“Tycoon” is a charming story set in the Gilded Age. I’ve not come across many historicals set in this time period, and it’s a welcome change from the ubiquitous London Season. The novella opens with a “meet cute” – a young woman, Clara, approaches a stranger at a Grand Central Station and addresses him as “husband.” Ted is, needless to say, puzzled, although not so puzzled that he fails to notice how pretty she is. … Continue reading Tycoon by Joanna Shupe →
The first full novel in Shupe’s Knickerbocker series, Magnate is about the Gilded Age in New York, a man who went from Five Points childhood to owning basically half of New York City, and a woman who wants to start an investment firm. It’s also one of those situations where the hero is a huge asshole, and the heroine only goes about halfway to call him out on it. Elizabeth Sloan is the only daughter … Continue reading Magnate by Joanna Shupe →
We’re back with another trio of Lightning Reviews. These books either debuted this month or are coming out this upcoming week, so if these are on your TBR list, let us know! On the list, we have a historical romance novella, the end to a fantasy series, and a new romantic suspense.
This is the inaugural novella to Joanna Shupe’s new series, The Knickerbocker Club. The series is set in late 1800s New York City, among the stinking rich industrialists who have a fuckton of money and power. Ted Harper runs New York’s largest bank, and as he is waiting for his private train car to be ready in Grand Central Station , a woman runs up and does that thing of attaching herself to him and … Continue reading Tycoon by Joanna Shupe →
There’s been a trend- not a huge overwhelming trend, but a noticeable one- of heroes in historicals to have some form of neuro-atypicality. Sometimes it’s OCD (The Duke’s Holiday) sometimes it’s dyslexia (Unveiled); sometimes it’s handled well and sometimes it’s cured by the love a good woman. Like pretty much anything in any genre, it’s a mixed bag. In this case, Quint (er, Damien Beecham, Viscount Quint) thinks he’s going insane. His father did when … Continue reading The Lady Hellion by Joanna Shupe →
We’re recapping all kinds of stuff this week, and today: our top five podcast episodes from 2025! Looking at the year overall, these are the top five most listened to Smart Podcast, Trashy Books episodes of the year – and thank you to everyone who listened, recommended, shared, and posted about the show. Special thanks to all our Patreon community members, who helped shape this season and keep the show going each week! Honorable Mentions … Continue reading Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: Best of 2025 →
From USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City’s Gilded Age. In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend. After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up … Continue reading The Gilded Heiress →
One of Chelsea Devantez’s listeners connected her to my show after my interview with Joanna Shupe. Meanwhile I’d been working up the nerve to ask her onto my show, and then the universe intervened through this lovely person. Thank you! I recapped Danielle Steel’s dog memoir on her show, and now, she’s in the guest chair on mine. We talk about her memoir, I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This (But I’m Going to Anyway), which … Continue reading 670. It’s Trash-ception with Chelsea Devantez of Glamourous Trash →
“No one writes love stories with more heart, more swoons, and more sizzle” (Joanna Shupe, USA Today bestselling author) in this clever reimaging of Snow White, where a handsome businessman will do anything to win the heart of the only woman he cannot have. Solomon Weiss has little interest in power, but to repay the half-brother who raised him, he pursues money, influence, and now—a respectable wife. That is, until outcast Hannah Moses saves his life, and Sol finds himself … Continue reading Wake Me Most Wickedly →
By beloved USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe, the fourth installment in the Fifth Avenue Rebels series about a secret affair between a free-spirited heiress and an uptight duke which turns more passionate than either could have imagined. A rebellious heiress. A duke in dire straits. An anonymous midnight tryst. To escape the shackles of marriage, Nellie Young purposely ruined her reputation a long time ago. Now she dedicates herself to hedonistic pleasures only, like kissing … Continue reading The Duke Gets Even →
Lady Viper and the Bastard by Eva Leigh Lady Violet “Viper” Hampton is infamous for her ferocity in the ballroom and the bedroom, but her vicious reputation is nearly matched by her rakish rival, Ian “the Bastard” Molineaux. When Violet and Ian are separately hired by families seeking to tear a loving couple apart, the two enemies must work together. The bastard and the viper use every weapon in their seductive arsenal to emerge the … Continue reading Villain I’d Like to F… →
