The Nine Gentlemen — series

Tropes & Themes

How it starts

In the Civilized World, wealth doesn't equate to safety. Low-citizen Loredana Waldsten, once a promising fencing prodigy, finds herself unarmed and defenseless after a deadly altercation with a high-citizen. Now at Grandmaster University, where status is built on death duels, Loredana becomes a target when her father challenges the high-citizens. Her only hope lies with Edmund Prew, a high-citizen student with whom her family has a bitter feud. Forced into a protective alliance, their relationship turns perilous as they fall for each other, despite the fact that the man Loredana killed was Edmund's cousin. Loving Edmund means living a lie, while telling the truth could mean certain death. For fans of The Great Gatsby.