Nice tale. ( )

I perhaps enjoyed the first half more than the second. The heroine's trust issues became kind of tedious, and the ending turned a bit sappy. Overall though it was middling. ( )

Goodness, I love this series! I have loved each and every book, and I cannot believe we only have one more survivor left to find their HEA. I don’t believe I have read a book with two characters in which I was more invested. I wanted their HEA and pulled for them the whole way through. That HEA didn’t come easy and they both had to learn some tough life lessons about trust and love.

This tale was told in two parts and I loved how the author handled that. We got a good foundation for how Jenny Tate and Aiden Sterling met in the rookeries, what their family histories were, and what their lives were like as they grew up together. Then, we pick up their lives twelve years later – after the Survivors had all returned from the wars and Aiden had become the richest man in England, and Jenny was engaged to a Viscount. I had wondered how the author was going to handle a betrothal between a Viscount and a woman who had been born and raised in the rookeries. A woman who definitely spoke with the accent of the rookeries and had no idea about any of the finer things in life. I should not have doubted because the author handled it beautifully and made it make perfect sense.

Jenny was born in the rookeries to a mother who made her living on her back and a drunkard, thief, and murdering father. Those parents never wanted Jenny and mistreated her. The people who should love her didn’t – she never knew love – not one person ever told her they loved her or treated her softly. No one except Aiden…

Aiden Sterling didn’t have a soft life, but he had – enough. He had food to eat, clothes to wear, a good education, and a mother who loved him. At least he did until he was about twelve. His natural father died without making any provision for him – and then his mother died not long after. With no family and no money, Aiden quickly found himself on the streets doing his best to fend for himself. He didn’t do a very good job of that because he ended up beaten to a bloody pulp, lying on the street almost dead.

Aiden and Jenny both had issues they had to overcome in order for them to grow and have happy lives. Jenny had to learn to trust and to know that she was lovable. Aiden had to learn that having all the money in the world wouldn’t keep your heart warm and your life full. All of their mistreatment and deprivation in their early lives definitely shaped their later lives and it was lovely to watch them slowly learn to deal with those issues and recognize their faults.

In addition to Aiden and Jenny, I was so happy to see ‘Arley (Harley) the street urchin’s story wrapped up so nicely and lovingly. We have met ‘Arley in other books of the series and we always wanted to root for her – but – we just had to wait for the perfect time for her. Two other characters that I loved were Roland, Viscount Chamberlayne, and his friend Oscar Lexum. Roland and Oscar taught Jenny so many things about trust and love – but she just had to get out of her own way to see it.

I can definitely recommend this book and hope you will love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )