Joanna Shupe never fails to produce a delightful Gilded Age romance and this fourth installment in the Fifth Avenue Rebels series is no exception. Featuring the Duke of Lockwood (who has been jilted by the previous heroines in the series, a penniless duke who must marry rich to save his crumbling estate, THE DUKE GETS EVEN opens on a nighttime swim...where Lockwood happens across a naked woman in the sea, who, having been stood up by her planned tryst, decides that Lockwood will work for an anonymous amorous encounter just as well. When they meet again at a house party, though, it's hate at second sight--Nellie, who has carefully cultivated her reputation to make herself unfit for marriage (and who has enjoyed every hedonistic pleasure along the way) is disgusted by the duke's willingness to frolic in the ocean with her while simultaneously pursuing a rich bride. And yet they can't stay away from each other.

Set against the era of the regressive Comstock Laws, Shupe's novel deploys one of her signature fierce heroines to comment on the diminishing reproductive autonomy that women faced in the Gilded Age, while touching on the economic factors that made these restrictive laws--and the pregnancies they forced--brutal for the women whose lives they controlled. Shupe has a permanent place on my TBR, and THE DUKE GETS EVEN should have a spot on yours.

I really love this author and this series!! I was beyond excited to have been given a copy early, so of course I devoured it way too quickly! I absolutely loved Nellie and Lockwood! Theses two were meant to be! Nellie is so strong and independent but she also is tender hearted towards others. I love how she does as she pleases and her father is so supportive of her! Lockwood is our swoony hero who’s in need of a wife and finds. He has no time for love, but with Nellie he can’t seem to stay away. These two have a chemistry like nothing else! I really enjoyed their banter, and how Nellie tries to avoid him until it’s too hard to stay away. Their story had so much steam, heart, and learning to find the right kind of love that worked for them! This is certainly a favorite read!

This was my first Joanna Shupe novel, but I can assure you that it will not be my last. This book was both fiery and feminist from the first pages. The tense and mercurial romance that blossoms between Lockwood and Nellie is a page turner! Shupe has a strong understanding of her time period, and deftly weaves in historical figures and politics of the time that are just as relevant today. Many thanks to #NetGalley and Avon Books
for my gifted ARC.

Loved this one so much!!! Lockwood and Nellie are perfect together! Nellie's stubbornness combined with Lockwood's secret made for an angsty read but the banter and moments with Nellie's family lightened things perfectly. I appreciated the way Shupe didn't reach for an easy solution to Lockwood's problem(s). (I'm being vague to avoid spoilers.) Everybody deserves an HEA, not just those with perfect bodies.

I have read all of the books in this series, 5th Avenue Rebels, and I have enjoyed all of them. The Duke Gets Even may be the best of the series. I don't want to give anything away, but if you've read these books, "it" all makes sense now. If you haven't read the books before, this story will also be enjoyable as a stand-alone. Highly recommend.

One of the 2023 romance novels I was most looking forward to is The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe. This super spicy historical romance novel exceeded my expectations!

The Duke Gets Even is Book 4 in the Rebels of Fifth Avenue series, and the second I’ve read in the series. (It operates just fine as a standalone.) The hero and heroine have been circling each other since Book 1, and just having read Book 3, I was itching for them to get together. Nellie is our heroine. She is extremely rebellious, and despite being an unmarried young lady among the upper crust of New York City in the Gilded Age, completely her own woman. Among her friends, she’s the most scandalous, having had a number of affairs happily over the years. She does not wish to marry, even if someone did risk attaching scandal to their name by marrying her.

Lockwood is a Duke who has traveled to America to find a bride. When he inherited his father’s title, he also inherited his father’s debt. Despite careful investments, it has only continued to mount. Finding an American heiress as a bride seemed like the only way out of this mess. But Lockwood has courted a number of women; in fact, two of Nellie’s friends jilted him when they found their own love matches. Lockwood is still determined to find this ideal American heiress.

Lockwood and Nellie met almost a year ago, in the prologue of this novel. Both were attending a house party, and met swimming in the ocean the night before. Nellie was there for a romantic rendezvous, but her lover never showed. When she found Lockwood in the ocean, she mistook him for her prospective partner and approached him - completely nude. While Lockwood was honest about his identity, it still led to a steamy make-out session and a promise to get together the next night. But the next day, they found themselves at the same house party, with Lockwood the potential fiance of Nellie’s best friend.

Now months have passed. Due to the incident, Nellie always disliked Lockwood, considering him unfaithful to her friend (though in reality, that wasn’t quite the case). They’ve always been drawn to one another, and despite the animosity and her thwarting a few of his potential marriage plans, it’s all been fun. The two can’t help but like one another. Things come to a head in this book, and they agree to a temporary affair. Nellie doesn’t want to marry, and Lockwood needs the perfect heiress, in her mind. And Lockwood believes he needs the same, until he spends more and more time with Nellie. What stops her from being the perfect heiress? He doesn’t care about scandal, and in reality, he never did. This is the woman he loves, after all!

I adored this title way more than I expected. Not only is it spicy - the love scenes are a little kinky! - but it’s super emotional. Lockwood has a medical issue that further presses his need to provide for his family and enjoy love while he can, because his life could very well be short. Nellie is even more afraid to fall in love with him, considering she has already lost the most important person in her life too soon when her mother passed away. She can’t bear going through that pain again.

I liked how this book ended so much. It felt like the perfect hopeful but open-ended HEA for these two. I can’t stop thinking about how emotional this novel made me and definitely will have to visit the first two books in the series!

Oh how I’ve been waiting for this book. It’s only taken 3 women to turn down the Duke of Lockwood, before he finally, FINALLY! gets his love story. I have also loved Nellie Young from her first moments in this series as a woman who lives as she pleases and won’t conform to societal norms. Nellie and Lockwood are hot out of the gate encountering each other in a midnight swim and the instant chemistry never simmers after that moment. Shupe does an excellent job of overlapping timelines from the previous books and this book opens during Maddie Webster’s house party in Newport where Maddie is attempting to marry off her friend Harrison. All of the friends (and men) from Shupe’s prior three books make appearances in this one and I could not be more pleased (if not sad) with the series ending.
Lockwood has been searching for a rich heiress to help save his family’s estates in England and has just about run out of options when he and Nellie unintentionally meet. She is an atypical railroad heiress whose father will not force to marry just for the sake of continuing the family line. Their tryst marks the beginning of a battle of wills as Nellie feels she would make an ill-suited Countess, and would be better suited as his mistress, but Lockwood cannot help but become more and more enamored with Nellie as he compares his NY conquests to her. I loved the intimacies between these two; he calls her Eleanor and she calls him Andrew, they have each found the one person that makes them feel free in bed and with their sexual proclivities (fated mates anyone?), and oddly enough their stubbornness works for them more often than not. I also couldn’t help but love Nellie’s extended Irish family and enjoyed seeing their moments with Lockwood. The historical narrative with the Comstock Laws played perfectly into the storyline and Nellie could not have been a more perfect heroine to fulfill the role of helping women find birth control. This was a perfect bookend to a fun series. I cannot wait to see what Joanna Shupe has planned for the Gilded Age next! Thank you to Avon Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

* Received a copy for review.*.
I have been waiting to see what was going to happen to the Duke who had lost three potential brides. His estate is in dire straits and he needs a dollar princess to ensure he can save his family home.
Nellie does not care to fit into the strict box women have been consigned to. She is beautiful, loyal, and very outspoken. Most of Society has deemed her inappropriate.
These two are like magnets. They have been in the same orbit for this whole series but have not really collided until the house party.
I love that he is the one who falls hard and changes his whole plan. I also loved seeing Finn & getting a mention of Katherine.
I did find Nellie a little excessively resistant.
I have really enjoyed this series and can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

4.25 stars

“You think I love you despite your recklessness.” He pressed his face into her hair and spoke quietly. Solemnly. “I love you because of it, you daft woman.”


My first Joanna Shupe book and wow I enjoyed it so much! Eleanor was so scandalous, so wild, and considered to not be a proper bride for a duke. The duke is desperately looking for a rich wife to save his debt-ridden title. From the moment these two met there was instant undeniable chemistry between them.

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. Now I can’t wait to go back and read the books in the series from the beginning.

Huge Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this copy.

I have been waiting for this book through the whole series. I love Nellie and Lockwood and I've been rooting for Lockwood to find his match since he was introduced as a character. They make a perfect couple with lots of spark and banter and just enough angst to keep it from being too much of a foregone conclusion. I also really appreciated Nellie's vulnerability - she's been portrayed as such a tough character who doesn't care what anyone thinks of her, but we get to see a few chinks in her armor, especially related to her relationships with her friends. The contraception/Comstock Laws subplot was a bit of a surprise to me but I liked it, and it's especially relevant in the post-Roe world we now find ourselves in.

Joanna Shupe ended her Fifth Avenu Rebels series with a bang, and I enjoyed the entire ride! THE DUKE GETS EVEN was a much-anticipated release for me, exceeding my expectations. I loved that the readers could see Nellie's depths beyond her salacious reputation. Even so, there was not an ounce of shame for sexual and romantic experiences, which I really appreciated. Sexuality for her is more than her own pleasure but also safety. The political subplot is both timely and timeless, especially considering current affairs. Seeing her friends and Lockwood support her along the way warmed my heart. THE DUKE GET EVEN is an absolute must-read!

After three scrumptious books and exquisite tease, the thunderous romantic journey of Nellie and Lockwood comes to a breathtaking conclusion in The Duke Gets Even. My goodness, what an extraordinary and electrifying tale from start to finish! This book is sheer perfection and deserves all the love and recognition.

The Duke Gets Even is the explosive grand finale of the firework show that is The Fifth Avenue Rebels series by Joanna Shupe. I recommend reading the entire series in order for full effect. The build up to this book is terrific! The setting, the angst, the longing, the tension, the romance, and the steam—everything exceeded my expectations. Everyone will be talking about this book for years. It’s my favorite book of 2023!

Most notably, this book addresses pertinent issues of reproductive rights and women's autonomy. Ironically, the struggles facing women addressed in this book remain the same today.

Nellie is the political heroine we need right now. She is fierce and outspoken. She inspires, educates, and empowers. She is the friend we all need. The one who looks out for you. I love her relationship with her family and friends. Nellie and Lockwood are so perfect together. Their chemistry is undeniable. Lockwood.. Oh my, he stole my heart. I love him.

Joanna Shupe firmly cemented herself as one of my favorite and auto-buy authors with the Uptown Girls series. But The Fifth Avenue Rebels series has completely blown me away! They left me feeling enlightened and empowered while falling in love.

I can’t wait for the audiobook to scorch my ears!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for giving me the opportunity to read an e-ARC of this fantastic book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

TALK ABOUT A SERIES FINALE! Joanna Shupe brought the feels and the fire with Nellie and Lockwood’s much anticipated story.

The thrice jilted Duke of Lockwood needs to marry an American heiress…now. But his plans to save his struggling estate are thrown into disarray when he crosses paths with the beautiful and scandalous daughter of a railway tycoon. Their connection is immediate and explosive, and the ladies he’s been courting seem vanilla in comparison.

After watching Nellie and Lockwood circle each other in the first three books, I was thrilled that their story delivered. Their chemistry and push and pull fit their characters so perfectly.

I love how much female friendship plays a role in this book! From Maddie, Kit, and Katie to Aunt Ri to the women of the city that Nellie helps, female solidarity is central to this story in such a great way.

Nellie is struggling to find her place as her friends marry and pursue careers and their lives shift. She too wants to find a purpose, something that she’s passionate about — and she finds it in scandalous fashion (is anyone surprised?) in educating women about contraception.

Shupe writes in her acknowledgments about the parallels in the politicization of women’s bodies in the Gilded Age and today — from Comstock laws banning contraception in the 19th century to legislation banning abortion in the 21st, the battle for women’s choice continues.

The eighth Duke of Lockwood. I wasn't a fan of him in the preceding books of this series. He seemed so...Duke like! Obviously the women he was trying to woo...weren't the correct ones. Then, a late night ocean swim and he finds THE ONE! She's almost all in...the she realizes who he is...and, figuratively, slams the door on his...ummmm...foot!

What a fabulous way to end this series! I love Eleanor 'Nellie' Young. A firebrand and women's rights supporter. I sincerely HOPE there were women like Nellie during this time in American history. She doesn't care what people say about her, most of the time. She can care less about her reputation, until it bleeds over into others reputations if they associate with her. She is a staunch supporter of teaching women how their bodies work, and how to not get pregnant, or be enslaved by their husbands or boyfriends. Of course she can afford to do this with her father who owns railroads around the country.

Andrew Talbot, Duke of Lockwood is land wealthy and cash poor. He has come to America looking for a virginal and biddable woman to become his Duchess. If he can't find one, he will have to sell his ancestral home. He is very motivated to find a young woman who can bear him children, after her family pays his debts. Then, he finds out who his ocean swim beauty is and he is torn. Does he need the red haired vixen who has stolen his heart, or one of the interchangeable vanilla crème young ladies he has come to America to find?

Hot. Hot. Hot. Great scenes with Nellie wondering if she's good enough outside of the bedroom, but telling herself she is just having an affair. Lockwood quickly realizing he can't continue his quest for a nice quiet girl because his nature needs to be challenged and he's found the woman who makes him whole.

This book can be read as a standalone. Some of the characters that were in the preceeding books are also in this one. Although you know there is a bit more background, it's not imperative that you read them in order.

Ms. Shupe has done her homework about the political issues taking place in this era of American history. Unfortunately, it seems like we're repeating some of the more censuring laws that were taking place then, now.

Great book. I can't wait to see what this author has in store for us next!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC. The review is my own.

Ahh, I am so heart broken this series is over. It’s my favorite series of historical romance and this book has been the perfect conclusion. It was utterly perfect.

I’ve been dying for Nellie and Lockwood since I started the series. I loved both of them separately, and when I read the teaser at the end of the previous book, I nearly fainted. Their first encounter in the ocean is so hot! And then fate kept throwing them together. This has been the best paid slowburn ever. And the best thing is that this book doesn’t torture us! Nellie and Lockwood are unable to resist each other. It was perfection in the form of romance. 10/10, A+, excellence. The steam? God tier. The banter? A banger. The friendships and family relationships? Perfect addition.

This book also deals with reproductive rights and I freaking loved it. Nellie is the best, period. She’s an icon, a legend. And to think that this book is set in the very late 1800s, and to this day we’re still fighting so women can have total control of her bodies and health… It’s truly sickening. What Nellie does in this book by fighting and educating women so they take control of their bodies is amazing, inspiring and venerable.

As I said, perfect conclusion to a perfect series. I hope and wish and pray Nellie’s cousins get a seriessss!!! *fingers crossed*

Rating: 5/5
Steam level: Open door, 3-4 scenes, high level of detail

Thanks to Avon for ARC. Opinions are my own!

If you like your historical romance spicy and open door, and a heroine who crusades for equality and reproductive rights - this is the book for you! Nellie and Lockwood are probably my favorite couple in this series. Nellie is a strong woman who is determined to never get married. Lockwood is a duke looking for a rich heiress in order to save his family’s estate in England. After two failed proposals (with Nellie’s friends, naturally!), he is determined to find match but can’t stay away from Nellie.
Nellie and Lockwood have a fantastic push-pull between them and I enjoyed their growth and character arcs. 4.25-4.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

Steamy from the beginning. The Duke is great but Nellie has been my favorite since the beginning of this series. Getting to know her a bit better was perfect!

4.5 stars

Sexy, sensual, and very salacious. This was a wonderful enstallment to round out this series. While not my favorite of the series (I think that goes to The Bride Goes Rogue), it had all the beautiful elements of a Joanna Shupe book: gilded age, strong and passionate woman making her way in a man’s world, and a brooding and tender Hero that would spin the world for his love. I love how the men in her books fall… almost despite themselves.

I look forward to more amazing works from Shupe! I’m a forever fan!

3.5 stars

I've been very intrigued by Nellie since meeting her in book 1 and was excited to see her get her HEA. The book opens with quite the ocean scene and things only heat up from there. I didn't realize that the MMC would be the Duke who had been previously jilted by all of Nellie's friends and I will admit that that did put me off a bit at first. I truly felt for Lockwood though as his past and the pressures he faced were revealed. I loved how Nellie challenged him and always knew how to push his buttons. Their chemistry was off the charts and that translated into some truly scorching scenes, especially since the Duke had some very specific preferences. As much as I liked Nellie and Lockwood though, it just didn't feel like there was a whole lot of connection between them except in the bedroom. This made the plot feel a bit thin and Lockwood's sudden reversal about finding an heiress felt out of character. Overall I enjoyed Nellie and Lockwood's story, but not as much as I hoped.

CW: death of parent (past), grief, fighting, domestic violence (side character, off page), slut shaming

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I loved this. Women empowering women and men that support them. This starts as a slow burn in that the characters have know eachother for a bit before they get together. It becomes an enemies to lovers, sworn off relationships, and superiour care taking scenes. I deperately want a spin off series of the Saints characters.

Some of my favorite quotes to give you an idea of the vibes of the book

"'Because I hated the idea of it, that I was on display for a group of men who would decide whether I was worthy or not.'"

"'May we never go to hell, but always be on our way.'"