Shupe continues to raise the bar for Gilded Age romance with the first book in a promising new series.
A lady hunting for scandal finds a fin de siècle fairy tale instead.
Lady Honora Parker behaved so badly with a starving artist named Robert Landon that her family has banished her from London all the way to New York City, where she can be matched with a suitable “American man.” Nora decides to create an even bigger scandal by becoming temporarily engaged to the most unsuitable man in the city: new-money financier Julius Hatcher. She proposes the ruse after finding him soused at a dinner on the second floor of one of the city’s finest restaurants, and he’s delighted to be part of this new caper in order to finally be welcome in high society. While they wait for the news to get back to London and upset her father, thus freeing Nora to marry Robert, they’re obligated to act as an affianced couple—which uncovers a powerful attraction between them. Shupe (Tycoon, 2016, etc.) returns to the Gilded Age with the Four Hundred Series, using two outsiders to introduce readers to the opulent world of Mrs. Caroline Astor’s Four Hundred, the New York aristocrats who looked down on upstarts like Julius. She uses clever historical detail to bring to life both the ballrooms and the trading floor of New York City in 1890, and Regency readers will appreciate Nora’s observations of how her new world is very different from London society but also very similar. As she searches for a proper scandal, Julius’ respect for Nora’s reputation and intelligence makes the scenes where they give in to their attraction all the sweeter. Shupe builds tension beautifully, and readers will be pleased to finally come to the opulent wedding at the end.
Shupe continues to raise the bar for Gilded Age romance with the first book in a promising new series.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-267889-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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