Can I just say how much I love Joanna Shupe? Her books always brighten my day and even ones that don’t make me go all heart-eyed still make me swoon.

I about died of the swoonies for The Lady Gets Lucky, but I dang near passed out from the searing chemistry in The Bride Goes Rogue.

This is very much a “let’s bang it out of our systems…oh no we’re actually too compatible” and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it.

Joanna Shupe returns to her Gilded Age series, The Fifth Avenue Rebels, with this scorcher of a Historical Romance, The Bride Goes Rogue. Back in New York City, this book follows Katherine and Preston, characters you will remember from the previous books in the series, as they get to know one another, and ultimately fall madly in love, but in quite the unexpected way. Their parents signed a betrothal agreement for them, having been business partners in the past and wanting to unite their families through their children. Katherine goes to Preston's office to start the process of planning their wedding, and receives quite the surprising response from her fiance - Preston is taken off guard, said he never agreed to the agreement, and won't abide by it. However, fate has other things in store for the couple when they meet at a masquerade ball and have quite the steamy anonymous encounter. And I do mean steamy! That French Ball scene is unbelievably hot! The agree to meet the next night and are shocked at discovering each other's identity.

Similar to the previous installment in the series, this book is all about character development. Preston has a lot to come to terms with, such as his friend Forrest's death and the role he feels he played in it, as well as the anger he has toward his father for almost ruining their family, forcing him to drop out of Harvard, and take on the family business at such a young age. He also blames Katherine's father for not coming to his family's aid after his father's death and is convinced that Lloyd is using Katherine against him. Preston is one big ball of anger, resentment, and regret, and following his evolution through all of that was extremely satisfying.

Katherine was delightful. Truly a kind and loving character, demonstrated through her interactions with her friends and family, she felt geunine and was instantly lovable. Her character development was not as profound as Preston's, but it was there nonetheless - she needed to come to terms with her issues around marriage and her mother's death. The pairing definitely fulfills the expectations of the grumpy-sunshine trope!

Their personal journeys are interwoven with their relationship arc through a dispute between Preston and Katherine's father over a piece of property. That property represents something very different for both Preston and Katherine tied to their personal struggles, and Shupe was masterful in how she developed their characters and their relationship using that singular focus. And as we watch this plot unfold, Kat and Preston commence a torrid love affair that is unbelievably intense. I am not kidding when I said this book is a scorcher - it is intensely steamy, even more so than the previous book, and one of the reasons I gave it 5 stars.

Several story elements are carried over from the previous book, such as the friends' struggles with Forrest's death, time spent at Kit and Preston's supper club, and the growing tension between Lockwood and Nellie - I NEED THEIR BOOK IMMEDIATELY - and that helps to make The Bride Goes Rogue such a satisfying addition to the series. I love the setting. Shupe nails the Gilded Age aesthetic, and the accurate historical references and her explanation in the afterward add so much depth and enjoyment. I eagerly await the next book - I have been waiting for Lockwood and Nellie's story for so long, and the anticipation is killing me! Highly recommend!

5 STARS

The Bride Goes Rogue is the third (and my first) of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series. It follows the story of Preston and Katherine.

I LOVED THE BOOK. I have been reading romance novels for a while but fairly enough this book was my first historical romance that I read. I loved Preston and Katherine . The writing was excellent. The steam is just 🥵🥵 . It has grumpy sunshine trope ( what else do you want ?). Cant wait for Lockwood's book and to read the rest of the series when I have time . Besides, special love towards Nellie . I loved her character . I WOULD SURELY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK . A GREAT START FOR HISTORICAL ROMANCE BEGINNERS .

OUT MAY 24 2022

I actually enjoyed the first half of this book more than the last half. I didn't feel there was enough angst.. if you're going to have angst then I really want to feel it. However I will say the heat level was nice at the first half also. I guess along the way the ending just didnt grip me as much as the beginning. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review .

Absolutely love the next edition to this series by Joanna Shupe. The reader gets a continuation of the stories of The Fifth Avenue Rebels characters but with new twists and turns. This time Katherine and Preston get their time in the spotlight which according to Katherine is a year too late as she tries to invoke a marriage contract drawn up by both their fathers. There are some twists and turns as Katherine decides to find herself while dabbling in finding other pleasures. Highly recommend and I can't wait to read the next installment!

The Bride Goes Rogue is the third book in the The Fifth Avenue Rebels series by Joanna Shupe. So far, I’ve loved all the books in this series and this one is no exception. This grumpy/sunshine romance was funny, steamy, and I loved that we got to see the characters from the other novels in this series.

Kat and Preston were betrothed by their fathers as children. Kat shows up to Preston’s office in New York to start planning their wedding only to find that he has no plans of following through with the betrothal. Preston’s father is now dead, and Preston doesn’t want anything to do with Kat’s father or her family. After the devastating conversation with Preston, Kat decides that she is going to start living her life to the fullest and look for adventure. Her friend Nellie takes her to a famous and scandalous masquerade ball at Madison Square Garden. At the ball, she meets a sexy stranger and has a tryst. They agree to meet up later. When Kat goes to meet her new lover, it turns out to be Preston.

I really loved these characters. Kat’s evolution from naive to fiercely independent was natural and a joy to read. Once she realizes what she wants, she does not settle for less. I enjoyed his well deserved groveling. Preston was very protective of Kat and he really did try to support her.

It was also nice to see Kat’s friendship with Lockwood. I don’t feel like we see a ton of platonic male/female friendships in historical romance, but their dynamic was great. Nellie is by far my favorite side character, and I absolutely can not wait to read the next book in this series.

I think many people will fall in love with this book but, unfortunately, I struggled with it. Ms. Shupe is a gifted storyteller and the story is a well-told romantic tale of two people who don’t want to fall in love but do anyway. She does a great job with pacing, plot, and characterization.

My struggles with the book came down to two issues. When Kat fled and Preston followed her, he was thinking of his own need to be near her and not about her needs and boundaries. My other issue was that Preston started the novel as a jerk and ended the novel as a jerk in love. Kat started the novel as a pampered princess and ended the novel as a pampered princess in love. Where was the character transformation?

If you are looking for a few hours of entertainment with a high steam factor, this book may be exactly what you want. I was just left wishing for a bit more.

I was granted access to this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers. My opinions remain my own.

**Received a copy for review.*
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine;
I adore Joanna Shupe. Her books are always a great mix of interesting characters, well researched history, and steam.
This installment of The fifth Avenue Rebels finds 2 people, whose fathers were once business partners, players in a marriage contract. Kat believes that she is affianced to Preston and after a year of waiting for him, goes to his office to make wedding plans. Preston, however, quickly disabuses her of that and is quite an ass in the process
What I loved: Kat’s fierce desire to live her life her way. I’m also a sucker for a man who cannot with feelings. The friendships both have are also great.
What didn’t work so well for me was the main point of contention. I wanted to go into this book with a wrecking ball, literally. Now that I’ve written that, the plot was a bit like “wrecking ball” but with an HEA. This element just didn’t work for me. It felt a little forced.

4-4.5 Stars!! I really enjoyed this book. The main characters were Katherine and Preston and this is book 3 in ‘The Fifth Avenue Rebels’ series. I loved the HEA ending and how Katherine was a strong woman that didn’t let Preston walk all over her with no pushback. The only thing I had issue with is that Katherine and Preston’s fathers owned a company together and they were betrothed, but they had never met? I found that hard to believe. Other than that, I loved the book, especially the ‘sexy times’ scenes (is it hot in here?). I’d 100% recommend this book. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Nellie seems like she has some heavy baggage!
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

Katherine has been waiting a year for her betrothed, Preston, to start making plans for their wedding. She takes the bull by the horns and marches into his office to get the ball rolling on their wedding. Preston tells her he has no intention of honoring the marriage contract negotiated by their fathers. Preston hates Katherine’s father because he thinks he ruined his family.He is very rude to her. Katherine tells him she wouldn’t want to marry a man who is so unkind.

Katherine decides to make the most of her time as a single woman and live it up for a year. She starts by attending the raucous and sexy costume French Ball, which the author based on a real ball. She has a tryst with a masked stranger and agrees to meet him the next day.

When she meets the stranger the next day it turns out to be Preston! Katherine doesn’t want anything to do with him on an intellectual level, but is drawn to him on a physical level. Preston thinks they can be physically intimate without having any feelings for one another.

The push and pull as these two get together is amazing. Preston is a top notch romance hero who doesn’t recognize that he is falling in love. Katherine is feisty and independent. I loved the way she matured and grew over the course of the book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review.

This was hot. I've read one of Shupe's previous books (A Daring Arrangement) and only gave it 2/5 stars, but this one's summary sounded interesting so I gave it a try. I really enjoyed it and will pick up her books again. Hopefully, the first one I read was a fluke and her others are more along the lines of this book.

This might be my favorite Joanna Shupe yet! We were introduced to Preston and Katherine in the previous books in this series, and Preston is exactly the kind of romantic hero you hope he’s going to be. He’s a rogue and a ruthless businessman, determined to do whatever it takes to rebuild his father’s business. He’s still grieving the loss of a friend and in some ways the loss of his father.

Katherine is grieving the loss of her mother and the dissolution of what she thought was a betrothal to Preston. In an effort to let loose and live a little, Katherine attends a masquerade ball where she connects with a lover. Masked and in costume. When they meet up again, Preston and Katherine discover that they are a good match for each other. Though neither is determined to marry. And neither wants to admit that they have feelings for the other.

I love the tie-in to A Daring Arrangement, with Eva Mansfield working with Katherine to design/build a modern art museum. This was a fun callback with a familiar face, interacting within the world of the Fifth Avenue Rebels.

Once again, Joanna has given us a gift with her descriptions of Gilded Age New York, and has woven a love story between seemingly opposite characters who balance each other, find healing with and from each other, and discover the kind of love that can exist between them.

CW/TW: Mention of alcoholism and alcohol related death; death of parent (off page, discussed).

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for providing an eARC for review.

I liked this addition to the Fifth Avenue series. The ~spicy~ dialogue wasn't exactly my favorite I've ever read, and inched towards making me cringe but I enjoyed the rest of the story enough to look past that. Anyway, this was another solid historical romance, and I very much wish Katherine and Preston could each go to therapy, but I enjoyed them a lot. There's tension and betrayal and a need to be together even though neither of them understand it.

I recommend this book if you like: a groveling hero, spice
I don't recommend this book if you don't like: genuinely unkind behavior from said hero, an interfering parent.

The sexiest Joanna Shupe book yet! We're talking clandestine tete-a-tetes, underhanded business dealings, a betrothal agreement reneged on and a FMC who just wants to reclaim her life and be reckless for once! Throw a corrupt would be robber baron (calling Preston Clarke morally grey is too polite) into the mix and oh boy, it is on.

I loved seeing more of the friendship between Katherine, and Nellie (and to a lesser extent Maddie) in this one. And I loved the decidedly modern feel of Katherine basically trying to have a "summer of Katherine" doing whatever she pleases. And while I don't know if I believe someone like Preston would be truly transformed, it's delicious to watch this titan of industry fall for Kat in spite of himself.

CW: Survivor's guilt from a suicide in the previous book, grief from the death of a parent

Female friendships - check. Male friendships - check. A debauched masquerade party in Madison Square Garden - check.

What happens when partners in a development company betrothal their children and then the company and the friendship disintegrates? This is the world of our couple. Preston and Katherine are prefect for each other. Everyone around them can see it. Everyone except Preston and Katherine. They both put up a good fight. I loved the banter between the main characters. Kit, Alice, and Nellie are back to offer their friends assistance on the road to HEA. Play close attention to Katherine's father. He is very sneaky. The Duke of Lockwood is still searching for a bride. I've always had a soft spot for the Duke. Why was Katherine begging Nellie not to get married and move overseas? I think, dear reader, that our free-spirited Nellie is destined to be a Duchess.

Story - 5 Stars
Heat Level - 10 Habaneros. This book is HOT

I love everything about this story. Another wonderful Gilded Age romance from Joanna Shupe. 5 Stars. Copy provided by NetGalley

Joanna Shupe take all my money. Seriously. I am loving your books and really loving this series. In this particular book we get to know Katherine and Preston. As noted in the synopsis, Preston is a jerk. JK. He's just not *there* yet. He's focused on his business and trying to suppress the grief he's feeling over the lost of one of his friends. Enter Katherine. She's totally ignorant of his lack of denial of their engagement and has wasted a year of her life dreaming and planning of the day they'll get married. Cue her shock and fury when he denies her that day. But true to Joanna Shupe's previous heroine, Katherine quickly resets and decides she's going to live her life and do what she wants. One thing leads to another and Katherine somehow finds herself in an affair with Preston...who is in denial that it means anything. But, once he discovers life without Katherine is not a life, his pursuit is on!



I love these novels and these characters. I love how Shupe makes her heroines really strong and self-aware. I love the friendships she's created between them all. And, I love how perfectly matched all of her love matches are. I truly cannot wait to see what happens to Nellie. I've been so curious about her since she was first introduced and I know she has a story to tell.

The Bride Goes Rogue is the 3rd book in The Fifth Avenue Rebels series and it did not disappoint!

The story centers on Katherine Delafield and Preston Clarke. Their fathers were business partners and that partnership led to an arranged engagement between their children. After waiting a year for Preston to uphold the engagement, Katherine takes matters into her own hands, storms into Preston's office, inquiring about wedding plans! Preston refuses to acknowledge said engagement, which angers Katherine. (Deep down, she may have had a crush on Preston). She flings her wedding planner at Prestons, and storms right back out of his office. His rejection leads her to come to one conclusion, to live life and have an affair! Things get pretty steamy at masquerade party and unbeknownst to both Katherine and Preston, fate leads them right back to each other.

I must preface by saying that Joanna Shupe's writing style is an all time favorite of mine. I love the Gilded Era and The Bride Goes Rogue did not disappoint on that aspect. The pacing of the book and the characters, had me glued to the pages...The chemistry SIZZLED from the beginning!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fabulous series. The way the author writes her characters as new age in a historical setting is just loads of fun to read. I read my first book by this author from a goodreads win and now I am certainly hooked. Katherine and Preston are up and their romance was fresh and very exciting! I love how horribly Preston behaves and Katherine just doesn’t bat an eyelash. Five stars for a fantastic book! I can’t wait for Nellie’s book!

The Fifth Avenue Rebels series - book #3

It was a fine day to ambush a fiancé.
— that enticing first sentence caught my attention at the get-go!

The story begins with our heroine Katherine Delafield visiting her not-yet-introduced fiancé, Preston Clarke, to discuss their wedding plans;
he matter-of-factly refuses to honor the purported betrothal, arranged eons ago by their father’s (who were business partners.)
He apologizes, telling Katherine that “it’s for her own good.”

Why is that?

Because Preston does unscrupulous and corrupt things to earn a dollar. He also harbors a hateful grudge against her father.

But, my oh my, I love the SURPRISE that comes next.

Not wanting to waste another minute (or year!) on her ex-fiancé, Katherine is all about having fun. A friend tells her about a very risqué “masquerade” French Ball, taking place the next night. That’s where Katherine meets a man dressed as a French King Louis to her Madame de Pompadour. I’m pleading the fifth as to what ensues.

Who is this masked man that has completely taken over her thoughts? Why is he so intrigued with only her?

Wowww I had no idea Joanna Shupe could write with such spice! This book is extremely sensual, the hottest one yet. If ever two people were made for each other, it’s Katherine and Preston. Their fun role-playing names, “my king” and “reinette or little queen,” had me chuckling. Even though Preston’s known as being hard-hearted, his groveling for Katherine was the cherry on top! The heroines in this series are unlike any I’ve ever read. They’re BOLD. STRONG WILLED. And do the HARD WORK to accomplish what makes them happy — whether it’s a career as a chef, or building an art museum for all not just the rich, like Katherine does. For women in 1895 it’s SHOCKING and so great to read about!

This is a must read series, all can be read alone. So so good, and very creative!

*Thanks so much to Avon Books via NetGalley for kindly approving this arc! All opinions are my own.

I love Joanna Shupe. She always brings the smexy* in the best way with enjoyably well written Gilded Age books that are hard to put down. The Bride Goes Rogue has Preston and Katherine scorching just about every page. If you like a betrothal gone haywire, a debauched masquerade party, and a woman deciding to take control of her life, then this 3rd story in the Fifth Avenue Rebels series will deliver.

With the teaser chapter at the end, I cannot wait to see what Shupe has in store for Nellie and Lockwood…who knew they had history.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(*smutty and sexy combined-Shupe excels at this just like Tessa Dare!)