This post contains affiliate links.
Title: A Daring Arrangement
Author: Joanna Shupe
Published: 2017
Trope(s): Fake relationship
Sub-genre: Historical
Heat level: Satisfyingly sexy
I have to say, I find myself falling more and more in love with Guilded Age New York the more historicals I read. A Daring Arrangement by Joanna Shupe is the first book in her Four Hundred series, which all take place in 1890’s New York. Our heroine, Nora, is an English lady, but has been sent to America by her father because she was caught in a compromising position with her artist boyfriend. Nora is in love with said boyfriend and wants nothing more than to return to England so they can be together. But her father wants her to find an American husband, so Nora decides she will find the most unsuitable husband possible so Dad will bring her straight home and allow her to marry her love. Enter Julius Hatcher. Super rich, super playboy, and super unsuitable. Julius is a self-made man who can play the stocks like nobody else. He has no desire to ever marry, but he does desire being a part of society’s inner circle–simply because he is looking for revenge. His father was swindled by some rich jerks, which led to his ruin, and eventually to his suicide. Julius wants nothing more than to find out who is responsible for sending his father into his downward spiral, so when Nora approaches him to fake a relationship, he agrees because he knows her status will give him access to the upper echelons of society. Of course, Nora and Julius end up falling for each other, but not everything is as it seems with Nora’s ex-lover, or with the financial deal that caused his father’s ruin. But as you know, it all works out in the end.
This was my first Joanna Shupe book, and I am officially obsessed. I really love me a fake relationship, and this one was perfection. Nora is sassy and smart, Julius is a total cinnamon roll with a crunchy shell, and I was in love with the details of early New York. We’ve also got some serious sexy times here, and some unexpected plot twists. There are already a few more books in this series that have been released and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. I loved it and I can’t wait for more!
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars