4.5/5. Releases 10/2/24.

Heat Index: 7.5/10

Vibes:

—mistress/rich man

—age gap (hes 38, she’s 19)

—illicit affairs

The Basics:

When actress Rose is approached by tycoon Alfred “Moore” Emerson III, she knows she can be nothing more than his nistress. She certainly doesn’t intend to fall in love with him. But when Moore gets pressured to marry the “right” kind of woman, he and Rose need to confront what they actually mean to each other.

The Review:

Novellas are trickier than people think. You have less pagetime, and you’re trying to convey a story that’s just as impactful as what your readers find in a full-length book. Joanna Shupe is one of the few authors I’ve read who consistently knocks her novellas out of the park, and The Scandal of Rose is no exception.

The premise here is simple, but it’s somehow not something we see enough of in historical romance. How many mistress heroines have you read about? Not many. And a lot of the time, the books that do center a mistress feature that life as part of her tragic backstory. She’s not going to end up with the man she’s with, right?

Here, Moore and Rose begin a relationship that is truly based on this immediate chemistry, major physical attraction, only for it to blossom into something more serious. I really love that, while Moore is like “YIKES @ ME” about their age gap, it ultimately isn’t what the story is about. It’s about two people building a gun, genuine connection and Rose demanding respect.

I’d definitely call this a heroine-forward book. While Moore is super sexy and charming, the story belongs to Rose. She’s smart, assertive, and vicacious—always taking the lead. However, that doesn’t stop her from being vulnerable and sweetly human. I so enjoyed her.

And you know what? She’s the kind of girl who deserves a proper grovel. Thank God she gets one! The grovel here is DELIGHTFUL.

The Sex:

This is quite a hot book, as you’d expect from Joanna Shupe. I mean. We open on this man going down on her right after coming inside her. Come on now.

You get a You Oughta Know moment (iykyk), some desk shenanigans, YACHT shenanigans… Joanna, take your time, but we needed you back in the historical game BADLY.

Joanna is back in the Gilded Age with a fun, sexy book. It’s the perfect solution for a reading slump; it’s not overly complicated, and it IS super fun and tightly written.

Thanks to Joanna Shupe for providing me with. acopy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.