68. The Bachelor and the Bride

The Bachelor and the Bride. (The Dread Penny Society #4) Sarah M. Eden. 2022. [September] 368 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: London was no place for the faint of heart. Fortunately for Barnabus Milligan, he'd stopped listening to that organ long ago. 

Premise/plot: The Bachelor and the Bride is the fourth book in the Dread Penny Society series by Sarah M. Eden. Each book in the series features characters who are also authors of penny dreadfuls. Readers are treated to two penny dreadfuls in addition to the actual romance/story. This formula also proves true for this latest novel. The two penny dreadful serials we are following are "The Bachelor and the Bride" by Mr. King and "Bodies of Light" by Dr. Barnabus Milligan. (The two serials could not be more different!) 

So throughout the series--previous three books--the Dread Penny Society have been on the case--or on the chase, if you prefer, to bringing down (unmasking) the Mastiff who has been terrorizing parts of London. In particular the weakest, most vulnerable communities of London. Each novel--four now--has been working towards this goal...the mystery element of his identity and his ultimate goal have been slow to reveal. (As has the identity of the Dread Penny Master, by the way). But the "big" reveal in this fourth book, is, well, I will never be the one to spoil a novel before it's even released. But let's just say that there is more than one villain in London.

The heroine of The Bachelor and The Bride is Gemma Kincaid, a woman with a shady family history. She's incredibly ashamed of her family--with good reason--and wants NOTHING at all to do with their evil schemes and fortunes. The man who rescued her is Dr. Barnabus Milligan; and that rescue involved saying I do. But though "rescued" in one sense, Gemma is still very lost...and her husband is in part to blame. 

My thoughts: If I had the time, I would love to read the series back to back. All four novels over the course of a month, let's say, I think my overall reaction would change. It is just plain hard to wait a year for each book and then be able to jump straight back into the action and remember WHO all the characters are and their relationships to one another. Each novel features a new romance--which is always a bonus. But still there is an interconnected story that progresses with each book. 

I definitely enjoyed the serial "The Bachelor and the Bride" by "Mr." King. I don't always love, love, love these penny dreadfuls that are bonus stories essentially. Sometimes I do. 

I would say that the pace was so-so and the story was just okay for me....until I reached a certain part in the story where the intensity was cranked up. THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS, oh my!!!!! It's like the climaxes of all four books come together in this one novel...and without warning...we've got the mystery finally beginning to pay off. Not that there is resolution...there is absolutely NO RESOLUTION. It ends on a big cliff hanger. 

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews