I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Scandalous Deal by Joanna Shupe Also in this series: A Daring Arrangement, A Notorious Vow
Series: The Four Hundred #2
Published by Avon on April 24, 2018
Genres: Historical Romance, Gilded Age
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Avon
ISBN: 0062678930
Joanna Shupe returns with another unforgettable novel set in the glittering world of New York City’s Gilded Age…
They call her Lady Unlucky…
With three dead fiancés, Lady Eva Hyde has positively no luck when it comes to love. She sets sail for New York City, determined that nothing will deter her dream of becoming an architect, certainly not an unexpected passionate shipboard encounter with a mysterious stranger. But Eva’s misfortune strikes once more when she discovers the stranger who swept her off her feet is none other than her new employer.
Or is it Lady Irresistible?
Phillip Mansfield reluctantly agrees to let the fiery Lady Eva oversee his luxury hotel project while vowing to keep their relationship strictly professional. Yet Eva is more capable—and more alluring—than Phillip first thought, and he cannot keep from drawing up a plan of his own to seduce her.
When a series of onsite “accidents” makes it clear someone wants Lady Unlucky to earn her nickname, Phillip discovers he’s willing to do anything to protect her—even if it requires A SCANDALOUS DEAL.
A Scandalous Deal is the second book in the Four Hundred series. The first book was a delight, but I really think I enjoyed this book even more than book one. *gasp* because I adored A Daring Arrangement . But this book, just held my attention even more. I don’t know what it was, but the minute I started reading it, I LITERALLY couldn’t put it down which is good that it’s my day off or I might have been tempted to call in sick to work…that is how much this book held my attention, and I really didn’t want to put it down…so yes it was read in one sitting which doesn’t happen too often so its always a fun delight when it happens.
A Scandalous Deal starts off with our main co stars….Eva and Phillip. They are both headed to New York from England on a passenger ship. Eva first meets Phillip on the first day when he is barely holding his stomach together from motion sickness. Later they meet eating snacks and drinking champagne, and realize that they have some powerful chemistry and share some sensual moments in Phillip’s cabin. But on the morning of their arrival to New York, Eva disappears despite Phillip’s search for her because for the first time since the betrayal years previous, he wants another woman and a woman he doesn’t want to let go of.
Eva has come to New York to carry on her father’s work. She was taught by her father how to be a true designer and architect. But her father has been sick for almost two years and she has been taking on his work, posing as him. When she has the opportunity to build a prestigious hotel in New York, she knows that she will have to pose as her father to get the job. So she does just that, and her new boss, is known to be brutal and strict about his properties. But when she strides into his office, she never expected her boss to be the mysterious stranger she almost had sex with on her voyage here.
At first Phillip almost refuses to let Eva work for him in her father’s stead, because one she is a woman and he knows the waves it would cause with his construction crew. But also because he wants the real architect on the project, not a stand in, but what he doesn’t realize is that Eva is the true designer behind the plans for the hotel. Eva needs this job desperately, with the debts her father has owed, she needs the money this venture would bring. She just never thought her mixed feelings for her boss would interfere and now she has a serious dilemma on her hands. When to tell that man she is coming to love the real truth when he has already been betrayed once before?
*sigh*….this story was so delicious in so many ways and I honestly can say it was a blast to read and it was so easy to immerse myself into Phillip and Eva’s romance. First off, the chemistry between them is explosive and I adored the way their love scenes were written.
There’s no room to ravish you properly here. I need to thoroughly consume you, to wreck us both. I want to destroy you for all other men in both England and American. Hell, any country on the planet.
They were written so well, and in such a way that it brings shivers to the reader. It had such a sensual and warm feel to the scene and I am really adoring this author style of writing. Then we have the office forbidden romance, with secrets abound. Now you undersand why Eva is keeping these secrets, but at the same time, you wonder when she will tell Phillip the truth because you just know he is NOT going to take the truth well. And the way it plays out, it really makes you wish the heroine hadn’t waited so long because the way it comes out isn’t the best way for him to learn the truth.
Let everyone see that you’re mine. And before you complain, this also allows everyone to see that I am yours. We’re equals in this, Eva.
There are also other conflicts to this story. We have matchmaking mama’s that want Phillip and another debutante to get married which Phillip will never do. We see him have a real friendship…a platonic one with another woman who is secretly in love with her maid and if her parents find out she will be institutionalized for it. Then we have the construction crew who are very much against Eva working as the architect because she is a woman. So we see how well Eva can handle herself with these situations. She has spice and sass and handles herself so well. I love how she just knows men and how to make them think her way so flawlessly. She doesn’t complain much about working in a man’s world, just accepts it as a fact of the world and does what she can to work with men instead of against them and I really enjoyed that about her character.
You captivated me from the moment we met and I don’t ever want to be apart, not for one single day. I love you and I need you by my side. That is why I must marry you. I promise I will learn to compromise and never block you from the sun.
I really fell in love with just about everything about this book, the only aspect that kept this book from a full on 5 rating was how long the secret was kept from Phillip since secrets kinda drive me crazy. But it was written pretty well so I didn’t mind it too much. This was a delightful read that had me flipping those pages as fast as I could get them read and brought another fun story in the Gilded Age era which is rarely written about so I had a fun time with it. I honestly can’t recommend this author enough, and encourage any romance lover to grab up this series.
About Joanna Shupe
Joanna Shupe has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. While in college, she read every romance she could get her hands on and soon started crafting her own racy historical novels.
In 2013 she won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical.
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