It’s the 1890s and Jack is the Crime Lord/Mafia Boss of New York City. He was born in the streets and worked his way up to being the head of an organization overseeing thousands of men. He used blackmail and favors and other worse methods that weren’t entirely clear to get where he was. Justine is the young do-gooder looking for a runaway husband and father who now works for Jack. She knows his reputation but can only see good in him. She refers to him as kind, sweet, her knight in shining armor, etc. Meanwhile we get to read the graphic detail of what’s in Jack’s mind of what he wants to do to her every time he sees her. As in the other books in the series, Justine seems to have an extreme amount of freedom for a wealthy young heiress. In this book her parents are conveniently out of the country. She begins to enjoy the favors his strong arming is getting her and realizes she’s not liking who she is turning in to.

I enjoyed the time period. That Justine wanted to be the first woman detective in New York City. It was just that her actions seemed about 100 years before her time. Wouldn’t she have been ostracized? It was touched on briefly and then forgotten. I was waffling between 3 one 4 stars but the more I wrote I realized it was 3 for me.

Joanna Shupe closes out her Uptown Girls series with an absolutely delicious opposites attract story about a determined do-gooder and a kingpin. The Greene girls continue to tackle social issues and fight for women's rights in Gilded Age New York. Add in a charming, so-wrong-for-her-he's-right hero, and you've got the recipe for a great read.

I've loved this entire series. Shupe illuminates the history and issues of the day while spinning stories that celebrate women who flaunt convention and live interesting lives.

This is the final book of the Uptown Girls series. You can read this as a stand alone if you don't mind a few minor spoilers for the previous 2 books in the series. Best character build will be to read in order. I believe all the characters appear together in all 3 books. (This is the only one I've tried from this series, but talked with a friend as she read the first of the series)

Give this book a try if you are in the mood for
-Mixed classes – Jack was born in a brothel and is a self made man totally unwelcome in polite society, Justine is an uptown heiress
-Antiheroes – Jack is the leader of a number of criminal enterprises
-Lots of steam and f bombs ;)
-Strong themes of feminism
-Solid consent established
-A splash of enemies to lovers – in the beginning, there's some snarkiness and push back from the heroine
-A working herione!
-Guilded age New York
-Scarred hero (not a huge part of the story)

Jack is our hero, and he's one of my favorite types. An antihero that grew up in the gutter and has more power now than anyone in town. He's drawn to Justine from the beginning. He's really rather charming. His emotions run deep, he can have a violent streak (never against the heroine), but usually he is not a brooding, grumpy character. Jack definitely is the reason I give this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed him. I love how he's so confident. He would do anything for Justine, and he helps her throughout the entire book. He's ruthless to his enemies and I love that too. What can I say, I love a man that has no problem protecting his territory and his woman.

Justine truly cares about the suffering in New York. Being a member of the Greene family, she has lived a privileged life and wants to use it to help others. Her real passion is helping the women and children of the city, with her focus being on child labor and husbands that abandon their wives. I did find these parts really interesting. Definitely makes you more thankful for the world we live in today (even though there are still issues with it). I will say Justine rather annoyed me in this book. I find I am not liking the enemies to lovers much anymore. It doesn't last long in the book, but Justine in the beginning is rather snarky and rude to Jack, and I have no idea why it attracted Jack all the more. I don't see what's attractive about it at all. Thankfully that didn't last long, but then I felt like she made quite a few decisions that had me irritated. I felt like she put herself in stupid situations and didn't take the danger of the city seriously. I also felt like she went through a complete 180 of her feelings regarding Jack and it seemed to happen repeatedly until the end of the story. But I felt surprised the first time because it really seemed to come out of nowhere.

The end of the book kind of took a dive for me as well. It seemed to have a bit excessive amount of overcoming the final hurdle. The back and forth of why they couldn't be together just went on a bit too long. Still, overall I enjoyed a LOT of this story. I give 3.5 rounded to 4.

When I requested this novel I was into the ideal of reading this novel but I discovered that I was unable to provide feedback on this book due to the series being archived prior to download and file/download issues. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience of not being to review and thank you for taking the time to provide me an ARC of this novel.

This book is very good! Though I feel it came overhyped to me even as an ARC! There's a lot to enjoy in this book--namely the chemistry between the two main characters, and I love romances where the characters are put in interesting scenarios for romance to occur. A bowling alley!

The conceit of this series, of rich good girls getting together with rich bad guys, is fine but not really to my tastes. I'm, like, pathologically uninterested in crime bosses, be they historical or contemporary. I don't find them sexy, I don't love how they rarely face consequences for all the wrong they've done in their lives, so it's just not an archetype I love in romance. So the fact that I enjoyed this series is really a testament to it being done the best it can for me.

The end of Joanna Shupe’s Uptown Girls series is here! This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2020 and I will just say, it completely lived up to my expectations! Justine is working with her sister and brother-in-law at the Legal Aid firm finding husbands who have abandoned their wives and children. The man she is currently looking for works for the well-known crime boss, Jack Mulligan. He offers to help Justine, but only if Justine promises to owe him a favor...

I loved this book. Justine is kind and puts the care of others above her own wants and needs, but she is not weak as many people seem to believe. Mulligan is the exact opposite of Justine and they are perfect. My favorite part of the whole book has to be when Jack, the rake, rogue, criminal, BEGS Justine not to leave him. BEGS! It is one of the best scenes I have ever read in romance! I was disappointed with two of my favorite characters from the previous books in the series, Justine’s sisters. They treat her in a way that is completely contradictory to how they were in the first two books. I loved how Justine was willing to call them out for this and was finally able to get them to recognize who she had been all along - a strong, intelligent woman.
This book was great, I love the settings, the characters, honestly just everything about it!

Although this is my first book by Joanna Shupe, it will certainly not be my last. The wonderful setting (late 1800's New York City) is backdrop to interesting and fully drawn characters. The romance between criminal mastermind Jack Mulligan and upper class social reformer Justine Greene develops slowly in a believable manner with chemistry that just won't quit. This third and final novel in the "Uptown Girls" series can be read as a stand-alone, but readers (myself included) will want to read the others. Recommended.

I loved this third book in the series. I love the authors writing style and how she draws you in. This one had even more romance than the first two, which I really appreciated!!!! This is a must read for Shupe fans.

What can I say about The Devil of Downtown. This review is going to be rather short and sweet. I adored every second of the book. It was emotional and smart and super duper HOT. In fact, the entire Uptown Girls series is basically flawless. Gilded-Age gloriousness.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn’t mean to start a trilogy with the final book but clearly that did not impede my enjoyment because I loved this book. Two delightful characters, a boatload of chemistry, a bit of danger and the kind of writing that effortlessly draws you in made this an incredible read and I am kicking myself for not starting this series sooner.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*Review of eARC received from NetGalley*

I think this is the first Joanna Shupe novel I’ve read. She’s been on my radar for a while and I’ve just never gotten around to reading anything by her. But this was recommended to me in one of the author groups I follow on Facebook. And since I have a NetGalley account, I took advantage of its availability there to read it.

And, yep, I loved this book!

The reason it was recommended to me was because I mentioned I love the “Jerk with a Heart of Gold” trope. And, oh boy, does this have that IN SPADES! Jack Mulligan is a crime boss in the late 19th century New York City. He’s mean, he’s tough, he rules his criminal empire with an iron fist - but he also cares about the people he rules over. It’s not until he meets “do-gooder” Justine Greene that those gentler traits get to come out beyond his territory.

For Justine’s part, she’s written quite well. She’s not an obnoxious virtue-signal, as sometimes happens with such characters in historical romance. I could actually picture someone like her existing in the 1890s. She genuine cares about the causes she’s involved in, rather than using them to prop herself up. She’s a great foil for Jack and they both bring out the best in each other.

Because I have not (yet) read the other books in this series, I will say that it is totally okay to start reading here. Obviously there are some spoilers for the previous two books, but probably nothing I couldn’t guess at happening anyway (there are certain things that must happen in the romance genre, after all. And that’s why I love it!) I have checked out the first book from my library’s ebook service, but I wanted to read this since it was specifically recommended to me. I look forward to more Joanna Shupe!

I SQUEALED when I got the email saying it was ready for me to read. I loved the first two books, and this rounded out the series so beautifully! ⁣
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We met Justine and Jack in the earlier books but only in brief glimpses and I grin just thinking about how much I love them together - from their banter, their chemistry, to how Jack refers to Justine as "do-gooder." Justine and Jack both know who they are, what they believe in, and are determined to go about getting what they want, so seeing the two of them come together as a couple - the give and take - was simply lovely.⁣
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This book made me smile so much - it had feminist view sprinkled throughout (from all different characters), and I admire how Shupe balances thoughts/ideas people had while still making it realistic in the time frame.⁣
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"Why are sons not taught to change things? Why must the burdens and problems of this world constantly fall on the shoulders of women?"⁣
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Justine's father isn't in this story as much (I wasn't really a fan of his in the first two), but her sisters take on the role of protecting her so the reader gets to see more interaction between the sisters (and their significant others) than we did in the rest of the series; I also enjoyed watching them work out the dynamics of their relationship.⁣
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The only downside is this book does not come out until June 30th. I KNOW. Sorry for teasing you, but add this to your TBR (or better yet pre-order it), and you will. not. regret. it.⁣

i found some parts of the story to be rather clichéd or overdone, there’s perhaps too much winking, and the romance has quite a few references to “warmth” and “sensations,” which gets repetitive. Also, though this isn’t an insta-love story, the eventual jump to love still felt rushed to me, on one party’s part in particular, especially since they both began the story so opposed to marriage.

Still, I very much enjoyed this read, ate it up in one evening, and would be happy to continue the series.

This story is absolutely fan-freekin-tastic! Filled with three dimensional characters and the sort of world building that brings late 19th century Manhatten to vivid life, this is a romance you don't want to miss!

Raised in a brothel and later on the streets, Jack Mulligan has fought tooth and nail, not only for survival, but to build an untouchable empire. Reputed to be unforgiving and ruthless, no one would ever dare argue with him. Until a young lady with steel in her veins gives Jack a piece of her mind. Justine Green needs his help, but she's not prepared to let him dictate the terms completely. Instead she negotiates with him on equal footing and with fearless determination. Which makes it hard for Jack for forget her once their initial arrangement has been concluded. But it's not just her bravery that draws him, it's also her kindness, and while he knows he doesn't deserve a woman like her in his life, Jack finds himself seeking her out and furthering the acquaintance until they're both falling hard for each other. The only problem of course is figuring out how the king of the criminal underworld can build a future with a respectable do-gooder.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Beyond the romance there's also a murder plot along with Justine's struggle to be taken seriously as a woman attempting to work alongside the police force. A definite page turner to be savored.

A wonderful, fun and exciting end to a great series. I enjoyed both the original characters, the drama between them and the fast-paced dialogue. It was honestly the best part of the last few days, spent in quarantine, it took my mind off of all the craziness and reminded me of some of my favorite historical romances, with its witty, heartfelt style. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Joanna Shupe’s Gilded Age stories, where the women are brave and interesting, and the men are progressive, sexy and complicated in the best way. Recommend!

I enjoyed this last book in the Uptown Girl series. The quiet younger sister, Justine, proves to be the strongest of all the sisters as she battles injustice in the downtown New York City slums. She challenges and engages Jack, the biggest gang leader, to become a better man. I received an ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for my honest review.

Book three in Uptown Girls series.
This is story of youngest sister Justine. She is out in the world trying to make it better for those less fortunate on the streets of NYC. While in the bad part of town meets with Mulligan who helps her out and she ends up owing him a favor.
Owing favors to Mulligan starts Justine on adventures outside of her comfort zones. They are like the devil and the angel. You revisit her two sisters and their husbands.
Spicy in parts.

I really enjoyed this book despite its implausibility. It focuses on the youngest sister Justine and the criminal Jack Mulligan. I loved Jack as the hero, and Shupe got me to root for him so much that I didn’t even care if he reformed for the heroine.

This was a great conclusion to the series with some good moments with the couples from the previous two books. There is great world building here based on research.

I couldn’t put it down despite needing to go to bed. I highly recommend it!

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley in return for a fair review.

I liked this one. Justine didn't bow down to kingpin Jack. It was for sure fun and entertaining with their banter and being together. I love the synopsis of the story and whats neat is that Joanna tells us exactly who these characters are based on real life people.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I cant say how much I loved this book! I devoured it in one day. This was my first book by Joanna Shupe, which seems crazy to me because she is so so good! How could I have missed out on her in the past? Anyway, bygones, lets just say I cant wait to start reading everything she has ever done! Like, now.....
Back to The Devil of Downtown, Gilded age New York has never been a setting I was drawn to, but boy did this book prove me wrong! Maybe I just needed a Manhattan gangster, kingpin and an uptown do-goooder to make me see the error of my ways! These two form an unlikely alliance and from the start, sparks fly! It took some time for them to decide to act on that connection, but boy when they did, it was fire! But how can two people from such opposite upbringings, have anything lasting? You will have to read to find out. 5 stars all the way!