I can't get enough of this series from Sarah Eden, and everyone I share them with says the same! All of these characters and their mission have my heart. The Bachelor and the Bride will keep you in suspense, and the ending doesn't disappoint! As always the penny dreadfuls woven throughout are such a fun addition. Thank you for another amazing tale!

Overall impression: The masterful Sarah M. Eden has done it again! "The Bachelor and the Bride" kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire book. Then the ending left me speechless.

This book is the fourth in the Dread Penny Society series. I would recommend that readers read the first three in the series before reading this one since the over-arching storyline moves forward and is advanced in each book. That being said, I think this one is my favorite. I love a good second chance at love storyline and that is what we get in this book.

I also love the "Penny Dreadfuls" included in each book. This one features dreadfuls written by "Mr. King" and Dr. Mulligan. I love how Mr. King's book mirrors the love story of Gemma and Baz. Dr. Mulligan's story is symbolic of his passion in life and helped me understand him a bit better. Both of the stories enhanced the character development of the book and helped me understand the main characters better. There was also a twist in one of them that I didn't see coming. In fact, it distracted me so much that the ending completely blindsided me. The next book should feature a show down of epic proportions. My only complaint about the book is how long I will need to wait until the next one.

Sarah Eden returns to The Dread Penny Society with "The Bachelor and the Bride", the fourth installment of her thoroughly charming series. Using her unique three-stories-in-one format, Eden pens three tales with different writing styles; one bears the title of the actual story, and the romance is mirrored there.

This one features Dr. Barnabus Milligan and his independent wife Gemma. As she hides from her unscrupulous resurrectionist family, who have teamed up with the elusive Mastiff. Fellow Dread Penny Society members are wonderful secondary characters, along with a few savvy street children.

I greatly enjoyed all three stories. Mr. King's tale spotlights whimsical Scottish folklore, with crafty spirits and attempts to defeat them. "Bodies of Light" has an unexpected macabre twist that is quite pleasing. The most surprises, however, are in the main story. Without giving spoilers, the story arc has taken a new direction.

Sarah Eden is a favorite author of mine, and her writings never fail to disappoint. Her prose is crisp, imagery is vivid, and characters are well-developed. Moreover, this book is clean with few grammatical errors. This is not a stand-alone novel; the series is better understood if the installments are read in order. As I have absolutely loved this series so far, this is fine by me. I am quite interested to see how the paths of future stories play out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of this entertaining work.

*Received a copy for review.*
This installment finds the Dread Penny Society still looking for the Mastiff and trying to protect the people who need it. Doc is married unbeknownst to the rest of the members. His words fe returns to help the team learn more about the resurrectionists and what they are up to.

It was a good addition to this series.

Wow! This is such a fun series. I loved this book. It is always amazing to me how Sarah M. Eden can write three stories within the book and I can follow each one. I love how the Penny Dreadful stories parallel the actual story. A very interesting way to write a book. Barnabus and Gemma are both delightful characters that have heavy histories. The twists and turns in this book are incredible! I did not see the the end of this one coming at all. I am so excited for the next book. Definitely recommend!

This book picked up right where the third book ended. Immediately tension are high as our group of Dread Penny are trying to figure out what the Mastiff. It’s nonstop from there.

Barnabus and Gemma were great main characters. Both coming from a rough childhood, giving them something to build off. Despite their force marriage, Gemma grows to love Barnabus. This being a Sarah M. Eden book, Barnabus is a lovable idiot, and this sets up the the main couples problem for the story.

I love that we were able to see more of the society and their family. I love that everything is coming together in anticipation of the last book. 👏🏽👏🏽

This book has the same set up as the other three books which made reading it easy. The Penny dreadful stories were great, but a little frustrating at times. They happened when I really didn’t want them too.

I’m looking forward to the next book!

Thanks for NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for giving me the chance to read this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarah Eden has done it again! This book was completely captivating from start to finish with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises! The characters were well-developed and intriguing. I highly recommend this fun read! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

I loved this book! It is book 4 in Sarah Eden's Penny Dreadful Series! It's my favorite in the series so far. I loved that this was a marriage of convenience! Barnabus and Gemma were so perfect! I was really impressed how Sarah Eden put this story together! At the end of the book I just sat there in amazement!! We learn some things towards the end that were literally jaw dropping to me!! I can't wait for the next book in this series. I do, however, think that these books could do without the short stories inside the main storyline.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley as well as a physical ARC from Proper Romance Publishing. All of my thoughts are my own. Thanks again to Netgalley for my eARC and Proper Romance Publishing for my physical copy! This book comes out on September 6th. I will be posting another review on my Instagram when it gets closer to the release date. ❤️

Sarah Eden does it again! The Penny Dreadfuls that feature throughout add a brilliant touch of uniqueness and mystery to these novels.

You might want to throttle Dr Milligan at times, and hug him at others. His soft heart allows him to feel for others and do anything in his power to save him. But it doesn't communicate well with his brain, which is adamant that he cannot love anyone romantically.

With unexpected twists and turns, this one will have you hooked. And with the big reveal you might end up wondering if you missed clues in the previous Penny Dreadful books, so be ready to reread those once you finish!

I have read all of Sarah M. Eden's Penny Dreadful series, and I think this one is my favorite yet!! There was surprise after surprise in this book, and I could not put it down!

I've noticed some other reviews mention that this book was confusing for them- I did not feel that way at all. I've read all the books prior to this in the series, and I highly recommend you start with those. This book builds upon people and events from those books and is not meant to be read as a standalone.

Barnabus and Gemma are so likeable, but are not without flaws. Their flaws stem from broken childhoods, and Sarah M. Eden did such a wonderful job illustrating how trauma from childhood can have a lasting impact on people. Watching the pair navigate a loving relationship that has never been modeled for them had me cheering them on from start to finish. The love story was sweet, hard fought, and so satisfying.

The best part of this book for me was the last page though. We finally find out a key bit of information, and I was so happy with it.

Highly recommend this series and book to readers who love sweet romances, fun mysteries, or period pieces. It checked so many boxes for me! Loved, loved, loved!

the cover of this book immediately caught my attention, then after reading the premise i was even more intrigued! i mean, marriage of convenience? unrequited love? forced proximity? pining? it had the ingredients for an ideal romance. and it succeeded... in the romance department. but this, despite being promoted as a romance book, is heavily plot-driven.

i started this book a) not knowing it was part of a series, b) having never read any of the other books in this series. so it didn’t take me long to realise the plot of this book has clearly been running throughout the previous four books. so i was kinda lost at times, ngl. but i did manage to wade through my disorientation and enjoy the plot on a basic level, but i wasn’t invested since i had never read the previous books so had no knowledge of the history leading up to this book.

the relationship between Gemma and Barnabas, however, i was throughly invested in!

Gemma was delightfully charming. she had an endearing air of mischief about her which instantly drew me in and i fell for her right away. she was incredibly easy to root for. while Baz was difficult to get a handle on at first but i grew to be quite fond of him, with his flustered nature combating his confident intelligence.

then Baz’s feelings for Gemma felt really authentic— it was soft and gradual, blossoming from a really tender affection he’s always had for her. the passing touches, the brief embraces, their hands clasped and the way they’d look at one another had my heart in a chokehold, ngl. it was wonderful.

as a romance, this was four stars. but like i said, this was so plot heavy it was would distract from the romance.

while the writing style felt so authentic, as in, if someone told me this was published in the 19th century, id very much believe them. but it wasn’t suffocating or stifling like some Victorian classics can be. if anything, it was vey Conan-Doyle-esque. i just adored it, honestly. the research and attention to detail was impeccable, it was so vivid i could picture the places thoroughly in my mind (some places still thriving today in London) and i loved it so much! so the writing style and romance is what worked for me.

i found the Mr King and Baz’s story excerpts a bit distracting and they definitely took me out of the romance between the MCs. but i eventually became somewhat invested in the tale Mr. King wrote— i liked Duncan and Sorcha, and i assume it was the parallel Gemma and Baz. i liked the story on a surface level but nothing much beyond a casual enjoyment.

while Barnabas’ Dread Penny writings i will admit i would briefly skim bcos they held no interest to me. i was desperately wanting get back to Gemma and Barnabas bcos i was so intrigued by them and their dynamic. i appreciated the attention to detail... but i just wasn’t a fan. i think it was too much on top of Duncan and Sorcha’s story. i think one or the other alongside Gemma and Barnabas’ story was enough. but not both.

and at times, there was a lot of info-dumping i found to be overwhelming. i think this could have been rectified with flashbacks or just more insight into Gemma and Baz from three years ago when they first married. especially bcos at times i didn’t know why they wanted to be together? relied too much on assumptions and telling rather than showing the depth and background.

i just think the book just wasn’t too sure about what it wanted to be? it was doing far too much at once that i struggled to truly stay invested. i am very intrigued by this author though and would love to check out more of her work!!

thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great installment in this series. Kept me on my toes and loved getting to know Barnabus bettee. Would highly recommend

Oh. My. GOODNESS!!! This is hands down my favorite DPS book yet, I loved the romance, the suspense, and just everything! Sarah M. Eden does it again, I don’t know how she does it but she keeps getting better and better!

I'm not sure what to think about this book. I haven't read the previous 3 in the series, but that didn't seem to matter. What does matter is how convoluted the story is from start to finish. It tries to be too many things, it has a story within a story which just felt like unnecessary filler, and the surprises were just ridiculous. I liked the two main characters, Barnabus and Gemma, but I longed for *just* their story, not the huge amount of detours. The penny dreadful that is inserted every few chapters was maddening and felt like a commercial break. It should be at the end or a book unto itself. I've seen other readers mention this as well. Sadly, I would not recommend this book or the series. Thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced copy.

The Bachelor and the Bride

I’ll admit I’ve read a lot of Sarah Eden books, but not any of the Penny Dreadfuls, until now. This was my first and since it’s the 4th in the series I was a little lost for a bit, thinking “what have I got myself into?” However as I continued on I became more interested in the story and what was going on. Sarah has a talent for making anything interesting, though I would recommend reading them in order as they do build upon each other.

That said, there was a sweet love story between the two main characters. They both grew up with very difficult childhood situations, so were a little stunted in their expressions of love and affection. The author did a great job of building their relationship, making you want to cheer them on.

The main story however, revolves around the Dread Penny Society and the Charitable Authors League of London and their efforts to help the poor and downtrodden escape their desperate situations, many of which were caused by “The Mastiff” a big crime boss. In this story he was aided by resurrectionists or gravediggers. So there are some gritty scenes and situations, though tastefully handled.

This book also has a big reveal as they find out who “The Mastiff” really is and also the mystery of who the head of The DPS is discovered.

There were lots of twists and turns, mysteries, tense escape scenes, etc. if this is your jam you’ll be on the edge of your seat turning pages to see what happens.

Thank you for the ARC via NetGalley

First of all this was different than what I was expecting but was still a good read. When I requested this book I had no idea it was part of a series. I will need to go back and read the other books in the series to catch up on what I missed. That being said you can 100% read this as a stand alone novel, I had no problem understanding what was happening because the author recapped things thoroughly.

This was a great mix of mystery along with Baz and Gemma's story. I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I normally like my romance novels with a little more steam. This is a very chaste romance with brief kisses and embraces but I still enjoyed the story as a whole and would recommend to anyone looking for a good mystery with a sweet love story mixed in.

This was a great story! What twists and turns this group of writers and do-gooders lives take! This book is focused around the Doc and his unknown wife prior to this book. Gemma is from a family of resurrectionists and left the family business. Things with the Mastiff have elevated and now they need to find a way to stop the evil.
This was so hard to put down. And the ending, Oh So Good!! I can't wait for the next one!

I recieved an arc of this book from Netgalley. It was incredible. So many twists and turns with just the right amount leading up to it so that you are intrigued but you dont actually know. I can't wait for more.

I totally loved this book. I loved the growing relationship between Barnabus and Gemma. Everything was woven together very nicely. Highly recommend reading this.

Thank you Shadow Mountain for the ARC and for bringing great stories like this one.

I received this book from NetGalley. Sarah M. Eden does it again with the Bachelor and the Bride. The Dread Penny Society is getting closer to finding the Mastiff, and the danger has also gotten closer. This book follows Dr. Milligan and his previously unknown wife as they fight against the Mastiff, help the less fortunate, and fall in love. I loved this book. The plot was fast paced, and filled with mystery and romance. And as always I loved the Penny Stories that are told throughout the books.