I have not read the previous book in this series, so I am reviewing this book as a stand alone. Hollis - a gentleman of slender means - is part of the Dread Penny Society, who are hunting down a thief known as the Phantom Fox. Meanwhile, he is falling for Ana - a music teacher, and also the Phantom Fox. Shenanigans occur!

This story was entertaining and amusing, a nice departure from the usual Victorian mysteries. It managed to nicely mix crime and romance, with neither losing out. It wasn’t as funny as I had been hoping for, but there were still a number of humorous moments to lighten the mood.

The penny dreadful books within a book were an entertaining diversion.

It felt rather unsatisfying to me that most of the villains escaped. I suppose this is so they can continue to wreak havoc for the next book in the series, but it leaves an unfinished feeling.

If you’re looking for a historical mix of crime and romance, with a dollop of humour, this could be the book for you.

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

The second installment of the Proper Romance Victorian Series keeps the adventure and romance going. Fletcher and Elizabeth make appearances but the book focuses on Hollis Darby, Gentleman by day and another Penny dreadful author by night, and Ana, music teacher at Elizabeth's school by day and thief by night. I really enjoyed this story and the penny dreadful stories intertwined.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am loving this series by Sarah Eden. It’s unique, fun, witty, full of adventure and the characters are great! One thing that makes this series so unique is the inclusion of the Penny Dreadful novels that some of our main characters write. They add a lot of fun to the story.

I really enjoyed Hollis and Ana and how their relationship developed so naturally over the course of the story. Hollis was witty and charming and Ana was eminently likable. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the other members of the Penny Dreadful Society! I’m curious to see who the next story is about. I hope and feel like this series could just keep going on and on!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Eden can always spin a tale that keeps me so engaged & I stay up way to late to keep reading. This story had a little bit of mystery to it. The way the mystery was unfolded I felt was just the right balance of tension without frustrating the reader. There is a bit of a cliffhanger but the story between the H & h does get resolved. I think this is a fun and orginal idea for a series. I really enjoy how the "penny" stories are incorporated into the book & parallel the main story. As I read I come to want to know how all the stories end. Each character is well developed and I hope to read more of them in the future books. I found the h & H very likeable and complimented eachother well.

This is a story that particularly follows Hollis Darby, a member of the DPS a secret society of Penny Dreadful writers. Through certain events, he meets Ana Newport and falls fairly quickly.

Ana Newport, our heroine, is a music teacher by day and thief by night. She steals from the people who took what she believes is rightfully hers from her previously "wealthy lifestyle." When she meets Hollis Darby she is intrigued and thinks highly of him and his "gentlemanly ways."

I really enjoyed this story though I wish it would have incorporated both Darby and Newport more into it. It's weird as they are the main characters, but I felt like this added more of Lafayette Jones and Mr. King's stories than the actual story of our couple. It also had 3 pov's going which was a bit confusing and a little unnecessary as I really just wanted Hollis and Ana's story to unfold more.

There also was not much romance so I was a bit disappointed with that, it felt like there could have been so much more spark with that, considering their hidden secrets, but it just never really got there which made me sad as I really liked the characters.

This was still a good and cute read nonetheless but I just really wanted more romance between Hollis and Ana as there was so much potential for more heart-racing moments.

And lastly, this is more of a side note, but I had no clue this was a sequel in a series. I realized it after I had finished this story so as I was reading it there were some things that were a bit confusing for me. But that was definitely on my part and will definitely look into getting "The Lady and the Highway Man" as I did enjoy this book and am always on the lookout for some good regency series to get into!

*I received a free copy from NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing but will still be giving my honest review of this book.*

Eden's The Gentleman and the Thief is the perfect combo of soft Victorian romance and a mystery novel. In this diverting novel Ana must be a wonderful music teacher, dutiful daughter, good friend and a clever sneak thief. Righting the wrongs that Society played in her family's financial ruin is something that makes Ana pull through each day. On the other hand Hollis has one foot in the Upper ton's world and one in the "lower classes" as the secret author of penny dreadfuls including being a member of a secret society of dreadful authors that save the destitute, downtrodden and neglected children of London. Both become entangled in a dangerous affair involving underworld card sharps, gambling dens, thievery and the education of children, will Ana and Hollis make it through with their friendship intact in addition to keeping their heads?

Such a fun book! It's great to see Fletcher and Elizabeth again and so involved, not just mearly mentioned. They are such a fun couple, and I love how Flecher talks! Hollis is actively pursuing Ana in The Gentleman and the Thief and it's adorable. I enjoy watching the man fall head over heals. They get into lots of scrapes together and trust in each other despite not having all the information. It's a blast to have the two penny dreadfuls thoughout the book. They are a very fun addtion to the main story yet not taking away from it. I hope more are to come from Sarah Eden like this to further the story and I want to read more of the the fun Penny Dreadfuls!

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this title from Netgalley! The previous installment in this series, The Lady and the Highwayman, is probably my favorite book I have read this year and I was so excited to see Fletcher (my love) and Elizabeth back in this book. But this is not their story. It is focused on Fletcher’s best friend Hollis Darby and Elizabeth’s friend Ana Newport. Their mutual attraction began in the first book, and as this story begins, the seed of their relationship is already planted.

In The Lady and the Highwayman, my focus was on the delicious romance and the adventure, while excellent, came second. This book was the opposite. The mystery of the gambling house and Ana’s exploits at thieving were the best parts of the story. For that reason, I didn’t fall quite as in love with this story. Ana and Hollis were both a little bland. They were sweet, but they didn’t have any fire. No suspense. No will they, won’t they. Apart from writing penny dreadful, being sweet to children, and good at cards, there is nothing much that stands out about Hollis. Ms. Eden’s books are usually dripping with chemistry.

That being said, this story was so much fun. It had me cheering for the good guys, loving the servant spy network, and celebrating every time Fletch made an appearance. I can’t wait for the next one! I hope Brogan will be the hero!

3.5 stars but rounded up. This is the second in the Proper Romance Victorian series and I had read and enjoyed the first "The Lady and the Highwayman". Hollis Darby is from a wealthy family whose father and grandfather had gambled away the family fortune. He now supports himself writing penny dreadful stories that are popular with the working class. Ana Newport is a music teacher at a school. She once lived in society until her father's business ended in bankruptcy and scandal. She has her own secrets.

The story to me is more historical fiction with a romance on the side. The main plot of the story is about the Penney Dreadful Society. The authors have banded together to help children get away from being exploited by villainous characters. They are looking for a child who has been pressed into stealing. And they take on a gambling operation as well. Much of the book is focused on these plot points more than on the blooming romance of Hollis and Ana.

In addition between each chapter there is a chapter from two penny dreadful stories. One about a ghost school written by Hollis. The second about the theft of goods from a country house written by Mr. King another penny dreadful author. The first story is for fun but the second can be related back to the main story. This device was used in the first book in the series as well. It is almost like getting three stories in one. I enjoyed it more in the previous book. This time, it felt like it interrupted the flow of the narrative. But I can see the author sticking to her format throughout the series.

Overall I liked the book. The Hollis and Ana were well thought out and they worked together for a fun adventure. I appreciated seeing the characters from the previous book as well. My enjoyment was enhanced by having read the first book. This adventure could stand alone but you wouldn't understand the Dreadful Society and the work they are trying to accomplish. My biggest negative was there was no development of the romance. Hollis is smitten at first glance. But how was the feeling reciprocated? Was the difference in station considered? (It was in Mr. Kings story.) The romance was very secondary to the plot.

I always appreciate that Sarah Eden writes clean books. No steamy scenes and only a few mild curse words. Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book and looked forward to the next one! Usually I don't enjoy Regency/Victorian Romances by American authors, (they come across as too modern and American), but this one surprised me. A great Victorian Romance/Mystery.

I got this book having never read anything by the author before and was pleasantly surprised. While not the steamy, adult historical book I somehow thought it would be, I found myself not minding how chaste it was. This is a very appropriate YA book.

This has some of my favorite tropes which include a gentleman and a more morally dubious heroine, and story within a story ie the penny dreadfuls. Ana and Hollis really work very well together and the book was very charming and filled with good character development.

I recommend it.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC

I love how Sarah Eden weaves together the story-within-a-story aspect of this novel. It's fun and charming and the whole premise of this series in general is delightful. Though I prefer her other family series—such as the Jonquils and the Lancasters (oh and her Irish series too!)—this series is a fun showcase of her talents!

What I Loved:

The Mystery. In Gentleman and the Thief, there is a mysterious string of robberies by children who are all too afraid of their handler to name him, and a rich man’s gambling den that no one can pinpoint and leaves men destitute. The Penny Dreadful gang knows there is something up, but can’t get their finger on it because of the society. Enter Hollis, the one of their order who is of higher birth and can get them in. I thought the mystery was pretty compelling, and tied in a lot of the great elements from the first book (social justice, access to education, etc). It also showed a different side of the society we came to enjoy in Highwayman.

Hollis and Ana. While a lot of other reviewers were disappointed by the lack of romance and build up from Hollis and Ana, I thought Hollis’ love for her from the very beginning to be really sweet, and I enjoyed that the mystery and their personal lives were just as important as their budding romance. Ana, a thief trying to steal back her family’s wrongfully taken possessions, is a flawed and compelling character, and Hollis’ yearning to fit in and dry sense of humor make both of them relatable and fun to read about. They also have a very different dynamic from Highwayman’s mains Fletcher and Elizabeth, but I liked that.

The Higglebottom’s School for the Dead Interlude. The penny dreadful that Hollis is writing under nom de plume Lafayette Jones was really fun, about boy ghosts learning how to haunt properly who stumble upon a living boy. Unlike Elizabeth’s Mr. King story, which is much more parallel to the story at hand, this was light and unrelated to the rest of the plot. While the format is inconvenient (see below), Higglebottom’s was good in its own right.

What Didn’t Work So Well:

The Broken Format. I touched on this a little with the last book, but I really don’t love the way the penny dreadful stories are interspersed with the main body of the book. Both Mr. King and Lafayette Jones stories seem to begin right at a “cliffhanger” in the middle of the main story, and it ends up just being a distraction. I personally think the reading would be easier if the stories were at the end as an excerpt, but I know other readers enjoy the parallels made in the King penny dreadful.

That is really all as far as overarching complaints. I have some minor complaints about the pacing, but overall, Gentleman and the Thief exceeded expectations for the second book in this series.

Conclusion

All in all, I am so happy with how Gentleman and a Thief turned out! I think a lot of issues other readers had with it was (a) the lesser romance than in the first book, Lady and the Highwayman, and (b) the fact that this wasn’t really properly marketed as a sequel to Lady and the Highwayman. So, as someone who read both, I highly recommend reading Lady and the Highwayman first.

I have read both books in this series and, while I liked the first one, I enjoyed this one far more. If you haven't read the first book in the series, I highly recommend you do so in order to understand the background of everything happening as there is a storyline running throughout the series.

Hollis and Ana are a sweet couple that fit well together in the daylight as their public persona and work even better in the shadows with their secret selves. I always love a story where the characters are completely comfortable with and accepting of each other. This is one of those stories. The more secrets that are revealed, the more devoted they become.

As always with this series, the supporting cast is superb. They are all unique and I look forward to getting to know them better in future books.

The "penny dreadful" stories interspersed within the novel are also a unique addition and worth reading all on their own.

When I first read The Lady and the Highwayman, I was completely enthralled with Ms. Eden's new Victorian book and hoped that she would make it a series...and thank heavens she did because The Gentleman and the Thief is just as delightful!! I was so happy to return to the world of penny dreadfuls and the society that helps save children from the cruel world around them. Hollis and Ana were wonderful supporting characters in the first novel and they really shined in this second novel. I love how Hollis wanted to do more to help than the Dreadfuls originally thought he could and how Ana is anything but the prim and proper music teacher. Honestly, there isn't a thing I would change about this novel, it was an absolute delight from beginning to end.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC!

Though he is the son of a wealthy and established family, Hollis Darby pens penny dreadfuls to support himself and keep the secret that his father and grandfather drained the family fortune. He uses his influence to help rescue children off the street, but doesn't feel like he belongs. He and his friends are on the trail of the "Phantom Fox", hoping to get the young thief off the streets but the truth might just be more fantastical than a penny dreadful tale.

While I adored the first book, I felt a little let down by this one. Hollis was an enjoyable character. His plight as a gentleman secretly supporting himself was sympathetic as was his desire to help improve the lives of children on the street. I understood his initial attraction to the talented Miss Ana Newport, but she was less interesting. Their romance seemed a bit flat.

I found it difficult to believe she was the talented and secretive thief. Her motivation seemed weak and did not help me understand her better. Stealing from the rich to feed the poor a la Robin Hood would have been interesting, thieving to retrieve items of sentimental value that were "stolen" from her family made her seem selfish. And reckless. I was left wondering how she learned to be a thief. She couldn't have been naturally good at it.

The story is well written, as I have come to expect from this author. I did not enjoy the serial stories that came in between chapters, since supernatural elements are not my thing.

I would recommend this to fans of Sarah M. Eden and historical reads.

This is the second in a series. I absolutely loved the first!! This one is still a great read, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me that the first one did. There is a lot of carryover of characters, with two minor characters from the first book now playing a prominent role as romance develops between the two. As with the first book, this book also shifts not only perspective between the main love interests (Ana and Hollis) but shifts between the serialization of two separate Penny Dreadful stories interspersed throughout the book. While I do appreciate what the Penny Dreadfuls add to the story line and how they parallel somewhat what is going on in the main characters' lives, I did find it hard at times to shift back into each of the two Penny Dreadful stories between the action of the main story line. The book ends with a bit of an open ending as far as the "bad guys" are concerned and we still have no identity for the Dread Master, so it makes me believe that Eden is planning to continue on with more in this series and more romances for the Dread Penny Society's members.

Content: Clean

I'm a long time fan of Sarah M Eden. This new series she has started is fun and different from her usual books.
I really like Hollis Darby's character. His insistence that he could be more than just a gentleman. And I always like a character who steps out of their social norms and does what they want.
Ana was sweet and clever. Her story is a sad one but I loved how well she continued to look after her father and didn't let her situation turn her bitter.
As always the book is well written and the story is good. The thing about it that I don't really like is the Penny stories that are included in the book. GASP! I know! But not the stories themselves, just having them included in general. It takes away too much book space for the relationships between characters to really build. And let's be honest, if you are reading Sarah M Eden you are in it at least in some part for the romance and there just really isn't any in these books. But I still do like the story lines and I'll continue to read this series.

The Gentleman and the Thief is the second in the series, and holds to the format established in the first book, where you get the book you are reading and a bonus Penny Dreadful. In this case you get two Penny Dreadfuls included! Elizabeth is a support character in this installment as we learn more about another Penny Dreadful author and his life. Hollis Darby writing unter the name Lafayette Jones has his secret society and the secret that he authors these books. While Ana has a secret about her past that is causing some interesting situations in the present. I have enjoyed this series so far. Thank you #NetGalley for the chance to offer my honest opinion on #TheGentlemanandtheThief

This is a sweet Victorian romance with some daring adventures worthy of the penny dreadfuls. Ana Newport, a music teacher by day and thief by night, and Hollis Darby, a secret penny dreadful author, work together to discover a gambling ring that is threatening Hollis's brother.

It's a very good sequel to The Lady and the Highwayman. And like the first book, the penny dreadfuls by Mr. King and Hollis Darby's nom de plume, Lafayette Plume are interspersed throughout the book.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.