Saturday, September 15, 2018

BLOG TOUR - A Notorious Vow




Today is my day for the Blog Tour for A Notorious Vow by Joanna Shupe.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Joanna Shupe returns to New York City’s Gilded Age, where fortunes and reputations are gained and lost with ease—and love can blossom from the most unlikely charade.

With the fate of her disgraced family resting on her shoulders, Lady Christina Barclay has arrived in New York City from London to quickly secure a wealthy husband. But when her parents settle on an intolerable suitor, Christina turns to her reclusive neighbor, a darkly handsome and utterly compelling inventor, for help.

Oliver Hawkes reluctantly agrees to a platonic marriage . . . with his own condition: The marriage must end after one year. Not only does Oliver face challenges that are certain to make life as his wife difficult, but more importantly, he refuses to be distracted from his life’s work—the development of a revolutionary device that could transform thousands of lives, including his own.

Much to his surprise, his bride is more beguiling than he imagined. When temptation burns hot between them, they realize they must overcome their own secrets and doubts, and every effort to undermine their marriage, because one year can never be enough.

Purchase Your Copy Today!
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MY REVIEW:


Title:  A Notorious Vow
Author:  Joanna Shupe
Series:  The Four Hundred Series
Genre:  Adult Historical Romance
Format:  Kindle ARC
Publisher:  Avon Books
No. of Pages:  384
Publication Date:  September 25, 2018
My rating:  4.5 Stars


Lady Christina Bradley is in a true quandary. Her parents have ruined their family and have lost their wealth. They have escaped to family in New York and plan to marry Christina to a  wealthy man - any wealthy man. They are victims of scandal and if Christina's parents can marry her off well, then they can again rise in status. So, they find someone. However, he is old enough to be her grandfather. Christina finds him despicable.

While traversing in someone's beautiful gardens, Christina falls and gets hurt. She is in the gardens of Oliver Hawkes. Oliver is a deaf man who has become a recluse. He has been spending his time with his inventions. He has avoided society because at that time in history being deaf was equated with being "less than", insane even. When he discovers Christina, he wants her gone, no matter how beautiful she is, or how different she seems from everyone else that he had been around before.

Oliver is extremely  efficient at reading lips. He and Christina easily communicate, as he writes everything down for her. This is where I began to truly love this story. But things took a slant. Christina is about to be married off. Oliver steps in to protect her by marrying her. He plans for it to be in name only as his wealth can keep her safe. The question is whether or not they can pull this off.

I loved this story. Oliver and Christina make a fantastic couple. While they are more than suited for one another, a lot transpires that truly threaten the happy future that they can have. There are despicable people in their lives. So despicable even that conflicts arise so much that these two may not be able to remain together.

A Notorious Vow is quite an delightful story. I was able to read this book rather quickly as my interest was piqued all of the way through. Oliver and Christina were wonderful characters. The author, Joanna Shupe, has an excellent writing style that made this story quite enjoyable. The chemistry shared between the characters, as well as the angst in this story, was quite balanced. This is the second in a series. While it did quite well as a standalone, I do look forward to continuing on with this series.  I wasn't clued in as to who might be in the next story, so I am really on the lookout.

Many thanks to Pure Textuality and Avon Books for this ARC to review in exchange for an honest opinion.


TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY:


To celebrate the release of A NOTORIOUS VOW by Joanna Shupe, we’re giving away one paperback set of the entire Four Hundred series!




GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS:  Giveaway open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a paperback set of the Four Hundred series by Joanna Shupe. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance.  Giveaway ends 9/25/2018 @ 1159pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copy out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted.



PLEASE ENJOY THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT:

He was done fighting.

If she did not desire him, then so be it. He would not pressure or try to convince her. However, if there was a chance for them to occasionally enjoy each other physically during the next few months, he was dashed well going to take it.

Then she could find a normal man, one without Oliver’s quirks and stubbornness.

Until then, she was his.

Mouth gone dry, he licked his lips. “May I ask you a question?” She nodded so he went back to the ledger and wrote. The night in the gallery, were you disappointed I did not kiss you?

Her brows rose slightly as she read, clearly taken aback by his question, but she did not look at him. Instead, she took the pencil from his hand and turned over a new page in the book. A bit.

Heart pounding in his chest, he wrote, And if I asked to kiss you now, what would be your answer?

Her fingers gripped the pencil so tightly while writing that her fingertips went white. She bit her lip as she turned the ledger toward him.

I would say yes.

She’d actually written it.

Christina could scarcely believe she’d done it. Yet somehow it was easier to be truthful on paper than speaking aloud.

And it had been the truth. She wanted to kiss him. Badly.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. While in college, Joanna read every romance she could get her hands on and soon started crafting her own racy historical novels. In 2013, she won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical. She now lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and dashing husband. To connect with Joanna, visit JoannaShupe.com.


Author Links

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon




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