Monday, January 6, 2020

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett {review}


The Lady Rogue
by Jenn Bennett
♦publisher: Simon Pulse 
♦release date: September 3rd, 2019
♦hardcover, 372 pages 
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone (currently)
♦source: ARC from publisher for honest review


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 returns 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.
  


{Review}


This was SO FUN.  The adventure is nearly non-stop, virtually starting from the get-go as we find Theo already in hot water at a Turkish market on the very first page! I haven't read this author before but I do love the writing style in this book, the plot was tightly woven and I absolutely adored the bouncy dialogue that  captured the 30s era setting perfectly.

Being the daughter of a well-known archeologist definitely gave this a very Indiana Jones feel to it as well, which I really enjoyed. And with the historical twist of Vlad the Impaler's legacy at the heart of this story, Theo and Huck's quest takes a dark turn. The story unfolds as the two race to track down Theo's father, Richard whose short journal entries interject the story with little hints that propel the plot. From Turkey to Hungary to her mother's homeland in Romania, each clue drives them closer to the truth...and further into danger as the quest becomes about much more than finding her missing father. Theo and Huck were such fun characters, their banter was spot on and funny, but also showed a hurt in both of them that you know they would have to come to terms with eventually. It was a love story with history---my favorite kind. ♥ I'm not sure you could pack many more characters into one story and have nearly all of them be so intriguing in their own way. And what a conclusion---quite surprising and darkly satisfying. Really, really enjoyed this one!





•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•
 
Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including: ALEX, APPROXIMATELY; STARRY EYES; SERIOUS MOONLIGHT; and THE LADY ROGUE. She also writes romance and fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, won Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award, and been included on Publishers Weekly Best Books annual list. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs.
 

WEBSITE  •  TWITTER  •   INSTAGRAM
Purchase the book:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon