Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
The Devil of Downtown is the third installment in the Uptown Girls series, and can easily be read independently as a standalone title with little to no confusion.

One reason I enjoy Joanna Shupe's novels is the location. So many books in the historical romance genre are set in England, primarily London. I appreciate the change of scenery in New York City, as well as the late 1890s era it is placed in. It's a refreshing change that makes the pages fly by.

Justine isn't your usual historical romance heroine. Breaking free of the rules of the time, Justine wanted to be the first female detective (this reminded me of The Alienist a bit) which intrigued me.

Justine was determined, and strong, although I felt several of the choices/actions/reactions she made didn't fit her personality. In the era and setting, I thought she would have experienced more backlash for acting more like a woman of our current time. As this is fiction, I appreciated that Justine wasn't a wishy-washy damsel in distress. I will point out, her personality and actions seem more fitting for a much older woman, not a girl of twenty of that era and location.

In his early thirties, Jack is a criminal, there is just no other way to state that. A lord of the dark underbelly beneath the city, where crime rules. Obviously, this made Jack a swoon-worthy hero, the total opposite of his crime-stopping counterpart. That is where the delicious angst comes into play.

I will admit, my heart clenches when I read how a man thinks his love interest isn't pretty/beautiful/shapely enough, as it makes an imbalance. We all have insecurities, and not all of us can be models of what society deems attractive for the times. But it hurts to read the hero thinking the heroine homely, but deciding she's beautiful after getting to know her. It sparks of arrogance, like he believes someone who isn't to his beauty standards is unworthy or he deserves someone better. This is usually one-sided, as it's only been one or two times in thousands of books where the heroine thought that of the hero, but an ongoing occurrence for the hero thinking the heroine not worthy of him, until she changes his mind by "not being like the other girls." The crime boss activity didn't make me dislike Jack, but that offhand comment soured the romance for me.

Avoiding the major plot points, as that's for readers to discover. I read the novel in one sitting, finding entertainment and escapism. Quick-paced, with polar opposite characters falling for one another.

One of the things I disliked the most is how much Jack had to change in order to fit into the relationship with Justine. I've read plenty of series where the "Devil" got to keep his position, and the heroine used it their advantage in what they were trying to achieve. It felt as if Jack loses who he is, loses his edge and turns soft, as if a woman "changed" him. Your personality doesn't change, no matter who you're in a relationship with. If it changes, then you're just an actor staring in your own life.

The faster I read, the less likely I was to spot inconsistencies, but they were still there. I won't bog this down by listing them. Simply stating those inconsistencies were the major reason I couldn't rate the novel higher. Characters acting/reacting out of the traits they were given. Timeline issues of how long Justine had been engaged in certain activities, as that would have placed her as a young teen, who wouldn't have been able to have such free reign in New York City, due to the era and the rights of woman at the time, as well as how a young girl could have easily fallen to violence. The way the sisters related to one another from book to book, to where they felt like different characters entirely, with different ways of reacting to one another, which was highly inconsistent across the board.

Highly recommend to fans of the author, of the series, and Historical Romance in general. I'm eager to pick up whatever Joanna Shupe releases next.

This was possibly my favorite of the Uptown Ladies books. I adored Justine as a heroine, and her romance with Jack Mulligan was sweet and exactly what I was looking for.

4.5 stars - Loved it! This is a great read about Jack, a gentleman criminal, and Justine, a duke’s daughter. She’s a do-gooder, unafraid to walk the streets of the slums, hunt down negligent husbands and fathers, and right the injustices she sees in the world. He’s marveled by her, her wit, fearlessness and the pull she has on him. His life is dangerous, but their love is strong enough to overcome anything. It’s an engrossing journey with two emotive characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Justine has dedicated her life trying to bring justice to those that are less fortunate than herself. One of the many ways she does this is to track down deadbeat husbands. One such search brought her to Jack Mulligan, the mastermind behind the largest criminal enterprise in the city. The man she is looking for, works for Jack. She didn't know what to expect when she meets Jack for the first time, but it was not the sizzling attraction she felt for him.

Jack knew of Justine before meeting the youngest Greene sister, he knows everything that goes on in his part of town. When she asks for his help, he gives it to her, but with conditions. She know owes him a favor of his choosing. Whether he ever collects on it, time will tell. But Jack can't seem to get Justine out of his mind and they soon the begin an affair.

But they both soon realize that what they feel is more than just physical attraction. Can it ever be more?

I really enjoyed Justine and Jack's story. Having met both characters in the previous books in the series, I was hoping that Shupe would partner these two together. I loved that they both challenged one another in different ways and made them a better person. And as what usually happens in a book by Shupe, I found myself laughing out loud at the bantering between the H/H.

While this book can certainly be read as a stand alone, I would read the other two books in the series before this one as it will add to your reading pleasure. This was a great conclusion to the Uptown Girls series and I can't wait to see what Shupe has in store for us next!

I love kick a** heroines and this one kicks ass on the very first page of the book. It was a glorious start to the book and I was hooked. The story of Jack and Justine had me enthralled right from the first page. Charming and cunning Jack with the kind and brave Justine was a powerful and sexy combination. They both lit the pages on fire with their chemistry and it was difficult for me to put down the book. As they both form an unlikely alliance, they both didn't expect things to go the way they did. I wasn't sure if I would like a hero who is a criminal but the author made me fall in love with Jack. This is book three from "The Uptown Girls" series but I could read it as a standalone. I do want to read Mamie and Florence's story so I am definitely going to buy them. I loved this book and would definitely recommend it.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Justine Greene is the one woman who braves going into the Bowery of London streets to help woman whose husbands have abandon them. Her search for dead beat husbands takes her into Jack Mulligans world. Jack has worked his way up to being the King of the streets with his cunning, strength and ambition. He finds Justine quite intriguing, he trades on favors and makes a deal with Justine that will change their lives forever. I loved this captivating book of two different worlds colliding, the passion Justine and Jack share is sizzling and tenderhearted. They grow closer in this action packed adventure into the underworld of London as a do-gooder meets the devil of downtown and turns his world upside down. An excellent story I loved and I voluntarily wrote a review.

Another historical romance with a twist. It was a good read. The story kept me engaged, I liked the main characters, writing and all. Overall I would recommend this book to all those who like quick read and fun read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Devil Of Downtown, by Joanna Shupe, is available at booksellers on 6-30-2020. Devil is book 3 in the Uptown Girls series. It's also the end of the planned trilogy. While an enjoyable read I can't say I became invested in the characters. The do-gooder is too good and the devil seems bad but isn't when we meet him. For all the talk about his past he turns into a wimp pretty fast. There wasn't enough rough and tumble stuff for me to believe he was a mob boss. Justine has been running around the city, mostly alone, since she was 13? She's a kidnapping waiting to happen. I love her good deeds but that's all she does, it gets boring.

#JoannaShupe #TheDevilOf Downtown #UptownGirls #AvonBooks #Netgalley #HarperCollinsPublishing

This review will go live on The Blogger Girls on July 1, 2020.

In Gilden Age, New York City, one do-gooder woman is determined to live her life in her own terms, helping others even if that takes her to make deal with the devil.

Justine Greene is the youngest of the Greene sisters – Justine thinks she’s not as beautiful or as sassy as her sisters. What she gets though is her big heart and determination. Justine has been helping others since she was thirteen, when she went to Madison Square mission to pass out bread and blankets. Now, Justine mission is to find deadbeat husbands who leave their husbands and child without money. One of the husbands she is looking for, brings her right into The Devil of Downtown’s lair: Jack Mulligan.

Jack Mulligan, the Criminal Kingpin, is curious with Justine. This woman is not scared of him; she is brave and she is beautiful. So, Jack is willing to help Justine in exchange for a favor that he will collect later. But the more they interact, the more Jack is attracted, and he is unwilling to let Justine go just yet.

Oh gosh, oh gosh, OH GOSH, I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! I already adored the older Greene sisters – more Florence than Mamie, because Florence is unwilling to bent to the rule of society (in this book, she still REFUSES to marry Clayton!) – and is curious with Justine. In the sisters’ book, Justine seems to be the shy one, not standing out. But boy, oh boy, Justine is probably the best of the sisters!

First, her heart – is as big as the ocean. While Mamie tries to help others using organization and Florence only wants to provide casino for women (it will be the richer society who can enjoy, by the way), Justine is willing to ACT. Yep, she gives her time, her sweat, her wit, her everything to help. She’s an angel…

Second, Justine is TOTALLY awesome when she’s challenging Jack. One of the most satisfying things in romance novels, for me, is when the strong heroine brought the (perceived to be) stronger hero, the bad guys, to get down on his knees. I thought Justine did it perfectly (Jack didn’t literally drop to his knees, but still *laugh*). Justine makes Jack does things that he doesn’t normally do as the king of criminal. It’s very, very delightful to read.

Third… bowling as sexual flirting moment *grin*

I loved every moments of this book – for me, it’s a perfect good girl/bad guy trope. The Devil of Downtown is strong from start to finish plus the sexy moments are sexy. The only thing that annoyed me was probably how Mamie and Florence reacted to Justine’s relationship to Jack. They are being super hypocrite. At least their father isn’t in this book (because I dislike than man immensely since he tries to push his wishes to his daughters) I was so happy when Justine snapped at them and told them so. You GO, Justine!

In conclusion, this is one of my favorite romance of the year, and a wonderful way to finish the series. Joanna Shupe definitely has become one of historical authors for me to watch.

DNF

Tried really hard to read on but I'm not a fan of the writing style. That's okay, not every book is for every reader so I'm sure others will love this.

Jack Mulligan *swoon* is intrigued when an uptown lady confronts him in his club, looking for a client’s deadbeat husband. That’s right. We have a badass heroine who tracks down husbands that have run out on their wives and children. I love it!

Justine is the baby of the family. Even though the Greene girls are known to shirk convention, her own sisters treat her like she isn’t an adult. Justine recognizes their hypocrisy and continues to do what she wants regardless. I think she might be my favorite sister!

I love the way that Jack falls for Justine’s strength, determination, and desire to meet out justice on behalf of women. The sexual tension is phenomenal and their chemistry is off the charts hot! The only problem I had is that the conflict feels abrupt and a little manufactured.

It was a very interesting and entertaining read.
This is book 3 of the uptown girls series and again I was initiated in this series in disorder, I have to read the previous ones.
I really liked Justine, her determination and spirit to help anyone in need no matter where they are and the danger they are in. And the fact that she is just exactly the same in her personal and intimate life only adds more points to his already very well defined personality.
Jack would be the other part of that world where to stand out and be respected you do anything to achieve it, although there are villains and then there is Jack, although he operates blackmailing and scaring everyone we also see that he has a compassionate and fair side in the whole world of crime, cares about its people and because of than he earns not only respect but also loyalty and support that is well tested when he need it.
Justine and Jack will begin a relationship of favors that will lead them to a relationship that none of them seemed prepared to have but without realizing it, they will fall into their web and even if they try to escape it will be too late.

I like that the story is moving slowly and the relationship of Justine and Jack in the same way, the author does not rush anything, on the contrary, gives us a little taste of what would be a relationship between these two characters with well-defined personalities, no doubt I have enjoyed very much of those passionate moments as those who keep debating their views.
It's certainly a highly recommended reading.
4.5 stars

I received an ARC from author and Netgalley on exchange of my honest review.
Thank you so much.

I devoured the first book in this series earlier this month and already know that I need to read more of Joanna Shupe's books. I was excited to read the story of the last sister and her romance with a bad guy!

When this book first started, it was definitely a soft, sweet story. Justine is a do-gooder like her sisters but she's more kind and not as risk-taking. She's still do whatever it takes to help the women of the city in need, though. She enlists the help of Jack, who is a bad guy who is basically the head gangster of New York. He's dangerous, but when Justine asks for help, he decides to help her if she returns the favor in whatever way he asks. Their relationship is very sweet and slow and I wish it had more oomph in the beginning.

Once we got halfway through, though, this book picked up, the sparks flew, we knew more about Jack, and there was some serious suspense that kept me on my toes. If the beginning wasn't so slow and sweet, this book would have easily been a five star read. I loved how Jack became so vulnerable with Justine and how they did have some conflict near the end that almost ripped them apart. We also got to see Justine's sisters and I just loved how close they were and how they were there for each other.

Seriously, I cannot recommend Joanna Shupe enough! You need to pick up her historical romances as soon as you can!

She's an uptown heiress who's been doing charity work (and detective work) downtown since she was 13. He's the self-made king of a criminal empire. She needs help and he exacts a favor from her.

Things I liked about this book:
- A hero who continually sees new angles of the heroine.
- A heroine who gets sparks of lust when the hero engages in social justice advocacy.
- A very intense scene involving bowling and the proper footwear for a bowling alley.
- A hero who would give everything up for his heroine.
- A heroine who decides what her boundaries are and discovers how great her power is.

Things I didn't like about this book:
- .....

It's terrific. So many good things to say. An excellent addition to this series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. Justine is a "do-gooder" who works passionately for the causes she believes in. Jack grew up on the streets and earned his territory with hard work, cunning, strength and ambition. They seem like opposites but when they start to get to know each other they discover hidden passion and common interests. The story was fast-paced and hard to put down. This book can be read as a standalone story, though it is the last in the Uptown Girl series. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I wasn't totally sure what to expect from this book. After all, Justine comes across in her sister's books as this sweet and naive girl. And knowing that her hero was Jack Mulligan, essentially king of the criminal underworld? I was a bit skeptical. But I shouldn't have been because Joanna Shupe is a genius.

I adore Justine. I think she might be my favorite heroine, though that's some fierce competition and would definitely require a reread to verify. But she's fierce and she's passionate and she's good in a way that I don't think we see very often. And she's so very principled, which made her relationship with Jack so fascinating to watch unfold.

I was absorbed by this book from the get go, literally pulling it out during my wait in the Starbucks drive thru because I had to drive six hours, which was too long to go without reading the book. It is so engaging from page one and there wasn't a lull where I thought, "Oh, I can just put this down and not think about it for weeks on end." Rather, it was a book where I told myself, "One more chapter, and then I have to put laundry in the washer and also shower" and read three more instead. Justine and Jack have incredible chemistry. The side characters are all really compelling and basically, I just loved this entire book so very, very much.

I'm excited to see what Shupe does next, but I'm also so sad we're leaving this series behind. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the advanced copy! I definitely enjoyed it!

Miss Justine Greene is the youngest of three girls. She did a lot of charity work and she helped the legal society that her sister, Mamie, and her husband, worked at. He a lawyer and she did everything else. They offered free advice about legal affairs and such. Justine found husbands that had run out on their family and either took them to the police or forced them to pay a stipend so the mothers could get some food from their babies. She also worked at a soup kitchen in the ghetto, She was always flitting around downtown, at this time helping people was the most important thing in her life. She thought she was plain and not very attractive.
Mr. Jack Mulligan was the biggest criminal in Manhattan. If anything happened he knew it. He had a lot of money and power. He had become an orphan at twelve and thrown out of the orphanage. To fight his way to the top and he had been there for several years but it had been hard. No one knows even him how many times he had been stabbed, shot, or how many fights he had been in. He was covered from the neck down with scars from his endeavors. He spoke several languages, he was intelligent, charismatic, handsome, and tall.
I loved this, it was an unusual crime boss story. The tale moved along at a comfortable pace and offered insights into the characters. You get a touch of the organization of the group. It is large, fifteen hundred men and a huge area to look out for. There are some surprises along the way and as the book goes along it gets a little complicated. It is so worth the time to read this great novel. I believe you will be intrigued and find the novel hard to put down. It is steamy.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it and loved it.

Jack Mulligan is the devil of the title, and he’s met his match in Justine Greene. Justine first approaches him because one of his employees has left his wife and children and they need financial assistance, so she needs to get his employee to pay maintenance. Justine is considered the plain, boring sister, which suits her fine because she can do as she wishes as no one assumes she’s up to anything. She spends her days volunteering with various causes to help the poor and immigrant neighbourhoods that are so different from where she lives. Jack, on the other hand, is running any number of illegal outfits and controlling his part of downtown, though there’s a turf war brewing.
The romance shines in this book. They’re attracted, and then they get to know each other and they flat out like each other. It’s sexy, and the romance is so well developed as we get to see them take the fall. What also stood out in this are the lines of privilege and power, and how they are used by both to advantage for their own purposes, and to help each other. They have legitimate challenges to being together - he always faces threats in his position - and she would be a public weakness.It is also true that for her, she would be ostracized from society and likely her family for being with him. To her, he's Jack, but to the world, he's a criminal.
This trilogy has been a strong one, and the Devil of Downtown is now the favourite of the three.

Loved this conclusion to the Uptown Girls series! Justine was wonderful, and Jack was exactly the sexy criminal we all love. Add in great historical detail and sexy bowling(!), and you have a fabulous read. My only tiny gripe was the hypocritical way that Mamie and Florence treated Justine.

From the first paragraph this book sucked me in and didn’t let go (for real read it in one morning ❤️) Justine Greene and Jack Mulligan we’re perfect and this novel had drama, romance and an awesome setting.

Jack Mulligan is a crime boss. He runs his part of New York and takes care of those under him. A perfect bossy, surly, alpha hero.

Justine is a do-good heiress. She helps find husbands that have deserted their families and wants to be the first female New York police officer. She’s innocent and sweet, but not naive and knows what she wants and how to get it.

I love how she was always surprising Jack, had him all twisted up.

This book was just amazing- which I always expect from Joanna Shupe!