A forbidden relationship fuels lust and love in the stellar first Uptown Girls historical by Shupe (the Four Hundred series). In 1890s Manhattan, 23-year-old-socialite Marion "Mamie" Greene worries that she'll be miserable in an arranged marriage, especially given her growing affection for handsome attorney Frank Tripp. Frank, who can be counted on to get his high-society clients out of trouble, is in hot water himself when he falls under Mamie's spell. Neither is aware that their interest is mutual, and their social standings and obligations prohibit their relationship. Social mores of the time are revealed through Frank's attempts to conceal his humble beginnings and Mamie's effort to hide her humanitarian exploits from her controlling father. Complications develop when Mamie asks Frank to represent a low-income woman she's met through her charitable work, highlighting social hierarchy and women's relative powerlessness. The lovebirds' flirtatious and wry dialogue is entertaining, and their 19th-century propriety heightens the palpable energy between them. The winning combination of wealth, romance, secrets, and seduction makes this an enticing and scintillating series launch. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

First in a new Gilded Age romance series by an author who made her name reviving interest in this overlooked historical setting.Marion "Mamie" Greene is a Knickerbocker princess, the precious oldest daughter of one of New York's leading families, destined to marry one of fin de sicle New York's richest young men. Mamie dutifully accepts the betrothal, but she cannot repress the independent streak that takes her far from her uptown mansion and into the most dangerous parts of the city. The Five Points area teems with impoverished immigrants who get no sympathy from rich industrialists and little assistance in keeping order from the brutal metropolitan police. Mamie is determined to offer what help she can, at great personal risk, regardless of the disapproval of her father's attorney, Frank Tripp. Frank is determined to keep Mamie safe and compliant until the wedding, but he is irresistibly attracted to her spirit and directness, not to mention her stunning beauty. Despite his own destitute beginnings in the slums, he finds in Mamie a kindred spirit. Between his work for her father and their mutual interest in uncovering the culprit in the murder of a Five Points woman the police seem unusually reluctant to investigate, Frank and Mamie have the opportunity to explore their feelings, memorably during a midnight game of billiards in his Fifth Avenue mansion. With a law practice composed largely of acrimonious divorce cases, Frank declares, "I'll never marry. I have no intention of failing at fidelity." The setup promises both an exciting emotional revolution for Frank and strong sexual tension, but the romance falls flat, and the sexual scenes are so clinical that even the heroine muses, "Hmm. When this whole business started, she'd assumed they would be consumed by passion."A passionless pairing dulls an otherwise interesting setting and premise. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Attorney Frank Tripp has developed quite a reputation as a problem-solver, but he has never encountered a puzzle quite like Marion Mamie Greene. Unbeknownst to her tycoon father, Mamie has been slipping out at night in order to visit some of New York City's most scandalous gambling establishments. What Frank finds to be even more shocking is that Mamie has been discretely relieving some of her fellow gamblers of a good chunk of their pocket change without the gentlemen being any the wiser. When Frank collars Mamie and insists that she give up her Robin Hood act, she is less than amenable. Of course, when Mamie later discovers that she needs Frank's skills as an attorney for one of her charity cases, she is suddenly open to negotiating with him. A brilliantly rendered historical setting, vividly drawn and memorable characters, and plenty of smoldering sexual tension that eventually combusts in sexy love scenes add a marvelous sense of zest to the start of Shupe's Gilded Age-set Uptown Girls series.--John Charles Copyright 2019 Booklist