The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, Starry Eyes
Published by Simon and Schuster on September 3rd 2019
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Romance, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 384
The Last Magician meets A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in this thrilling tale filled with magic and set in the mysterious Carpathian Mountains where a girl must hunt down Vlad the Impaler’s cursed ring in order to save her father.
Some legends never die…
Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.
Until Huck arrives from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.
Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.
I’ve been looking forward to The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett since the moment I learned about it. I love all of her contemporary romance and adult historical romance so there was no question in my mind that this was going to be right up my alley.
This book starts out with a bang of an introduction to Theo, the daughter of an American treasure hunter. I loved Theo – she’s smart, adventurous, resourceful, and willing to do whatever she needs to in order to protect those she loves…no matter how angry she is with them. As I got to know her character, it was clear that despite her father’s love for her, he never really trusted her to travel the world in the same way he did and that was a huge frustration for her. When she finds herself stranded in Turkey with no word from her father and no money, she has to figure out what she’s going to do next. Enter Huck.
Huck added another layer to Theo’s story, and I loved it. He grew up with Theo and just happens to be the last person she knows who saw him. He also happens to be the boy she grew to love and suddenly disappeared from her life with no warning so to say there are some pent-up feelings might be an understatement. I thought Huck was a great balance to Theo’s personality and where she may have just jumped headlong into a situation, he was the one to force a pause to figure out if that is the right course of action. I adored the nickname Huck had for Theo too. The tension between Huck and Theo made for some great banter and while it took a while for them to face it, I loved that they finally discussed what happened.
Outside of the relationship piece, there is a mystery for Theo and Huck to get to the bottom of. When Theo hasn’t heard from her father as planned and Huck unexpectedly shows up with his journal, she decides she needs to follow his tracks to find him and figure out what is really going on.  Hot on his trail to find the magical ring of Vlad the Impaler, Theo and Huck find themselves surrounded by magic and murder and end up relying on each other to get out of the scrapes they find themselves in. There is a lot of action in this book and I loved how Bennett allowed these characters to trek across Turkey and Romania to build out the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  I don’t want to give too much away so there’s not too much more to share. Just know that there’s magic, danger, swoony bits, and of course a mystery to solve in this book and if you don’t have this book on your TBR list, you’ll want to add it now. I loved every minute of this story and can’t wait to see what Bennett writes us next!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Jenn Bennett
JENN BENNETT is an artist and RITA-nominated author who writes books for adults and teens, including the award-winning Roaring Twenties romance series (Bitter Spirits) and the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series (Kindling the Moon). Her first YA contemporary romance, The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, (aka Night Owls in the UK) will be released in 2015. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two evil pugs.
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