Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Review: The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe


Silver-tongued lawyer.
Keeper of secrets.
Breaker of hearts.


THE ROGUE OF FIFTH AVENUE by JOANNA SHUPE
Series: Uptown Girls #1
Publication date: May 28, 2019
Published by: Avon Romance
Genre: historical romance

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SYNOPSIS

He can solve any problem…

In serving the wealthy power brokers of New York society, Frank Tripp has finally gained the respectability and security his own upbringing lacked. There’s no issue he cannot fix…except for one: the beautiful and reckless daughter of an important client who doesn’t seem to understand the word danger.

She’s not looking for a hero…

Excitement lay just below Forty-Second Street and Mamie Greene is determined to explore all of it—while playing a modern-day Robin Hood along the way. What she doesn’t need is her father’s lawyer dogging her every step and threatening her efforts to help struggling families in the tenements.

However, she doesn’t count on Frank’s persistence…or the sparks that fly between them. When fate upends all her plans, Mamie must decide if she’s willing to risk it all on a rogue…


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Praise for The Rogue of Fifth Avenue:

“A brilliantly rendered historical setting, vividly drawn and memorable characters, and plenty of smoldering sexual tension that eventually combusts in sexy love scenes add a marvelous sense of zest to the start of Shupe’s Gilded Age-set Uptown Girls series.”
- Kirkus Reviews


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. While in college, Joanna read every romance she could get her hands on instead of attending classes, yet still managed to graduate with a journalism degree. She enjoyed a few years in sports and theater marketing but soon returned to romance by crafting her own racy historical novels.

In 2013 she won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical. Joanna’s first Gilded Age historical novel, MAGNATE was named one of the Best Books of 2016 by Publishers Weekly, and one of 2016′s top romances by The Washington Post and Kobo.

She currently lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and dashing husband.

You can find her on:
The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls, #1)The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars








I've been wanting to try a Joanna Shupe book ever since her previous Four Hundred series came out. Frank Tripp was a secondary character who now starts out the Uptown Girls with his own book. I've read a lot of historical romances set in the old west, but I can't recall any American Gilded Age romances set in high society. The majority of my reads were set in Victorian or Regency England. For that reason alone I was really curious to see if it would be something that I'd enjoy. And enjoy it I did!! It was refreshingly original, well written, and the time period well researched. I've been reading the genre more years than I'd care to admit, and this brought something fresh to the table I quickly devoured. We saw a strong theme of the contrast between upper and lower class and their quality of life. How the opportunities they were born into, or lack of them influenced the path of their life.

Mamie Greene grew up in an affluent, privileged world. Her father is rich and powerful, and though he loves her, has antiquated views on how much control he should have over his daughters' lives. She may not have wanted for anything financially, or had to fear for her safety, but when it came to love and marriage and the rest of her life, she wanted no part in the set of rules that governed her class. Loveless marriages purely for the sake of appearances, all while seeking affection elsewhere? She'd rather stay on the shelf. Her father is determined to unite her with the son of his friend, and will ruin anyone who dares to stand in his way. She obediently agrees to his arranged marriage in exchange for her sisters' freedom to marry for love. What's not to love about a heroine like that? She's also a bit of a rebel, sneaking out at night to gambling clubs to raise money for the less fortunate.

She doesn't just restrict her fundraising to gambling. She lifts as many fat purses as she can get her hands on-until Frank catches her red handed. Hired by her father to keep her out of trouble, he certainly has his hands full with her. From their very first interaction, you see how strong his attraction is for Mamie, and how much he admires her. Up until now, he's admired her from afar, and traded barbs with her when they came in contact with each other. But there's never really any animosity there. He loves that she speaks her mind. Her wit is as sharp as his and she puts it to good use.

    “I’m quite capable of speaking my own mind.” “So I’m gathering,” he murmured.

Frank grew up in poverty with no prospects in life. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and after years of fear, hunger, and instability, he wanted more. And he was determined to climb the social ladder by whatever means necessary. He finally did earn his law degree, and with some white lies about his past managed to earn partner at a firm that caters to the top echelon of society. Now that he's clawed his way to the top nothing is going to convince him to put his position at risk. His forbidden attraction for brave and ballsy Mamie could bring him total ruin.

    Frank had always kept his career in the forefront of his mind. Success, power and money . . . the New York trifecta. And he’d gained all three. No woman, not even one as intriguing and clever as Mamie Green, would ever jeopardize that.

Frank was always likable, but he really goes through a transformation throughout the book. Mamie brings about some character growth in him: she helps to open his eyes to the life he turned his back on and to show compassion for those who need it most. The murder trial sub-plot was a big way that this came about. Through his efforts to get justice for an abused woman whose rights were violated by crooked cops, he not only gained a new perspective on his career, he uncovered some surprising revelations about his past along the way.

I loved Frank and Mamie together! They had amazing banter and complimented each other perfectly. They also had considerably more steam than I was expecting. Their passion had a lot of friction in the beginning with their battle of the wills, until eventually the spark was struck and there was no going back. Once Frank got to know Mamie, and her predicament regarding her engagement, he had to make a choice. Hold onto everything he always thought he needed, or risk it all for a love he never planned for? Frank is smart as a whip and can solve any problem set in front of him. Once he makes his mind up that he wants something, all bets are off.

I was so thrilled to start this series out at book one! There is a wide array of supporting characters whose stories I can't wait to read. Get in on this series from the ground up, you will find plenty to satisfy in this promising start to the Uptown Girls.


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