Tycoon

Joanna Shupe — 2016

Sometimes the journey is more pleasurable than the destination . . . In Gilded Age New York City, the bachelors of the Knickerbocker Club spend their days rubbing elbows with Manhattan's most elite citizens--and their nights with its most intoxicating women . . . Standing on the platform at Grand Central Station, Ted Harper is surprised by a fiery kiss from an undeniably gorgeous damsel in distress. He's certain she's a swindler who's only after his money, but he's never met a woman so passionate and sure of herself. Disarmed, he invites her to spend the journey to St. Louis in his private car--perhaps against his better judgment . . . Clara Dawson has long known how to take care of herself, but the savvy shop girl is at a loss when she witnesses--and becomes entangled in--a terrible crime. Desperation propels her into a stranger's arms at the train station, but she hadn't expected Ted to offer her the protection she so badly needs--nor did she expect their chemistry to develop more steam than the engine of the train. He's everything she never thought she could have, and she's everything he didn't know he wanted. But as her secrets begin to unfurl, their fledgling romance could be in danger of derailing before they arrive at the next station . . . Raves for The Courtesan Duchess "Original and alluring." --Publishers Weekly "Riveting." --Sabrina Jeffries "Passionate and seductive." --RT Book Reviews "Captivating." --Booklist

Reviews

b.andherbooks@bandherbooks

Oct 9, 2021

Gilded Age USA setting. A plucky perfume salesperson convinces starchy banker to pretend to be her husband leading to forced-proximity and only-one-bed on a TRAIN. A delightful novella.

Kim@kimberlyfayereads

Oct 6, 2021

Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads. Joanna Shupe's Knickerbocker Club series has been on my TBR for a little over a year now. One of my good friends highly recommended it to me and even gave me a copy of the first full-length book. But, you know the drill — my TBR overfloweth and I wasn't in a huge hurry to get to it. If Tycoon, the prequel novella, is any indication I'm going to love this series. I've had a really tough time reading since all this pandemic stuff started. For the longest time, I either wasn't reading at all or just focusing on re-reading books I already love. But in the last couple of weeks, I decided to dip my toe in the novella waters to see what would happen. It worked! My attention span right now is pretty much perfectly-suited to novellas and I'm devouring the ones on my backlist. Tycoon was one of the first and, honestly, my favorite of the bunch so far. I'm a sucker for a good forced proximity story — especially when there's *gasp* only one bed. From the train station meet-cute to the fake it till you make it setup, Tycoon sucked me in from the very start. There was something so endearing about Clara and Ted and I just couldn't get enough of them. Their story was a great combination of sweet and sexy, with a side of feels and a bit of action. Would I have liked more from these two? Obviously. But I also enjoyed how everything played out in the novella. Though I'd be lying if I didn't say I hope to see more of them in the other books in the series. As soon as I can get my reading mojo fully back, I'm going to start devouring the rest of this series. The setting isn't one I normally read in historical romance and I am here for it. Well, it and pretty much everything Joanna Shupe writes. I'm well on my way to becoming an unapologetic fangirl. Favorite Quotes: "I assume the one bed is sufficient, sir. We weren't told your wife was coming along." "This isn't proper. I should be—" "Kissing me. You should be kissing me."