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A review by amym84
The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe
4.0
4.5
Harrison Archer is back in New York after a fight with his father resulted in him being disowned and leaving for Paris also on the heels of a broken heart. So it is with no love lost that Harrison has returned, instead it's to enact a certain revenge upon the family that cut him off so completely. But first, he has to lay the groundwork which includes convincing his family he's actually back to help save their failing company. To do so, Harrison intimates that he's looking for an heiress to wed and enlists his best childhood friend Maddie Webster to help him find the perfect wife.
There was a time when Maddie and Harrison were inseparable. But all that stopped three years ago when Harrison left for Paris without a word. After the sting of that faded, Maddie was able to focus more on her tennis game as well as become friendly with a Duke. With her first time playing in an upcoming tournament on the horizon, Maddie has no time for distractions. But when Harrison suddenly returns asking Maddie to host a weekend party with the most eligible heiresses, she agrees. But as she spends time with her friend again, she realizes that Harrison Archer is not the same boy who left for Paris.
Harrison's intention was never to win the hand of some random heiress, but actually win Maddie's hand. He's been in love with her for as long as he can remember and is loath to see her betrothed to a duke. But will all his scheming and secrets doom their happiness before it can even begin?
It's been awhile since I've read a really good friends-to-lovers romance. It didn't take long for me to get pulled into Maddie and Harrison's story. I loved the the inherent chemistry between the pair. But the fact that Harrison has been gone for so long has driven an unspoken wedge between them, so it's like they're learning anew about the other person.
Right off the bat, I was so intrigued by Maddie being a professional tennis player. I've never read a historical book featuring female sports. I honestly would have loved if the story focused more on this aspect of Maddie's character. How her parents are supportive and maybe spoken about how it was not a commonality of the times. I think it would have been beneficial because we see pretty early on that Maddie is very focused with the idea of marrying this Duke that she's acquainted with. Like she's bound and determined to do her duty as a woman and get married. The thing is, I just didn't understand where the pressure was coming from for Maddie to marry. Her father was fully supportive of her tennis pursuits and her mother - while encouraging Maddie to marry - didn't ever come across as a make-it-or-break-it kind of deal between them. Maybe if there was more development of Maddie's life behind the scenes of her tennis playing there could have been a root cause for why she was determined the marry at this point in her life.
As it stands it's kind of used as something to initially come between Harrison and Maddie, which I admit did indeed add some intrigue to their story, but I was surprised, I guess, at how far (or not) Joanna Shupe decided to take this conflict. Around the halfway mark of the book there's a turning point for Harrison and Maddie that kind of flips the trajectory of the story and subsequently Maddie and Harrison's relationship. At this point, I ended up missing the more playful scenes from the weekend party, but maybe that's indicative of having to eventually grow up and face certain responsibilities.
Harrison is a man who has been knocked down in life and basically had to build himself back up on his own with no help. Besides his love for Maddie, and his unbreakable friendships, he's almost consumed with the idea of having to mete out his revenge. To make his family feel the way he felt - alone, adrift, lost - not only for the past three years, but basically for his entire life. He may have been cut off financially three years ago, but his home life situation had always been grim with the one bright spot being Maddie. It's kind of a lot of pressure to put on one person and one idea of that person, but it's something he'll protect at all costs. Maybe a little too much....
I very much enjoyed The Heiress Hunt. I love the Golden Age time period that Joanna Shupe has written about in her last couple of series. I think that readers were introduced to some very interesting secondary characters in Maddie and Harrison's friends whom I'm hoping will each get their own books in the future. Overall, I just loved seeing Maddie and Harrison interact, I loved seeing their connection and how their strong friendship had room to grow into something more.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Harrison Archer is back in New York after a fight with his father resulted in him being disowned and leaving for Paris also on the heels of a broken heart. So it is with no love lost that Harrison has returned, instead it's to enact a certain revenge upon the family that cut him off so completely. But first, he has to lay the groundwork which includes convincing his family he's actually back to help save their failing company. To do so, Harrison intimates that he's looking for an heiress to wed and enlists his best childhood friend Maddie Webster to help him find the perfect wife.
There was a time when Maddie and Harrison were inseparable. But all that stopped three years ago when Harrison left for Paris without a word. After the sting of that faded, Maddie was able to focus more on her tennis game as well as become friendly with a Duke. With her first time playing in an upcoming tournament on the horizon, Maddie has no time for distractions. But when Harrison suddenly returns asking Maddie to host a weekend party with the most eligible heiresses, she agrees. But as she spends time with her friend again, she realizes that Harrison Archer is not the same boy who left for Paris.
Harrison's intention was never to win the hand of some random heiress, but actually win Maddie's hand. He's been in love with her for as long as he can remember and is loath to see her betrothed to a duke. But will all his scheming and secrets doom their happiness before it can even begin?
It's been awhile since I've read a really good friends-to-lovers romance. It didn't take long for me to get pulled into Maddie and Harrison's story. I loved the the inherent chemistry between the pair. But the fact that Harrison has been gone for so long has driven an unspoken wedge between them, so it's like they're learning anew about the other person.
Right off the bat, I was so intrigued by Maddie being a professional tennis player. I've never read a historical book featuring female sports. I honestly would have loved if the story focused more on this aspect of Maddie's character. How her parents are supportive and maybe spoken about how it was not a commonality of the times. I think it would have been beneficial because we see pretty early on that Maddie is very focused with the idea of marrying this Duke that she's acquainted with. Like she's bound and determined to do her duty as a woman and get married. The thing is, I just didn't understand where the pressure was coming from for Maddie to marry. Her father was fully supportive of her tennis pursuits and her mother - while encouraging Maddie to marry - didn't ever come across as a make-it-or-break-it kind of deal between them. Maybe if there was more development of Maddie's life behind the scenes of her tennis playing there could have been a root cause for why she was determined the marry at this point in her life.
As it stands it's kind of used as something to initially come between Harrison and Maddie, which I admit did indeed add some intrigue to their story, but I was surprised, I guess, at how far (or not) Joanna Shupe decided to take this conflict. Around the halfway mark of the book there's a turning point for Harrison and Maddie that kind of flips the trajectory of the story and subsequently Maddie and Harrison's relationship. At this point, I ended up missing the more playful scenes from the weekend party, but maybe that's indicative of having to eventually grow up and face certain responsibilities.
Harrison is a man who has been knocked down in life and basically had to build himself back up on his own with no help. Besides his love for Maddie, and his unbreakable friendships, he's almost consumed with the idea of having to mete out his revenge. To make his family feel the way he felt - alone, adrift, lost - not only for the past three years, but basically for his entire life. He may have been cut off financially three years ago, but his home life situation had always been grim with the one bright spot being Maddie. It's kind of a lot of pressure to put on one person and one idea of that person, but it's something he'll protect at all costs. Maybe a little too much....
I very much enjoyed The Heiress Hunt. I love the Golden Age time period that Joanna Shupe has written about in her last couple of series. I think that readers were introduced to some very interesting secondary characters in Maddie and Harrison's friends whom I'm hoping will each get their own books in the future. Overall, I just loved seeing Maddie and Harrison interact, I loved seeing their connection and how their strong friendship had room to grow into something more.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.