Avon
Featuring: Lady Honora Parker; Julius Hatcher
384 pages ISBN: 0062678892 EAN: 9780062678898 Kindle: B01NAOA3O7 Mass Market Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
Lady Nora Parker's father has sent her to America to live
with relatives after he catches her with a man he doesn't
want her to marry. Nora finds her father's demands egregious
and plans to return to Robert as soon as possible. To
accomplish this she
makes an arrangement with the notorious Julius Hatcher, a
wealthy stock trader, who is known for his outlandish
behavior. Nora agrees to help Hatcher enter Knickerbocker
society in the hopes that her father finds this American
even less suitable, guaranteeing she's shipped right back to
England
But as
Nora spends more time with Hatcher, who acts anything but
outlandishly, she wonders if she judged him too quickly and
if he is the man she is truly in love with.
A DARING ARRANGEMENT is the first book in Joanna Shupe's
The
Four Hundred series. The story is a delightful and
surprisingly exciting read with a few unexpected and
well-executed plot twists. Nora is a breath of fresh air,
with her independence, and daring spirit. She is not the
innocent debutante one might expect from a historical
romance, and this makes her all the more likable. Her sense
of adventure and compassion following climatic end make her
a charming and unstoppable heroine. I
appreciate that Julius isn't a hero born into wealth, but
rather one that had to work hard to earn his lifestyle.
Readers will empathize with his struggles, and Shupe gives
him a complex backstory that adds depth to his character.
Julius is both outrageous and practical, and this makes him
all the more human. If Shupe's heroes and heroines in her
next books are anything like Julius and Nora then I can't
wait to read them.
Shupe adds in some plot twists that are surprising and
keeps the story from being mundane. The villains in this
story may surprise readers, and I'm glad they aren't revealed
until the end. The mystery definitely kept me guessing. The
plot comes full
circle in the end, and the story is wrapped up in a more
than satisfactory way. The setting is excellent; especially
Julius' castle home. I love the historical details and
nuances Shupe places throughout A DARING ARRANGEMENT. This
helps the story feel all the more real. Readers will be
swept away in the opulence of the Gilded Age in A DARING
ARRANGEMENT, and will be staying up all night to finish this
story.
Set in New York City's Gilded Age, Joanna Shupe's Avon
debut introduces an English beauty with a wicked scheme to
win the man she loves--and the American scoundrel who ruins
her best laid plans...
Lady Honora Parker must get engaged as soon as possible, and
only a particular type of man will do. Nora seeks a mate so
abhorrent, so completely unacceptable, that her father will
reject the match--leaving her free to marry the artist she
loves. Who then is the most appalling man in Manhattan? The
wealthy, devilishly handsome financier, Julius Hatcher, of
course....
Julius is intrigued by Nora's ruse and decides to play
along. But to Nora's horror, Julius transforms himself into
the perfect fiancé, charming the very people she hoped he
would offend. It seems Julius has a secret plan all his
own--one that will solve a dark mystery from his past, and
perhaps turn him into the kind of man Nora could truly love.