This novel is a great surprise and to learn it is a series, makes me even happier.
It is set in 1888 London but in an alternate reality.
Jack the Ripper is roaming the seedy back streets of the slums,
Killing Street Rats...Rent Boys.
We meet Silas, a beautiful young street rat struggling to earn a few pennies or more, when the fates allow, for food and a place to sleep.
His best friend is "Fecker" (Andrej) a big tall, blond Ukrainian.
He looks out for Silas and they share a sweet, platonic love .
The wealthy Viscount of Clearwater, Archer, is hunting the Ripper and he needs
The help of Silas and Fecker and their knowledge of the streets of London.
So begins this intriguing story of mystery, friendship and love where the two worlds of wealth and poverty clash.
The Author has an amazing grasp of Victorian London.
Describing the day to day life and survival on these mean streets,
One can almost smell the rancid air of poverty and feel the degradation of selling your body for the price of a meal.
And more often, having to choose between food or shelter.
Brilliantly descriptive and fleshed out with characters that you care about,
This was a page turner for me.
And I cannot wait for the next installment of these memorable characters.
And to see if Silas and Archer's love can survive their being from
Two different worlds.
My favorite character is the endearing Fecker.
How he came about calling himself Fecker is hilarious.
Highly recommended ( )

A gripping read for the most part. And surprisingly I was not reading it for the romance.
I never thought I would be reading a book based on the Ripper and would enjoy it, but here we are.

I loved the setting and the whole vibe of the book. A little mysterious but also funny at times. The story starts with Silas and we follow him along; his everyday life as a rentboy, how he tries to turn a trick and just get a penny for food or a place in a mollyhouse to sleep on a rope. Despite his profession I found his character funny and laidback, like he accepted what life dealt to him and he tries to make the best of it. Along with his Ukranian friend, Fecker. They're one strange and entertaining pair. They're not too concerned about the killer slashing the rentboys, or at least not more than they're usually are when turning tricks.

On the other side of the city, Archer, the Viscount of Clearwater House is plotting. Someone is killing rentboys and the police doesn't seem to care or know what to do.
And that's about all I can tell without spoilers.

It takes a while for Silas and Archer to meet. Past the halfway point. Up until then it was a really entertaining and enlightening read. But the reviews were right there is insta-love, it just came way later in the story than I expected, only coz it took a while for the author to set up the right circumstances for it. Well if you ask me, there is no "right" way to implement insta-love but I'm trying not to judge.

The romantic element actually lessened the enjoyment for me. Not necessarily because of the insta-love, but the way they were behaving all lovey-dovey was a bit off-putting and it drew away the focus from the mystery.

Written in 3rd person, we get 4 povs. Mainly Archer and Silas. We also have Thomas, Archer's footman. At first I didn't know what was the purpose for Tom's pov, if there was any. But I kind of liked his character the best. Which is weird I know. I just loved his internal struggles, it was funny and concerning at the same time. The story introduces the society perfectly, which now that I think about it, that must be where Thomas's role is most important.

The book ends on a little cliffy, tho I'd like to think of it more as a setup for the next book.
3.5 stars ( )