The Bachelor and the Bride by Sarah M. Eden

Dr. Barnabus Milligan has always felt called to help people, whether that means setting a broken bone or rescuing the impoverished women of London from their desperate lives on the streets as part of his work with the Dread Penny Society.

Title:  The Bachelor and the Bride
Author:  Sarah M. Eden
Series:  Dread Penny Society #4
Publish Date:  September 6, 2022
Source:  given to reviewer by publisher but a positive review was not required

Publisher’s Description: 

London, 1866

Dr. Barnabus Milligan has always felt called to help people, whether that means setting a broken bone or rescuing the impoverished women of London from their desperate lives on the streets as part of his work with the Dread Penny Society.

Three years ago, he helped rescue Gemma Kincaid by secretly marrying her to protect her from her family of notorious grave robbers.

But six months after Gemma and Barnabus exchanged vows, she realized her love for her new husband was unrequited. To protect her heart, she left, telling Barnabus to contact her if his feelings for her ever grew beyond a sense of duty.

When Barnabus sends a letter to Gemma inviting her to return home, she hopes to find a true connection between them. But unfortunately, he only wants her help to foil the Kincaids, who have been terrorizing the boroughs of London, eager to gain both money and power.

Heartbroken, Gemma agrees to help, but she warns Barnabus that she will not stay for long, and once she goes, he’ll never see her again.

Yet as the couple follows the clues that seem to connect the Kincaids to the Mastiff, the leader of London’s criminal network, Gemma and Barnabus realize they might make a better match than either of them suspected. Perhaps the marriage that had once saved Gemma’s life might now save Barnabus—and his lonely heart.

But before the once-confirmed bachelor can properly court his secret bride, they’ll need to evade the dangerous forces that are drawing ever closer to the hopeful lovers and the entire Dread Penny Society itself.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

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Nervous Nellie says…

This story was good.  It had to be because I read it from cover to cover in trade paperback form and mostly in one day.  It’s a proper romance from Shadow Mountain Publishers with the star author Sarah Eden.  I really like Sarah’s writing.  I’ve read a few of her books and have not found one yet that I don’t like.

This story is really interesting.  It shows Victorian England at the time when grave robbing was a source of income for some people.  Gemma is part of the family that deems that their profession.  She is not treated like a family member, but more of a slave worker, so she escapes by marrying Baz.  This is only a marriage of convenience on his part as Gemma has feelings for Baz.  She knows it’s not reciprocated so she leaves.  Funny thing is that Baz doesn’t know he has feelings for her until after she’s gone.

When he needs her to help on a case that involves grave robbing, he asks her back and puts her into danger once again.  On the upside, the longer she stays with Baz, the more his feelings awaken.  They are a great team and I really enjoyed the mystery.  I will have to go back and read it again before the next book comes out just so the story melds together in my head.

The only thing that I found distracting was the penny dreadfuls intermingled in the book.  I pretty much skipped over them because I really wanted to see what happened next.

If you aren’t sure what a penny dreadful is, here is a definition from Wikipedia:

Penny dreadful – Wikipedia

Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful,^[1] and penny blood.^[2] The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts of 8 to 16 pages, each costing one penny.^[3] The subject matter of these stories was typically sensational, focusing on the exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities.

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Healing Hearts by Sarah Eden

Wyoming Territory, 1876. Running away.  She has to get away before ‘he’ gets her and forces her back.  A small town should do the trick, but these folks can’t learn her secret.  If they do, she will be shunned and have to run all over again.

I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.

Title: Healing Hearts
Author: Sarah Eden
Series:  Savage Wells #2
Publish Date:  February 5, 2019
Genre: Proper Romance
Source: Shadow Mountain Press

Publisher’s Description:  As the only doctor in the frontier town of Savage Wells, Gideon MacNamara knows his prospects for a bride are limited. The womenfolk in town are either too young, too old, or already spoken for. So, being a practical man, he decides to take advantage of the matchmaking service of the day—mail-order brides—and sends away for a woman with nursing experience.

When Miriam steps off the stagecoach in Savage Wells, she sees a bright future in front of her. But when the town—and Gideon—meets her, ready for a wedding, her excitement quickly turns to horror. Somehow Dr. MacNamara’s message had gotten turned around. He didn’t want a nurse, he wanted a wife. When she refuses to marry him, she finds herself stranded in Savage Wells with some very unhappy townspeople.

But Gideon is not like the other men Miriam has met. Embarrassed by the misunderstanding, he offers her a job, and the two begin an awkward—and often humorous—dance of getting to know each other as they work to care for the people of their town. Romance blossoms between the two, but when a former medical associate of Miriam’s arrives in town, Gideon and the other townsfolk must rally around Miriam to protect her from a dangerous fate. Gideon and Miriam must decide if they are willing to risk their hearts for each other even as buried secrets are brought to light.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel. In other words …SPOILERS. *BEWARE*

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Nervous Nellie says…

 

This is called a “Proper Romance”.  That means there is no sex.  It’s historical fiction but it’s not the hard, reality wild west that this story is set.  It’s a romantic west where the men of the small town actually respect the women and all residents stand together no matter what.

I enjoyed this book because it dealt with something that not many romance books deal with.  Mental health stability.  Right now we are living in a time where some people still find mental health problems a thing to keep secret. They are ashamed.  They shouldn’t be.  Mental health issues is a malady just like cancer.  There’s no cure, but there is treatments.  Slowly but surely folks of this present time are being educated and these issues are talked about without shame.  At least folks should be without shame.

Miriam is escaping a world that her father sent her to in order to forget the shame she brings to her elite family.  Luckily, she stumbles onto Savage Wells.  These folks, who live in the wild west are times far behind the east coast elite, but they all have the common sense to understand that brain trauma is a health problem just like anything else and they deal with it with acceptance.

All the folks that I was introduced to in The Sheriff of Savage Wells made an appearance.  All these characters endeared themselves to me right from the start.  This was not a difficult read.  It was smooth and uncomplicated which made for a quick read.

Our reviews in this series…

• The Sheriff of Savage Wells

 

I received an ARC or review copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are my own.

 

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The Sheriffs of Savage Wells by Sarah M. Eden

Can a woman handle being a sheriff in the wild west? Leave it to Paisley Bell – she’ll show you how it’s done.

FTC Notice: This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacts my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Title: The Sheriffs of Savage Wells
Author: Sarah M. Eden
Publish Date: September 27, 2016
Genre: Romance, Proper, Historical Old West
Source: Shadow Mountain publishers at Book Expo of America in Chicago

Publisher’s Description: He’s the most fearsome sheriff in the West. A force to be reckoned with. The stuff of legend.

So is she. . . . May the best sheriff win.

Paisley Bell knows the eccentric people of Savage Wells. From the absentminded shopkeeper who always thinks she’s been robbed to the young man who has returned shell-shocked from the war, Paisley has compassion for them all. When the sheriff up and leaves town, Paisley steps up and assumes the responsibility, partly because she loves the work, but also because she needs the income to take care of her sick father. So when the town council decides that the position of sheriff should really go to a man, Paisley finds herself fighting to prove that she’s the perfect candidate for the job, even though she wears a skirt.

Cade O’Brien is heartily sick of shooting people. In his many years as a lawman, Cade has seen his share of blood and violence. So when he answers an advertisement for a sheriff job in the sleepy town of Savage Wells, he believes he’s found the peace and quiet he’s always desired. But when he discovers that his biggest competition for the job is a woman, he begins to question his decisions.

Tension between the two begins to sizzle when both Cade and Paisley realize the attraction they have for each other, but when Paisley’s former beau shows up in town, along with a band of bank robbers, the blossoming relationship between the two sheriffs is tested. They will have to work together to thwart the bank robbers and keep the town safe.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel (or, in other words, SPOILERS).

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Nervous Nellie says…

This is a proper romance which means no sex, no blood and gore and a HEA. There is no cliffhanger and I’m hoping like crazy it will become a series.

As I was walking through BEA this spring, this cover caught my attention.  At the time, I didn’t know what “proper” romance meant.  All it means is that it’s not erotica nor laced with religious connotations. I talked to the publisher and though they were plugging “proper” romances, they weren’t plugging any book in particular. While the cover attracted me to this book, the informative sell is what attracted me to Shadow Mountain.

This story was very easy reading romance. If you were looking for something to settle in with and feel good about, this is what you should pick up.

Paisley wants to help people and the only thing she feels she’s good at is being a lawman.  She’s quite brilliant at it but as we all know, that time in the wild west was not known for giving women a chance at careers that did not include wife and mother.  It also was not a time that men were nearly so open minded about women having a career.

This incredible story led me through Paisley’s trials and tribulations and finally, she got credit for all her hard work.  I know I shouldn’t look for credit, but it’s always nice to see when someone works so hard at something and gets noticed for it.

I enjoyed this book.  It was one of those that I picked up and had a very hard time putting it down.  It wasn’t so much action and adventure, it was more like I found a kindred soul in Paisley Bell.

 

If you like this book…

…you might try any books written by Sarah M. Eden

FTC Notice: This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacts my opinion of the book or the content of my review.