The ultimate feisty heroine stars in Joanna Shupe’s The Duke Gets Even. With her unapologetic enjoyment of sex, steadfast work bringing birth control to working class women during the oppressive Comstock era, and disinterest in marriage, the heroine is a historical character modern women will embrace. The story starts off with our main characters bumping into one another during a midnight skinny dip, and it only gets steamier from there. Gorgeous writing, characters to root for, and a story I couldn’t put down.

** spoiler alert ** Joanna is the best in the game. The research that goes into making these books historically accurate on top of decadently delicious is just SO good. I loved Nellie from the very first page of this book & her passion project of teaching women about contraceptives was just the cherry on top.

P.S. — having an epilogue in a historical romance where the heroine gets a tattoo is pretty much my favorite ending of all time.

An amazing fourth installment in this series!

Like many other fans of this series, I've been waiting for Nellie and Lockwood's book for three years now and am pleased to say it's worth the wait! This may be my favorite Fifth Avenue Rebels book so far.

I’m bummed this book wasn’t for me.
The change up from this to other HR romances is that the heroine is more of the rogue in this instance. My issue is that I don’t enjoy plots where the characters who are end game constantly try to make the other person jealous. I just can’t root for them.

I didn’t make it through but potential cw: abortion.

Genre: historical romance, Gilded Age
New York, 1895

On a moonlight swim at the house party first featured in book one, Nellie Young encounters a stranger in the dark. A brief encounter - a rough and passionate kiss - leaves both Nellie and the stranger shaken even more when they discover the next day he is the Duke of Lockwood who is about to propose to her best friend Maddie. (Read book one for how that shakes out). Angry that Lockwood is the sort of man who would betray a woman he is courting, Nellie sends jabs his way and steers each of her friends, Maddie, Alice, and Katherine, away from Lockwood. But Andrew Talbot, Duke of Lockwood cannot keep his mind from Nellie, despite the fact that he must marry an heiress of incomparable standing and Nellie attracts scandal wherever she goes.

I had already fallen for Lockwood and Nellie separately in books one through three, so watching them fall for one another was magnetic. Because I didn’t pick up book one in this series until I had the ARC of book four in hand, I’ve known through every book that poor Lockwood was going to be thrice jilted and that Nellie was the one for him. Externally starchy and polite, as is proper for an English duke in search of an heiress, my heart always squeezed a little for him in each of the other books. With Duke Gets Even, we see inside his head, and he is anything but starchy. He craves that which can make him feel alive, and obviously that is Nellie. Nellie is half-Irish, and her late mother’s family runs the Saints, an Irish gang out of Hell’s Kitchen, and her brazen attitude is linked in part to society’s refusal to accept her mother.

But honestly I was truly in this one for the politics. Challenges to late 19th century reproductive rights aren't all that different from challenges now, and Shupe gives us a well-written history lesson we all need. Nellie’s fiery personality is implicitly linked to her firm belief in her right to choose what happens with her body (and her right to choose with whom and when), and standing up to the Comstock Laws is something she doesn’t give a second thought to.

Bonus, this has what is now one of my favorite grand gestures. I can’t say more to keep this review spoiler free, but it fits so perfectly. Once you read it, please come gush in my DMs with me!

Thank you to @avonbooks and #netgalley for an eARC for review. This book is out 1/24/23, and I highly recommend the whole series (probably in order) in advance.

i really really really enjoyed this one and would love to read more from this author in the near future! cant wait to see whats next!!!

I have been waiting for this book since the moment I met Nellie Young and the Duke of Lockwood in The Heiress Hunt.

Nellie is brash, outspoken, and independent. As a side character throughout the series, she was influential in helping her friends find love, and I was so excited for her to get her own love story!

Andrew, the Duke of Lockwood, is in desperate need of funds to keep his estate afloat. He comes to New York to find a respectable heiress to marry. And then he meets Nellie. She is against the idea of an affair, and will not be a mistress. Which is fine, because the Duke is in love. Now he’s no longer looking for the respectable heiress of his dreams, he’s hoping that Nellie will accept his proposal.

I love Shupe’s writing, and am always impressed with the way she handles the history of the time period, and the way she tackled the Comstock laws was incredibly skillful. I love the honest conversations around women’s rights and reproductive rights, the message is well crafted and timely.

This is one of Shupe’s best. Without a doubt.

This is a very fun and long awaited conclusion to The Fifth Avenue Rebels series! I’m not going to lie, I’ve wanted Nellie’s story since we first met her in The Heiress Hunt, and Joanna Shupe has created a heroine that was a pioneer in her time and template for a modern day heroine.

The Duke of Lockwood can’t seem to find an heiress to marry him and save his broke-a**. I did wonder why he didn’t try working for a living, but I chalked it up to romance reasons. He likes to swim and he encounters Nellie for the first time in the ocean, while she is there for a tryst that never happens.

Nellie is a wealthy free-spirit, and the only daughter of a widower who dotes on her. She has a tremendous amount of freedom and she uses it to educate and distribute contraception to working class women in between having affairs, hanging out with her besties and visiting her mother’s family, part of NYC’s Irish mafia. She is reluctant to relinquish the amount of freedom she has, and vows to never marry.

Since Lockwood likes to swim, Nellie invites him to use her family pool, which is the equivalent of “would you like to see my etchings?” Amorous times ensue, and Shupe writes some hot scenes!

I loved the frank discussions the MC’s had about doing it (censors, you know) and the appearance of main characters from the rest of the series. There is an emphasis on the friendship between women which is lovely. The relationships that Nellie has with her family are warm and wonderful.

Shupe is known for the depth of her research in this time period and she includes in her acknowledgements some historical facts about the Comstock Laws and the Social Darwinism movement of that time period and how it closely mirrors what we are experiencing now. If I didn’t already appreciate her as a wonderful writer, I would admire her for her willingness to use her mighty “pen” to remind and teach us about our history and struggles.

Hot historical romance with social commentary thrown in. I’ll take it and recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#TheDukeGetsEven #JoannaShupe #AvonBooks #HarperCollins #NetGalley #Romance #Bookstagram #ReadingRomance #HistoricalRomance #GildedAge #ReadAvon #HappilyEver Avon

The Duke Gets Even seemingly wraps up The Fifth Avenue Rebels series in a fun and heartfelt conclusion, that definitely benefits from having read the previous books first. Thankfully, I have done so so it makes the culmination of Andrew and Nellie's story a lot of fun building off of the steam and the seeming animosity that the two had for each other for the previous three books. You had to know that there was something between them in the others and how it was explained in this book really shined for both of the characters and gave them both their respective laurels.

I'll admit that I wish there was a smidgen more plot in this one, especially when compared to the other books in the series that have a little more meat on the bone because they required more build up than Andrew and Nellie needed after three books. But the chemistry between the two of them really sells it and the set up for what might kick start another book hero is definitely a highlight.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth and final book in the Fifth Avenue Rebels series, and one that finally gives a HEA that’s been hinted at in the first three books. Nellie and Andrew’s chemistry leaps off the page, and their sweet romance works in delicious contrast to their steamy, wild sexual chemistry. Most importantly, Nellie is a heroine for our times, an outspoken woman committed to reproductive justice and fighting for bodily autonomy, a storyline that serves to show the reader just how little has changed for women in America since 1897.

While it’s possible to read this as a standalone, I forbid you to do so. Not only because Maddie, Alice, and Katie’s stories are so wonderful on their own, but because I don’t want you to miss out on the true delight that comes when all four Rebels converge on the page.

This book is one for those who love
🥃 Proper in the streets, (really!) rough in the sheets aristocrats
🥃 Headstrong women and the men who would do anything for them
🥃 FMCs with a cause
🥃 Experienced heroines without shame or apology

Flames: 🔥🔥🔥

CN: domestic violence, reproductive coercion, patriarchal bullshit

I did not want this book to end! Andrew Talbot, The Duke of Lockwood has been searching for a bride to shore up his crumbling finances since Book 1. I liked him from the moment he appeared on the page. Eleanor (Nellie) Young has been living her life on her own terms. Her father is a railroad baron, her Aunt leads an Irish gang. Nellie has vowed to never marry for reasons. Lockwood will accept nothing less than everything from his chosen. Sparks fly between these two from the moment they meet. I loved how Nellie supports other women, from helping the woman her man is considering for a bride to women who need lessons in reproductive health care.
I cried my way through Chapter 24 when Nellie is confronted by her Aunt Riona and the true reason she doesn't want to get married. Great ending as only a Joanna Shupe can provide. The conversation between the Duke and the Prince of Wales (Bertie) made the Epilogue epic!

This book contains women helping other women, a duke who finds his mermaid, and an abundance of extremely sexy scenes (10 Habaneros).


5 Stars

ARC review copy via NetGalley

This has been a wonderfully fun series from Joanna Shupe, and I was super excited to get this ARC because I really didn't want to wait to find out what Nellie and the duke's deal was after it was teased in the last one.
I enjoyed this story. Shupe always writes sex scenes well, and this series definitely seems to get progressively hotter. I loved how intensely our hero falls for our heroine, and how she comes to realize that rebellion for the sake of rebellion isn't necessarily something that will sustain her forever. Overall, a great ending to the series and it's satisfying that everyone got their HEAs.

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe

This is the 4th (and last!) book in The Fifth Avenue Rebels series, and I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of the e-book which I pretty much devoured in one sitting!

This is the story I’ve been waiting for since book 1, the story of Nellie – our flame haired, beautiful, outspoken, scandal inducing heroine, and Lockwood – our uptight, handsome, impoverished-desperate-for-an-heiress Duke.

Their story starts back before we knew who the Duke of Lockwood is in book one. Both Nellie and Lockwood meet, quite by chance, in the sea late at night and things get quite steamy indeed!

I loved this book so much, it had everything I needed, and I nearly sobbed when it finished as I just wanted it to carry one forever. This was one of my most favourite books I’ve read this year. Joanna Shupe doesn’t disappoint in terms of well-developed characters (Nellie has quite an interesting and dark past) plot, and of course, all the angst and steam one would wish for in a historical romance.

Nellie for me made this book as she was such an unexpectedly different type of heroine that we normally see in historical romances. She doesn’t want to get married, her father is very supportive of her outrageous ways, and she’s very focused on what she does want in life. She doesn’t live up to societies rules and it was such a refreshing change to read about a character who wasn’t timid and who knows her own mind. Lockwood was made for Nellie as he was her polar opposite; but he also needed her to make him realise that he needed to grab life by the balls, sometimes, and say, ‘to hell with it!’

I could recommend this book to everyone, all day long, it’s out January 24th 2023 and so you have just enough time to read books 1-3 before then if you haven’t already!

5 outstanding stars.

Thank you to the publisher (Avon Books) for an ARC via Netgalley. All thoughts and views are my own.

This book absolutely wrecked me! I have been waiting for Nellie's story. I have loved her since we were first introduced to her at the beginning of the series. She lived up to her hype. I love how rebellious, stubborn, and loyal she is. I connected so deeply with her and her struggles and emotions. Her ROMANCE with Lockwood was top tier. I shed a couple of tears because of the angst and pining. Lockwood is such a cinnamon daddy! I wasn't sold on him, but he is one of my favorite heroes after this book. I also love this book's social commentary about the power women should have in making choices about their bodies. It felt deeply relatable and a great commentary on our current times.

I was so excited for their story because I knew it was going to be explosive! However, I cannot put my finger on why I felt something was missing in the conflict and rational as to why they could not be together. I understood his struggles with his reputation and need for scandal-free, but once he shed this concern and pursues her, I just did not understand or feel her conflict to push him back. I feel like having him go back to England was something forced to create her grand gesture.

The steam and chemistry was fantastic though!

Absolutely my favorite of the series!
Every single time Ms. shupe comes out with something new, I’m positive it won’t be as good and the previous one. She loves to prove me wrong.
Nellie was amazing in every way, but the standout here was Lockwood. He is everything a romance hero should be and more. You know when you read a book and you’re like “oh, I wish he would’ve kissed her, or said this or that” well he did. Like literally every time. Lockwood reads my mind and I’m here for it.
Officially starting a petition now: since this series is done, please make the next series about the saints- but specifically FINN.
I NEED MORE FINN.

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

I've been DYING for Nellie's story since the first time I 'met' her and The Duke Gets Even did not disappoint. I finally got the story behind her sneers at Duke Lockwood and it's a good one. Their first meeting set the stage for the lust. longing, denial, and love affair to come. I truly loved getting to know both of these characters better. Nellie was just as fiery and fierce as I'd hoped and Lockwood was as genteel and masterful as I suspected. And while both of them somewhat lived up to how they'd been characterized in the past by others, they were both more complex and tender than the outside world would ever know. Nellie missed her mother terribly, loved her father with everything she had, and skewered those who blindly followed, but as her friends know, her heart and kindness knew no bounds for those she cared about. The same goes for Lockwood--his sense of responsibility and obligation tied him to the role he was in but he refused to go along for the sake of going along. While he may have appeared to be more socially acceptable, he really just did what he wanted in a way that didn't create as many waves as Nellie did.



I adored these two together, seeing the previous couples, and getting an insider's view of who Nellie and Lockwood were, what they were about, and how they ended up together. I inhaled this novel in a matter of hours because I just loved their story so much. And while I was sad to see it end, I am hoping against hope that Finn gets his own book *fingers crossed*.



Go get The Duke Gets Even--you'll have zero regrets.

Joanna Shupe never fails to deliver a book full of characters you wish you were best friends with and plots/tropes that don't feel old. This book was everything I love about her writing and she did not disappoint!

To paraphrase a common rom-com saying,
After all, he’s just a duke, standing in front of a girl, asking her to love him.

We have seen the Duke of Lockwood throughout The Fifth Avenue Rebels series as a dejected suitor with a broken betrothal and dashed hopes of ever saving his ducal legacy.

But we have never seen him like we do in The Duke Gets Even. With Nellie he casts aside his veneer, his ingrained polish, his duke-ness and becomes just a man - a really hot man as only Joanna Shupe can create.

We also get to see Nellie beyond the brash and reckless woman presented so far in this series. I love the way her father unconditionally supports her.
And the reminder about the Comstock Laws show how far back we have regressed recently.

I always look forward to and thoroughly enjoy Joanna Shupe’s Gilded Age books.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This final installment of the Fifth Avenue Rebels series finally brings us the Duke of Lockwood’s story.

He and Nellie Young dance around each other in society. She is willing to have an affair, but doesn’t want marriage. he needs an heiress to save his estate.

These two have a passionate relationship, but it fell a bit flat for me. We just don’t get to know Lockwood as I would have wanted. And Nellie keeps refusing him time after time. We do get a HEA, but I was just dissatisfied.