A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016A Washington Post Top Romance of 2016Winner! RT Book Reviews May 2016 Seal of ExcellenceA Library Journal Cool Summer Read of 2016 “Shupe delivers a tremendously entertaining romance — sexy and clever — set in an era the genre has been waiting for.” — Sarah MacLean, New York Times Bestselling Author New York City’s Gilded Age shimmers with … Bestselling Author
New York City’s Gilded Age shimmers with unimaginable wealth and glittering power. The men of the Knickerbocker Club know this more than anyone else. But for one millionaire, the business of love is not what he expected…
Born in the slums of Five Points, Emmett Cavanaugh climbed his way to the top of a booming steel empire and now holds court in an opulent Fifth Avenue mansion. His rise in stations, however, has done little to elevate his taste in women. He loathes the city’s “high society” types, but a rebellious and beautiful blue-blood just might change all that.
Elizabeth Sloane’s mind is filled with more than the latest parlor room gossip. Lizzie can play the Stock Exchange as deftly as New York’s most accomplished brokers–but she needs a man to put her skills to use. Emmett reluctantly agrees when the stunning socialite asks him to back her trades and split the profits. But love and business make strange bedfellows, and as their fragile partnership begins to crack, they’ll discover a passion more frenzied than the trading room floor…
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I loved the uniqueness of the characters, scenery and plot! Bravo!
Set in the early 1900’s, this is a different type of historical romance! Kept my interest until the end.
Have you ever been listening to an audio book and expect the story to the wrapping up only to look and see that your only half way through the book?
This happened a few times during my listen to Magnate. There would be a sweet romantic scene, most everything would be tied up, only for there still to be another 3 hours in the book. Which leaves you to start wondering what was about to go wrong.
Even after saying that I did enjoy the plot and cast of characters. I got a little annoyed at the girl a few times for thinking too highly of certain people and being naive but it couldn’t be helped. I really did not like her brother Sloan and I probably wont read his story if I decide to continue the series. I do want to go back and read the prequel novella though.
I love this Knickerbocker series. Great historical information. A passion for business carries over to a passion for each other as the hero and heroine work their way through volatility and trust.
The hero and heroine are a smart match of intelligence and wit. Wonderfully absorbing!
I just devoured Joanna Shupe’s Magnate. I can honestly say I never thought I would enjoy a book about stock trading so much. Usually, American history is not my thing. I rarely read books set in historical America. However, I’m glad I decided to read outside my comfort zone. I owe the adventure solely to Joanna Shupe’s writing ability. If I hadn’t read her Regency series and loved her plots and writing style, I would have been hesitant to pick up this book. I would have missed out. Kudos to Joanna Shupe for writing about a time period which is not usually covered by romance writers. After reading this book, filled with delicious scandal and powerful millionaires, I’m questioning why more romance novels aren’t set in this time period.
On to the story itself. I fully admit that I really liked the first book in this series, Tycoon. Joanna Shupe did an excellent job of hinting at the millionaires which will be the focus of this series. It centers around a group of businessmen, each focused in different fields, who meet up and aid each other in business matters. The first book focuses on Emmett Cavanaugh, a self-made steel tycoon. He worked his way from the slums of New York into the life of the wealthy. He has all the allure of a self-made millionaire as well as the horrific backstory and trust issues. The story starts with him being approached with a business by Elizabeth Sloane. She is the sister of one of the other tycoons in Emmett’s group. Elizabeth is one of the best romance heroines I’ve read this year. She is determine, smart, and gutsy. She wants to start her own stockbroker firm and needs Emmett’s backing. Elizabeth is a blue blood but wants more than balls and shopping in her life. She’s smart and she knows it. She is perfectly capable of dealing with the stubbornness, and at times, irritatingly masculine nature of Emmett.
What I liked most about this book is the how well Shupe develops her characters. Their motivations are real and heartfelt, even when they are being stupid. What’s more, she takes these characters and creates an undeniable chemistry between them. Emmett and Elizabeth steam up the pages. However, behind that lust is the foundation of a deep relationship, even if it takes the characters a while to realize that. In my opinion, that’s what romance readers truly want. We want a couple who builds a relationship which we believe will endure once we close the book. Joanna Shupe creates that relationship in this book.
This was my first book by Joanna Shupe and now I have read all of them. She does an excellent job of bringing the Gilded Age to life in this first book of the series. The characters draw you in and make you hope for their future. At the end, you will be anxious to pick up the next book to find out what happens to the rest of the club.
I first found Joanna Shupe last year at a time when historical romances had lost any sort of appeal to me. I had just read this genre so much over the past 15 years that every book I picked up was reading basically the same for me. But I saw The Courtesan Duchess and figured I would give the genre one last shot to redeem itself. And boy, did it ever. Shupe showed me that no, all historical romances were NOT alike and I realized that I was enjoying that genre once again. And then I got the rest of the Wicked Deceptions series as quickly as I could and just tore through them.
After I finished that series, I started reading other books within the historical romance genre by other authors and what happened? They had absolutely no appeal. Shupe had effectively ruined me for other books, it seemed. When I saw that she was releasing a new series, The Knickerbocker Club, I had only one thought … Count. Me. In. You just don’t turn down a Joanna Shupe novel.
This one isn’t like her others, it’s set in a later time period but you know what? It was just as freaking good. It was interesting to read a historical romance that was set more closely to modern times. I’ve found that usually, an author will get a bit overzealous and try to include things that were not in the time period that they chose but that has never been the case with Shupe. She’s always very true to the times she’s writing about and that makes the story so very much more enchanting.
I could go on and on about Magnate and tell you bits and pieces of the story then say how much I adore each aspect of everything within these pages but I’m not going to do that. I’ll just tell you that you want to get to know Emmett Cavanaugh. You NEED to get to know Emmett Cavanaugh. He’s a character that you want to hate because he’s so ruthless and seemingly cut-off from his feelings. You want to hate him, but you don’t. You also want to get to know Elizabeth Sloane. She’s so spunky and headstrong and intelligent and completely rubs every other well-born lady the wrong way because she has the audacity to think for herself and stand up for what she believes in. These were two amazing characters. And the love story between them was something that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was never for sure what was going to happen between these two head-strong people. But what happens is good. Really good.
The story, as usual with all Shupe novels that I have read, just bumps along at a quick pace that leaves you breathless and wanting more. There were more twists and turns in here than I had imagined and a couple of surprises that I never saw coming. Which, obviously, made the book that much better than I had imagined.
This is a great book for all of you historical romance lovers out there and it’s a great book for those who have never read the genre and want to give it a go. There isn’t any of that hath and doth nonsense in these – they are easy to read. Shupe’s books read in such a way that you can easily transport yourself to another time and place and experience the magical prim and proper world where chivalry is alive and well practiced. Here’s the deal … pick up ANY book by this author and you won’t be disappointed. She’s my favorite and no matter how I feel about the genre she writes in, I will never hesitate to pick up a book that has her name on the front.
* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *