Magnate

Elizabeth Sloane – Lizzie – loves trading stocks, but being a woman, she has been able to indulge in her passion only as a hobby. Her own brother, Will, refused when she came to him for help to start her own business. Lizzie also suspects the family business’ finances are not what they once were, but no one will tell her anything. After having had every door shut in her face, Lizzie knocks on Emmett Cavanaugh’s door, but she never imagined this financial giant to be so handsome! Emmet doesn’t laugh at Lizzie’s proposition, he’s a businessman who started out with nothing, and he is quite taken with the socialite’s spunk. They strike a bargain: he will partner her business if she will have dinner with him. Joanna Shupe’s extensive research into the business world of the late nineteenth Century really pays off, because everything that has to do with the cutthroat world of finance is totally captivating and feels authentic. We also get a view of the chasm between new money and old money in America; the snobbishness is painful to witness. But Emmett is used to it: he is ruthless, driven, still quite rough around the edges, and doesn’t really care what Society thinks of him: he wants as much money as he can make so he never goes hungry again. Emmett is not nice! He doesn’t want to give in to his intense attraction to Lizzie, because no good can come out of it. MAGNATE is everything but predictable! It is not your average type of romance, and I don’t believe I’d ever seen a character quite like Emmett, and I loved Lizzie! Underneath her polished exterior and impeccable manners, she is just as determined to succeed as Emmett, in spite of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, mainly her gender. MAGNATE is a much multilayered story, and Ms. Shupe’s attention to historical is again astounding: MAGNATE is nearly as good as time travel. I loved that, even given their initial mutual attraction, it’s a long and difficult road before they act on it. I also liked Emmett’s brother Brendan, and I hope to see more of him in the future. The reason why half a star is missing from my review is that I thought there was a tad too much sex – or maybe because the scenes happened too close to one another – and Emmett was still a little too much of the thug he had once been, but I’m sure none of this will matter to most readers! I actually give 4 ½ stars. I receive a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can't even open it to read!