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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
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MY REVIEW:
Genre | Tropes: Historical, Romance, Thieves, Heist
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
This one took me WAY back and I loved every single second of reading this book. From the witty banter between Jasper and Esme, to their competitive thievery activities to their growing attraction to one another. It had all the best elements of my favorite power couple from the 1930’s (William Powell & Myrna Loy).
Esme Fox and Jasper Truitt have this opening chapter filled with a whirlwind romance where the war has just ended and they hurriedly marry one another. But the morning after, Esme realizes she just can’t stay and be tied down, and so she leaves. Fast forward four years and they run into one another again as they’re both pulling a con trying to steal The Valkyrie (a tiara that a lot of wealthy people are vying for).
This is where everything gets even more complicated, but stays heavily interesting. They realize they’re both thieves and are in competition with one another. Each of them trying to find The Valkyrie for deeply personal reasons with their employers. So while they’re still married and competing against one another to get to The Valkyrie first, there are numerous moments of sensitivity between them as they are deliberating whether they should keep their marriage or get the divorce after their missions are completed.
What I loved most was their easy banter and witty interactions. Both Esme and Jasper have that classical character with etiquette and charm, but the sarcasm-laced comments that easily float about them makes it comical in a way that this time period was so well known for. Their romance was perfection and I really enjoyed how they were married first and then start to get to know one another throughout the rest of the book. Even if they both think they want a divorce, they soon realize just how perfect they are for one another.
My Favorite Lines
Love was nothing more than a rifle with a bullet in the chamber ready to put a beating heart out of its mournful existence. His own parents never married and died hating each other.
GET IT HERE:
After a hasty wartime marriage and an even quicker divorce, two jewel thieves risk it all to obtain the grandest prize of them all, the last Valkyrie tiara, but their hearts may have something else in mind.
It was a match made in champagne-soaked heaven, but all too soon the bubbles dried up and divorce papers were issued just in time to ring in the end of the Great War. Jewel thieves and ex-lovers Jasper and Esme find themselves circulating among the elite of British aristocracy where the diamond-lined pockets are ripe for picking. But when the last Valkyrie tiara ever created becomes the talk of the season neither will stop to obtain it, not even when they inadvertently find themselves in the middle of a game of cat-and-mouse where their lives are suddenly at stake.
Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski’s latest novel combines her signature blend of thrilling adventure, glamorous atmosphere, and sweeping romance in a story readers are sure to be thinking about days after turning the final page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J’nell Ciesielski
Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski has a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories while weaving fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle.
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