This book was recommended by a friend (the one with whim I share a historical romance novel blog). I generally trust her judgment, so here we are. Though I can't say this book was Gothic (as the cover advertises), I did have great fun watching our characters spar and then turn into partners. I'll be checking out more from this author, too, since my first exposure to her work is this 4 star read.

WRITING: Bennet's prose is about what you'd expect of the romance genre. As I've said before, this isn't a bad thing: Bennet knows her audience and her genre, and I appreciate a romance that's clear and quick.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Evangeline "Evie" Jones, a spiritualist/medium in Victorian London who holds seances to keep herself off the street. Unfortunately, she has attracted the attention of Alex, Duke of Harcastle - famous for his ruthless exposures of fake mediums. Evangeline must find a way to avoid his meddling while also obeying the commands of her mentor, a powerful criminal named Captain.

One thing I really appreciated about this plot was the pace. I felt like events progressed at just the right speed, and I further appreciated that a wrench was thrown into the narrarive at about the 50% mark rather than closer to the end (like a lot of romances). The pace did slow for the last 10-20%, however, when it felt like Evie and Alex were just waiting around for action. But up until then, I never felt rushed.

I also appreciated the class consciousness in this book and that no one ever shamed women for sex work. Evie challenges a lot of Alex's ideas, pointing out where his privilege makes him blind to certain things. It was very satisfying to me because I've read a lot of books where class is barely considered.

CHARACTERS: Evie, our heroine, is sympathetic in that she's just trying her best to make a living. Her backstory is understandable and informs her current choices: not only is she determined, but she also doesn't get close to a lot of people for fear of losing them. I especially liked the complexity of her relationship with Captain; as both her mentor and her tormentor, Captain inspires loyalty, fear, and gratitude, and watching Evie wrestle with these emotions made for a richer character arc.

Alex, our hero, was fun in that he has a single-mindedness that gets challenged in so many ways. I did feel some sympathy for him when I learned of his past, though I wish his past had informed his choice to pursue mediums a bit more strongly. I also wish more was done to develop the sense of responsibility he had regarding his estate. His estate is a major barrier to his marriage to Evie, and frankly, I wasn't altogether convinced he cared enough.

Supporting characters were sweet. I loved Evie's relationship with Mags, her roommate. I also loved Evie's affection for Jack, one of the younger boys in Captain's employ. Alex's sister and her husband will probably have more significance once I read book one in this series, and my guess is that Ellis, Alex's cousin, will get his own book as well.

Captain as an antagonist was fine. Though I liked the relationship he had with Evie, his motivations were a little iffy to me. I wish he had been a bit more active, especially towards the end when Alex and Evie seem to be waiting for him to make a move.

ROMANCE: The romance between Alex and Evie was fun. I liked how they started out as adversaries and bickered with one another, only to learn to trust each other and open themselves up to emotion. The way they mirrored each other in that regard was satisfying; both learned through the romance that being vulnerable can be ok and that people of all backgrounds need a little compassion.

TL;DR: The Ruin of Evangeline Jones is an adventurous tale of a duke and a medium going head-to-head, only to fall for one another and turn against one of London's most powerful criminals.