A hard-hearted tycoon.
A romantic dreamer.
An engagement set up to fail.
The charismatic and vivacious Katherine Delafield should be married by now. Her father arranged an engagement to the much sought-after tycoon Preston Clarke ages ago. The only problem is Preston refuses to acknowledge it. But this isn’t going to stop Katherine from living life to the fullest as she ditches all silly notions of love and marriage and sets out to sample all the excitement New York City has to offer . . . the more scandalous the better. Because no matter what happens, she and Preston will never marry.
After his family nearly lost everything, Preston is done letting his late father ruin his life—including choosing his bride. But when a mysterious lover at a masquerade turns out to be his would-be fiancée, Preston’s resolve begins to crumble. He hadn’t expected Katherine to be so charming. Or beautiful. Or passionate. And seeing her out on the town with other men is driving him crazy.
What happens when the wrong bride turns out to be the right woman after all?
Release Date: May 24, 2022
Series: The Fifth Avenue Rebels
Book: 3
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon
Price: $5.99
Shupe makes a masquerade hot!
The Gilded Age is all the better thanks to this series and the latest book is probably my favorite so far. Though, I am very interested in a certain Duke.
But I’ll focus on this book first. Our heroine, Katherine, has been engaged to hero Preston since childhood. An agreement between their fathers, and since then their parents have fallen out and Preston’s family near financial ruin, which he blames Katherine’s father for. So, of course our dear hero is prepared get revenge and no way in hell is he going to marry Katherine.
Except a masquerade changes everything. From a sharp attraction, to intimacies experienced while wearing masks, Preston and Katherine find a newfound interested in each other. Though Katherine doesn’t care what they did in the shadows of a theater box, she’s already decided to stop wasting her time on a forever with Preston. He didn’t care enough about her before, why bother now?
Seeing these two fall for each other was a delight. One that kept me up far too late into the evening, and anxiously turning pages. I couldn’t figure out how they would overcome the challenges facing a future together. Preston’s prejudices towards her family or Katherine’s fear of submitting to a man who wouldn’t love her. Add in plenty of hijinks, secret rendezvous, and both hero and heroine learning to let go of the past is what kept me going.
I recommend this to readers who love The Gilded Age television show or Maya Rodale. Get lost in this New York historical. While readers catch up, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the last book in this series.
~ Landra
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