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lexi_charles 's review for:
The Rogue of Fifth Avenue
by Joanna Shupe
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled to finish this one. Felt somewhat poorly paced at the beginning. The first 4 hours of the audiobook was basically beating us over the head with the fact that Mamie is being controlled by her father and her simpering (semi-)fiance and life is generally awful for women everywhere. I didn't need quite so many overtly gross, misogynistic things being said about poor/abused women to make that point evident.
Still more troubling is that there is an abused woman at the center of this story, and though she's never fully developed as a character (unfortunately, this is a trope Shupe has used elsewhere--i.e., poor women who exist mostly to prove the strength of character of a perky rich girl), I kept feeling awful that she was sitting in jail while Mamie and Frank were actively doing things that endangered her defense.Their affair exposes them to blackmail, but I was also aghast that Mamie has been stealing from rich men to fence goods and give the money to the poor. Does Mamie have any idea of the legal issues she's possibly exposed these women to by making them unknowing parties to her crimes? And don't get me started on how Frank is not disbarred after lying about his credentials for years... Luckily, everyone is remarkably forgiving and the ending is tied up in a bow. Also, hey, did you know that Mamie is Duncan Green's daughter? /s
Still more troubling is that there is an abused woman at the center of this story, and though she's never fully developed as a character (unfortunately, this is a trope Shupe has used elsewhere--i.e., poor women who exist mostly to prove the strength of character of a perky rich girl), I kept feeling awful that she was sitting in jail while Mamie and Frank were actively doing things that endangered her defense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content