The Spitfire (Wicked Wallflowers #5) by Christi Caldwell

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Christi Caldwell

Synopsis: Her dream is to open a music hall. Only one thing stands in her way—the man she loves. The final Wicked Wallflowers novel from USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell.

Leaving behind her life as a courtesan and madam, Clara Winters is moving far from the sinful life to which she was accustomed in the gaming hell the Devil’s Den. Her more reputable and fulfilling endeavor is a music hall for the masses. One night, when she sees a man injured on the streets of East London, she rushes to his aid and brings him home. It’s then that she discovers he’s Henry March, Earl of Waterson, and a member of Parliament. No good can come from playing nursemaid to a nobleman.

When Henry rouses to meet his savior in blonde curls, he is dazzled. This smart and loving spitfire challenges his every notion of the lower classes—and every moment together is a thrill. But after Henry returns to his well-ordered existence, he strikes a political compromise that has unintended consequences. Will his vision for London mean dashing the dreams of his lovely guardian angel?

Review: This one focused on Clara, the ex-madam turned business partner with Reggie Killoran. Her dream of owning a music hall is in peril from the stodgy and prudish political aristocrats and she goes head to head with one of the ringleaders, the Earl of Waterson. He is perfect for her. Stodgy, prudish, proper, and doesn’t know how to have fun of any kind or act irresponsibly. Who better to shake up his world than Clara and she knocks him on his arse, literally, when he jeopardizes her dreams. She saved him months ago on the streets of St. Giles and when he leaves, she never expects to see him again. Their interactions from the moment she shows up at his home and punches him were entertaining, priceless, beautiful, and passionate. I very much enjoyed their story. I hope Henry’s sister Lila gets her own book, she deserves happiness too.

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The Bluestocking (Wicked Wallflowers #4) by Christi Caldwell

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Christi Caldwell

Synopsis: Two damaged hearts learn there’s a fine line between love and hate in a Wicked Wallflowers novel from USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell.

Gertrude, the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being underestimated—especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a kitten, but given the chance, she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted brother, Stephen, has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the Mad Marquess.

Still haunted by a deadly tragedy that left him publicly despised, Lord Edwin holds only hatred for the Killorans—the people he believes kidnapped his son. And not one of them will ever see the boy again. But when Gertrude forces her way into the household and stubbornly insists that she remain as Stephen’s governess, Edwin believes he may have found someone madder than himself.

With every moment he shares with the tenderhearted Gertrude, Edwin’s anger softens into admiration…and more. Is it possible that the woman he loathed may be the only person who can heal his broken soul?

Review: I looked forward to this one ever since the “Mad Marquess” made his first appearance. I’m glade Gertrude got her happily-ever-after and that Stephen found his real father and got to keep his adoptive family as well. The story was enjoyable and entertaining. The passion good and the pace steady. It isn’t my favorite in the series, but I wasn’t bored with it and I enjoyed watching the characters grow and forgive and heal. Overall good story and strong characters.

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The Governess (Wicked Wallflowers #3) by Christi Caldwell

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Christi Caldwell

Synopsis: Regina (Reggie) Spark has loved Broderick Killoran, the resourceful and protective proprietor of the Devil’s Den, ever since he saved her from the streets and made her his right hand at the notorious gaming hell. For just as long, Reggie has never admitted her true feelings for him. Nor has she revealed her spirited ambitions—to buck convention and expectations and open a music hall.

While Broderick built his gaming empire with ruthless cunning, his loyalty to his employees is boundless. So when he learns of Reggie’s plan to leave his side and take charge of her own future, the betrayal cuts Broderick to the core. He responds as he would to any business rival…with swift retribution.

Instead of wilting, the savvy Reggie rebounds with a fury that shocks Broderick and stirs a desire he’s been holding in reserve for only ladies of nobility. But as their seductive battle of wills ignites under the harsh spotlight of the London Season, secrets are exposed as well—ones that could be ruinous in decent society but invaluable for the heart.

Review: Oh, I so looked forward to Broderick’s story and that it was with Regina, a woman he never truly saw till it was almost too late, made it priceless and perfect and so romantic.  I loved their relationship, their story, their highs and lows, and everything about the story.  Broderick has tried to marry his sisters off since book one, in the misguided guise of finding them protection, though they believe (and he let them believe) it is to earn him a connection to the ton. Now, it is his turn, though it does start off with him trying to marry Gertrude off to someone in the ton, he quickly comes to realize, thanks to Regina, that he can’t ruin his sister’s chance at finding real happiness. I loved the story, start to finish; the only native was I wish there had been an epilogue.  I wanted more from them. 🙂  Great story and I can’t wait till Gertrude’s story next.

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New Release!

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Christi Caldwell, New Release

The Vixen (Wicked Wallflowers #2) by Christi Caldwell

Book Review Here

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell pits a fiercely independent beauty against a devilish investigator.

Set apart by her ethereal beauty and fearless demeanor, Ophelia Killoran has always been a mystery to those around her—and a woman they underestimated. No one would guess that she spends her nights protecting the street urchins of St. Giles. Ophelia knows what horrors these children face. As a young girl, she faced those horrors herself, and she would have died…if not for the orphan boy who saved her life.

A notorious investigator, Connor Steele never expected to encounter Ophelia Killoran on his latest case. It has been years since he sacrificed himself for her. Now, she hires orphans from the street to work in her brother’s gaming hell. But where does she find the children…and what are her intentions?

Ophelia and Connor are at odds. After all, Connor now serves the nobility, and that is a class of people Ophelia knows firsthand not to trust. But if they can set aside their misgivings and work together, they may discover that their purposes—and their hearts—are perfectly aligned.

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The Vixen (Wicked Wallflowers #2) by Christi Caldwell

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Christi Caldwell

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell pits a fiercely independent beauty against a devilish investigator.

Set apart by her ethereal beauty and fearless demeanor, Ophelia Killoran has always been a mystery to those around her—and a woman they underestimated. No one would guess that she spends her nights protecting the street urchins of St. Giles. Ophelia knows what horrors these children face. As a young girl, she faced those horrors herself, and she would have died…if not for the orphan boy who saved her life.

A notorious investigator, Connor Steele never expected to encounter Ophelia Killoran on his latest case. It has been years since he sacrificed himself for her. Now, she hires orphans from the street to work in her brother’s gaming hell. But where does she find the children…and what are her intentions?

Ophelia and Connor are at odds. After all, Connor now serves the nobility, and that is a class of people Ophelia knows firsthand not to trust. But if they can set aside their misgivings and work together, they may discover that their purposes—and their hearts—are perfectly aligned.

Review: The second book that follows the Killoran gang focuses on Ophelia. Her brother is up to his antics again to marry a sister off to a nobleman in order to create connections. Ophelia is stubborn and scarred from a past she hasn’t shared with anyone, including her family, but when her brother says either she or Gertrude will marry well, she sacrifices herself to protect her sister.

Connor Steele was once saved from a life on the streets when he stepped in to protect Ophelia. He thought he was sacrificing his life, but fortune shined on him and he instead was adopted and given a life of privilege. He is now an investigator that comes knocking on the Devil’s Den in order to hunt down a lost nobleman’s son.  Ophelia and he bump heads from the start, both keeping their shared past a secret, but when they keep bumping into each other at social events their nemesis/friendship is rekindled.

The story was enjoyable, it was slow at times, but at the point near the end where her past comes back to haunt her, the plot and conflict get really good.  I enjoyed their interactions throughout the book. Ophelia was such a strong, yet stubborn, woman who found it really hard to trust Connor or his intentions.  Overall, I enjoyed it, though I wish the plot pace was a little stronger.

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Hellion (Wicked Wallflower #1) by Christi Cadwell

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Christi Caldwell, Wicked Wallflowers

The Hellion (Wicked Wallflower #1) by Christi Caldwell

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Wicked Wallflowers series burns hot as two rivals meet in the flesh and feel the heat…

Adair Thorne has just watched his gaming-hell dream disappear into a blaze of fire and ash, and he’s certain that his competitors, the Killorans, are behind it. His fury and passion burn even hotter when he meets Cleopatra Killoran, a tart-mouthed vixen who mocks him at every turn. If she were anyone else but the enemy, she’d ignite a desire in him that would be impossible to control.

No one can make Cleopatra do anything. That said, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her siblings―even if that means being sponsored by their rivals for a season in order to land a noble husband. But she will not allow her head to be turned by the infuriating and darkly handsome Adair Thorne.

There’s only one thing that threatens the rules of the game: Cleopatra’s secret. It could unravel the families’ tenuous truce and shatter the unpredictably sinful romance mounting between the hellion…and a scoundrel who could pass for the devil himself.

Review: Hate is a powerful emotion. So can love, but to get to the later hate has to die first. Adair Thorne has hated those that came from the Diggory Gang since he was a boy tortured by that notorious gang leader and that includes the Kiloran siblings. Now the Blacks have to keep to the end of a bargain they reached with one Cleopatra Kiloran, which is to help one of her sisters snag a lofty lord for a husband. But when their gaming hell is burned down they believe the Kilorans are to blame and the little spitfire that comes to his friend’s home to talk about the fire and bargain, sparks both his ire and his blood.

Cleopatra hates all things Black and she enjoys teasing Adair the most, but when she decides that it should be her sacrificed to the betterment of her family’s ambitions and finds herself living in the Black residence, she finds it next to impossible to avoid Adair. Their slow build to a friendship and then love was steady and entertaining to watch. Both characters were strong and well developed and both were very headstrong that the back and forth between the two kept the story going. The conflicts developed were both intense and hard to overcome, but when they are, the happy ever after is that much more wonderful to see. I enjoyed their story and want to go back and read about the other members of the Black gang because going into this first book in this spin-off series made it quite clear that it wasn’t the start for the characters and all of them are fascinating and interesting that I want more from them. I loved Adair and Cleopatra.

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