5 stars I really enjoyed this story, packed with wonderful characters and an original plot, complete with unexpected twists and turns. Kate Bateman does a great job of getting into her characters' heads and exploring their emotions, conveying them to the reader, and making the reader feel for the plights of Alex and Emmy. Alex works for Bow Street as a freelance investigator of challenging crimes. Emmy is an elusive jewel thief, but not by choice. Although their feelings for one another are undeniable, they are adversaries and neither can see a way in which they might end up happily together. I loved the realizations each had regarding the other—that the unrelenting attraction they feel for one another is partly due to their adversarial roles. They both love the game and they respect one another. Neither gets too caught up in societal expectations, another thing they have in common, and they love pushing the other to “up” their game. Alex obsesses over Emmy, convinced she is the thief, though as of yet, unable to prove it. In his head, he thinks of her with such terms as “little Miss Miscreant” and “the pestilent woman,” as close to terms of endearment as he will allow himself to come. After kissing her, he thinks of “the satin softness of her sweetly lying lips.” The banter between the two is quite amusing, reflecting a humor and intelligence they both recognize in the other. “Backpeifengeisicht,” he supplied. “Bless you,” she said, straight-faced. “He shot her a chiding sideways glance. “It means ‘a face badly in need of a fist.’” Meeting someone unexpectedly in the conservatory, Alex explains away his presence with Emmy by saying: “...She is an ardent horticulturist.” Emmy managed to murmur an earnest agreement. An ardent whore was more like it. Prinny makes an appearance, and although stories abound regarding his inappropriate behaviors and outrageous actions, I found it hard to believe he would speak in colloquialisms and slang. The dialogue almost looked like something you’d expect from the lower classes in London at the time. It distracted me from the story. I was hooked from the first line: “Only touch what you’re going to steal.” Emmy broke that rule the night that she touched Alex. During that first scene of the book, Emmy and Alex share a kiss. “God, you taste so sweet,” he groaned against her lips. “Smell so sweet. I want to breathe you in and keep you in my lungs forever. Does that sound mad?” It’s clear she has already stolen his heart, and has given him hers in return. It just takes a long time for them to realize it. I love the author’s note at the end: “Emmy loves discovering foreign words that have no direct translation in English. I didn’t use this in the story (because I thought it implausible that Emmy would have found out about it in 1816) but there’s a wonderful Japanese phrase that’s just perfect for her and Alex: Koi No Yokan. The sense of inevitability upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love.” From the moment I started this book, I knew I would fall in love with the story. August 18, 2020
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