The Rogue of Fifth Avenue (Uptown Girls) – book review

The Rogue of Fifth Avenue
by Joanna Shupe
Release Date:  May 28, 2019
Publisher: Avon
Book #1 in the Uptown Girls series
Number of Pages:  384
Kindle edition
Source:  MCL
Historical Romance M/F
Ages 17 and up
CW: attempted rape, physical abuse
Read 7/9/21 to 7/11/21

Silver-tongued lawyer.
Keeper of secrets.
Breaker of hearts.

He can solve any problem…
In serving the wealthy power brokers of New York society, Frank Tripp has finally gained the respectability and security his own upbringing lacked. There’s no issue he cannot fix…except for one: the beautiful and reckless daughter of an important client who doesn’t seem to understand the word danger.

She’s not looking for a hero…
Excitement lay just below Forty-Second Street and Mamie Greene is determined to explore all of it—while playing a modern-day Robin Hood along the way. What she doesn’t need is her father’s lawyer dogging her every step and threatening her efforts to help struggling families in the tenements.

However, she doesn’t count on Frank’s persistence…or the sparks that fly between them. When fate upends all her plans, Mamie must decide if she’s willing to risk it all on a rogue…

Believe or not, I didn’t used to read contemporary romance. Not very often anyway. My first foray into romance was historical romance. Now I rarely read historicals for some reason. I guess we all go through our phases. Quite a few months ago I was listening to the Fated Mates Best of Romance 2020 podcast and jotting down those that I thought were most interesting. One of them was book three of this series. (Note: Whiteout and The Roommate were both on that list, too!) Well, no matter if I’m told I don’t need to read a whole series, I have to start at the beginning. It’s just the way I’m built. That’s how I came about reading this book.

Mamie Greene is quite the spitfire. And she’s exactly the woman Frank Tripp needs in his life. Mamie is not going to let any man, be it her father or her future husband, tell her how to live her life. In fact, Mamie doesn’t believe she will like being married very much. But she is the oldest of three daughters and the “responsible” one. Her father is counting on her to marry the son of another prominent family, have babies, and carry on the pedigree of her bloodline. She’s been promised to the same man since they were both very young children, which never really bothered her since it was always the understanding that if she married who her father wanted he would allow her younger sisters to marry whoever they chose themselves. Then Frank Tripp came into the picture.

Although Mamie knew of Frank for years, he’s her father’s lawyer, she never interacted with him all that often. Once their paths crossed more than a couple of times, they didn’t seem to be able to keep away from each other. Even if it was to argue. The spark was there and neither could resist pushing the envelope.

The series of events that push Mamie and Frank together also give the reader a look at their true characters. Both go about in high society so have certain expectations on how they should act. We get to see the true character of them both, and also get to witness them both find their true selves. While they both thought they wanted/needed certain things, it turns out those things are what give them true peace and happiness in their lives.

It was a lot of fun to watch this couple push and pull at each other. Frank is so exceedingly generous and thoughtful when things start to progress beyond innocent banter. And, to her credit, Mamie is daring and excited about the progression.

Now that I’ve gotten to know Mamie and gotten a peak at her world and her sisters, I am very much looking forward to reading more of this series.

4 stars