The Prince of Broadway: Uptown Girls

Joanna Shupe delivers the unexpected with this modern spin on America's Gilded Age. Looking to establish her own way in the world and avoid the expected "advantageous marriage," Florence plans to open a casino for women and seeks the expert assistance of Clay, the leader of New York's gambling underworld. The inevitable sparks fly and a steamy romance ensues. What makes this story refreshing is how clearly Florence knows herself and how comfortable Clay is with who she is even if he doesn't always understand that he knows her so well. She does the same for him, reveling in flaws that he thinks will send her running. My only concern is that this doesn't have a traditional HEA, particularly for a historical romance. That's a bit of a disappointment when I saw so much growth in the characters leading them in that direction. But I know it's not for everyone. If you didn't read the first book in the series, you are totally fine to read this one first.

NYC 1891 A ruthless, powerful man, Clay Madden ran his casino with no mercy for those who tried to cheat him. He had pulled himself from the bottom up and now he was the ruler of all gambling activity in town. So when Florence Greene, kept coming to his casino, one where women were not allowed, he determined to put her in her place. Florence's plan seemed to be working when she was finally summoned to Clay's office. When she put her proposal before him, to mentor her in the casino business so she could open one for women, he finally relented. But he had conditions and he told her he seeked revenge against her father. I was totally enthralled from the beginning of this story. I was looking forward to seeing how this couple came together due to each of them being strong forces, not backing down from one another. Each thought the other attractive from the beginning but the journey for them was riff with high emotions, distrust and feelings that could be hard, especially from the hero. Prepare to be mesmorized and not able to put this one down once you start. I read this through Edelweiss

He lives in the shadows... She is society's darling... In this second novel in the Uptown Girl series, by Joanna Shupe, a ruthless casino owner bent on revenge finds his plans upended by one of the daughters of the man he intends to ruin. Florence Greene comes to Clayton Madden's casino even though women aren't allowed. She intends to find out everything she can about running a casino since she wants to open one for women only. What she finds is a man she simply can't resist in spite of the fact that he intends to ruin her father. Why does Clay hate her father so much? He has told her as much but refuses to divulge the reason. In this second book of this series we meet the middle sister and society darling of the Greene household. In the first book we met Mamie and Frank Tripp who is her father's lawyer. These two are mentioned a few times in this latest book. Both books in this series so far have been of the can't put down variety. Sometimes the second book of a series is a disappointment after a fabulous start but not in this case. I found myself reading into the wee hours of the morning to make certain I didn't miss one thing. I in fact am already re-reading this one as I did the first book even though it has yet to release. I gave it 4.95 of 5.0 stars for story line and characterization. I received a complementary digital ARC of this book from Edelweiss+ to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.