Category: Tracy’s Reviews

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe

On By TracyIn America's Gilded Age (1870-1900), Non-Traditional Romance, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Prince of Broadway (Uptown Girls, #2)The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Uptown Girls, #2

Release Date: December 31, 2019

New York City’s finest casino, the Bronze House, is not only illegal, it is exclusively for men, but that doesn’t stop Florence Greene from bribing her way in the door or from winning a fortune in an effort to gain the attention of the owner Clayton “Clay” Madden. Florence wants nothing more in life than to own a casino of her own, exclusively for women, she understands the actual games, but she need a teacher for the finer points of club ownership and she has decided that Clay is the perfect man for the job.

Clay has been running games and bets for many years, his success is gratifying, but the true reason he has pushed so hard to succeed is for the money and power he needs to enact his revenege against Duncan Greene, Florence’s father. Duncan bought the property he lived in as a boy, forcing out his family and therefore putting into motion events that changed Clay’s life, including his brother’s death and his father’s abandonment. Clay has spent the last 20 years plotting and is on the brink of seeing his plan come to fruition. He plans on buying the property Duncan’s family home is on and tearing it down to build a casino. So when Florence asks him to teach her the ropes, he agrees but is honest about his feelings towards her father and his sexual interest in her – he won’t tell her why he hates her dad or what he is going to do to him, but says he isn’t trying to ruin him or break him financially, he is also clear that while he is interested in her as a lover, he will not force her or do anything to make her uncomfortable.

Florence can’t imagine what her father did to earn Clay’s hatred, but since he isn’t going to ruin him and she really needs a teacher, she accepts his terms. She is also attracted to him and she is not a virgin, having long ago decided (this crack me up because she is only 21) that she never wants to marry and sees no point in “saving herself”, she has enjoyed lovers, but is determined to keep her relationship with Clay strictly professional. Clay agrees and they begin her lessons.
The more time they spend together, the more the attraction grows, both physically and emotionally, they like each other and enjoy working together, he teaches her the darker side of casino ownership, with lessons on the payoffs and handling cheaters, but through it all, he continues with his plan against her dad. When a Clay pisses off a policeman on his payroll, trouble comes to his club and he and Florence are forced to flee a raid. While hiding in the brothel next door, their relationship takes a serious turn and the result leaves Florence feeling embarrassed and she flees. But after he comes to her rescue while playing at another club, she decides to return and makes it clear that nothing like that will ever happen again. But it does and this time they actually have sex – but Clay’s reaction afterwards is appalling and cruel to Florence, who is justifiably angry and leaves.

Clay thinks this is for the best, until he learns that she has begun taking “lessons” with Mulligan, another crime lord in the city. He finally admits he was wrong and misses her, but when he goes to see her, it is clear that she is not going to let him off the hook that easy. They come to an agreement and their relationship changes, they are both happy and things are going well until Florence learns the truth about Clay’s plans and how it affect her and her hopes and dreams.

This book is very well written, flows nicely and has some very hot, steamy love scenes, but in my opinion, the leads are not likeable, there isn’t really any romance (there is a lot of lust and sex, but that isn’t romance) this book read more like “ChickLit fiction” set in the gilded era, rather than an actual historical romance. Florence has very 21st century ideals and her dream is to run an illegal gaming house. And Clay went from being a badass gaming lord to be Florence’s whipped lover. I really, really didn’t care for the ending, I thought it was unrealistic for the era and just cemented my feeling that Florence was selfish and expected everything to be on her terms. I didn’t actually hate the book, but it is my least favorite by Joanna Shupe and while I would recommend this author and this book, I wouldn’t read it again. This is this the second book in the series and it runs concurrent with the first book, so it can be read as a standalone with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher.*

The Duke’s Desire by Erica Ridley

On By TracyIn Christmas, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's Reviews3 Comments

The Duke's Desire (12 Dukes of Christmas #8)The Duke’s Desire by Erica Ridley

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: 12 Dukes of Christmas, #8

Release Date: December 24, 2019

Margaret “Meg” Church is happy with her life, she lives with her cousin Jemima and her husband Allan (who own the local dairy farm), she has friends and spends most of her time at the castle surrounded by people. She is visiting her newly married friend Eve when she learns that Lucien le Duc is planning on returning to France. Meg is disappointed, she can’t imagine anyone wanting to leave Cressmouth and she has long harbored a tendre for Lucien. And even though the le Ducs have been saying they are leaving forever, she never actually thought he would go, especially now that his sister and brother have married and are staying in England.

For Lucien, the twelfth day of Christmas cannot come soon enough, he has been dreaming of returning to France and reclaiming his birthright since the day he and his siblings had at to flee 18 years ago. Lucien was raised as an aristocrat, he and his family lived in luxury, owned a fine home, vineyard and were distantly related to the King, but all that disappeared the day his parents were killed by an angry mob. Lucien, Sebastien and Desiree would have suffered the same fate if not for Jasper, an Englishman who saved them and brought them to Cressmouth. Lucien helped Jasper in the smithy and eventually took over, now that they have sold the smithy, there is nothing holding him back. Lucien has long resisted acclimating to England, even though he understands the language he refuses to speak English, but now that his sister has married and has stepchildren, Lucien agrees to try harder with his lessons. But his sister’s efforts to teach him have left him irritated and he needs a better teacher.

He is returning books to the castle library when he runs into Meg, literally. She flirts shamelessly with him and offers to help him learn to read, he is offended and leaves. Meg returns home and is dealt another blow, Jemima tells her that she is pregnant and needs the room that Meg uses for the baby. Meg is stunned, when she came to live with her cousin 8 years ago, it was a Godsend, Meg’s life had been filled with loss and heartache and she longed for a home, which she thought she had found, but now she doesn’t know what to do, she has nowhere to go, save a small plot of land in France and for her returning to France is not an option. She tells Jemima that she will be fine and starts planning her next move.

While in the park with Jemima, Meg learns that Lucien can read and realizes she insulted him, she tries to make amends and when he asks for her help in learning English, she readily agrees. They spend a lot of time together and the attraction between them grows, but with so many things potentially keeping them apart – most notably, his desire to return to France and her distain for the aristocracy, it seems like their relationship is doomed to end in heartbreak.

This installment was not as lighthearted as the previous books in the series, and while it is a well written, paced nicely, interesting and entertaining read, it is not my favorite in the series. I personally had a hard time with Meg’s very casual and frankly 21st century, cavalier attitude about intimate relations – I know that the author was trying to portray her as a woman who didn’t have to conform to “society” and therefore didn’t have to adhere to the rigid set of rules and restrictions that a debutant would have – but it just made her seem promiscuous and I can’t believe that she wouldn’t be shunned as loose woman, especially in such a small community. That said, I did enjoy the cameos with the other le Duc siblings and loved the epilogue. This is the eighth book in the series and it can easily be read as a standalone title – but you might want to read at least the two previous books – The Duke’s Bride and The Duke’s Embrace to get a bit more background on the le Duc family.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*