5 stars / 5
Summary: The Merchant and The Rogue (The Dread Penny Society book 3) by Sarah M. Eden
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 (from Goodreads).
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 (from Goodreads).
My thoughts about this historical romance
The Merchant and the Rogue is book 3 in The Dread Penny Society series by Sarah M. Eden, published by Shadow Mountain Publishers. This story is set in London 1865 and is about Dread Penny Society member Brogan Donnelly. By working there, he is assigned to secretly investigate a Soho print shop for possible criminal connection to the Russian ambassador’s office. Brogan has to be careful not to tip off shop manager Vera Sorokina about why he is there. Local merchants seem to be at risk if they don’t pay for “protection” against sabotage of their livelihoods, so Brogan and Vera work to stop the crime spree while their feelings for each other grow.
Main character is philanthropist Brogan Donnelly who has grown up as an orphan on the streets of Dublin and is passionate about making the lives of poor children easier. I keep wishing he would value himself more, but I like him a lot and he is my favorite of this story.
Supporting character is print shop manager Vera Sorokina, who seems a compassionate and confident business woman with a heart for the street children. I find her very obedient with her father and wish she would have found courage to rebel.
I have read both previous books in the series and would probably recommend reading them in order to get the complete picture, but the story reads perfectly as a standalone too. The plot centers on the secret Dread Penny Society whose purpose is to make the lives of London’s street children better. Brogan Donnelly is an active participant in this. I felt I learned even more from this book about the difficult living conditions for poor, orphaned children in the 1800s.
As it takes place in a poor area where businesses struggle to survive and criminals find a way to exploit it felt unique as I have not read anything similar.
The dramatic mystery element of figuring out who pressures shopkeepers to pay to prevent destruction of their businesses was one of my favorite parts.
The description of when Brogan and Vera met for the first time was my absolute favorite part of the story and I loved the bantering between them. Having followed the series so far, I eagerly await what the next book will be about.
Readers who enjoy historical romance stories will enjoy this. I have read quite a number of Sarah M. Eden’s books and loved them all, so I’m sure other of her fans will too. Similar authors to explore might be Abigail Wilson or Arlem Hawks.
Thank you to #Shadow Mountain, #Sarah M. Eden and #NetGalley for this opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.
Conclusion: In The Merchant and the Rogue, grown-up Irish street urchin Brogan Donnelly works in a print shop to secretly investigate criminal activity when he meets kindhearted Vera Sorokina who is equally passionate about poor children. Brogan and Vera’s feelings for each other grow while they work to stop the crime spree threatening local merchants.
Where to get your copy
Book Details
ISBN-13:9781629728513
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:08/17/2021
Series: Proper Romance Victorian series
Pages:368
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:08/17/2021
Series: Proper Romance Victorian series
Pages:368
Autor Bio
Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today bestselling author of multiple historical romances, including AML's "2013 Novel of the Year" and Foreword Review's 2013 "IndieFab Book of the Year" gold medal winner for Best Romance, Longing for Home, and the Whitney Award's "2014 Novel of the Year," Longing for Home: Hope Springs. 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. To connect with the author
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