The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett-Review

The Lady Rogue, by Jenn Bennett
Goodreads ¦ Amazon
Series?: NOT SO FAR BUT I FREAKING HOPE SO
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Length: 384 pages
Source: ARC
Format: Paperback
Times Read: Once
Rating: 4.5/5

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.

Okay look I am usually not behind on posting Jenn Bennett reviews, but I had my release dates mixed up (book blogger SHAME), so here we are.

♥ I felt a kinship to Theodora as soon as she was dumped by her tutor/traveling companion in chapter 1 for not sitting quietly in her hotel room until her father arrives. In chapter 2, her former childhood best friend, Huck, has reappeared in her life. By chapter 3, Huck and Theodora are being chased by men trying to kill them. They hide on a balcony, pressed against each other, and Huck accidentally drops his towel while Theodora totally looks down. What a time to be alive.

♥ From here, the book is pretty much nonstop action, as Theodora and Huck travel (aka run/are chased/almost murdered) throughout the rest of the book. BUT we are still treated to some serious angst, as we learn more and more about the night that Huck left, and what truly led to his departure (spoiler: it’s not what’s Theodora has been told).

♥ Drunk Theo is a legend. She is every girl who’s been holding it in and then finally gets drunk around her ex and Lets. Him. Have. It.

“Don’t touch me! Am I embarrassing you? Well, I’m soooooo sorry.”

Honestly, I haven’t had anything to drink in years but I still felt this in my very soul.

♥ Theo is also brilliant and I don’t know how all these men in her life have gotten anywhere in life without her help. She is the only one who seems to have a clue about what’s going on anywhere at any time.

This came up while I was searching for an Indiana Jones gif and TBH it feels so much more Theo.

♥ I don’t know if I just missed the part where the synopsis talked about Vlad the Impaler or if that was added later, but I definitely did not realize that was going to be a plot point here and I WAS DELIGHTED. I fully admit I don’t know know everything about this part of history, but most of what I do know comes from Kiersten White’s And I Darken and the “How Vlad the Impaler Became Dracula” episode of Drunk History.

Final Thoughts: This is the slowest burn romance, the most interesting travel book, with the craziest WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING at the end. I desperately hope this gets picked up as a series because I need so much more after that ending.

Favorite Quotes: “To meddlesome girls”–this is the book’s dedication, and I love it so much.

“You don’t have something be a part of your life every day and then not miss it when it’s taken away from you.“

“Be wary. Do not allow bad men to take what doesn’t belong to them.”

All quotes are taken from an uncorrected proof of the book