USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell’s Wicked Wallflowers series burns hot as two rivals meet in the flesh and feel the heat… 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.
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Christi Caldwell is adept at grabbing the reader and not letting go until the story concludes. This great start to a new series is no different. Her well defined characters come to life as she molds them from their hard childhood to the present. Adair Thorne seems to have a destiny with fire. Orphaned as a child by fire and then he watches as his gaming hell goes up in flames. He just knows his enemies, the Killoran’s are behind it but there were suppose to have struck a truce between them. There are so many twist and turns that have actually have come to light in a previous series The Sinful Brides. Cleopatra Killoran, sister of Broderick, the owner of The Devil’s Den gaming hell, the rival club, was about to have her come out in society. She needed to find a suitable partner who would have enough money and influence so that she and her family would never be taken back to their hard upbringing. So in a twist as Adair is assigned to be escort and guard to Cleo, they begin to know each other. Can these two rivals ever come to terms with each other and see the real person beneath? Full of strong emotions that came alive on the page it was hard to put down. Cannot wait until the next story in this series.
The Hellion by Christi Caldwell is the First book in the Wicked Wallflowers series. This is the story of Adair Thorne and Cleopatra Killoran.
Although this is the first book in a new series this does tie in with the Sinful Brides series. Most of the main characters from the previous books are in this one. But this still can easily be a standalone book, I just wanted to mention that in case you would like to continue catching up with that series.
This book opens to following through with the agreement of the truce that everyone agreed too. Cleopatra goes forward to be the one that is sponsored by the rival group to introduce her into society.
Adair is devastated after his gambling club The Hell and Sin Club is burnt to a crisp. Adair firmly believes its the Killorna’s group who caused the deviation, but they deny it. Adair and Cleopatra but heads left and right but Adair starts to learn who the real Cleopatra is.
This was another emotional page turner from Ms. Caldwell. Absolutely loved this story!
The Hellion is an age old tale of love, lust and danger encased in a long standing rivalry. The question is who holds the cards to this ongoing war. The neverending revelations lead to a powerful love affair that could destroy everything in it’s path or heal a lifetime of damage that spans generations. Tempestuous, climatic, emotional romance.
AWESOME!! The Hellion by Christi Caldwell is book 1 in the Wicked Wallflowers series but a spin off of the Sinful Brides series and what a series that was! Christi holds me captive in each story I have read including The Hellion and her well drawn characters easily come to life and captures the era in which the story is set. I cannot wait for more of this series, although this book can be read as a standalone. This story has shock, despair, anger, bitterness, fires, destruction, pride, wanting, protection, truce, reneging, kindness, hate passion, anger, betrayal, fear, bullying, blame, evil and love. I truly loved this book and all of Christi’s books! I highly recommend this book, you won’t be able to put it down. Go back to 1825 St. Giles, England with Adair Throne and Cleopatra Killoran.
***This book was gifted to me and I am voluntarily reviewing.
The words I want to use to describe The Hellion by Christi Caldwell, are gripping and emotional. The book started off strong, and finished even stronger. The writing was excellent, brimming with emotion, and I loved it! First I just have to say, when I first seen that the heroine’s name was Cleopatra I legit groaned out loud, I hated it! Hated, being the operative word. I was about 3 chapters in and I was kicking myself because now I love it! A more perfect and fitting name I could not pick for the heroine. The story came together so beautifully and it wasn’t predictable. I loved the characters! I loved how Adair and Cleopatra grew as characters. Their relationship was intense and they had amazing chemistry. Love, love, loved the storyline. I give this story a resounding 5 stars
I love Christi Caldwell’s writing and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That said, I really believe that this book should have been the final book in the Sinful Brides series rather than the first book in the Wicked Wallflowers series. It wraps up all of the loose ends for the previous series – including the final unmarried brother and it introduces the characters for the Wicked Wallflowers series. The characters from the Sinful Brides are heavily (almost exclusively) featured in this book – they are dynamic, interesting and you will quickly care about all of them. I believe the characters from the Wicked Wallflowers series will quickly become just as endearing.
Both of the series feature rivals on the streets of St. Giles. They are bitter enemies, but they are victims of the same monster – Diggory. The men from the Sinful Brides series managed to escape from Diggory’s control, but Diggory was a hateful and dirty fighter and he declared war on Ryder Black and his ‘family’. The ladies featured in the Wicked Wallflowers weren’t lucky enough to escape Diggory’s cruelty – until he was killed by a member of Ryder Black’s family. Now, they are the Killoran’s and still enemies with the Black’s, just because it has always been that way.
At the end of the previous series, the two groups declared a truce after the Killoran’s agreed to lead the Black’s to where one of the Black’s was being held hostage. Besides the truce, the agreement also called for the Black’s (who all married into the aristocracy) to sponsor one of the Killoran sisters for a season. They still don’t like or trust each other, but they are both honoring the truce – until . . .
Shock, despair, anger, bitterness all pass through Adair Thorne’s heart, mind, and soul as he observes the burned out husk of The Hell and Sin Club. The Killoran’s, he just knows they are the ones who did it. They burned his home, his heart. He has no proof, but he knows it in his gut.
Since the Black’s can’t prove that the Killoran’s started the fire, they are honor bound to sponsor one of the Killoran sisters for the season. Broderick Killoran wants to ensure the safety and future of his ‘sisters’ by cultivating a tie with the aristocracy and to him, that means marrying one of the sisters to an aristocrat.
Cleopatra is the chosen sister – well – she actually volunteers because she is the protector of her sisters and would never wish that fate on them. Cleopatra is a true heroine – she is strong, smart and sassy and you’ll love the way she shows up at the Black’s townhouse – with a satchel full of weapons. For Cleopatra, it is like entering a war zone – Ryder Black and his brothers don’t trust her out of their sight – or even within their sight. Everything she does is suspect. She will not have a pleasant time living with them. The only friendly member of the family is Ryder’s wife Penelope.
Adair and Cleopatra are drawn to each other and they each hate themselves for that weakness. However, the more Adair is around Cleopatra, the more he discovers how smart and giving she is. They have been at war with each other their entire lives, so how can they become friends or begin to care for each other? Adair sees Cleopatra as a willing participant in all of Diggory’s schemes and crimes – after all – if she didn’t agree she would have left like he and his ‘brothers’ did. Can they ever come to the realization that they were both victims of the same villain?
I loved both Adair and Cleopatra and their stories are compelling. Their journey to an HEA is a wonderful experience and you will learn to admire both of them. The arsonist will surprise you (or not). One thing that bothered me was that there was no punishment for the arsonist. I agree that the arsonist should not have gone to prison, etc. but there were livelihoods lost, people were injured, etc. because of what that arsonist did – some punishment would have been appropriate.
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