The Merchant and the Rogue (The Dread Penny Society #3) by Sarah M. Eden

The Merchant and the Rogue (The Dread Penny Society #3)

By Sarah M. Eden

Published by Shadow Mountain

Description:

London, 1865 

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 the freedom and income to employ and protect the poverty-stricken Londoners she’s come to care about, and it gives her father something to do other than long for their hometown of St. Petersburg. She is grateful for the stability in their lives, but 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. His membership in the secretive Dread Penny Society allows him to feel he isn’t entirely wasting his life, yet he feels dissatisfied. With no one to share his life with but his sister, he fears London will never truly feel like home. 

Brogan and Vera’s paths cross, and 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 her print shop is aboveboard. When the growing criminal enterprise run by the elusive and violent Mastiff 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. 

Review: 

Oh, man, after reading the first book in this series and the male protagonist, Fletcher Walker, quickly becoming one of my favorite leading men of all time, I anticipated enjoying the remaining books in the series but not having any character surpass Fletcher. And in the second book, that was true--I did quite like the characters but Fletcher remained my favorite. Here, though, in the third book, Brogan Donnelly has given Fletcher a run for his money in my esteem. I still love Fletcher, but Brogan has the advantage of being an Irishman (I love all the Irish characters Sarah M. Eden has ever written!), and I found him and his insecurities so endearing. It was really interesting to read a story with a male character who is insecure, who sees himself as a good "foot soldier" but not a general, not someone who can strike out on his own and take the lead. That made him very fascinating--and then throw in his good heart and how he's trying to take care of as many people as he possibly can, and I just adored him. I also really liked Vera; she's as kind-hearted as Brogan, looking out for her customers and fellow merchants. I was pulled in by the plot, wanting to see how things would play out, and while there are definitely things that will need to be resolved in later books in the series, things wrapped up at a good spot in this novel. As for the two penny dreadfuls woven in through the book, I really liked those as well, particularly Mr. King's. I liked seeing the parallels between the penny dreadful and the main story. This is one of those books that I wanted to start re-reading as soon as I finished reading it. It's also one I'm hoping will be made into an audiobook because I think it would awesome to listen to these characters! This is definitely one of my favorites of 2021! 

5 stars.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

AUTHOR BIO

Sarah M. Eden is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning Proper Romance series novels including The Lady and the Highwayman and Ashes on the Moor. Combining her passion for history and an affinity for love stories, Sarah crafts smart, witty characters and heartfelt romances. She happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library and dreams of one day traveling to all the places she reads about.

Join the virtual book tour of THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE, Sarah M. Eden’s highly acclaimed historical romance, August 16-29, 2021. Thirty-five popular on-line influencers specializing in historical romance, mystery/suspense, and inspirational fiction will join in the celebration of its release with spotlights, exclusive excerpts, and reviews of this new Victorian-era novel set in London, England.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Aug 16 Among the Reads (Review) 

Aug 16 Austenprose (Review) 

Aug 16 Reading is My Superpower (Review) 

Aug 17 Literary Time Out (Review) 

Aug 17 Getting Your Read On (Review) 

Aug 17 Heidi Reads (Excerpt) 

Aug 17 Laura's Reviews (Review)

Aug 18 Our Book Confessions (Review) 

Aug 18 Bookworm Lisa (Review) 

Aug 19 Fire & Ice (Review) 

Aug 19 From Pemberley to Milton (Excerpt) 

Aug 20 My Bookish Bliss (Review) 

Aug 20 Gwendalyn's Books (Review) 

Aug 20 Storeybook Reviews (Excerpt) 

Aug 21 Bookish Rantings (Review) 

Aug 21 The Calico Critic (Review) 

Aug 22 The Christian Fiction Girl (Review)

 Aug 22 Books, Teacups, & Reviews (Excerpt) 

Aug 23 My Jane Austen Book Club (Spotlight) 

Aug 23 Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen (Review) 

Aug 23 Reading with Emily (Review) 

Aug 24 Wishful Endings (Review) 

Aug 24 Relz Reviewz (Review) 

Aug 24 The Book Diva Reads (Excerpt) 

Aug 25 Bookfoolery (Review) 

Aug 25 Greenish Bookshelf (Review) 

Aug 26 A Bookish Way of Life (Review) 

Aug 26 Nurse Bookie (Review) 

Aug 27 So Little Time… (Excerpt) 

Aug 27 Probably at the Library (Review)

Aug 27 Bringing Up Books (Review)

 Aug 28 Books and Socks Rock (Review) 

Aug 28 The Bibliophile Files (Review) 

Aug 29 Book Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina (Review) 

Aug 29 A Darn Good Read (Review)