Every time Joanna Shupe releases a new Gilded Age romance, expectations run high. She has proven herself a meticulous chronicler of New York’s golden years, illuminating both its glamour and its grit. With The Gilded Heiress, she ventures into Anastasia-inspired territory, presenting a heroine who might be the long-lost Pendelton heiress and a hero whose con is as daring as it is dangerous.
Unlike many historical romances that indulge purely in escapism, this novel dares to muddy the waters. It is not just a Cinderella story—though it wears that costume with ease—it’s also a story about desperation, deception, and the high cost of ambition.
The Story at a Glance
Josie Smith has known hunger, rejection, and the cold anonymity of an asylum. Her voice—both as a singer and as a survivor—becomes her only means of climbing out of obscurity. When Leo Hardy discovers her uncanny resemblance to the Pendeltons, he proposes a swindle that could elevate them both: Josie will pose as the missing heiress.
The ruse opens the gilded doors of Manhattan’s wealthiest families, but those same doors conceal secrets, suspicions, and betrayals. As Josie begins to inhabit her new identity, she and Leo also stumble into something they never accounted for—love.
Josie: A Heroine in Tension
What makes Josie compelling is her contradictions. She is not simply a wide-eyed girl eager for luxury, nor is she hardened beyond redemption. She yearns for applause and adoration, yet what she needs most is to believe she deserves love beyond her usefulness. Her arc is about peeling away the falsehoods others thrust upon her, whether it’s abandonment as a baby or manipulation as a pawn in Leo’s plan.
At times, her naïveté feels at odds with the survival instincts she supposedly honed on the streets. But perhaps this is Shupe’s point: survival is not the same as wholeness, and Josie is still learning who she is.
Leo: A Lover or a Con Man?
Leo Hardy is one of those Shupe heroes who walks the knife-edge between charm and ruthlessness. His devotion to his family softens him, but his willingness to gamble with Josie’s life makes him a risky romantic lead. Readers may find themselves frustrated with his choices—and that’s intentional. His appeal lies in the tension between the man he wants to be and the one hardship has forced him to become.
The Gilded Cage of High Society
Shupe is at her strongest when she paints the social landscape of 1880s New York. From ballrooms glittering with chandeliers to whispered gossip over champagne, the novel immerses readers in a world both intoxicating and suffocating. The Pendeltons’ fortune becomes less a prize and more a symbol: of legitimacy, of exclusion, and of the dangerous belief that money can buy belonging.
What Works Brilliantly
Atmospheric Setting: Shupe evokes the contradictions of the Gilded Age—its splendor and its shadows—with remarkable clarity.
Moral Complexity: The romance is not straightforward; it forces readers to wrestle with questions of honesty, survival, and forgiveness.
Chemistry: The spark between Josie and Leo feels dangerous and delicious, heightened by the constant threat of discovery.
Pacing: The novel rarely lingers too long. The con drives momentum, while moments of intimacy slow the story at just the right places.
Where It Stumbles
Predictability: The reveal of Josie’s true parentage may not shock seasoned readers of historical romance.
Shallow Side Characters: While Josie and Leo are richly drawn, others—especially members of the Pendelton family—are often reduced to symbols rather than living, breathing figures.
Trope Familiarity: The Anastasia motif has been explored in both literature and film, and though Shupe executes it well, it may not feel fresh to all readers.
Comparison to Other Joanna Shupe Novels
Those who loved The Uptown Girls series will recognize Shupe’s fingerprints: fierce heroines, clever heroes, and the collision between social classes. Yet The Gilded Heiress is more morally ambiguous, less fairy tale and more grifter’s gambit. It lacks some of the frothy humor of The Four Hundred novels but compensates with sharper edges and higher emotional stakes.
Who Will Love This Book?
Readers drawn to romance wrapped in intrigue, where love is tangled in deception.
Fans of historical fiction that doesn’t shy away from class divides, showing both glamour and desperation.
Those who appreciate flawed protagonists who must earn their redemption.
If You Enjoyed This, Try…
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen – another dive into scandal and secrets in New York high society.
An Heiress’s Guide to Deception and Desire by Manda Collins – witty, romantic, and filled with mystery.
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis – for readers who enjoy historical fiction set against iconic New York backdrops.
My Notorious Life by Kate Manning – a grittier, more scandalous portrait of women surviving the 19th century.
Final Reflections
The Gilded Heiress is not Joanna Shupe’s most original premise, but it is among her most atmospheric. What keeps it afloat is not the mystery of Josie’s birthright but the emotional tug-of-war between survival and integrity, love and betrayal. Shupe offers readers not just a romance, but a meditation on what it costs to chase belonging in a world that measures worth in wealth and lineage.
It is this blend of moral ambiguity, lush detail, and undeniable passion that makes The Gilded Heiress a book worth recommending—particularly for those who crave their historical romance with a darker, sharper edge.