I received this novel from net galley and the publisher for an honest review. Thank you!
I enjoyed the first novel is Ms. Caldwell's Wicked Wallflower series and this novel was just as enjoyable. I like how Ms. Caldwell tells the stories of characters from her previous novels, leading to a deeper understanding of the characters. Ophelia Killoran grew up on the streets as part of Diggory's gang. She has terrible memories, which make her distrust and hate the nobility. As a child, she saved the life of a boy a few times, meeting him years later. Connor Steele saved Ophelia years ago and was adopted by a nobleman. He now works as an investigator, due to his past. Connor never forget Ophelia, but he works for the nobility now. Conner believes not all the nobility are bad, but many of them live in a bubble. He needs Ophelia's help on a case he is working on, but she is stubborn and distrustful. Ophelia helps many of the orphans of St. Giles. She sees things as black and white, while Connor sees shades of gray. They keep running into each other, since Ophelia's brother wants connections into the nobility for his club and for her to marry into the nobility, which causes anger within her. Connor has his own battles within the nobility. Both help each other, helping them to see a bigger picture from each of their perspectives. However, both have terrible pasts and secrets that they are keeping from each other. Will the secrets they keep destroy the love they have had for each other since they were kids?

Better than expected. The character development was actually really good. The tropes in the book prevented me from fully loving it, however, this is a solid plot with a solid idea. Definitely not a waste of an afternoon. I love all of Christi Caldwell books, just keep them coming.