The Merchant and the Rogue Author: Sarah M. Eden
Series: Dread Penny Society #3
Genres: Mystery/Suspense, Historical Romance
Format: Audio, eBook, Print
Pages: 368
Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Vera Sorokina loves reading the penny dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her own days are filled with the often mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. The shop offers her freedom and an income, and while she is grateful for the stability it brings to her life, she often feels lonely.
Brogan Donnelly was born and raised in Ireland, but has lived in London for several years, where he’s built a career as a penny dreadful writer. He has dedicated himself to the plight of the poor with the help of his sister. But with no one to share his life with, he fears London will never truly feel like home.
When Brogan and Vera’s paths cross, the attraction is both immediate and ill-advised. Vera knows from past experience that writers are never to be trusted, and Brogan has reason to suspect not everything at Vera’s print shop is aboveboard. When a growing criminal enterprise begins targeting their area of London, Brogan and Vera must work together to protect the community they’ve both grown to love. But that means they’ll need to learn to trust each other with dangerous secrets that have followed both of them from their home countries.
[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”304462″]
About Sarah M. Eden
Sarah M. Eden read her first Jane Austen novel in elementary school and has been addicted to historical romance ever since. With a degree in research and a fascination with history, Eden loves delving deep into history. She is the author of multiple historical romances.
Ms. Eden is one of my favorite authors especially in regency romance and truthfully if I’d been handed the first book in this series by any other author I might not have read it because it isn’t my usual type of read but since I read all of Eden’s books, I did. It took me a bit to get used to the Penny Dreadful stories but I found I liked them. They aren’t too awfully dreadful for me. I’ve enjoyed each of the books more than the last.
I’ve seen some reviews that said they didn’t find the Penny Dreadfuls necessary in the book but I think they aren’t getting that the whole idea is to build a story around them. That is what sets this series apart from others. I wouldn’t have really understood what the stories were if I hadn’t read them in the book. I’ve never experienced reading anything like them before this series. It is important to the book for the reader to understand what they were and why people would be so addicted to them and seek out the next installment.
As for this particular book, I liked the main characters and hope that their happily ever after will be full of good things. And I still love that these writers are so willing to go undercover and risk danger to help the less fortunate who can’t help themselves.
The evil people in this book are so horrible. I’m not sure how many books are planned for this series but I sure hope they catch the Mastiff before too long. I don’t know how much more of him I can take.
Sex: no
Language: no
Violence: yes
*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and voluntarily chose to review it.