Loved Maddie, love the people we've been introduced to in this series. Having tennis play such an important role in the story and seeing the early days of the game was fabulous. ( )

After loving my first Joanna Shupe novels (Uptown Girls), I was really looking forward to sinking my teeth into another series from this author. Unfortunately, this one fell far short of my expectations. I found Harrison, the male MC, was unbearable. He never listened to Maddie, even when the happily ever after happened, he threw many temper tantrums and was overall just a terrible love interest. Maddie had potential and I really just wanted her with the Duke but she wasn't my favorite either. I will say Nellie intrigues me and I will probably continue to read the series, I just hated these two so much.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through Edelweiss+. All opinions are my own. The Heiress Hunt is the first book in Joanna Shupe’s new series, The Fifth Avenue Rebels. One of the things I like about reading historical romance is that it’s not exactly historically accurate; you can have strong heroines who are respected and loved by the hero. Unfortunately for Maddie Webster, there is not one male in her life who treats her decently. Her father sees her as a possession to be auctioned off to the highest bidder and when he perceives her as damaged takes less than 24 hours to dispose of her. The Duke in the story views her as a dowry and then expects payment because she kisses another man. The hero Harrison Archer is perhaps the worst of all, he was her childhood best friend, and when his feelings changed to lust, and she still saw him as a brother, he flounced off to Paris and has not spoken, nor written a word to her since. When he returns from Paris bent on revenge against his family, he sees her as a prize to be won, and in addition to lying to her and gaslighting her, he is willing to go to any means to possess her, including compromising her. At no time does he treat her with respect, and when she calls him on his deceptions once again flounces off to Paris, first notifying his mistress to be on call and then making plans to spend the entire voyage pickled in alcohol. There is no redemption arc, he never changes from the creepy guy who only pretends to be her friend in order to get her into bed. I have no idea what she sees in him and wish she could have had a more deserving hero. Steam Level: Medium. Publishing Date: March 9, 2020 #TheHeiressHunt #JoannaShupe #AvonRomance #HarperCollinsCanada #HistoricalRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #EdelweissPlus ( )

2.75/5 stars!

When the hero returns back home after his father's death and his living family needs him to rescue them from debts, he learns that his childhood friend was not married yet. Given that he has been in love with the heroine for a long time, he pursues her under pretense of looking for a wife. The heroine was hurt when the hero broke connections with her, but wanted to renew their friendship, even as she tries not to let an unexpected attraction to the hero overcome her pursuit of a duke and her athletic career.

This is the first book of a new Joanna Shupe series and introduces a group of friends that will definitely have their own books in the future. I liked the heroine and her family but the hero was not a fave of mine. I did like a couple of the heroine's friends and am intrigued of one of the hero's friends and the duke. There was also one part of the story that I wasn't enamored of, and some details of the story were unnecessary in my eyes. Overall, it's a well-written Gilded Age story that Joanna Shupe fans would love.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.** ( )