Josetta is a princess of one of the Five Families. But she is far from the throne, so she is free to spend her days working in the poorest sections of the city. Rafe Adova, an outcast since he was born, lives the life of a career gambler in those slums. He has no ambition other than cheating at the card tables--until the night he decides to help a girl named Corene, who looks like she's stumbled into the wrong bar. She, too, is a princess--sister to Josetta, who finds her with Rafe. He fascinates her. Josetta has never encountered anyone like him--someone seemingly devoid of elemental blessings. He is drawn to her, though he thinks they are unlikely to ever meet again--but their connection grows strong when she nurses him back to health after he is assaulted by foreign mercenaries. And when they learn the reason he's being hunted, they know that the truth about his history could endanger not only their love but also their very lives... 
 I think I really needed something lighter-weight, and Sharon Shinn's always such a fantastic storyteller; what she writes is just as good in a contemporary context as it was twenty years ago, and I love that.