Ms. Joanna Shupe has done it again! Not only has she managed to end this incredible series with a bang (hehe) but she also did it with her most obsessed hero in this series yet! Lockwood really saw Nellie once and went “she’s mine” and I had no other choice but to stan, your honor.

We’ve been getting sneak peaks of Lockwood and Nellie since book 1 in this series and the payoff was so worth it! The prim and proper duke matched with the wild card heiress is everything, espectially when you find there’s more to the both of them than meets the eye. They were so well matched and understood each other better than anyone else.

Here are some tropes for your consideration:
No strings attached affair
Man obsessed
Hurt/comfort
Mutual pining!!!!!!!

I'm sad the series is over, but now I can just reread all the books to my heart’s content.

Thank you Avon and Netgalley for this eARC (electronic advanced reader’s copy) in exchange for an honest review.

Nellie and Lockwood were two characters I found mostly unlikeable at first. At 22, Nellie was out to experience as many men as she could in her lifetime and Lockwood wanted a hook up the night before he was joining the house party of the American Dollar Princess (her friend it turns out) he wants to marry to save his ducal estate. You will recognize this house party if you've read the other books in the series. It's revisited by each heroine in her view which I've enjoyed. Fast forward a few months and he's been jilted by each friend in turn. Desperately on the hunt for a rich American debutante, he runs into Nellie again. They start a blazing hot and graphic affair which soon turns to love. The problem is Nellie doesn't want to lose her independence with marriage, or move to a another country, and she's also afraid her loose reputation will ruin him. Delving into the characters backstory makes them more human. Nellie has insecurities about being left behind from her now marrying friends. Thinking their husbands won't allow them to see her. She's afraid of loss after losing her mother as a young child. Lockwood grew up with impersonal parents. When he developed a heart condition after an illness as a child they weren't very caring. He knows he doesn't have a normal life span which freaks out Nellie even more. Morality, religion, birth control, abortion, and women's rights are all at the center of this powerful story.

The Duke Gets Even was everything I was hoping it would be.
I knew I would love Nellie's book, I just knew it. Nellie and the Duke have stupendous chemistry and it lit my kindle on fire. This is another friends with benefits storyline from Shupe (similar to The Bride Goes Rogue) and once again it worked fabulously here. I think it fit the characters' personalities and the situations they were in that this would be how their romance developed. I absolutely loved the romance and cannot wait to reread it.
There are some minor issues I had with the book. I hate when author's insert their own political agendas in books and that is done a tiny bit here. It's very noticeable and took me a bit out of the story itself.
Also, the pacing slows down a bit in the middle but picks back up in time for the ending.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this. The spicy scenes here certainly delivered! I constantly had to keep grabbing a fan to cool off.
Definitely recommend!

They constantly get under each other’s skin. Can’t stay away from each other’s radar. There were a lot of sexual chemistry and fun banter between them. I loved the way the hero loved the heroine. How he kept trying to get past her walls and show her off without caring about her reputation. Those two were just so sweet and lovely together. The fire, the passion, a story that I wish didn't end

These two!!!! I honestly don't have the words. I think this may be my favorite book in the series. Nellie is someone who I related to and rooted for since the very beginning. Her struggles and feelings were valid and to read that in a historical romance novel was so refreshing to see. And Andrew!!! What can I say besides I love seeing a man absolutely on his knees (literally) for the woman he loves. So many emotions but do yourself a favor and pick this book up and just watch how quickly you fall in love with and root for these characters in The Duke Gets Even!

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the ARC!

God, The Duke Gets Even was such a fun ride. Nellie Young is the ultimate Joanna Shupe heroine, and Lockwood was such a delightful departure from Shupe's usual American tycoon, scoundrel, or mogul heroes. Loved the historical interjection of the Comstock Laws in this one too.

This also has to be one of my favorite romance novel endings in a long time.

6 stars!! The worst part of this book is that I finished it, because I could have read about Nellie and Lockwood all day long! This book was wonderful! So romantic and sexy, full of love and longing. I couldnt get enough. This couple was just perfect, and even though its the first week of January, I know this book is going to be in my top books of the year!! Joanna Shupe...you slayed on this one!

I was lucky enough and get an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review. And honestly...get this book!!
Review shared already on goodreads.

It is so gratifying to see the Duke of Lockwood and Nellie get their story and happy ending! This is book four in The Fifth Avenue Rebels series and it does not disappoint in any way. Highly recommended.

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #TheDukeGetsEven by Joanna Shupe in exchange for an honest review.

This book! This book is fantastic. I think Joanna Shupe picked my brain for everything I wanted in a starchy Duke and put them all into the Duke of Lockwood. Having read The Bride Goes Rogue before this one, I knew I was going to like him but I didn't know just how much I would love him. Thank you Joanna for giving me all I ever needed in a hero. Nellie is just incredible. She is brave, vulnerable, caring, and bold all wrapped up in one amazing heroine. These two had me sweating (so much steam in this book) and they had me crying and rooting for them. Even if you haven't read any of the other books in this series, you should read this one. My new favorite Joanna Shupe book.

Honestly, this book is stunning from start to finish. I think it is one of Shupe's finest books ever and it is searingly sensual and deeply emotional all at once. Everything that I love about the romance genre - positive sexual conversations, character growth, communication, history, - it was all just so good. Nellie is stunning and doesn't compromise and is an amazing "unlikeable" heroine. Lockwood is an emotional constipation sweetie with a ton of trauma. And I lapped it all up.

My expectations for this book were 100/10. The last two books in the series were favorites of the year for me last year and JS became one of my all time favorite HR authors. That teaser at the end of the Bride Goes Rogue had me screaming and gasping. When I got this ARC I was literally squealing.

So maybe I shot myself in the foot a bit, but I felt underwhelmed by this one. There was so much potential for Lockwood and Nellie to be angsty and passionate and for there to be secret rendezvous and exciting activities that the other heroines would never do. But I felt like they just had a sexual attraction and some kinda bland sex and not much else. And because Nellie has a scandalous reputation there was no angst or conflict there because she could just do whatever she wanted anyway.

I think the fact that Lockwood courted literally every one of her friends was not addressed enough. Like how did Nellie just not care at all about that? I would have preferred this to be more of a conflict. Like Nellie not believing he loved her because he had wanted to marry all of her friends seems so much more believable and exciting than Nellie not wanting to ruin his reputation.

There were some super adorable moments and I loved Nellie's Irish family and Lockwood wanting to impress them. I also adored him wanting to show her off in public. There was just ultimately a lot of the book that felt stagnant and unexciting to me and frankly a bit boring. and these two characters are anything but boring.

But this wasn't my least favorite book in the series and I still think it could work well for someone. I just had expectations through the roof for my favorite characters of the series and that happens. I ultimately recommend this series because books 2 and 3 are Holy Grail status and worth it just for them.

THANKS SO MUCH to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A hero who is a straight-laced duke on the streets and a filthy talking beast in the sheets is my kryptonite so I was predisposed to love this book and for a good while, I thought this would be a rare five star read for me.

Lockwood is the twice-jilted duke from the previous books paired with the scandalous outspoken Nellie. From their initial meeting, both going for a midnight swim and literally bumping uglies in the dark 😏, they can't keep their hands off each other. The ragey sexual tension in the early chapters is so thick and so good, I ate it up with a spoon. Yum! I was lukewarm about the other two hugely popular books I read in this series but this one had me in a choke hold with the strong first half. The romantic and sexual tension was through the roof and the slow-ish burn burns so good so when they finally bang, I swear there were fireworks and the star-spangled banner played somewhere in the distance 🔥

But once they bang, the delicious tension fizzles and the romantic conflict becomes repetitive which dragged the pace down for me significantly. Nellie thinks she's not good enough to be Lockwood's duchess and also doesn't want to marry and have kids and this is dragged out foreva. I also felt Nellie's character was a little uneven and it was mostly telling and not showing. She was proud of her reputation but then she acted like she was ashamed of her choices and let others make her feel bad about them. Also, for someone who was a scandalous Gilded Age party girl, she was kind of boring. No partying or cutting up except for a trip to a bar on the sketchy part of town. Lockwood, on the other hand, set my petticoats on fire. Gorgeous, desperate for cash, broke as a joke dukes are my jam apparently.

Overall, a solid read with high tension, hot hero and well-paced first half, a dragging second half, and uneven characterization.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔥🔥🔥

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The fourth and final book with the Duke's story we have all been waiting for. In this final installment, we finally get a peak at Nellie and Lockwoods' year long progression from book 1 at Maddie's house party to now.

I really liked this book. We learn that the Duke has a little bit of a rough side in the bedroom and that he also struggles with a health condition that he only reveals to Nellie. Nellie is an independent woman ahead of her time. She is an advocate for women's rights, especially them overcoming their ignorance from patriarchal society and education of their own bodies. This book showcases the issues that parallel what we are seeing in today's society with women's health rights.

Some things that did not work for me as much.....I would have liked more connection or chemistry between Nellie and Lockwood; it felt like it was relying too heavily on the brief interactions from previous books as context for their relationship. Perhaps if we would have seen more detailed interaction and tension of their interactions and progressions from the other books, their romance would have been more believable and impactful to me. Although the opening beginning started out very strong and steamy; it felt like they fell too fast and their chemistry kind of fell flat midway through. We also didn't get an explanation of his condition was and why in the Epilogue, the mention of the surgery was able to resolve *snap* just like that. His condition was one of the major reasons as to why Nellie held back for most of the book.

All this said, I still recommend you pick up this book as it was still a fun read and I also loved Nellie's cousin and Aunt Ri. 📚

Genre: romance
Subgenre: historical

TW: domestic abuse

Tropes: Golden Age, Duke, hate to love, chronic illness rep

I am DECEASED.

1ST 6 STAR OF 2023 GOES TO MS. SHUPE!

I devoured this book within 24-hours and I wanted more. I loved that Andrew Lockwood finally got the girl. The PERFECT girl for him. Nellie didn't swoon into his arms, though she did hug him in the dark, in a moonlit Ocean... but my lips are sealed.

These two had perfect banter, steaming chemistry, and heartwarming love and understanding for each other. These two were meant to be, even if Nellie doesn't want to believe it and Andrew needs a Duchess to save his ancestral home.

Lockwood is going right to the top of my book boyfriend list. He was dashing, intriguing, and he could hold his own in an Irish pub.

Nellie was fierce, provocative, and stuck to her guns, but knew when to give when it mattered most. I really loved her, even when i wanted to strangle her. I understood her and her layers and character made her endearing and fun.

The romance and steam were just perfection and this couple aligns perfectly in their... tastes, yeah, let's say taste to keep it PG. ;)

I highly recommend The Duke Gets Even. It is a new favorite and my FAVORITE Shupe to date.

P.S. We're gonna get more of the Irish cousins... right?

I received an ARC from Netgalley for review.

I am so happy to be getting Lockwood's & Nellie's story, and it sets the pages on fire.

I have enjoyed all the books in the series, and it was fun seeing past characters/ couples throughout the book. I feel this is a must read in order series to get the whole overall picture of what the couple has been going through for this odd courting situation.

I adored Nellie and Andrew's story. If you've read the other books in the series (if you haven't, go do so now!!), you know that Andrew hasn't had much luck getting the the alter. Now we learn a little about why. So much fun watching these two come together!!

I think this book may get the award for the best opening scene ever! It's quite a bang.

However, this novel wasn't quite as shiny and captivating as Shupe's other work, but still a solid, great read. Lots of great sex and dynamic, vibrant characters in Gilded Age New York. I really liked it.

So happy to finally see Andrew settled down, with Nellie, no less!

I liked the focus on reproductive rights. I also love to see how Shupe is so interested in making sure her characters in situations where they experience maximum amounts of pleasure with the least amount of shame possible. It's more than just general consent; their class and social positions, life experience and temperament are all oriented so the characters are free to choose and enjoy each other just for the sake of it.

Reading this made me want to go back and work on all of Shupe's backlist that I haven't gotten to yet.

The Duke of Lockwood FINALLY gets his HEA! And what a perfect heroine for him Nellie was.

I loved watching both of them completely fall for each other despite their determination to keep it strictly to bedroom activities.

A beautiful resolution to the final conflict as well.

Overall I simply adored it.

The Duke Gets Even is book number four in Joanna Shupe’s The Fifth Avenue Rebels series. One of the reasons I enjoy Historical Romance, is learning about history and laws I was unaware of and the courageousness of the women of the time that fought for change. I never fail to learn something new when reading a Joanna Shupe novel.

Andrew Talbot, 8th Duke of Lockwood is your typical outwardly perfect Duke. Ladies be warned, this Duke of perfection has a darker side that comes out in the bedroom. Eleanore Lucinda Young, aka Nellie, is an American heiress with a devil may care attitude that lives her life on her own terms while thumbing her nose at society. These two have been dancing around throughout the series and when they finally fall, they fall hard.

While I suspected what might have been coming at the end, I was not disappointed. You can feel the emotion jump off the page and that my reading friends makes for great entertainment.

My heartfelt thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager via Netgalley for providing an eARC of the book. This is my honest and unbiased review.

This was my first time reading anything by Joanna Shupe and I really liked this book. Nellie and Lockwood's story was fast-paced, steamy and angsty. Nellie was such an awesome character! She's tough, independent and ready to help other women in need. Lockwood is a handsome duke in financial trouble and looking for a "proper" woman to marry. Along comes Nellie and his plans change when he realizes that love is more important than anything. Now he just has to convince her that he's worth it. I loved all the side characters, especially Nellie's aunt Riona and her cousin Finn. I hadn't read the first three books, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this story.