08.26.2021 The Merchant and the Rogue @SarahMEden, @ShadowMountn

The Merchant and the Rogue: Proper Romance Victorian

Sarah M. Eden

·         Series: Book 3 in The Dread Penny Society

·         Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Mystery/Suspense, Inspirational Fiction

·         Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing (August 17, 2021)

·         Length: (368) pages

·         Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1629728513

·         Audiobook ASIN: B0921TS4TF

·         eBook ASIN:  B098TVLLM7

·         Previous Books in the Series: The Lady and the Highwayman (2019) & The Gentleman and the Thief (2020)

·         Tour Dates: August 16 – 29, 2021

 

BOOK 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 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.

 

MY REVIEW:

The Merchant and the Rogue is book three of The Dread Penny Society series by Sarah M Eden.

Though this is my first book by Eden and the only book I have read in the series, I still enjoyed this book as a stand-alone.

The main story revolves around Vera Sorokina who works in a book and print shop with her father, and Brogan Donnelly who is an Irish immigrant, a penny dreadful writer, and a vigilante fighting for the children in the streets of London. These characters are a delight to read with their banter, and a mini romance brewing. The addition of the mystery element of figuring out the terror affecting the merchants was a wonderful addition to the story.

I really enjoyed the writing and the main characters with depth and history - I especially enjoyed reading about a strong female character, who was an immigrant from Russia that is set during a time when the class system viewed foreigners as inferiors.

Overall I was so pleased to finally read a wonderful historical fiction in the Penny dreadful series.

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.

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SPECIAL OFFER

 

Please help Sarah M. Eden get her latest novel, THE MERCHANT AND THE ROGUE, to hit the New York Times best-seller list by purchasing a copy between August 15-22, 2021.

Everyone who submits a copy of their receipt and fills out the form during the week of August 15-22 will receive The Merchant and the Rogue - Swag Bundle. Supplies are limited, so act today. Please visit the Swag Bundle webpage for details.