Publishers Weekly
09/25/2017
Shupe (the Knickerbocker Club series) takes readers back to the Gilded Age of 19th-century New York in the enjoyable debut of her Four Hundred series. After Lady Honora “Nora” Parker’s father learns of her unsuitable relationship with penniless artist Robert Landon, he sends her away from her home in England to live with her aunt and uncle in New York and find an appropriate husband. Nora devises a plan to find a most unsuitable fiancé so that her father will relent and allow her to return to England to marry Robert. She settles on Julius Hatcher, a wealthy financier known for his outlandish parties and scandalous liaisons with actresses. Julius agrees to pose as Nora’s fake fiancé in exchange for her assisting him in his quest to enter New York upper-crust society. He’s astonished to feel intense attraction and come to admire her. When the romance sizzles between Nora and Julius, the barriers of their arrangement begin to fall away. Mystery simmers in the background as Julius searches for the unknown men he believes drove his father to suicide. Shupe has expertly developed her winning protagonists to reveal great depth of character. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Nothing makes me happier than a new book from Joanna Shupe.” — Sarah MacLean
“An intelligent, sexy romp!” — Entertainment Weekly
“Shupe’s unique talents shine in her start to The Four Hundred series as her sparkling light humor mixes with poignancy, danger, heated chemistry and delightful dialogue. This enchanting series starter hooks readers who will be craving more.” — RT Book Reviews (top pick)
“Shupe continues to raise the bar for Gilded Age romance with the first book in a promising new series.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Shupe takes readers back to the Gilded Age of 19th-century New York in the enjoyable debut of her Four Hundred series…Shupe has expertly developed her winning protagonists to reveal great depth of character.” — Publishers Weekly
“A young lady’s outrageous plan to marry the man of her dreams backfires most effectively in this steamy romance that takes excellent advantage of a seldom-used New York Gilded Age setting.” — Library Journal
RT Book Reviews (top pick)
Shupe’s unique talents shine in her start to The Four Hundred series as her sparkling light humor mixes with poignancy, danger, heated chemistry and delightful dialogue. This enchanting series starter hooks readers who will be craving more.
Entertainment Weekly
An intelligent, sexy romp!
Sarah MacLean
Nothing makes me happier than a new book from Joanna Shupe.
Library Journal
10/15/2017
Lady Honora Parker is furious when her noble father scotches her plans to marry a struggling artist and sends her to her aunt and uncle in America to find a worthy husband. Undeterred, she hatches a foolproof plan to ensure that she is sent back to England—and into the arms of her beloved Robert. All she has to do is become engaged (temporarily, of course) to the most totally unsuitable, obnoxious Yank she can find. Brash financier Julius Hatcher is the perfect choice, though he has a long-standing hidden agenda of his own. While Nora's proposition is a good one, the results are not at all what either intended. VERDICT A young lady's outrageous plan to marry the man of her dreams backfires most effectively in this steamy romance that takes excellent advantage of a seldom-used New York Gilded Age setting. Shupe (Mogul) lives in South Orange, NJ.
