In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.
After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.
Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.
As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.
Hellie’s Heeds
What a delightful romp!! If you love steamy sex scenes, witty banter, laugh-out-loud scenes that should totally be in a movie, and plot twists where you wonder, “HOW is the author going to make this work out?”--then you will be enchanted with this book. I feel if you’ve been watching The Gilded Age–and perhaps already watched all the episodes–this may help fill in a bit of that void as well.
Joanna Shupe’s novels have always been a hallmark of these characteristics: the hot-hot-hot love scenes, banter for days, and the sheer emotional wreckage as we wonder if these characters will ever get their happily ever after. And I think this one fits nicely with her previous offerings–with Leo Hardy being yet another hero in need of a little redemption, but we can’t help but fall for him anyway and root for him to become a better man for this one woman who is perfect for him. He is Dreamy–and seriously, that opening scene in the brothel? We have Bridgerton on Netflix–can we have this one too?
Neither character is perfect by any means, but they are perfect for each other–and it’s wonderful to watch their relationship unfold. The emotional plot points were dead on–like when I read the black moment, I was like, “Ooof, that is exactly what needed to happen” even as I was yelling, “NO! How are they ever going to get together? There’s not enough pages left!” Just excellent character growth.
From a historical standpoint, if that is at all a stickler for you, some of the historical stuff feels wildly improbable. Though technically speaking, I suppose, not impossible–which is all we need really, right? (I just watch a lot of missing people shows…the odds of them not winding up dead is slim to none. And then to be a child in this era that grew up in a big city orphanage and didn’t die of whooping cough, typhoid, tuberculosis, or the myriad of other childhood ailments made me a bit skeptical. So…that’s the reason it wasn’t a 5 star for me–I couldn’t quite suspend disbelief.) However, on other aspects of a historical nature–the description of theater life, life in the mid-1890s, etc, I felt those were believable and made for great reading. Anyway, it’s not a surprise she grows up in an orphanage…and was kidnapped–that’s right there in the blurb. If you are a stickler about childhood ailments and orphanages, you too may have difficulties with suspending disbelief, but I can say the rest of it makes for really good reading.
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