Joanna Shupe

One of Goodreads' Best Romances of October! A 2017 RT Reviewer's Choice Nominee for Best Historical Love & Laughter! Set in New York City’s Gilded Age, Joanna Shupe’s Avon debut introduces an English beauty with a wicked scheme to win the man she loves—and the American scoundrel who ruins her best laid plans… Lady Honora Parker must get engaged as soon as possible, and only a particular type of man will do. Nora seeks a mate so abhorrent, so completely unacceptable, that her father will reject the match—leaving her free to marry the artist she loves. Who then is the most appalling man in Manhattan? The wealthy, devilishly handsome financier, Julius Hatcher, of course…. Julius is intrigued by Nora’s ruse and decides to play along. But to Nora’s horror, Julius transforms himself into the perfect fiancé, charming the very people she hoped he would offend. It seems Julius has a secret plan all his own—one that will solve a dark mystery from his past, and perhaps turn him into the kind of man Nora could truly love.

The Four Hundred Series

A Daring Arrangement

Lover of Romance 

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

This is the first time I have ever read this author and all I can is IMPRESSIVE....I was really blown away by this book and I am not sure if I will give this book the credit it deserves but I am going in full speed ahead anyway.

In A Daring Arrangement  we have a story of a couple, that are brought together in a night of birthday parties, drinking, horses and a fake engagement...intrigued yet?? Well you all should be because the beginning of the story was quite frankly the best beginning I have read in a long LONG while and it left me grinning from the first couple of pages. Our heroine is desperate. She has fallen in love with a artist, but her father disapporves and heavily. So he ships her off to America to stay with her aunt in New York City for a time. Honora Parker, has a plan, a dangerous one for sure, but she has a plan. In order to return home, she will need to let scandal erupt but not too much. So she will hunt down the biggest scoundrel and dangerous man in New York City and seek out a fake engagement and then her father will bring her back to England so she can be with her first love. Only there is one problem with the plan, her fake fiancee is starting to feel too real, and she is starting to feel more for this American than she has ever felt for her artist. And this daring arrangement has turned out to be one of true love...

What a story that packs a whollop and boy oh boy, has it been a while since I have read a fake engagement romance and one that deals with a lady of the Ton and an American and takes place in the States instead of England as is the norm. I found this setting to be quite refreshing. And another aspect that I didn't expect was our hero. Now this is a man that has had to go after his own future. When his father made a poor investment, his family lost everything. And he never wanted to suffer that again and he became a investment tycoon. And is one of the richest men in New York City. He does have a "wild" reputation but quite honestly this hero of ours is way more responsible than our heroine. Now don't get me wrong, I liked her in many ways. But she was naive and too innocent and very reckless. She wanted scandal and everything but not too much to destroy her but just enough to make her father angry. Thank goodness for Julius being the logical and sensible of the pair here. He keeps her out of TOO much trouble that she is determined to get herself into. I really did enjoy the adventures these two go on and the chemistry that builds between them. This is more of a slow burn romance, it builds in just the right ways. I liked that it wasn't too rushed and seemed to fit right for this pair.

A Daring Arrangement  is a love affair that is full of mischief, laughter, nothing too sensible....lively sparks and packed with emotion and adventure!!  A Romance to die for and will lift any reader's spirits. This story is bound to keep you on your toes. Guaranteed.

Set in New York City’s Gilded Age, Joanna Shupe’s Avon debut introduces an English beauty with a wicked scheme to win the man she loves—and the American scoundrel who ruins her best laid plans… Lady Honora Parker must get engaged as soon as possible, and only a particular type of man will do. Nora seeks a mate so abhorrent, so completely unacceptable, that her father will reject the match—leaving her free to marry the artist she loves. Who then is the most appalling man in Manhattan? The wealthy, devilishly handsome financier, Julius Hatcher, of course…. Julius is intrigued by Nora’s ruse and decides to play along. But to Nora’s horror, Julius transforms himself into the perfect fiancé, charming the very people she hoped he would offend. It seems Julius has a secret plan all his own—one that will solve a dark mystery from his past, and perhaps turn him into the kind of man Nora could truly love.

Rachel Benton

This is first book in the Four Hundred series by Joanna Shupe. This book takes place during the gilded age, one of my favorite time periods in history. The main character Nora was sent away to live with her Aunt and Uncle in America ( New York) after her father discovers that she was in a relationship that he thought was unsuitable for her. Wanting to get back to her lover, Nora devises a scheme to create a bigger scandal so that her father will be forced to send her back to England and she can be with her lover (Robert). She enlist the help of Julius Hatcher, wall street playboy, millionaire, who has some skeletons in his closet. To pose as her fiance. Things don’t go as expected and Nora/Julius start to develop feelings for each other, each in their own way afraid to commit to each other. I thought this was very well written. Joanna Shupe has a way of taken you in a story and leaves you wanting more. I am super eager to read the next book in this series. I thought all the characters in this was book was written very well. Though I admit it took me some time to warm up to Nora. Julius was definitely was my favorite character in this book. I have to say that I never thought I find the stock market interesting. I liked how some of the plot was centered around the stock market. One of my favorite scenes in the book was when Julius had taken Nora to the stock Exchange. He had to sneak her in, because they didn’t allow women on the floor, which is an interesting history fact, that I didn’t know about. I have been reading a lot of romance as of late, this book by so far has been the best. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this serious. So if you haven’t picked this up, I highly recommend this book.

Lacey

3.5! Enjoyable, but I can't say that I loved it. I am looking forward to more Gilded Age romances from this author!

A Daring Arrangement The Four Hundred Series

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