The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe

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The 6th and final book I read for the Historical Romance Readathon was The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe. This is the first in her Uptown Girls series. I've been wanting to read Joanna Shupe for a while, but during the previous round of the readathon I was finally able to try her out. I knew then I wanted to read more of her work and this was the perfect time to start one of her most popular series! This covered the class difference, self-made man, not in Europe, clinch cover and series prompts for the readathon. I was also able to apply this to the gilded age prompt for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo and 5-star prediction for the Summer of Swoon Board 2!

Going into this, I totally didn't realize that Frank Tripp, our intrepid lawyer from the Four-hundred Series, got his own book! I had hoped he would get one and was so pleasantly surprised that he did and he was book 1 in this series! He is doing his normal lawyer things, but the eldest daughter of Mr. Greene, Mamie, has been running around and causing trouble at casinos. Frank has rescued her a few times. This time he also notices her picking a pocket. Things get a little crazy and they both finally start to admit and realize the attraction they have for each other. Things intensify when Mamie asks him to take the case of one of her charity families.

I absolutely loved this book! As per usual for Joanna Shupe, but I feel more so with this series (there's a whole thing about Florence and book 2), she has very strong and independent women. This is really set in a time where women's rights and freedoms are really starting to be fought for publicly and you can feel the pushback Mamie has about getting married and becoming a kept woman. While I loved how strong she was in her convictions, I did feel it was a little over the top sometimes. It didn't bother me too much though since it's hard to really put myself in a place where I wouldn't have any rights. I also wish that Mamie and her father would've patched things up between them earlier. Communication is key in any relationship and I was so torn on liking and hating her father. Frank understood just what to do to show Mamie his feelings. Another thing that bothered me a little was how upset she was about Frank's big secret. I understand the pain, but I also feel like she could've been a touch more understanding, especially being raised in that society. 

That's a lot of nitpicks, but I really did enjoy this book. Despite the little things it was really touching. Some of the things that Frank said to Mamie were so swoony and sweet. They were also pretty steamy together and Joanna Shupe doesn't disappoint. I am intrigued by the hints we get about book 2 and Florence's romance and certainly will continue the series. I am loving my reads from Joanna Shupe so far and can't wait to get into more of her backlist as well as her new releases. Can we all just take a minute to absorb the gorgeousness of her book that is set to come out in October? I can't wait to have it on my shelves!

Have you read The Rogue of Fifth Avenue?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Rogue of Fifth Avenue, Joanna Shupe, 5-stars, 2 days, paperback, 382 pages, published in 2018