The Merchant and the Rogue by Sarah M. Eden Book Review

Publication Date: August 17, 2021
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Format: Trade paperback, Audiobook and eBook
Length: (368) pages
Series: Book 3 in The Dread Penny Society
Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Mystery/Suspense, Inspirational Fiction

Synopsis

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 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 Thoughts

Brogan Donnelly, a successful writer of penny dreadfuls and a member of the secretive Dread Penny Society, an organisation that fights crime and helps those in need, is asked to resign from the society to undertake a solo mission. The Russian ambassador has recently requested more security and it is Brogan's assignment to discover if the Russian owner of the Sorokin Print Shop, seen hanging around the embassy, is the cause. Brogan agrees, but believes he doesn't have the ability to go it alone, preferring to work within a group where someone else leads.

Fortuitously, the same printing shop he has been asked to investigate is hiring. Brogan gets the job, although he must do so under an assumed name when he learns that Vera Sorokina and her father distrust writers and also sell penny dreadfuls in the shop, including his current one.

Brogan enjoys working in the shop and the company of Vera. They are like minded and begin to form a close friendship, although he feels guilty at his deception.

Nothing untoward happens in the shop until notes are served on Vera and other shopkeepers from 'The Protector'. These initial notes are the precursor to a protection racket that brings violence and fear to their street. Vera is determined to put a stop to it and rallies the other shopkeepers to fight back.

Events take a down hill turn when Vera discovers who Brogan really is, which leads to her also discovering what her father has been hiding.

The Merchant and the Rogue is a delightful mystery romance, with a very lovable hero who has a not too rosy past, and a heroine with a life built around a lie. The romance between Vera and Brogan is sweet and heartwarming as expected.

There are street urchins with charming names (Licorice, Burning Ricky and Bob's Your Knuckle), villains: the Mastiff, and his henchman, Four-Fingers Mike, and a host of other minor characters that add colour to this captivating story.

There is an added bonus for readers as contained within Brogan and Vera's story are installments of two penny dreadfuls, The Dead Zoo written by Brogan, and The Merchant and the Rogue by Mr. King, another writer who first appears in the first novel of the series The Lady and the Highwayman. The Dead Zoo is spine chillingly good.

I've not read any of the other novels in this series, but I'd like to after the enjoyable and entertaining experience had with The Merchant and the Rogue.

Meet the Author

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.

Connect with Sarah: WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS


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Aug 16 Among the Reads (Review)
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