The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

Title: The Lady Rogue

Author: Jenn Bennett
Genre: Urban Fantasy, YA
Series: N/A
Hardcover, 372 pages
Publication: September 3, 2019 by Simon Pulse
Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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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.

Bennett returns to fantasy after a long hiatus and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I am a big fan of her Arcadia Bell series (if you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out!) and was excited to see her take within the Young Adult genre. In The Lady Rouge, Bennett tackles Romanian history and the infamous Vlad Țepeș, the inspiration for Dracula.

The Lady Rouge had a lot to love from the history, myths, the occult, to treasure hunting and adventure abroad. The novel is narrated by sixteen-year-old Theodora a.k.a ‘Little Empress', and I must say the nickname is befitting. The story started immediately, dropping readers in a bazaar in the middle of Istanbul with Theo being apprehended for stealing. From there the story kept an ascending trajectory with nonstop action as Theo and Huck, a childhood friend turned lover is chased across Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania in search of her father.

I loved how Bennett combined history with a subtle supernatural element. I thought the plot of a magical artifact and lineage was very clever and well-suited to the story. While the story was mainly about finding her father, it was also equally heavy on the romance aspect. I felt like Theo was pining over Huck every chance she got or begrudging him for leaving without notice a year prior in between being chase and at death’s door. But I understand young adolescent, they can be quite fickle.

In between the chapters, readers can also find Fox’s (Theo’s dad) journal entries which was a nice touch to Theo piecing the clues together. The ending wrapped up nicely and am not sure if this was intended for a series but either way, I found it satisfying. All in all, a good novel, if you’re looking for a book with a lot of action and romance with a touch of supernatural, then this book might be of interest!