Review: The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe

In the second novel in Joanna Shupe's the Uptown Girl series, a ruthless casino owner bent on revenge finds his plans upended by a beautiful women who proves to be more determined than he is—and too irresistible to deny.

THE PRINCE OF BROADWAY by JOANNA SHUPE

Series: Uptown Girls #2

Genre: historical romance

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: December 30, 2019

Synopsis:

Powerful casino owner.
Ruthless mastermind.
Destroyer of men.

He lives in the shadows...

As the owner of the city's most exclusive casino, Clayton Madden holds the fortunes of prominent families in the palms of his hands every night. There is one particular family he burns to ruin, however, one that has escaped his grasp... until now.

She is society's darling...

Florence Greene is no one's fool. She knows Clayton Madden is using her to ruin her prestigious family... and she's using him right back. She plans to learn all she can from the mysterious casino owner—then open a casino of her own just for women.

With revenge on his mind, Clay agrees to mentor Florence. However, she soon proves more adept—and more alluring—than Clay bargained for. When his plans are threatened, Clay must decide if he is willing to gamble his empire on love.

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Praise for The Prince of Broadway:

“An intelligent, sexy romp!”
- Entertainment Weekly

"Shupe continues to cut her very own swath through the historical romance subgenre by effectively using her literary moxie for mixing savvy characterization, an intriguingly different historical setting, and scorching sensuality to create the kind of captivating love stories romance readers crave."
- Booklist

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.

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REVIEW

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I don't give out a ton of one star ratings, but if I do you know the book really made me angry. Unfortunately this is the case for The Prince of Broadway. I thought for sure this was going to be a huge hit for me considering how much I loved the previous book and enjoyed this author's writing. Not only that, but Clay and Flo were such compelling characters in The Rogue of Fifth Avenue that I was really excited to read more about them. Disappointment is a vast understatement for what I'm feeling right now.

I love a good revenge plot, in fact, it's one of my favorite tropes. So I wasn't bothered by Clay's hardened, cold behavior at the start. Clayton Madden has climbed his way out of the slums and now owns the most prosperous, illegal casino in New York. His need for power and revenge is as essential to him as the very air he breathes. He used the hatred he feels for Flo's father as fuel to come out on top, and have the means to always be in control of his life. Thing is, no one ever has that power no matter how much money or status you attain.

Flo is the daughter of his greatest perceived enemy, but he can't resist his instant attraction to her. And her rebellious heart can't help but flutter over this dangerous, broody man's focused interest. The first thing that really bothered me about these two came very early on. She has a grand plan to start a casino exclusively for women, and asks him if he will mentor her in the business. He agrees to give her lessons, while admitting that he has a scheme in motion to get revenge on her father. With a vague thought that she'll somehow change his mind later, she accepts this and commences lusting over him.

I understand that she's an unconventional woman for the time who has no interest in marriage or finding love. Nothing wrong with that. But how do you knowingly team up with a man who is bent on harming your family? He keeps repeating throughout the book that he is being honest and transparent, so he's not taking advantage of her, but that's an outright lie. He never tells her specifically what he's doing, even after they become involved on a personal level. Even after she tells him that the very home he intends to steal from her grandmother will one day be passed down to her. She's depending on that home to secure the independent future for herself, and he never even hesitates in this knowledge.

Flo was meant to appear bold and adventurous, but she was better described as an immature, privileged kid who does what she wants without thoughts of the consequences. Namely, trusting him enough to sleep with him. Despite his continued determination for revenge, she throws herself at him and he treats her like trash afterwards.

She foolishly sneaks out to the casino night after night, disregarding the danger in doing so. When her father finds out and rails against her for putting herself at risk and associating with a criminal who wants to harm them, she petulantly acts like he's being unreasonable. What adolescent scene would be complete without an "It's not fair!" Yes, she goes there. In the end, she gets burned badly but I couldn't feel much sympathy for her.

Clay remains cold and unfeeling about the woman he's supposed to have deep, unwanted feelings for, but actions speak louder than words. He continues to push his plans forward, knowing the hurt and devastation he will cause. I didn't see any character growth whatsoever from his starting point, and the more he clung to his hatred, the more mine grew. When the big confrontation happens in the last 15%, the things he said and did were not redeemable. The remorse he feels afterward is way too little, too late. I wish I could have jumped inside the book and punched him in his smug face. She finally shows some backbone at this point and rebuffs his apologies, but that was not enough for me either.

I wasn't rooting for them to make up, and I felt nothing for the two of them as a couple. I would say that's a complete fail when reading a romance novel. I'm so sad that this book didn't work, but I would still give the rest of the series another chance. The next book is about Mulligan, and once again I'm curious to read more about him in his own story. Hopefully others will find more to enjoy with this second installment, but for me this one missed the mark in a big way.

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