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 … 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 by Christi Caldwell is book two in the Wicked Wallflowers series. This is the story of Ophelia Killoran and Connor O’Roarke/Steel.
Ophelia lived on the streets as was many of the kids that were taken by Mac Diggory gang that were kidnapped and hurt badly if they didn’t steal or earn money for Diggory. No one ever got away but Connor had with the help of Ophelia and later as a kid he paid her back by taking a fall for a bad pick pocket attempt.
But now all these years later Connor is now a famous investigator hired to find a child that was thought to be dead but it been rumored that Diggory took him. Connor went to confront the new owner asking about the kids that have been hired or taken. This leads him to meet the sister who is none other than Ophelia his childhood ‘friend’.
This was another page turned that I couldn’t put down of Ms. Caldwell’s. I always end up reading her books into the night and their is always an emotional cry with them that leads to the book hangover. I did go proactive and take a PM headache pill before starting the book but it was just to good to sleep.
I can’t wait for the next installment in this series!!
Another beautiful and emotional book by Caldwell!
I loved this story & what a emotional journey this book was – I was laughing out loud, crying out loud & everything in between. I was just sure, after reading a few pages that I was not going to enjoy Ophelia Killoran as the heroine in the story but I was so wrong. She turned out to be so kind, loving, honest, brave & strong. Our hero, Connor O’Reagan aka Connor Steele is honorable, charming, smart, handsome & kind. The two of them survived the mean streets of London but Connor escaped (Ophelia helped him escape a gang several time & Connor now took the blame for stealing a purse from a Lord when it was Ophelia that really did it.) he was 14 yrs.old & was adopted by a peer of the realm. Ophelia wasn’t so lucky but Broderick took her & her sisters in as they became a family of siblings in Broderick’s gaming hell. Years later Connor has been educated & has made a fortune in becoming an investigating helping the Lords & Ladies of the Ton, while he also does his part in helping the needy women & children in the slums of London. Ophelia works for her brother, Broderick & finds children hurting & in trouble & brings them back to educate them & find them work in her brother’s club. The journey for Connor & Ophelia was a roller coaster ride & kept me turning pages until the end. I hope we find out a little more about Broderick in upcoming stories. Christi Caldwell is an amazing author & I felt every emotion her characters were going through & I would highly recommend this series to any historical romance lover!
I finally stopped blubbering long enough so I could write this review. Seriously.
It took me a while to really get into the story. I felt a bit lost, not having read the first book in the series. Ophelia was a hard woman and not immediately likeable. But heaven help me, when the story finally got me into its clutches, I was riveted. I loved Connor from the start. He was an extremely successful investigator who was referred to as The Hunter. During an investigation he was reunited with Ophelia. They both lived on the streets of St. Giles as children, which was a living hell. Ophelia saved him a number of times and the last time she saw him, he was sacrificing himself for her.
Ophelia worked with her “family” in a very successful gaming hell. Connor was raised as the son of a nobleman after they were separated . There was much distrust between them after reuniting; that would eventually change. What follows is a heartbreaking story of horrific pasts, the clash between the upper crust and the people who were children of the streets, and lovers torn apart. But more importantly, it was a story of redemption and the healing power of love. I was simply blown away.
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
Ophelia Killoran and Connor Steele have a past, neither friend or foe, they helped one another long ago when they were both children on the streets. And while their lives took different paths, they meet again when Connor, now an investigator, is working his latest case.
Ophelia is the sister of Broderick Killoran, a self made gambling hell owner, who wants nothing more than for his sisters to marry into the aristocracy. Since he failed to make a match for his sister Cleo, he has turned his attention to Ophelia – much to her disgust.
Ophelia remembers Connor and the sacrifice he made for her, but she doesn’t trust him and will not willingly help him find a lost boy. But as they spend more time together, love blossoms, but it is a love that cannot be. Bring on the heartache!
I read other reviews and thought that perhaps the reviewers were exaggerating the emotional impact of this book – they were not – this is definitely a have some tissues handy kind of book. I felt drained after this book – not in a bad way, but drained nonetheless. I will admit that I really wish I had read the previous series before starting this series and may go back and read those books before I read another in this series, because I did feel like I was missing something.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*
4.5 Stars
Series: Wicked Wallflowers #2
Publication Date: 8/7/18
Normally, I zip right through the books that I love – quite often finishing them in one sitting. I couldn’t do that with this one. The story is so intensely emotional that I had to keep taking breaks from reading and toward the end – I had to be sure the tissues were near. The book is excellently written, well plotted and the characters will just rip your heart out and then reassemble it for you – but it won’t be quite the same when they are through with you.
Ophelia Killoran didn’t even have a name for many of her years. She was just – Girl. She was the Devil’s daughter. Her father was Diggory, who raped, murdered, pillaged, stole children from parents – if it was nasty and vile, he was responsible for it. Now, Diggory is dead and she and her siblings are trying to make a life for themselves as owners of the Devil’s Den gaming hell. Ophelia is obsessed with saving children who are in the same desperate situation she and her siblings were in, so she trolls St. Giles – often dressed as a man – and rescues the children she finds. She sends them to the Devil’s Den where she then provides them with work and an education.
Ophelia’s brother, Broderick, was determined to marry one of his sisters into the aristocracy. He sees it as a way to cement their safety. They have money, but it can all disappear, so a tie to the aristocracy would help protect them. In the last book, Broderick sent his sister Cleo out to have a season and marry into the aristocracy and that didn’t work out too well. She ended up married to his biggest rival. So, now he is trying it with Ophelia. Ophelia is not a happy camper!
Connor O’Rourke was a young boy who had been forced into Diggory’s gang, but had no intention of staying. So, he escaped and Diggory had everyone in the gang looking for him. He was saved – more than once – by a young girl from the gang. Then, he sacrificed himself to save her. Except, that sacrifice actually saved him much more than her.
Connor is now an investigator and his name is Connor Steele. He doesn’t have to work – as a matter of fact, his aristocratic foster father doesn’t want him to work. But Connor just has to and he has made his own fortune.
When Connor accepts a case from a Marquess who is generally accepted as mad, it brings Connor back into St. Giles and into the world of Ophelia Killoran. It turns out, Ophelia is the girl who saved him. He wants her help with his case, locating the ‘lost’ son of the mad Marquess. Ophelia doesn’t trust him and refuses to help him or to give him access to those children she has working at the club.
Connor and Ophelia are thrown together during her season and they get to know and trust each other more and more. Still – she can’t marry him because he doesn’t have a title – and he can’t marry her because he is expected to marry his foster father’s goddaughter.
When you see the betrayal and heartache in his book you’ll understand why I had to keep taking breaks from reading. Some tolerant and open-minded people are not nearly as tolerant and open-minded as they think they are.
I highly recommend the read – but – be sure to read something lighthearted and funny before this and probably afterward as well.
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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
Connor O’Roarke, the child who escaped the evil Mac Diggory, is now Connor Steele a successful investigator. He escaped St. Giles with the help of a girl he called Lagertha and was taken in by the Earl of Mar. His current investigation for Lord Maddock, brings him back to St. Giles and the girl who saved him.
Ophelia Killoran lives in St. Giles and helps her brother, Broderick, run the Devil’s Den club. Broderick is determined to better their lives and make peace with the owners of the Hell and Sin Club. Their sister, Cleo, married Adair Thorne an owner of the rival club and Broderick wants to find Ophelia a husband. Ophelia often brings children from the street to live and work at the club where they are safe. Connor has come to the club looking for Lord Maddock’s missing son. Ophelia is shocked to see him as she thought him dead by now.
Broderick is determined Ophelia have a season with help from Cleo. She agrees to protect Gertrude but will not live in Mayfair. As her path crosses Connor’s, they agree to help each other and fall in love. I will not spoil anything else from this wonderful book. It’s a wonderful read!
It is not often that I sit and cry while reading a “romance” story. Well, Christi Caldwell pulled out all the bells and whistles in The Vixen. We have Connor, a street boy who was rescued by Ophelia when they were children, and then years later he returned the favor to Ophelia. Connor was adopted by a nob after offering himself up to save the young girl from Newgate. Ophelia never forgot him! She was the daughter of the meanest, most brutal man ever. She suffered mental and physical abuse, she was broken.
This story is about how these two people meet again years later. What is incredible about this particular story is the abject pain and suffering these people live through. Their childhood haunts them. Connor deals with his pain by investigating situations for the rich. Ophelia by saving youngsters from the street…but it isn’t until they are both faced with the very worst that life can hand them that they are both saved. This is a story of depravity, loss, forgiveness and pure love. I believe this book is a cut above all others. A read that will tear you up a bit as you suffer along with these characters, and then bring you joy as they find happiness.
I didn’t think I’d like Ophelia, but it turns out I loved her! She wasn’t as brash with everyone as I expected her to be, she was softened by her love and protection of children. Her brother, Broderick, as usual is still trying to force a connection to nobility. (Hoping we’ll find out soon why!) He’s seeking the protection for his family, and they’re slowly getting it, just not in the ways he wants! Conner is the “One who got away”. I loved his character but watching Ophelia grow and finally become comfortable with herself was the best part of the book. I will admit to sobbing at 2am as I was reading near the end, but the book and the ending were well worth it! I don’t remember reading a book who’s character changes and becomes an actual heroine like this one. Thank you for the Advanced Readers Copy, I don’t think I could wait until it came out to read!
A heartbreaking tale that really got to me. The loving and caring of Ophelia, and in fact her whole family, is portrayed wonderfully in this story. And Connor, he is just as sincere in his caring about the injustices done to these children. I sobbed a good bit at the end of the story, just warning you, it will get to you also. I am reminded of A Tale of Two Cities “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done…” (Charles Dickens). A beautiful love story.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
This begins as a story of a girl, Ophelia, and a boy, Connor, both “street rats” in in the seediest parts of London, England. He escapes from their gang and its dreaded leader, while she could not. Years later, as adults, after having lead separate and completely different lifestyles, the two meet again. Ophelia and Conner are on opposite sides of a situation which draws them together as each remembers their mutual childhood contact while they navigate a mystery that Connor, now a respected investigator, is working to solve.
It is during this time the two develop an understanding of each other that turns into a heated need. But Ophelia hasn’t told Connor things that could affect his feelings for her: deep, dark, ugly things. She fears that in doing so she will lose him to another.
This is a stand alone book that is part of a series and it’s terrific! It’s one that once its begun, plan on a long afternoon or evening of perfect romance complete with a cast of entertaining characters and intrigue, because you won’t be able to put it down. I loved it and am looking forward to the next.
I read this as an arc on Netgalley which affected my review in no way at all.
Ophelia Killoran is the daughter of “the most ruthless blighter in all of London.” Thank heaven Mac Diggory is dead, and her brother Broderick holds the reins now. Their family enterprise and a highly lucrative business is their gambling establishment called the Devil’s Den, where the ton rubs shoulders with the riffraff that inhabit St. Giles in East London. All that’s missing is the protection that would come from marrying Ophelia to a titled man. The problem is Ophelia hates the ton and every member of the aristocracy. She’s tasted their seedier sides, their disdain for the lower classes, and knows what they are capable of. Nonetheless, Broderick is determined to have his way, and Ophelia has very little choice in the matter.
Fourteen years ago, she spared the life of a young boy named Connor O’Rourke, and she paid a heavy price. “A debt repaid,” he’d taken the fall for her, and she was sure when they dragged him off to Newgate Prison, he would find himself swinging from the gallows. But low and behold, Connor is alive with a new name Connor Steele, and he’s the most renowned private investigator in London and the adopted son of the Earl of Mar. He also is threatening her family if they don’t cooperate and help him with a case to find a missing boy.
Of course, this is Regency Romance, and Connor and Ophelia are both drawn and repelled by each other. Neither trusts the other, but neither can they resist one another. They are bound by deadly secrets in their pasts, secrets that could cost Ophelia her life. How these two delightful characters survive their challenges and get together is why you need to read this superbly written, sexy, romantic romp through history.
This series was my first books by Caldwell and all three were phenomenal. The series made me a forever Caldwell fan! Try them, you won’t be disappointed!
I’m going to start off with the truth: I’m not a huge fan of historical romances. I’ve read a ton (ha ha pun not intended) of them and just got sick of the “ton.” So when I saw Christi Caldwell’s newest book, THE VIXEN, didn’t have a hero that was a duke, or earl, or viscount, I was thrilled. Even more so when I found out her heroine was basically a “street rat.”
I loved, loved, loved this story.
Great characters in Ophelia Killoranand Connor Steele. Strong, driven, flawed, independent humans who have had to live on the wrong side of the “moral line” to survive, but still had more morals than those who should have been leading the charge. It’s been awhile since a story has made me cry, and the black moment (no spoilers) really got to me.
I’m just going to say, read the book. You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and I’ll be reading more by this author…a lot more.
I would give this 5++ Stars! This is the best book I have read from Ms.Caldwell. The love between Ophelia and Connor took root when they were children as part of the evil Diggory Gang. Connor (age 14) sacrificed himself to save Ophelia (age 8) thinking he was going to prison. Instead the kind Earl of Mar, never married and a champion of the poor, took the angry young boy and adopted him. He becomes a respected investigator. Ophelia always thought he died. 14 years later, they meet again, saving another child. But while Connor’s life improved beyond dreams, Ophelia is still dodging noble lords who prey on the innocent. Connor is working on a case of a young child stolen 7 years before, the son of a Marquess. Ophelia’s brother, head of the Devil’s Den gaming hell, wants her to marry into the ton. While their paths intersect, Ophelia learns to discover her true worth is not defined by her parents but herself. She learns to trust and more importantly forgive. Connor’s father wants a match between him and his goddaughter who is also the daughter of his long time friend. She is now a widow, a Duchess, who married a title and jilted Connor. There is so much going on in this story – Ophelia’s entrance into society, her self-discovery, her feeling towards Connor, the quest for the lost boy – to name a few. But she comes face to face with the lord who has haunted her since she was a young girl. Just when you think you figured it all out, another thrilling event takes place. At the end it is a tender story of true love, sacrifice, trust, loyalty and forgiveness. One of the best!!!
This is the second book in the Killoran sisters’ stories; I think it could still be enjoyed as a standalone, but is better read as part of the series. After her sister Cleo fails to marry a nobleman, Ophelia is sent to live with her and make her come out into society. Before she leaves her family’s gaming club, however, she barges into a meeting between her brother and a ruthless investigator, who turns out to be Connor, the boy she saved on the streets and who saved her in return, giving his to save hers, or so she thought. It turns out that Connor was adopted by a nobleman and given an education and security, developing a favorable opinion of the nobility that is very much at odds with Ophelia’s stark distrust of the upper classes. Unbeknownst to anyone, Ophelia has good reason to distrust nobles. She has seen first hand the levels of depravity to which they are capable of sinking and spends her nights rescuing children from the lascivious men. As she begins her season and he pursues his investigation, Ophelia and Connor often find themselves in one another’s company and their old bond begins to rekindle, despite the fact that literally everyone seems to be against any hope of a union between them. These two face the most adversity of any of the couples so far in this series and in the Sinful Brides series. They both suffered so much to get to their happy ending that was so deserved.
Y’all this book shook me up. It’s definitely the darkest and most emotional that I’ve read from this author so far. I listened to the audiobook version and at one point I had to take a break from it for a couple of days and it was difficult to turn it back on again. Nonetheless, this was a great story, with main characters who have depth and who grow and develop throughout the story, and who fight for each other and aren’t ashamed to admit their feelings for one another. This one will toy with your emotions, but I would highly recommend it.
I love all of Christi Caldwell’s books and after reading this one, I had to go back and read the rest of the series. For my CLEAN readers, know this one is Lightly STEAMY
Ms. Caldwell has done it again, with another can’t put down, heartbreaking and romantic story with heroine Ophelia Killoran. One of evil Mac Diggory’s offspring and investigator, Connor O’Roarke Steele.
I couldn’t put this book down. And I found myself teary eyed more than once.
Publisher’s Description:
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.
My Thoughts:
This book has an Oliver Twist feel to the plot and was an enjoyable read. Our Oliver Twist character in this case is a woman bent on rescuing orphans even if it is to put them to work in her brother’s gaming hell. Where are all of these orphans coming from and what are Ophelia’s true intentions?
Conner was at one point Ophelia’s rescuer but now does he trust her or not?
As usual this Christi Caldwell story is laced with mystery, intrigue and love. Christi stuns her readers with a fascinating story of love and triumph over evil.
I gave this latest book 4.45 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3 of 5 flames. Rape is not sensual but it is a part of this well written tale.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
The Vixen by Christi Caldwell
Wicked Wallflowers Series Book Two
Connor O’Roarke’s life had changed over the years. Now, he was a successful investigator. Another time in his life he’d been a street urchin. Living under another man’s rules. He’d escaped…leaving others behind.
Ophelia Killoran was the daughter of a very nasty man. One that she was glad had been murdered. Now, her family had everything they wanted as the owners of the Devil’s Den club. Or so she thought. When her brother sends her out for a Season, she finds there is more to life.
Ophelia carries a lot of hate with her…especially for the nobility. Whereas Connor has joined the world of nobs, somewhat. I love the characters in these books. The previous book; The Hellion, is Ophelia’s younger sister’s story. Looking forward to the next book already.
**Sexual content and language
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