Saturday, April 16, 2016

Book Review: Magnate (The Knickerbocker Club #1) by Joanna Shupe


New York City’s Gilded Age shimmers with unimaginable wealth and glittering power. The men of the Knickerbocker Club know this more than anyone else. But for one millionaire, the business of love is not what he expected…

Born in the slums of Five Points, Emmett Cavanaugh climbed his way to the top of a booming steel empire and now holds court in an opulent Fifth Avenue mansion. His rise in stations, however, has done little to elevate his taste in women. He loathes the city’s “high society” types, but a rebellious and beautiful blue-blood just might change all that.

Elizabeth Sloane’s mind is filled with more than the latest parlor room gossip. Lizzie can play the Stock Exchange as deftly as New York’s most accomplished brokers—but she needs a man to put her skills to use. Emmett reluctantly agrees when the stunning socialite asks him to back her trades and split the profits. But love and business make strange bedfellows, and as their fragile partnership begins to crack, they’ll discover a passion more frenzied than the trading room floor…



 


I first found Joanna Shupe last year at a time when historical romances had lost any sort of appeal to me. I had just read this genre so much over the past 15 years that every book I picked up was reading basically the same for me. But I saw The Courtesan Duchess and figured I would give the genre one last shot to redeem itself. And boy, did it ever. Shupe showed me that no, all historical romances were NOT alike and I realized that I was enjoying that genre once again. And then I got the rest of the Wicked Deceptions series as quickly as I could and just tore through them. 

After I finished that series, I started reading other books within the historical romance genre by other authors and what happened? They had absolutely no appeal. Shupe had effectively ruined me for other books, it seemed. When I saw that she was releasing a new series, The Knickerbocker Club, I had only one thought ... Count. Me. In.  You just don't turn down a Joanna Shupe novel.

This one isn't like her others, it's set in a later time period but you know what? It was just as freaking good. It was interesting to read a historical romance that was set more closely to modern times. I've found that usually, an author will get a bit overzealous and try to include things that were not in the time period that they chose but that has never been the case with Shupe. She's always very true to the times she's writing about and that makes the story so very much more enchanting. 

I could go on and on about Magnate and tell you bits and pieces of the story then say how much I adore each aspect of everything within these pages but I'm not going to do that. I'll just tell you that you want to get to know Emmett Cavanaugh. You NEED to get to know Emmett Cavanaugh. He's a character that you want to hate because he's so ruthless and seemingly cut-off from his feelings. You want to hate him, but you don't. You also want to get to know Elizabeth Sloane. She's so spunky and headstrong and intelligent and completely rubs every other well-born lady the wrong way because she has the audacity to think for herself and stand up for what she believes in. These were two amazing characters. And the love story between them was something that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was never for sure what was going to happen between these two head-strong people. But what happens is good. Really good. 

The story, as usual with all Shupe novels that I have read, just bumps along at a quick pace that leaves you breathless and wanting more. There were more twists and turns in here than I had imagined and a couple of surprises that I never saw coming. Which, obviously, made the book that much better than I had imagined. 

This is a great book for all of you historical romance lovers out there and it's a great book for those who have never read the genre and want to give it a go. There isn't any of that hath and doth nonsense in these - they are easy to read. Shupe's books read in such a way that you can easily transport yourself to another time and place and experience the magical prim and proper world where chivalry is alive and well practiced. Here's the deal ... pick up ANY book by this author and you won't be disappointed. She's my favorite and no matter how I feel about the genre she writes in, I will never hesitate to pick up a book that has her name on the front. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *



Available: April 26th, 2016


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