This was a cute and funny read. Ellie, infamous troublemaker, is in need of money to pay off some family bills, so disguises herself as a French count and gambles. When she whens a set of jewelry from her nemesis, James Hartley, it brings more than money into her path. The two of them together are oil and water but they work together to uncover a mystery, they discover sometimes the most unlikely pairings cause sparks. I liked Ellie, for the most part, with her quick wit and determination to be her true self no matter what any one else said. I wished she had told her friends and family where to stick it when they tried to manage her or mold her into someone more "acceptable". For such a strong character, she accepted a lot of recriminations from people who had no right to criticize. James, just as funny and quick-witted as Ellie, was a good match for her. Though indolent and a rake, he had a good heart and had an honest desire to help people when he could. If I had a problem with this book, it was the lack of explanation or details to certain side parts to the story. We saw Ellie's determination to help her step-father and sisters but not details as to why. I didn't like them and their treatment of Ellie so it was hard to see why she was so eager to assist them. More back story would have been nice. Also, not much is shown about James's feelings about Rafe and his actions. The story starts off talking about it but then it seems to fizzle and nothing else important is mentioned. Still, this was a good story featuring the type of characters I enjoy reading about: funny, strong, and with extraordinary personalities. I see possibilities with this author and look forward to reading more of her books in the future.*Review copy from publisher via NetGalley.*
