"The Merchant and the Rogue" by Sarah M Eden -- Dread Penny Society, book 3

Vera Sorokina loves reading the Penny Dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance, though her own days are filled with the often mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. 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. 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 Vera’s print shop is aboveboard. When a growing criminal enterprise 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.

Having studied Russian in college, I was delighted to have Vera--a Russian--as a main character, though she is admittedly very British, having spent most of her life on London's south side. But her father certainly has a fascinating history. As immigrants, Brogan and Vera have a lot in common, even if they have quite different backgrounds, and I liked how they formed a friendship before moving into romance. 

It's light and fun read, though the danger to the Dread Penny Society--and all of London--is ramping up. I'd have liked a bit more detail at the end--some decisions are made, but we don't see the results of them yet. Hopefully it will be resolved in the next book. I look forward to getting to know more of the society members better!

The Dread Penny Society 
1. The Lady and the Highwayman
2. The Gentleman and the Thief
3. The Merchant and the Rogue

"The Gentleman and the Thief" by Sarah M Eden

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: 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 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?

A second fun installment of the Dread Penny Society. It's been quite a while since I read book one, but my forgetfulness in no way impeded my reading of this book--it stands on its own quite well, while at the same time advancing the ploys of the Big Bad.

Hollis is delightful--a charming gentleman with more skills than he appears, but more importantly, a permanently sunny (if, occasionally, good naturedly snarky) attitude. Ana appears pretty demure at first, but once she is caught out, she blooms with confidence (and competence) and is quite a lot of fun as well. The two have a wonderful rapport.

I look forward to further escapades of the Dread Penny Society and their vendetta against London's criminal underworld!

Dread Penny Society:
1. The Lady and the Highwayman
2. The Gentleman and the Thief
3. The Merchant and the Rogue

"The Lady and the Highwayman" by Sarah M Eden

Though headmistress of a girl's school and well-respected author of approved upper-class "silver-fork" novels, Elizabeth Black is also secretly one Mr. King, an author of penny dreadfuls--lower class serial novels that contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks. Fletcher Walker, formerly a street urchin, was one of the most successful authors in the Penny Dreadful market until Mr. King started taking his readers--and his profits. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the rights of the less fortunate. Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black, as she is well-known among the high-class writers and could potentially help identify Mr. King. Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to protect her secret identity, never envisioning it could lead to an adventure worthy of a penny dreadful.

This was delightful--whimsical and humorous, both proper and im-, clean and sweetly romantic.

The characters are clever and intelligent: there's a secret society that's actually good at being kept secret, and a writer under a pseudonym who's capable of protecting her true identity. Both Fletcher and Elizabeth are able to weed out more secrets from each other than anyone else is able to, but they're also clever enough to keep some of their secrets until a reveal of their choosing. They're well matched in both intelligence and kindness, with a heart for children and the under-served.

It isn't a fantasy, but the two penny dreadfuls (which have chapters interspersed throughout the book) both have a touch of the fantastic to them, heightening the fun of this fanciful story as they parallel the main plot.

If you're looking for a whimsical tale to brighten your day, look no further!

The Dread Penny Society

1. The Lady and the Highwayman 

2. The Gentleman and the Thief

3. The Merchant and the Rogue