16 June 2020

#Historical Romance Book Review #The Gentleman and the Thief by #Sarah M. Eden



Summary: The Gentleman and the Thief by Sarah M. Eden


A gentleman scribes penny dreadful novels by night and falls in love with a woman who is a music teacher by day—and a thief at night.

LONDON 1865
From the moment Hollis Darby meets Ana Newport, he’s smitten. Even though he’s from a wealthy, established family and she isn’t, he wishes he could have a life with her by his side. But Hollis has a secret: the deep coffers that have kept his family afloat for generations are bare, so he supports himself by writing penny dreadfuls under a pseudonym. If not for the income from his novels, he would be broke.

Ana Newport also has a secret. Though she once had a place in society thanks to her father’s successful business, bankruptcy and scandal reduced his fortune to nothing more than a crumbling town house. So Ana teaches music during the day, and at night she assumes the identity of the “Phantom Fox.” She breaks into the homes of the wealthy to reclaim trinkets and treasures she feels were unjustly stolen from her family when they were struggling.

When Hollis’s brother needs to hire a music tutor for his daughter, Hollis recommends Ana, giving him a chance to spend time with her. Ana needs the income and is eager for the opportunity to get to know the enigmatic gentleman. What neither of them expects is how difficult it will be to keep their respective secrets from each other.

When a spree of robberies rocks the city, Ana and Hollis join forces to solve the crimes, discovering that working together deepens the affection between them. After all, who better to save the day than a gentleman and a thief? (from Goodreads)

 

My thoughts about The Gentleman and the Thief 


We follow Holly Darby, who tries to make himself more useful to DPS. He works on solving two mysteries. First, and foremost, he tries to keep his brother out of danger while he wonders about musical teacher Anna Newport’s strange behavior of late. Holly and Anna soon find themselves using their unique skills in the same fight solving both of their problems.

The Gentleman and the Thief by Sarah M. Eden is the second book in the Proper Romance Victorian Series published by Shadow Mountain PublishingThe Gentleman and the Thief takes place two months after The Lady and the Highwayman story, and I found it very entertaining and satisfying to read more about the characters I had come to enjoy so much.

The setting is London 1865, where members of The Dread Penny Society rescue orphans and street urchins from neglect and abuse. To fund this charity work the DPS’ authors write the extremely popular dread penny stories. The Gentleman and the Thief continues some of the threatening and dramatic elements from The Lady and the Highwayman but the main element of this plot is theft. 

Main character Holly Darby is «old money» but his family has gone poor due to gambling. He has connections in Society which he uses for all they are worth to recruit patrons for the DPS’ charity work. Getting tired of his «party-goer» role and wants to be where the action is. He has a network of serving-class spies. 

Supporting character Anna Newport is musical teacher at a girls’ school. Anna has felt the need for “extracurricular activity” as thief trying to get back what was stolen from her family. I felt very sorry for her situation and found the motivation behind her actions understandable.

The story has a rather unique build, as it is divided into parts with different perspectives.

I felt it was an interesting and entertaining twist how two penny dreadful stories were woven into the main plot.

The Gentleman and the Thief includes spelling out of the cockney dialect which always amuses me. The dialogue includes liberal amounts of light hearted bantering that I love. There are impressively detailed descriptions of a secret up-scale gambling den. Some massive research must have gone into write this part.

Romance between Anna and Holly started off with an instant attraction, but while the plot progressed there was initially little quiet time for it to grow. It felt realistic that there was a gradual development in their relationship and that they became closer when their situations became more resolved.
 

There are plenty of interesting and entertaining elements in this standalone story ranging from thievery, a relative gone missing, an up-scale gambling den and dangerous thief masters who “own” orphaned street urchins. 

Fans of Sarah M. Eden will love this book. As will readers of historical romance fiction. Similar authors to explore might be Josi S. Kilpack and Esther Hatch. 

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Edelweiss+ for providing this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.

 

My rating: 5 stars / 5

Main reasons: great and inventive plot, enjoyable dialogue, impressive research


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Book Details: (from Amazon)


Series: Proper Romance Victorian
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Shadow Mountain (November 3, 2020)
ISBN-10: 1629727903
ISBN-13: 978-1629727905


About The Author


Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today Bestselling author of witty and charming historical romances, including Foreword Review’s 2019 INDIES Award finalists The Heart of a Vicar and The Lady and the Highwayman, and 2020 Holt Medallion finalist Healing Hearts. Combining her obsession with history and affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting witty characters and heartfelt romances set against rich historical backdrops. She holds a Bachelor's degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library. Sarah lives with her husband, kids, and mischievous dog in the shadow of a snow-capped mountain she has never attempted to ski. https://www.sarahmeden.com/
Sarah is represented by Pam Pho at D4EO Literary Agency.​

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