This review first appeared in Booklist on May 1, 2025.

In nineteenth-century France, industrialists have replaced the aristocrats as de facto rulers of the land. Amassing unprecedented wealth by severely exploiting the working class, they simultaneously create a strict social hierarchy where the proletariat is all but forced to cater to the callous whims of the elite. Eighteen-year-old Angélique dreams of rising above this classist culture by becoming the protégée of a top modiste in Paris. Then, a barbaric, avoidable accident leaves her an orphan and the sole caretaker of her youngest sister. Vowing revenge against the cruel capitalists who tore her family apart, Angélique is determined to use her talents as a seamstress to win their favor, embedding herself in high society and positioning herself perfectly to dismantle their elitist empire—by any means necessary. Written in a lavish style befitting the haute couture–laced setting, Ridley’s fashionable tale of rhapsodic retribution is a blistering critique of capitalism and its ruthless pursuit of wealth at the expense of human dignity. Macabre and delightfully twisty, Ridley’s YA debut is perfect for fans of V. E. Schwab and Kate Alice Marshall.