High society reprobate.
An unconventional heiress.
Childhood friends.
Is it too late…
Knickerbocker scoundrel Harrison Archer returns to New York to discover that his deceased father has bankrupted his estranged family. To save them from ruin, he’s forced to quickly find and marry an heiress. For a matchmaker, Harrison turns to the one woman he wishes he could marry: his childhood friend and true love, Maddie, who once broke his heart and is now engaged to a duke.
For true love?
When her best friend Harrison left for Paris without a word, Maddie Webster took refuge in her infatuation with tennis. Now Harrison is back and needs her help in finding a bride. Begrudgingly, Maddie arranges a house party in Newport with a guest list of eligible heiresses. But watching Harrison flirt with potential brides is more than she can bear.
When Harrison and Maddie reunite, the passion between them ignites. But with their marriages to others looming, time is running out. Is their fate inescapable . . .or can love set them free?
Release Date: Mar 9, 2021
Series: Fifth Avenue Rebels
Book: 1
Heat Level: Hot
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: Avon Books
Price: $5.99
Friends to lovers, a bad boy with a thirst for revenge and tennis… count me in!
Shupe’s latest is the first in a new series, The Fifth Avenue Rebels features many of the things I’ve come to enjoy from these Gilded Era stores- unconventional heroines, heroes that don’t snub there nose at making money (got to love those Americans), and falling in love amid a New York City/East Coast backdrop.
Our heiress, Maddie Webster, is a budding tennis pro on her way to play in the Nationals. At the same time, she’s reaching the end of her time on the marriage mart and is days away from landing a Duke. Cue the arrival of her old childhood friend, Harrison Archer.
Harrison is on a mission of revenge, but when he finds out the girl he’s loved since he was a boy is about to marry another, Harrison can’t help but risk everything to win her for himself.
This book had all the trappings to sucker me in and make me fall hard. Unfortunately, it was a bit lackluster for me. I found Harrison’s love for Maddie sweet, but he was a bit underhanded in winning her. I couldn’t really respect the way he went about things. Not to mention he and Maddie don’t really talk. They’ve been apart for years, at least five, and Harrison assumes a lot. Maddie is likeable enough, but the chemistry with her and Harrison is a little difficult to accept, once I learned about their past.
While the coming together was good I wanted more from the plot as a whole. There were storylines that felt loosely tied together and plenty of hints dropped to future storylines. Also, Maddie’s would-be fiancé Duke gets the shaft and I semi-hope he gets some redemption in a future book.
Overall, I liked the story. I inhaled it within one evening, eager to get to the end. Though the end is where I struggled the most. Series starters can be difficult, and I am still looking forward to future books in the series. Especially, Kit’s story.
~ Landra
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