A Daring Arrangement

The Four Hundred Series

By: Joanna Shupe

Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells

Set in New York City’s Gilded Age, Joanna Shupe’s first book in her Four Hundred series features an English beauty with a wicked scheme to win the man she loves—and the American scoundrel who ruins her best laid plans…

Lady Honora Parker must get engaged as soon as possible, and only a particular type of man will do. Nora seeks a mate so abhorrent, so completely unacceptable, that her father will reject the match—leaving her free to marry the artist she loves. Who then is the most appalling man in Manhattan? The wealthy, devilishly handsome financier, Julius Hatcher, of course….

Julius is intrigued by Nora’s ruse and decides to play along. But to Nora’s horror, Julius transforms himself into the perfect fiancé, charming the very people she hoped he would offend. It seems Julius has a secret plan all his own—one that will solve a dark mystery from his past, and perhaps turn him into the kind of man Nora could truly love.

©2017 Joanna Shupe (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

MJW We Love You!

Mary Jane Wells. No one better at this point.

She is an actress, not just a reader, and puts so much personality into each character. She's British and I'm not going to disparage her American accents, because I feel in love with her in Marrying Winterbourne.

New York City, 5th Avenue, a rich American and a British lass. A very good listen!

I loved everything about this book.

This book was fun, playful, seductive, and genuine. I liked both main characters as they were both honest and courageous. I loved their interactions. I like that the story didn't have really violent or deceptive elements. I like romantic romances that make me feel good and this one certainly did. I didn't feel anxiety in any part of the story. The passionate scenes were hot and satisfying.
The ending was sweet and I recommend it.
The narration was superb. Mary Jane Wells is my favorite narrator and she did a splendid job here. I do however think the volume was lightly shifting sometimes and it would catch my attention but otherwise it was perfect.

Here for the NYC moment!

MJW IS SPECTACULAR AS ALWAYS! Loved the protagonists and their love journey, the change of scenery from London to NYC was fun and refreshing! This was my first Joanna Shupe and I was eager to start the next in the series but so disappointed it wasn’t MJW narrating it :-/ hopefully there’s more to come!

Enjoyable Escape

I read for escapism, enjoyment and a happy ending. This story provided it all in a fun and entertaining fashion.

Really liked this!

I really like this author and I’m loving the stories in this series.
This book was good from start to finish .It wasn’t stuffy or boring. The characters were likable. And witty .. just a good book 😊

Great listening!

I feel every story is better with Mary Jane Wells as a Narrator! She is by far the best narrator of all these Victorian books!
The voices she makes helps identify who is who! And the voices and intonations she uses for the male main characters are simply delightful and oh so sexy!
The story was great too, let’s not take the praises from Joanna Shupe!

Mary Jane wells best narrator

Any book she narrates from any author is great ! Book was fun, mix of Ny and British - was sweet with humor - couple steamy scenes.

Love it!

Enjoyed the narration! And loved that the book didn’t drag with unnecessary tension. The characters were true to themselves.

Loved it!

Julius, Amora and Mary Jane Wells…
Loved it! My first by this author and I enjoyed it.

great story but could have been shorter

the narrator did well with female characters. not as good with male characters. the story was good but could have been shortened by 3 hours for audio.