***I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley. My words and opinions here are my own, as always.***

Of course there is going to be romance.
Of course there is going to be suspense and mystery.
Of course, in this series, there are going to be three stories plaited together to develop the plot.
And of course it was a book I was up late racing to the end to read.

These are all good things, as was the story line. I do not usually like suspense but after book two I was eager to get to know more of the Dread Penny Society, a group of authors who band together making their single efforts to help the poor, outcast, and forgotten members of London more influential and powerful.

Usually I can pick out hints the authors use to foreshadow what’s ahead, but here there were several surprises. Those made it more enjoyable.

If you’ve read the first two books, this has a different tone to it, but the culmination proves it worth all the twists.

But now I need book four!

5 stars

You get 3 stories in this book. It's the third book in the Dread Penny series...horrors I missed book 2! So there's the main story of the society's fight for social justice for the poor and dispossessed and then two penny dreadfuls.

In this one Brogan is asked to go on a secret mission and leave his fellow story writers in the lurch. Vera's father is his assignment and he reluctantly spies on him whilst a relationship with Vera is evolving. It's a clean read, only kisses with some characters from before but all is explained so it could be read as a standalone. The story is based in the poorest of areas and with the working and non working poor.

There's the continuing fight against the main villain Mastiff and I'm intrigued by the leader of the socity as well. Hopefully we will learn more as the series develops. Let's hope Stone's story is soon. I enjoyed it and hope you will too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another triumph! You can't help but love Brogan and Vera, and of course Móirín! Brogan is a sweetheart, full of kindness and fun. Vera is perfect for him, just as loving and kind (though a bit more distrustful). Móirín is a strong woman, full of passion, wisdom, and guts; I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being the Dread Master herself (still trying to figure out that mystery....).

What makes this third book in the series special is all the street children it features; they add so much fun, laughter, and winsomeness to the story. The story focuses more on grassroots, community-built relationships and "regular people" working together to combat the havoc stirred up by the Mastiff. The stakes climb higher and the Dread Penny Society face tougher odds, keeping my interest. And of course the Penny Dreadful stories interspersed throughout the book make this series truly unique and entertaining. I am never bored with these!

Rated PG
--mild violence
--no swearing
--clean romance

I was provided a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story was a compiling of 3 stories. Since the author did a good job of distinguishing between the stories, it was easy to read the main story, then go back and read the other 2 serial stories. This book us part of a series about a group of writers who double as spies. They work with the working and lower classes. The book gives great details of every day life if the working class in London. The historical details are great.
The main story, about the hero and heroine seemed to be a step back to the ongoing plot about the gang leaders that the group has been trying to put down. The heroine is a Russian transplant whose father is a printer. He has been brought to the attention of the writers because of a problem with the Russian Ambassador to Great Britian. There is a conspiracy there. The hero has been working with the group and wants to stop the lying. But he is picked for a super secret assignment where he has to leave the group. And since he us the first to resign, the group is very upset and he makes some disgruntled friends.
Even though I enjoyed this story because it is so well written and the author is very talented and one of my favorite authors, I did not feel the romance. The story was well paced, there was growth in the characters, but it needed a little more romance. It is considered a historical fiction, but couldn't they have held hands earlier or something. I am still giving it 5 stars and definitely recommend reading because it is an excellent book. Remember, 5 stars.

The Penny Dreadfuls and the Dread Society are back!

Brogan is tasked with finding out secrets connected to the print shop. Vera has long been taught to detest writers, so when he arrives at her shop he conceals his identity as a Penny Dreadful author from her.

Brogan is an eminently likeable character, though clearly not as talented a Penny Dreadful writer as the famous Mr King (who we met in the first of this series). I love that Sarah Eden is able to adopt the different writing styles of her characters as she sprinkles their Penny Dreadfuls throughout these books.

I loved this book! Sarah M. Eden spins a wonderful tale. I love how she incorporates the Penny Dreadfuls into the story and how they foreshadow the story. It weaves a wonderful spell while you're reading. I love all the characters in this series. This is primarily about Brogan Donnelly and a new character Vera Sorokina. They are both characters of depth and complexity. I am already looking forward to the next book. I would highly recommend.

I am hooked on Sarah Eden's Dread Penny Society series. Her unique 'story within a story' is always engaging and her characters are delightful. There is a Dickens-esque feel to 'The Merchant and the Rogue' as it deals with social issues of the times. I will admit I was a little confused about Brogan's undercover assignment and how harsh he was treated by his former companions. I, for one, can't wait for Moirin's story to be told. This keeps me in happy anticipation for more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Merchant and the Rogue is the third installment in Eden's Dread Penny Society series. I've read the first two books, and enjoyed this just as much. This was a lovely story to read! I like how Sarah Eden's novels are atypical, compared to other historical romance books.

Installment III *Where our avid reader gets sucked deeper into the story of the Dread Penney Society!*

Sarah M. Eden does not disappoint! I have fallen more in love with this series as it has continued and cannot wait to see its continued growth. This third installment set the bar higher for this story and these characters in the best way possible. I’ve loved learning they’re personal stories and the depth that has been created with these characters and their world. I didn’t realize I needed Brogan’s story until I started reading this and I’m so glad it has been so kindly given to us.
Historical romance can tend to be one dimensional and fall flat by just focusing on the ‘romance’ aspects, that is by no means this series. Our author provides excellent balance of character’s personalities and quirks, great world building, getting to read the penny dreadfuls that our characters themselves write, and of course yes a little romance to make a beautiful bouquet of a story!

Endless thanks to Sarah M. Eden for creating the DPS which has become one of my all time favorite series and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for an honest review (all thought and opinions are completely my own)

A wonderful, mysterious and romantic story! I absolutely adored the fact that they included a secret society and it's passed in a beautiful place! I loved Vera's character so much, she's incredible and fierce!
Highly recommend everyone to read this!

So, I liked the story between Vera and Brogan and the whole Dread Penny Society concept. I haven't read the two previous instalments in this series but they can be read as standalones. This story was filled with mystery.

My issue with it was that every time it got going, we hopped back into the next instalment of not one but TWO penny dreadfuls. And one of the penny dreadfuls wasn't terribly far off from the main plot, so it got a little confusing. I'm assuming that's the author's gig with this series, let us feel like we're reading the penny dreadfuls in instalments, but it kept detracting from the main story. It also filled up enough pages that she didn't have to invest as much time into fleshing out the main plot.

I don't think I'll read any others in the series and if we had just focused on telling one story, it could have eeked out another star from me.

"If laughter truly were the best medicine, Brogan Donnelly would have been the healthiest Irishman in all of England. Jests came as easy to him as breathing, and that was more-or-less all anyone knew of him. He preferred it that way."

A first line to rival even Pride and Prejudice.

Vera and her father are russian immigrants with a small shop and a decided prejudice against writers; her father insists they are all a roguish untrustworthy bunch.

In some unfortunate turn of events, Brogan Donnelly one of the writers for the well known "Penny Dreadfuls" not only finds himself working for Vera, but also, slowly falling for her.
To make matters even worse, he lied about who he was. If she finds out the truth under his alias, she will find not only a writer, but a lying one, at that.

When "The Protector," a mysterious person who promised to *protect* the people in their community and surrounding businesses starts extorting money from them instead, their disagreements seem to fade from the spotlight as the entire city becomes inextricably entwined in the dark plot.

"The Merchant and the Rogue," is the third book in Sarah M Eden's "Dread Penny Society" series, the rest of which I haven't gotten my hands on, yet. Even so, I found it easy to follow along and enjoy it as it's own story.

This is one of the few books I've read lately, (being, as you are aware, a great lover of love stories,) that I could recommend to my brother as something I think he'd enjoy as well. (Aka more action, less romance😉)

The book features excerpts of short stories by the DPS, a stylistic choice I usually don't prefer, since it breaks up the flow of the story and often weighs down the momentum. I rather enjoyed these installments however, despite (or perhaps because of,) their dabbling in very different genres.

Sarah M Eden rarely if ever disappoints and again, she has delivered a vividly painted, suspense-filled story.

And if ever there was a comfort character, it's Brogan. I just want to give him a hug😂❤

As an added bonus, the book is fairly brimming with quotable lines (as well as some rather...unique, names. Looking at you, "Bob’s Your Knuckle"😂).

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (obviously) and obligatory: I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own. (Though perhaps slightly biased because, Sarah M Eden😍😍)

I have really enjoyed this series by Sarah M. Eden. This is the third story and we get to learn more about Brogan the Irishman. Brogan is sent on an investigation on his own and meets Vera. They have mysteries to solve and rebellions again extortion to lead. My small complaints are that the romance is pretty minimal and I have way to many questions unanswered. I again, as with the other two books in the series, loved the two side stories written into the thread of the main story. I can't wait to find out who will star in the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this eARC for an honest review.

The Dread Penny Society has been one of my favorite series ever, and I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book from Net Galley. As always, I love how the penny dreadfuls are incorporated into this series, it makes all the books so interesting. The switches between the Penny dreadful stories and this book's plot are super engaging. They offer a different reading experience than most books because you are experiencing the same stories that the characters in the book are reading and/or writing. As always, I absolutely love the time period this book is set in, the characters, and the Dred Penny Society as a whole. If you have read the first two in this series, you have to read this one, and if you have yet to read the series, you totally should.

While I enjoyed the first two book in this series, especially book one, I liked this third book in the series less than the two previous books. I didn't find the main story line to be as compelling. I originally thought this was going to be a trilogy and that this would be the last book in the series, but it turns out it's not. I feel like I'm not enjoying the series enough to want to keep reading. I think the idea of incorporating the Penny Dreadful stories into each novel is pretty original, but I feel like they interrupt the main story line of the novel and I'm not nearly as interested in what happens in them as I am the main story line. That being said, I am also not completely invested in the overarching plot of the series either. I like the romance plots that are contained within each book much better. So yeah, unfortunately I think I'm going to abandon this series. It was fun for a while, but I'm just not as into it as much I would like to be.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book.

As the third book in the series, I thought this was an excellent addition! I’ve been curious about Brogan’s story from the beginning but now I can’t wait to find out more about his sister!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know how Sarah Eden does it- going from Regency romances set in the high classes of society to penny dreadfuls set in the Victorian era mixed with a secret society of good doing gentleman who are trying to solve the problems of the common and street class of London. The mystery she has woven into the pages- of not just one story but three. All three stories had me intrigued and hooked until the end. Brogan and Vera's romance grew so slowly but sweetly in the midst of the dangerous events happening due to the low-lifes four fingered Mike and the Mastiff.

This story is just as great as her others. She really manages to show, not tell- giving life to the world of Victorian England. I can tell how much research Sarah Eden puts into each of her books. It breathes life into it and makes it more real than most of the stories out there. These stories are always a must-read for me.

I quite liked Ashes on the Moor by this same author. So much that I recommended it to a few people, and even read it a second time! Unfortunately though, I did not enjoy this book. It was a bit of a chore for me to slog through, actually.

If I had to boil all my complaints down to one word I think it'd be 'slow'. It kind of plods along, and a fair amount could be removed entirely without changing the story much at all. I'm a pretty patient reader though, so I still could have gotten along with it, but also the characters were definitely a bit slow-minded as well. To the point I started wondering if the author thought the *reader* was slow-minded! Very predictable and simplistic. If it were edited down though, I think it might actually work decently for a younger crowd. Tween girls perhaps, who are interested in historical romances but maybe not ready for a more complicated, sordid tale. It's already a clean romance with just kisses and hand holding, so that wouldn't be a complication.

The hero doesn't really have any flaws, just always patient and adoring and nearly perfect in every way. Which isn't as interesting to me, honestly, but he was otherwise very likable. Irish, a writer, loyal, a do-gooder, a fighter when the situation calls for it. All of those things are pluses for me.
I didn't warm as much to the heroine, she felt more standoffish and high maintenance. But I did like that she was originally from Russia (though ultimately she's about 99% Londoner), and ran a business, and she didn't just sit back and wait for someone else to solve the problems. I believe she was *crushing* on the hero, but I didn't feel like her actions supported a case for having stronger feelings. So the romance seemed a bit one-sided to me and her claims to love kinda suspect.

Interspersed throughout the story are two fantastical tales meant to be issues of penny dreadfuls I believe. And they were okay-ish..., but I'm not sure they added enough to warrant their inclusion (or that they would inspire the fandom they seem to have in the story). For me, it was just further slogging.

Overall it wasn't for me, but I'm sure there's an audience out there who will eat it up.

I received an advance copy courtesy of NetGalley.

A story within a story, this book bounces between multiple stories: its main story of a writer's undercover employment in a print shop to look for clues of espionage and deceit and 3 substories of author's in the Dread Penny Society. It was a unique experience of reading multiple stories at once, and I enjoyed trying to find any parallels between the Penny stories and the actual tale of the book.

My favorite element of this book was Eden's dialect writing. She does such a wonderful job nudging her readers to fill their heads with Irish, London English, and Russian vernacular and accents.

The mystery of Vera & Brogan's histories kept me wondering & their budding romance kept me turning the page to see how they would learn more of their own history or finally be willing to share their truths with each other.

This is a sweet story that builds to a beautiful ending.

This is the first book I have read by Sarah M. Eden and I really enjoyed it. Very interesting plot and great characters. I can't wait to read more from this author.