A Daring Arrangement: The Four Hundred Series Kindle Edition

"Do we have a deal?"FINAL DECISION: Big and brash and exciting, A DARING ARRANGEMENT is a great start to a new series set in America's Guilded Age with characters who are navigating a new world with new rules and fall in love despite all their good intentions.THE STORY: Lady Nora Parker, the daughter of an earl is sent in disgrace to America to find a husband, but Nora has no intention of conceding to her father's wishes. Instead, Nora intends to find a thoroughly scandalous fiance that will make her father bring her back to London where she will be reunited with the man she loves. Nora finds the "perfect" candidate for fiance in Julius Hatcher, a rich self-made financial wizard who gets a lot of press for his notorious actions. Julius finds himself agreeing to Nora's scheme because she can gain him entry into the social elite in New York, where Julius intends to discover the identity of the men who ruined his father. But instead of being the scandal that Nora wanted, she finds that Julius transforms himself into the perfect fiance and perhaps a man that Nora herself finds irresistible.OPINION: I have become a great fan of Shupe's Guilded Age books. In an era not often explored in historical romance, these books and characters feel fresh and innovative rather than relying on the same scenarios. The Guilded Age is a time of great change and disruption which is something that Shupe explores to great effect in A DARING ARRANGEMENT.The collision in this book of the self-made man and the aristocratic woman brings a lot of energy to this story. Nora especially is asking herself who she is. She is a new woman in a time where the roles of women and especially aristocratic women are changing. She has strength and determination and wants to control her own life beyond expectations and social norms. Sexuality, social mores, gender roles and self-determination are all deftly explored here are Nora begins to remake herself in America. She finds support for her organized, bold and even wicked personality. She is brighter and stronger and different.In the same way, the relationship between Julius and Nora also is involved in remaking norms. Their relationship feels more contemporary in many ways as the Guilded Age begins to move towards the modern world. Julius is just adorable in this story as he struggles with his feelings towards Nora while being determined to avoid marriage and entanglements. He is protective and caring and really sexy.I found this story very compelling because it feels different. The stakes are murkier and so are the standards. The rules are being remade and worked out and it makes the relationship between Nora and Julius more unpredictable. These two have to work to figure out what their relationship will be as rules are being subverted all around them.I really enjoyed this one and can't wait for the next in the series.WORTH MENTIONING: Even though this series takes place in the same world as Shupe's Knickerbocker series, there is no overlap since she moved to a new publisher.CONNECTED BOOKS: A DARING ARRANGEMENT is the first book in the Four Hundred series.STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Edelweiss in order to provide a review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

A Daring Arrangement was a very enjoyable historical romance with an incredibly strong heroine, a fake fiancé, and a beautiful setting of New York City's Gilded Age.Lady Honora Parker is in need of a fiancé as soon as possible, but only a certain type of man will work. Nora must find a man so unacceptable that her father will reject the match allowing Nora to marry the man she loves. Nora knows just the man and approaches financier Julius Hatcher, a man known for his outlandish behavior. Julius is intrigued by Nora’s proposal and for reasons of his own, accepts the proposition. To Nora’s dismay, Julius transforms into a proper gentleman, charming everyone he meets. As Julius and Nora continue to get to know one another, their relationship slowly becomes more real and they’re forced to decide what it is they truly want.Nora, the daughter of an English Earl, is in love with a struggling artist Robert who is back in England while Nora is in America. Nora was sent to America to live with her aunt and uncle as her father does not approve of the artist Nora is in love with believing him to be not good enough for Nora. Nora though is convinced they are meant to be and won’t settle for less than what she wants. Nora is a very intelligent woman who can be brutally honest when necessary. She is also quite resourceful and very clever in her schemes to be sent back to England.Julius is a very charming man who enjoys life and simply wants to have fun. His antics have a habit of getting him into the gossip columns which has resulted in polite society shunning him. Julius is actually a very clever man and a mathematical genius who is extremely good at following the market which has resulted in him accumulating great wealth. When he was young, his father killed himself after an investment went wrong and the fellow investors claimed no knowledge of the investment forcing Julius’s father to take on the entire debt. Julius has spent his life trying to locate those men and has sworn revenge against them.Fake relationships are one of my all time favorite tropes, so I loved Nora and Julius’s relationship from the start. Their interactions are filled with so much banter and they have amazing chemistry on top of that. Julius teaches Nora that there’s more to life and shows her how to have fun while she gains him access to high society to locate the men responsible for his father’s suicide. Their romance is very much a slow burn as they both cling to the fake aspect for a long time, but that does allow them a chance to get to know each other. There are some great kissing scenes before their relationship moves to the next level, but once it does the scenes are incredibly hot and the two are very sexually compatible.The Gilded Age as a setting is incredibly gorgeous and the extravagance of the time fascinates me. I’ve never read a historical romance set during this time period, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was also a nice change to read a historical romance set in America rather than the usual England or Scotland that I’m used to.A Daring Arrangement was a phenomenal read and the tropes used are some of my absolute favorites. I can’t wait for the second book, A Scandalous Deal, in the series to come out and am looking forward to checking out more of this author’s books in the future.

Nicely written and well paced story but didn't really fully engage me. A pleasant read for summer evenings and a glass of wine!

Enjoyable read. Likeable H and h. Missed out on 5 stars as I would have liked more tension and conflict. Sweet romance though.

A Daring Arrangement é um lançamento de 2017 que eu somente descobri recentemente.O que há para não se gostar nesse livro? Absolutamente nada!Neste encantador romance Joanna Shupe usa com sucesso o tema do “noivado falso”: Nora e Julius fingem que são noivos apaixonados cada um deles sonhando alcançar seus próprios objetivos. É uma trama já usada por vários autores mas a falta de ineditismo não diminui em nada o brilho deste belo romance. A história é um mix saboroso de romance com uma pitada de ação e suspense, um pouco de humor, um casal de protagonistas sensacional e uma trama que não perde o fôlego nem nos momentos românticos e emocionais. Com duas subtramas de ação, super bem conduzidas, a autora amarra a história com talento e cuidado nos detalhes.Um achado e uma bela surpresa para os apreciadores de romances históricos.

SpoilersWhere to start...I normally really enjoy this author even though her men as usually reformed womanizers, but this one was too much for me.The lead female was just an idiot...naive, cold, and ignorant the lead males character and his past/present conquests. She would get steamed/jealous then make excuses and never call him on it. She fell into bed/love with the lead male WAY to easily. Lead male was basically debauched and has slept with 1/2 the women in NY (the seedier and upper class side). Distasteful that he had dinner with and even bought his latest mistress a theatre to perform in while seeing/falling for the the lead female. He ‘normally gets tired of a women within a few months’, and has only been with this one for a few weeks...hmmm, what do you think might happen there. Would not trust this ‘hero’ with my heart!Based on the reviews I would say I am in the minority with my thoughts on this novel, or maybe I’m just tired of lead males being ‘over experienced (sexually of course) man whores’ and prefer strong lead females who have respect for themselves and have higher standards for the men they fall in love/bed with...

:) I had a great time reading this book. Nothing new your basic romance however it's how its written isn't it? The characters are interesting the internal monologue is not tedious. There is enough dialogue to keep it in the present and for the plot to progress.