Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Gentleman and the Thief

The Gentleman and the Thief is an interesting little novel, continuing the adventures of the Dread Penny Society and the girls' school. Our thief is rather unexpected, and is stealing baubles for reasons unknown to the reader, and the Dreadfuls, at first. Like the last book, two penny dreadfuls were sprinkled throughout the book, with references to what was happening in the story within the penny dreadfuls, though unlike the last book, the authors were not both of our main characters. It seemed a little odd that "Mr King" was writing a penny dreadful that had a lot of similarities to what was going on between Hollis and Ana, despite not being Hollis or Ana. That set up worked better in the last book.

The plot itself is rather contrived and full of tropes, but it plays to them quite handily. The overarching plot of the series - the Mastiff and Four-fingers Mike - flitted in and out, with just enough detail to be tantalizing. I would like more of that plot, though, as the Mastiff is being set up as the Moriarty of this series, we can't catch him and imprison him too soon, now can we?

Overall, a good book. Fun to read. Quick to read.

Content Warnings

ashesmann's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I liked it, but not as much as the first one. I think it's just that it's about my least favorite characters from the first book? Eden does a good job explaining that Ana and Hollis are not materialistic, and how difficult it would be to come from money and not have it any longer. It's just. I don't know. Ana is maybe considered too perfect? And I understand her dad's depression but wallowing in your home while your child cares for you and is damaged enough to go and start thieving? And Hollis constantly whining how he never gets to go do the dangerous jobs or let in on the secrets? Maybe I'll just blame the pandemic. I'm just tired of hearing rich, beautiful people complain. At the end of the day, while not as rich as before, Hollis and Ana are still upper class. Her father is still in his grand home and has a man servant and they are welcome in 'polite' society.

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