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Thanks to @avonbooks for an advance copy of The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe, out January 24th! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ TALK ABOUT A SERIES FINALE! Joanna Shupe brought the feels and the fire with Nellie and Lockwood’s much anticipated story. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The thrice jilted Duke of Lockwood needs to marry an American heiress…now. But his plans to save his struggling estate are thrown into disarray when he crosses paths with the beautiful and scandalous daughter of a railway tycoon. Their connection is immediate and explosive, and the ladies he’s been courting seem vanilla in comparison. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After watching Nellie and Lockwood circle each other in the first three books, I was thrilled that their story delivered. Their chemistry and push and pull fit their characters so perfectly. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I love how much female friendship plays a role in this book! From Maddie, Kit, and Katie to Aunt Ri to the women of the city that Nellie helps, female solidarity is central to this story in such a great way. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Nellie is struggling to find her place as her friends marry and pursue careers and their lives shift. She too wants to find a purpose, something that she’s passionate about — and she finds it in scandalous fashion (is anyone surprised?) in educating women about contraception. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Shupe writes in her acknowledgments about the parallels in the politicization of women’s bodies in the Gilded Age and today — from Comstock laws banning contraception in the 19th century to legislation banning abortion in the 21st, the battle for women’s choice continues. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ID: I’m holding up a kindle displaying the ebook cover of The Duke Gets Even. My nails are blue, to coordinate with the blues of the book cover. via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CmeQs9orz2-/