The Mrs. Astor of Gilded Age romances provides another smart and sexy read.
A childhood engagement between the children of one-time business partners becomes a steamy affair between enemies.
Katherine Delafield is done waiting—she’s been betrothed to Preston Clarke since she was a child and their fathers agreed to the match, but she’s still not married to him. However, when she reminds him of this fact and tries to set a date for the wedding, he strongly declines, and Katherine decides to move on and stop waiting for marriage. As a relatively free and privileged young woman of the Gilded Age, she’s ready to explore the wilder side of New York City and declares to her friends that she wants to have an affair. For his part, merciless tycoon Preston has, as always, been too absorbed in his tireless work to think much about the visit from Katherine. In need of relaxation, he decides to go to a famous downtown party that’s known to be “quite risqué”—the French Ball at Madison Square Garden. But wouldn’t you know it? It’s the same debauched evening Katherine is attending in search of her first affair. Masked and anonymous, they share a red-hot intimate moment and vow to meet again soon. When they discover the truth about their masked encounter the following night, both are furious but quickly find that the pull of their chemistry is so strong that they begin a series of steamy clandestine meetings and even develop a friendship of sorts despite Preston’s long-standing hatred for Katherine's father. They tell themselves they’re just having an adventure, but as their unusual connection deepens, the rivalry between their families becomes even more serious. Shupe’s well-loved Fifth Avenue Rebels series returns with a very saucy friends-with-benefits story. As ever, her command of historical details enlivens the story just as much as her command of intimate ones—and yes, that means she has proof that there really were indecent public events in New York in the 1890s. Preston is the kind of delightfully anachronistic historical romance hero Shupe’s fans love, and he works perfectly in combination with Katherine's bold bluestocking ways; those fans will be glad to hear the series is not yet done and get a glimpse of the next book at the end of this one.
The Mrs. Astor of Gilded Age romances provides another smart and sexy read.Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-304506-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
