented a new romantic suspense to enjoy. Stroke of Luck is exactly that. Both Will and Poppy are lucky. Will needed a new cook asap due to his cook having broken his foot.  Poppy is lucky because she too, will get a second chance. Poppy has loved Will since she was twelve. However, fours days spread out and there is more than just sparks and tension on the horizon. The characters had a connection that hooked me from the beginning. I wanted to know more about them and what would happen next. 

Danger, suspense, and romance tangled into one entertaining read. Every page had me deep into the book. I liked how B.J. Daniels pushed more mystery and danger in this book than her previous ways of writing. It was a bold yet good move. Made it a lot more different than her other romance novels. Overall, I recommend this to all readers.

Never read the synopsis. Saw that it had a cowboy on the cover and knew I wanted to read it. Shallow, I know. But I’m not disappointed one little bit.

This was an enjoyable suspenseful book with a smidgen of romance sprinkled on top. Did I wish it had more than a sprinkle? You bet. But with the amount of action and intrigue happening, I probably would’ve rolled my eyes if there was. This story had no time for romance.

I am glad I read it and I look forward to reading to the next one in the series.

While this book was a little more suspense than romance, I really did enjoy it. This looks like the first in a new series so I'm very excited for the rest of them. This author never disappoints. Definitely recommended!

Montana in March. Brrrr! Of course, our main characters do heat it up. An immediate need for a cook sets the stage for an heretofore unrequited love encounter. It has been twenty years since the love bug bit these two. Will they still have an attraction to one another? The guests are reason for them being together, but cause many problems. A snow storm adds to the issues. The murder mystery gets convoluted and has many surprises. A definite page turner. I skipped the intimate scenes, but enjoyed the story.

I’ve read quite a few B.J. Daniels books and enjoyed everyone of them. This one did not disappoint either! Will is desperate for a chef to help with a ranch full of retreat guests and calls on Poppy Carmichael, an old childhood friend. Multiple murders during the retreat, a Montana blizzard and a lot of suspense while Poppy and Will find the killer before the killer finds them.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it to everyone.

I thought this was a mystery/suspense love story but all I read was the suspense part and that is not my thing. I like romances and I need to see the chemistry & character development/bond they form with one another - while they are out chasing the bad guys. That did not happen here in this book. And what ruined it or me is the Hero "debating" to save the horses. That was just so wrong in so many ways that it ruined it or me.

I was not a fan of Wrangler's Rescue, but I enjoyed this one much more. Sometimes the mixture of two different types of storylines doesn't work, but, for this one it did.
You had a compelling 'mystery' mixed with a possible love story. All set up at a place with no technological access to the outside world. I'm not so sure I'd want to be stuck like that.

Having read a couple of cowboy romance books from this author before I was excited to start a new series of the same ilk. Except what I got was a lot more than just romance. This was a crime drama and mystery moreso than a romance. The story engaged me and the characters were all well-rounded.

The author writes from the third person with a multitude of characters. It's hard to determine who the main characters are in the story throughout the middle because the romance is a bit lost by all the action happening.

Crime fiction isn't usually my go-to sub genre and I was expecting something a bit different but I found the suspense exciting and enjoyed this story. The setting was great and I loved the story of the Sterling ranch and all it's unique parts. The history provided for the main characters with a budding romance was great too. B.J. Daniels' writing gives you so much while reading it's hard not to fall into the pages.

This was a good suspenseful story about a group of employees on a guest ranch and murders start to happen. It keeps you guessing who the killer is. I enjoy her books.

This was a really slow read for me, but I needed to know what was going to happen. There’s a killer, delicious food, and a second-chance romance. While Poppy’s revenge seemed a little silly to me—she was only 12 when she got her heart broken—I really liked Poppy and Will’s conversation at the end. I also really enjoyed Dorothea as a character, she adds some great comic relief. Overall, if you’re looking for a murder mystery and second-chance romance you’ve come to the right place.

One of the best books I have read this year! Stroke of Luck is phenomenal with characters you love. Emotional and romantic, and sexy cowboys this is a book for everyone. Page after page I was hooked.

This is a light romantic suspense from B J Daniels. Good story and I liked the characters. She is an author I can always recommend to my customers and know they will enjoy her books

Some people never believe in luck or fate and others kind of construct their lives around the belief that there is some driving force – perhaps even divine – that navigates our future path. In STROKE OF LUCK we meet a mix of people that are trying to figure out if it is luck or fate that has decided their lot in life or love. There is definitely something in the air at the Sterling Montana Guest Ranch and I guess it’s our task to figure it all out. B.J. Daniels keeps leaving crumbs but it is going to take some determination to gather them all and piece together this puzzle.
The Sterling brothers are now running the family guest ranch with oldest brother Will at the helm. It is definitely a seasonal endeavor and so the other two brothers are busy running the ranch and helping out when needed. This year Will gets a request for a four day stay at the guest ranch from one of his father’s old friends. Big Jack Hanson is coming with his group in a pre-season outing. There are some complications and uncertainties with folks coming at this time of year. Will is counting on the weather holding up but as it turns out that is the least of his concerns.
First his cook gets hurt and as the temporary replacement Will seeks out Poppy Carmichael to step in. As a young girl Poppy had lived on the Sterling ranch with her father. They moved away when she was about twelve. Poppy was devastated as only a teenager could be at leaving Will who had captured her eye and heart. Ah young puppy love.
Now back in town Poppy sees Wills request as a chance to even the score. She is going to make him fall for her – perhaps through his stomach – and then turn her back just as he had done. Poppy always longed to be part of the group Will hung around with albeit his guests both boys and girls. But she was sidelined by her age and the fact that Will’s father had strictly cautioned his involvement with this very young impressionable girl.
Poppy has definitely caught Will’s attention with more than just her very fine culinary skills. But now there is something else coming between them. There seems to be something amuck with this group visiting the guest ranch. They don’t seem to get along very well. Lots of strange looks and feelings between the men and women who work for Big Jack and his son Lamar. Big Jack keeps dropping little tidbits to Lamar which has finally caught his attention.
So Lamar is trying to figure out why Big Jack thinks he has been stealing from the company. And since Lamar knows he isn’t – well then who is and why. And while we are at it just what is all that angst that is the present undercurrent between these particular employees that Big Jack invited on this outing. None of them seem to be enjoying themselves and quite a few are working diligently to make themselves as scarce as possible.
Welcome to the world of B.J. Daniels the master of plot and intrigue disguised as good family fun. STROKE OF LUCK starts out with a simple premise – a group outing at a ranch. Riding, comradery and good food. But what happens when it appears as if this group is having some bad luck, accidents. That’s the fun part of reading anything by this entertaining imaginative author. Hang on. It’s bound to get a lot rougher.

I thoroughly enjoyed Stroke of Luck. A great romantic suspense. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put the book down. Romance fans will enjoy this fabulous book. Thanks to Netgalley for my digital ARC. This is an unbiased review.

When you open this one make sure you have the time to sit and read. You wont want to put it down.
I thought I was going to have an easy time figuring out where this one was going. I was surprisingly wrong.
The author keeps you wondering at each turn of the page.
Its a great read and one I will definitely read a few more times.