ABOUT THE BOOK 
London, 1866
Móirín Donnelly has spent the last five years working in the shadows for the Dread Penny Society, a secret fraternity of penny dreadful authors who use their profits, influence, and street smarts to protect the poor and vulnerable of Victorian London. But spending so much of her life in secret is taking its toll on her soul—and her heart.
When members of the Dread Penny Society begin disappearing, Móirín turns to her friend Detective Constable Fitzgerald Parkington for help. The two have developed a friendly rapport, and Móirín feels like she can trust him, though perhaps not with all of her secrets.
Fitzgerald Parkington has a sixth sense when it comes to tracking down criminals, which is why he’s recently been transferred to the Detective Department at Scotland Yard. But when roadblocks and red tape keep him from tracking down the criminal mastermind known as “The Tempest,” he must rely on the one woman who has unexpectedly captured his heart—the brash, bold, and fiery Irish lass, Móirín Donnelly.
As the Tempest’s deadly reach threatens to overwhelm all of London, Móirín and Fitz are caught in an elaborate game of cat and mouse that leads down back alleys, through dark London buildings, and right to the gates of Kensington Palace. Móirín has one chance to save Fitz and the Dread Penny Society from the Tempest, and she might have to sacrifice her one chance at love to do so.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today best-selling author of witty and charming historical romances, including 2020’s Foreword Reviews INDIE Awards Gold Winner for Romance, "Forget Me Not," and 2020 Holt Medallion finalist, "Healing Hearts." She is a three-time “Best of State” Gold Medal winner for fiction and a three-time Whitney Award winner. Combining her obsession with history and her affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting deep characters and heartfelt romances set against rich historical backdrops. She holds a bachelor’s degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Life Is What It's Called - Before reading The Queen and the Knave, would it be beneficial for readers to revisit the previous books of this series? Or at least previous conversations between characters?
Sarah Eden - This book brings the series full circle. Characters from previous books play a significant role, and struggles from earlier installments come to a head with this one. While it could, technically, be read on its own, I do think there is a lot of benefit in being, at the very least, familiar with the first four books.
Life Is What It's Called - Did you leave hints throughout the series of what's to come in The Queen and the Knave? If so, do you think readers pick up on your hints?
Sarah Eden - There are hints woven into all of the books about what’s to come in this final installment. Some of them were obvious enough to not really be hints but rather straightforward information. Some are very, very subtle. Most fall somewhere in between. I love series that build that way, where I can go back and re-read and find new things that I missed on previous reads.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you think readers' reactions will be to The Queen and the Knave?
Sarah Eden - I think readers are going to love it. It is intense, funny, mysterious, high-stakes. The two lead characters are really incredible. Brave and clever, with tremendously impressive skills and abilities, while still being flawed and complicated people. And the dangers that the Dread Penny Society have faced for four books now come to an exciting conclusion in this final one.
Life Is What It's Called - What was the best part of writing this series?
Sarah Eden - The challenge of writing three books in one, and making certain two of those stories were written in the way they would have been by the character who is credited with them rather than by me, was probably my favorite part. It really stretched me as an author and was an exciting and satisfying challenge. It added a layer to this series that is really unique and exciting.
Life Is What It's Called - Was it complicated writing this series with the penny stories, the romance, and story arch that spanned the whole series? How did you keep track of all of the details?
Sarah Eden - It took a lot of spreadsheets and notes and notebooks filled with information. There are so many moving parts in this series, that I couldn’t have done it without extensive planning. The penny dreadfuls had to parallel the story they were found in as well as the life of the person writing them. The romance needed to build through each book, and grow in ways that made sense for people in the circumstances they were in. And I knew all of it had to build to a really enormous conclusion. It was a lot of pressure, but an awful lot of fun.
Life Is What It's Called - In the last interview you mentioned a secret project that you're neck deep in, when will you be able to reveal the details of the project? Can you give us any hints?
Sarah Eden - If all goes as planned, I should be able to make an enormous announcement before the end of the summer. At this point, all I can say is having this project come to fruition would be a fulfillment of a lifelong dream!
Life Is What It's Called - What has been the hardest part of the series?
Sarah Eden - This series really spans multiple genres, and that has been a challenge. There is a strong suspense plotline woven through each book and the series as a whole, so I had to really stretch my writing muscles to tiptoe into that new subgenre. The penny dreadfuls range from gothic romance to fantasy to horror to cozy mystery, which were all outside of my realm of experience before beginning this series. I really had to learn to write in a lot of new genres, and it was a lot of work.
Life Is What It's Called -What other time periods do you want to write about?
Sarah Eden - I have loved venturing into the 1700s in Europe and hope to write quite a few books set then and there. I also have pondered the possibility of jumping ahead to the late 1800s and early 1900s. And I am intrigued by the possibility of going further back into the 1600s as well. I love history, and the more I learn about different times and places the more I want to explore and learn.
Life Is What It's Called - What did you like most about writing about a secret organization?
Sarah Eden - I love the camaraderie that grows out of having a shared mission, goal, and focus, and I love how close those connections become when the efforts being made are made in secret. I really love writing about characters who are so close and who have such faith in each other that they have entrusted their lives to the others in their secret organization. And the secret nature of their activities lends itself to moments of tension and uncertainty and risk, which makes for really exciting adventures.
Life Is What It's Called - What should readers know about you as an author?
Sarah Eden - Many readers first discover my writing through a specific series, and I have so many series that are quite different from each other. I think, if I could share one thing about me as an author, it would be that I write a lot of different things and will continue to venture into new arenas and new eras and new stories. I hope that readers who have found me through a Georgian-era romance or a Victorian-era romantic suspense or a sweeping American West saga will take a chance on some of my books that fall into a different category. I like trying new things, and I love when readers are willing to take that leap with me.
Sarah Eden - This book brings the series full circle. Characters from previous books play a significant role, and struggles from earlier installments come to a head with this one. While it could, technically, be read on its own, I do think there is a lot of benefit in being, at the very least, familiar with the first four books.
Life Is What It's Called - Did you leave hints throughout the series of what's to come in The Queen and the Knave? If so, do you think readers pick up on your hints?
Sarah Eden - There are hints woven into all of the books about what’s to come in this final installment. Some of them were obvious enough to not really be hints but rather straightforward information. Some are very, very subtle. Most fall somewhere in between. I love series that build that way, where I can go back and re-read and find new things that I missed on previous reads.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you think readers' reactions will be to The Queen and the Knave?
Sarah Eden - I think readers are going to love it. It is intense, funny, mysterious, high-stakes. The two lead characters are really incredible. Brave and clever, with tremendously impressive skills and abilities, while still being flawed and complicated people. And the dangers that the Dread Penny Society have faced for four books now come to an exciting conclusion in this final one.
Life Is What It's Called - What was the best part of writing this series?
Sarah Eden - The challenge of writing three books in one, and making certain two of those stories were written in the way they would have been by the character who is credited with them rather than by me, was probably my favorite part. It really stretched me as an author and was an exciting and satisfying challenge. It added a layer to this series that is really unique and exciting.
Life Is What It's Called - Was it complicated writing this series with the penny stories, the romance, and story arch that spanned the whole series? How did you keep track of all of the details?
Sarah Eden - It took a lot of spreadsheets and notes and notebooks filled with information. There are so many moving parts in this series, that I couldn’t have done it without extensive planning. The penny dreadfuls had to parallel the story they were found in as well as the life of the person writing them. The romance needed to build through each book, and grow in ways that made sense for people in the circumstances they were in. And I knew all of it had to build to a really enormous conclusion. It was a lot of pressure, but an awful lot of fun.
Life Is What It's Called - In the last interview you mentioned a secret project that you're neck deep in, when will you be able to reveal the details of the project? Can you give us any hints?
Sarah Eden - If all goes as planned, I should be able to make an enormous announcement before the end of the summer. At this point, all I can say is having this project come to fruition would be a fulfillment of a lifelong dream!
Life Is What It's Called - What has been the hardest part of the series?
Sarah Eden - This series really spans multiple genres, and that has been a challenge. There is a strong suspense plotline woven through each book and the series as a whole, so I had to really stretch my writing muscles to tiptoe into that new subgenre. The penny dreadfuls range from gothic romance to fantasy to horror to cozy mystery, which were all outside of my realm of experience before beginning this series. I really had to learn to write in a lot of new genres, and it was a lot of work.
Life Is What It's Called -What other time periods do you want to write about?
Sarah Eden - I have loved venturing into the 1700s in Europe and hope to write quite a few books set then and there. I also have pondered the possibility of jumping ahead to the late 1800s and early 1900s. And I am intrigued by the possibility of going further back into the 1600s as well. I love history, and the more I learn about different times and places the more I want to explore and learn.
Life Is What It's Called - What did you like most about writing about a secret organization?
Sarah Eden - I love the camaraderie that grows out of having a shared mission, goal, and focus, and I love how close those connections become when the efforts being made are made in secret. I really love writing about characters who are so close and who have such faith in each other that they have entrusted their lives to the others in their secret organization. And the secret nature of their activities lends itself to moments of tension and uncertainty and risk, which makes for really exciting adventures.
Life Is What It's Called - What should readers know about you as an author?
Sarah Eden - Many readers first discover my writing through a specific series, and I have so many series that are quite different from each other. I think, if I could share one thing about me as an author, it would be that I write a lot of different things and will continue to venture into new arenas and new eras and new stories. I hope that readers who have found me through a Georgian-era romance or a Victorian-era romantic suspense or a sweeping American West saga will take a chance on some of my books that fall into a different category. I like trying new things, and I love when readers are willing to take that leap with me.
REVIEW
The Queen and the Knave is the final installment of the Dread Penny Society series by Sarah Eden. Throughout the series, Móirín Donnelly works together with a secret society of dread penny authors to protect the vulnerable and defenseless in Victorian England. When her friends and society members start disappearing, Móirín turns to Detective Constable Fitzgerald Parkington for help. The characters go through many dangers and risks to try and stop the criminal mastermind "The Tempest."
This series was full of adventures and intrigue. It was very action-driven and full of suspense. When I was reading the series, I had hoped the author would set Móirín up with a certain character, but it was completely different from the author's vision. I had to adjust a little to what my hopes were. I still enjoyed the romance in this book, and it felt like a good end to the series. The overall dilemmas from the previous books come to a high peak, and the characters have to figure out a solution. The reader gets to revisit their favorite characters. It was an entertaining and a nail-biting read as the author pulls the characters into dangerous situations. You couldn't read any of these books in this series out-of-order. The author builds layers of hints throughout the series and the plot builds and thickens with each book. In this last book, the author intensified the stakes by putting all of the heroes in mortal danger. It seemed well-thought out and planned. I liked that the author had strong female leads in the book, but also, they were able to work together well with their male counterparts. If you like action-packed, suspenseful romance, then you will enjoy this book. To learn more, click here.
Please note that I received a free copy to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog.
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