Tycoon by Joanna Shupe

{I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.}

Review and Curated Soundtrack

Tycoon is a prequel novella to the new Knickerbocker Club series by Joanna Shupe. The series is set during the Gilded Age in the late 1800’s and revolves around a group of New York industrialists (that are extremely powerful and wealthy). Tycoon primarily takes place in a private rail car after Clara coerces Ted into sharing his accommodations with her. Ted, recognizing that Clara is in trouble, sets off to figure out what Clara is hiding. Chaos assuredly ensues.

I really enjoyed Tycoon (like really, really enjoyed Tycoon). I found Clara to be competent and clever, Ted to be generous and charming, the plot to be thoroughly intriguing and the setting to be entertaining. It was easy to get lost in this novella and I’m finding myself interested in reading more about the time period, the music, the rail cars and the Knickerbocker Club world. The next book comes out in a few months and it’s already on my radar for later this Spring.

Although there was no music mentioned in Tycoon and I’m unable to find reference to any music on the trains of the Gilded Age, Ted would certainly have been exposed to a lot of music due to his occupation and place in society. During the Gilded Age, music appreciation was just beginning to rise. The wealthy went and saw the opera (which Ted actually mentions at the end of the book) with some frequency and music was openly enjoyed and discussed within “high society”. As such, I’ve created my Tycoon Curated Soundtrack based on what Ted and Clara may have heard at the opera after their wedding and throughout their HEA. I really found it immensely enjoyable to look up information on the Metropolitan Opera during the late 1800's. There are an abundance of resources regarding music in this time period and the pictures and descriptions of the Metropolitan Opera building are just stunning. All of the operas in the playlist were actually performed at the Metropolitan Opera or another New York venue during the Gilded Age!

I rate this book:

What did you think of Tycoon? Are there any songs that remind you of Ted, Clara and their HEA?

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