This first book in the Worth saga is full of everything that makes me love Courtney Milan. Unusual, but plausible, characters. Judith has held life together for her brother and sister for eight years and set aside money for their futures by selling clockwork designs. (BTW: I think clockwork is actually more involved in the plot of this book that in Wanted: One Scoundrel.) Christian has his own demons, concealed behind a sense of humor that usually results in exactly the wrong joke made at exactly the wrong time. Like all of Milan's heroes, he's the supportive type. They don't rescue the heroine; they just get her back while she handles the matter herself. And as always, the dialogue is witty and sharp and utterly ruins most other authors for me.
And - that cliffhanger? For the next full length book in the series, when I'm still waiting for the novella that's supposed to be forthcoming, soon? What will I do until late 2016?
Overall: A