I loved Ophelia and Connor's story!!

One fateful day, many years ago, put their lives on very different paths. Conner lives the life of a nobleman while Ophelia lives in a gaming hell. Their paths cross again while both are helping the young child of the streets that remind them so much of themselves.

Conner wants Ophelia's help on locating a missing child for a client, but she is reluctant to help him since he has become one of the hated nobility. At the same time, Ophelia's brother is determined to have her marry someone with a title, so she goes to live with her sister and has her coming out. While out at the society functions, she encounters Conner more and more and is finally convinced to help him out. But what they learn, will shock them both!

I loved watching these two come together! The bantering between them had me laughing out loud!! Such a treat to indulge in!

With so many lose ends that need to be tied up with this series, I can't wait to see what the next book holds for us!

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!

Book one of Christi Caldwell ‘s Wicked Wallflowers series , the Hellion, brought us to the Killoran sisters. Raised on the London streets by an evil man, not even named until their”brother” Broderick gave them names. Cleopatra was first to find her HEA. In Book 2, We learn more about the sister’s past in Ophelia’s story, The Vixen. Conner and Ophelia’s road to HEA tore me up. From the beginning their intwined lives gripped me and the story never let go. The horror of their youth and the strong people they became is pure writing excellence in my opinion. One will never regret reading a Christi Caldwell novel.

Ophelia is a former street urchin and thief in London. The man who trained her and the other children was her father. Her older brother who operates a gambling hell, took her and her sisters and younger brother in to give them an education and a better life. When she sees Connor Steele, whom she had known when they were working the streets, she is surprised and suspicious. He is an investigator looking for the son of the Marquess of Maddock. The Marquess believes that his son was stolen when his house burned down killing his wife and unborn child. Ophelia haunts the streets looking for children she and her family can help which is why Conner believes she can help him find the missing child. An attraction between Ophelia and Conner has been there since they were children. . Due to lies and secrets, Ophelia is taken away and may never come back. It is a life and death situation for her. Can Ophelia be saved and at what cost? Great story of love overcoming great obstacles. I loved the background and the storyline. I received this book from Net Galley and Montlake Publishing for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Every time I pick up a Christi Caldwell book, I get a smile on my face. I don’t even have to look at the first page to know it’s going to be a good read. In fact, her books are my go-to reads whenever I need a warm fuzzy book following a depressing moment in life or when I have a read a book that was not so good. Her books are magic. Now, this book was particularly interesting to me, because it’s not a storyline I see very often. I suppose you could call it a long-lost-friends-to-lovers type of story? It was a heart-warming read, and I became emotionally invested in the outcome of the characters’ story. I loved how Christi wrote such a touching story, drawing in some really dark elements but creating a sort of healing that allows for a calming of the soul. There may be a bit of a trigger warning to this book, so just to forewarn you. I’ll mention it at the very end, so skim down to the bottom if you want to know right away.

Fourteen years ago, Ophelia Killoran had made a mistake, which cost the life of a boy whom she had helped escape Mac Diggory twice before, and ever since she has dedicated her life to saving children who are prey to the wealthy lords of London. But now she has come face-to-face with her past – Connor Steele, the boy come back from the grave as the most successful investigator in England. He has been hired to find a lord’s son, who was stolen from his home seven years ago, and Connor believes Ophelia knows where the boy is now. Refusing to help him, Connor and Ophelia are immediately at odds, but that all changes when Ophelia’s brother sends her to her sister’s for a season, to find a husband of consequence. Seeing how miserable she is, Connor befriends Ophelia, and they soon become much more than past acquaintances. The trouble is, Ophelia has a dark past with many secrets, and while Connor is a master at discovering the truth, these are truths Ophelia never wants to see the light of day.

Ophelia and Connor were a really interesting couple to read about! I loved how they both came from the streets, but while one ended up being raised by a lord, the other remained somewhat in the shadows by living in a club. So Ophelia had a much rougher edge to her, and she was on the streets longer than Connor, so her experiences made her averse to developing any sort of relationship with him. But Connor was determined to help her and love her, and his innate kindness helped her through a lot of anxiety. When the darkness of her past was shown to him, he maintained his loyalty to her and refused to blame her for the sins of her father. I really liked seeing that, because a lot of books I’ve read where such a secret is revealed tends to have the hero pushing the heroine away at first. Instead we saw the true strength in their relationship through it all. Very inspiring!

I can’t say enough good things about Christi Caldwell, and her books really are ones that should be read by anyone who loves historical romance. They not only bring a lot of history to light but also bring a depth of feeling that is not often portrayed as eloquently as she does. This book could definitely be read without reading prior books, but I would recommend at least reading the first book in this particular series, just so you can have a frame of reference when it comes to the secondary characters.

**Okay, trigger warning time…
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I usually don’t mention trigger warnings, but a very sensitive issue is brought up in this book, that of childhood sexual abuse. There were several instances in this group where descriptions of what happened to Ophelia were somewhat graphic in nature, and I had a hard time reading parts of it. For those of you who are triggered by such a topic, please be aware.**

I enjoyed this book and most other books of this author. It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.
I really liked the plot line of this book, children who grew up in the very worse part of London, with one having been rescued as a younger person. It tells of their reunion and how their lives have intersected at various points. The love story was believable and sweet. Just a little angst. Totally recommend this book to everyone who reads historical romances or any romance books.


I received a copy of this book for my honest review, which i have given after reading the book from netgalley.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for bringing us these great reads.

I posted review on amazon.com

Christi Caldwell does an amazing job of bringing the underside of London to life. She shines a light on the darker side of the peerage. The men who are respectable in society but prey on the poor. This is the story of 2 children from the streets of St GIles.
Connor is on his way to the noose when he is saved and adopted by an Earl. He grows up with an education and polish but rather than taking his place in the ton he becomes an investigator working the clean up the very streets that he came from.
Ophelia has spent all her life on the streets and she saved Connor until the day he saved her and took the punishment she deserved.
This story is heart-warming as well as heart-breaking. I dare any reader not to cry at least once while reading this story. The sadness and tears are what make the Happily Ever After all the happier.
I received an advanced copy of this book.

Goodness! My facial muscles got a real workout with this book! I think I pulled a muscle in my jaw from gasping in surprise so many times. And the back and forth motion of smiling, sobbing, and clenching my teeth in anger surely tightened something up. The Vixen, #2 in Christi Caldwell’s Wicked Wallflowers series will definitely shake up your emotions. If you’ve read Ms. Caldwell before, you know she has the uncanny ability to make the reader feel everything the characters are feeling. And this one has all the feels. What a beautiful story of dark secrets, betrayal, pain, perseverance, survival, and the healing power of love. This story is absolutely bewitching!
Connor and Ophelia’s story shook me to my core. I think seeing them first as children and knowing what they’d experienced made me even more absorbed in their story. Connor hadn’t been born on the streets, but that’s where he’d ended up after the murder of his parents. He’d lived on his own, dodging Mac Diggory. Ophelia had saved him from Diggory on more than one occasion. In return, he’d risked his life for hers. Thanks to the Earl of Mar, he’d been saved himself that day and escaped a life of misery on the streets. But he’d never forgotten where he came from and was determined to make the streets safer. Ophelia had only known the streets of St. Giles. She knew the dangers that lurked there. That’s why she put herself at risk to save children there. She’d hated Connor for escaping and at the same time cheered for the freedom he’d found. Though they’d not been enemies, neither had they been friends. When they meet years later, that hadn’t changed. There was still distrust there. But their desire to aid the children of St. Giles was one thing they had in common. And that need to keep the children safe was how they came to learn so much about each other and themselves. They both learned that their own view of the world wasn’t an accurate view. Everything isn’t black and white. There are shades of gray. Regardless of your station in life, there are good and bad people. And even people who fall somewhere in between. That was an especially hard lesson for Ophelia. She’d only known darkness. She trusted no one, especially not the nobility and especially not men. She knew first- hand the treachery lords were capable of.
Connor had lived in both worlds. As Ophelia made her much unwanted entrance into society, he knew what it was to be new, to have to ignore the looks and insults. They had a kindred connection there, both moving among society yet haunted by the past. I think I fell in love with them during their first waltz. The way they mouthed messages across the room charmed me. They both hated ton events but each other’s presence lessened the tension of enduring them. A friendship formed and it didn’t take long before that friendship became more. But there were so many obstacles between them. The closer they grew, the greater the distance between them and their families seemed to grow. And there were still secrets between them. I have to admit, I was so blown away by the twists, turns, and revelations toward the end that I truly didn’t think they’d make it.
This story left me reeling. Like Connor and Ophelia, I misjudged a lot of characters. There were characters I admired at the beginning of the story and despised at the end. Likewise, characters I thought were not to be trusted at first, I respected by the end. And I wasn’t prepared at all for the depth of emotion in this story. Be prepared to cry. A lot. It may be a cry of joy, a cry of empathy, or a cry of terror at the impossible cruelty of people, but you will cry.
One of my favorite things about this book, other than Ophelia and Connor’s love story, was the Killoran family. I learned so much more about them in this book. I can’t wait for Gertrude’s story. She’s made of sterner stuff than people give her credit for. I worry for Stephen. There’s so much distrust and anger in him. And Broderick. No matter how angry he made me, I guarantee you’ll forgive him for all at the end of this story. I am in awe of how much he cares for his “family” and, though they may not realize it, the choices he makes are to secure a better future for them all. I don’t care whose story is next, I just want it now. These characters have captivated me and I can’t get enough of this heartbreaking, emotional, inspiring series. A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection

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!

FINAL DECISION: Enjoyable historical romance with interesting characters. This story has been done before but the characters make this a lively story. I wish there was more emotional connection between the characters early on because the last twenty-five percent of the book was wonderful.

THE STORY: Investigator Connor Steele is hunting for a child who might have been kidnapped. His work takes him back to St. Giles from from which Connor escaped. But St. Giles cannot be rubbed off so easily and his investigation reunites him with Ophelia Killoran. As children, each had saved one another. Now Ophelia has taken onto herself the job of protecting the children, but Connor's investigation brings into question exactly what Ophelia is doing and where are the children coming from. The two share a past and are suspicious of one another in the present.

OPINION: I liked this book, but I never got emotionally engaged enough to love it. The story is well constructed and the characters are interesting.

Both Connor and Ophelia struggle with the line between the criminal and poor elements and the aristocracy. Ophelia's brother wants to marry her off to an aristocrat to help drag their family from the lower classes. Connor was adopted by an aristocrat but still has the muck of his past with him.

The characters have a good journey, but -- for me - there was something missing. Intensity or emotional connection. Something that would pull me through the pages, pull at my heart and make me love the book.

Fans of Caldwell will find much to love here. The class conflicts are better developed here than in the last book. I enjoyed these characters together. The reading was easy and not particularly deep until the last quarter of the book.

The last quarter of the book was amazing. The intensity, the connection, the passion was wonderful. The rest of the book felt like a setup for the end, but the end definitely paid off.

WORTH MENTIONING: Trigger warning: sexual assault.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE VIXEN is the second book in the Wicked Wallflowers series. The book can be read as a standalone although the characters are overlapping between the books.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in order to assist with preparing this review. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.ons contained herein are my own.

The second book that follows the Killoran gang focuses on Ophelia. Her brother is up to his antics again to marry a sister off to a nobleman in order to create connections. Ophelia is stubborn and scarred from a past she hasn’t shared with anyone, including her family, but when her brother says either she or Gertrude will marry well, she sacrifices herself to protect her sister.

Connor Steele was once saved from a life on the streets when he stepped in to protect Ophelia. He thought he was sacrificing his life, but fortune shined on him and he instead was adopted and given a life of privilege. He is now an investigator that comes knocking on the Devil’s Den in order to hunt down a lost nobleman’s son.  Ophelia and he bump heads from the start, both keeping their shared past a secret, but when they keep bumping into each other at social events their nemesis/friendship is rekindled. 

The story was enjoyable, it was slow at times, but at the point near the end where her past comes back to haunt her, the plot and conflict get really good.  I enjoyed their interactions throughout the book. Ophelia was such a strong, yet stubborn, woman who found it really hard to trust Connor or his intentions.  Overall, I enjoyed it, though I wish the plot pace was a little stronger.

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 love Christi Caldwell books, they never disappoint. Ophelia Killoran is a beautiful woman that protects the children of St. Giles. Her family runs a notorious gaming club and her brother seeks to match her with man of noble blood. Ophelia has no interest past saving the unfortunate orphans that remind her of herself and her siblings. Along comes Connor Steele another former street rat turned investigator. Connor is looking to find the lost son of a nobleman. They are at odds from the beginning as both know each other from their previous life on the streets. She trusts no one affiliate with nobility based on her past treatment by noblemen he doesn't trust her family. They end up working together to solve a mystery of a lost son. This story was amazing. I loved the complexity of the characters. Both have suffered great trauma but are able to find love and trust in the end. This story shows the major differences in the treatment of classes during this time period. I definitely recommend reading this book. It is the second of the series. I cannot wait to see if Ms. Caldwell writes a book with Brotherick Killoran as the lead character. I received an ARC from Net Galley for this book.

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 Killoran and 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.

*Spoiler alert*

Another much awaited title by Christi Caldwell ... having met the ‘now reformed’ Blacks and one Killoran in a previous Wicked Wallflower book, the intrigue for this one was almost palpable. And the best part is we still have at least two siblings that are to get their stories. *gleeful smile*

This one is a tear jerker, if there ever was one. Connor’s and Ophelia’s childhood is described vividly and ‘darkly’ that I could actually feel the sights and smells of St. Giles and the Rookeries while reading.

Sexual violence has always been an absolute no no for me. I just cannot read about it and have known to put away books at the barest hint of it. It is disturbing for me, always leaving a terrible terrible feeling in its wake.

But Christi managed to get me to read about it without shutting the book as I always do. Disturbing as the opening sequence in the sewers was, and had me on edge, never once did I want to put away the book. I just kept wanting to know ‘what happens now’ .. where does this go? That in itself is commendable for the author, that she managed to describe the violence in men and their disgusting habits without actually taking away from the story.

Ophelia Killoran’s fears are very real. Not just growing up and fighting her way to survive on the streets, her fears at always being second best to an older sibling, her guilt of being the cause of hurt to another, of wanting to do what is right and biases against all men were all so real. She was a heroine, who could have been pathetic, but was strong and brave and just incredible. I loved the way she would just barge into Borderick’s office without a single worry or though.

Connor Steele on the other hand, was a much awaited character for all Christi fans who have been following her books. The day she informed us that he was to resurface and get a story, was a day that I think all our wishes were granted :). Connor was strong and quietly standing up for what he believed. And I just loved that whole hard ‘detective’ attitude along with the softie who questioned children with sensitivity and who worked at saving them in his own way.

This ‘childhood- ‘acquaintances’-meet-years-later-and-fall-in-love’ theme always works and the back and forth of the past and present and of both the characters made this another bestseller from Christi Caldwell.

Glimpses of past characters is always a given in Christi’s books and a feature that most of her readers relish, as that way we get to know of so much more than just their HEA’s. And in this one too she does not disappoint. The ‘reformed’ Blacks make their presence quite easily throughout.

I only wish the ‘reunion’ between Nial and Connor could have been more … after all we did wait so patiently for it. Maybe a ‘bonus’ scene later, huh? Christie?

Wow.. another fantastic book from Christi Caldwell. I've followed this author for a while now and I've read a few of her novels and this one is just sublime. Each one gets better and better. She's taken a chance by detouring from the ton and nobility and moving into the Seven Dials and St Giles. And it's paying off. The characters have new depth, different backgrounds and darker stories, but it's refreshing, original and so wonderfully done.
In this one, she treats us to the story of Ophelian Killoran, the second sister from the Killoran family that is supposed to make a good match. But Ophelia has other ideas and her path takes her to Connor, a long time acquaintance from the dials that now is investigating a case.

Things I loved about this book:
- how the thread weaves into the previous stories and continues exploring a world we've come to love from the Sinful Brides series and how the author is able to present us with a different side from the Killorans than what we knew from their rivalry with the Blacks
- Connor and Ophelia as well rounded, scarred characters that have been shaped by their past and managed to survive it at the same time
- the angst and the longing of two people meant to be that are being pulled apart

Things I wished were different:
I needed more!! So much more, I could have read 100 pages more about these two. I also would love to have seen a resolution to Stephen's situation, but I'm sure this will be featured in the upcoming books in the series.

I look forward to continuing with these series and I eagerly await the next one!

*I was given an ARC in NetGalley*

Christi keeps you on your toes and makes you feel like you're embedded in the story. The mysteriousness and grittiness of Ophelia and Connor make you cheer for them from the start.

I have enjoyed Christi Caldwell's books for a long time - especially the first one in this new series, The Hellion. After finishing that one, I have been eagerly awaiting The Vixen. I am appreciating Having just completed it, I am appreciating the well developed the characters are and the complicated relationship dynamics they have. And while this book didn't capture me like the Hellion I still enjoyed it and cannot wait to read the next in the series. Thank you Ms. Caldwell for continuing to write smart romances that are lead by independent, intelligent women.

I received an e-arc via NetGalley from Montlake Romance and while I appreciate the opportunity and thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked the style of writing and I felt that the characters were good but I just couldn't get enthusiastic about the lead characters' story. I felt like I had to force myself to carry on and I kept stopping and starting. This book is a nice read but the character development felt slow and at times I couldnt quite get my head around where I was in the story. I had to keep flipping back and forth between pages to see where certain conversations were taking place and I had to concentrate quite a bit as I felt the descriptions weren't as well defined as they could have been but I managed it and will probably return to this book as it is a good book for whiling away the time. Pleasant read.