The story about a young girl who flees from her old life. She comes to the New World and finds shelter at New Orleans. What is her secret? What is her future? And who is the charming boy who holds her fascination captive? These are questions that are prevalent in the story but I was not hooked on the romance. I had mixed feelings about the story itself. I enjoyed more of the Gothic atmosphere than I really did with the romance. Not exactly my cup of words. There were some lovely passages but I was not sold 100%. I felt that I was looking at the story through a half filled glass. There was the atmosphere and the world building but the heroine did not resonate because of some of the choices she made. As for the boy, I felt that he was so young it struck me as having a difficulty envisioning him as a truly serious love interest. Just because this particular tome was not what I was looking for doesn't mean I will not read her other books. I want to give that another chance.