Shupe's third Four Hundred historical (after A Scandalous Deal) craftily combines details of New York's Gilded Age with enchanting romance. Lady Christina Barclay and her parents, the Earl and Countess of Pennington, left their home in England to visit her cousin in New York City, planning to marry Christina off to the highest bidder and restore their family fortunes. When her parents threaten to force her to marry elderly and sinister Mr. Van Peet, she flees to the home of her cousin's neighbor, Oliver Hawkes, a reclusive, wealthy inventor who has shunned the snobs of high society because of their cruelty about his deafness. Christina and Oliver have become friends; he is enchanted by her beauty, and she is attracted to his kindness and intelligence. Oliver offers to marry Christina to save her from marriage to Van Peet, provide the funds her family needs, and give her an annulment in a year, but as their friendship develops into mutual desire, their arrangement is impeded, leaving them wondering whether to keep their agreement or dare to explore a genuine marriage. Scintillating romance is at the heart of this tale of affable protagonists overcoming the wounds of their pasts. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A Gilded Age marriage of convenience that inconveniences everyone involved.Lady Christina Barclay is desperate to escape her family, Brits temporarily in New York in search of a rich husband for her. But she's not so desperate that she'll accept the elderly letch Mr. Van Peet as her husband, no matter how her parents beg her to do so. She tries to find solace with Oliver Hawkes, her neighbor, but the reclusive inventor prefers to keep to himself. After losing his hearing as a teen, he's found that despite his extraordinary wealth, most of the Four Hundred prefer to treat him as "one of those imbeciles." However, after learning more about Christina's situation, Oliver agrees to help her out by getting married that very night, telling her it will be a yearlong, nonsexual marriage after which he will give her a financial settlement, they will annul the marriage and go back to being friends; despite his attraction to her, he's reluctant to change his ways and doesn't believe that she really wants to marry him, either. For her part, Christina is attracted to Oliver, especially as she learns more about how to communicate with him and they begin to share the details of their pasts with one another. But as their mutual focus narrows to each other, they don't notice how many people around them seek to pull them apartby any means necessary. The suspense in this story doesn't come just from the sexual tension between its hero and heroineit also comes from their shared fear that people will use Oliver's deafness to ruin their developing bond. Shupe's Four Hundred series has been marked by its appealing combination of suspense and spice, and the third entry is no exception, standing out thanks to Shupe's thoughtful portrayal of deafness and a culture that does not understand or respect it. As always, precise Gilded Age details invigorate Shupe's writing, but it is the chemistry between Oliver and Christina that truly brings the story to life.A fast-paced story with a surprisingly modern feel from an expert writer of historical romance. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.