This one had the makings of a great female led adventure. Unfortunately, the MC was not everything she could have been. Very “bratty”, for lack of a better word. Constantly contradicts her own knowledge, makes poor choices, and is generally really selfish. Disappointed.

I've seen a lot of reviews of this title comp it to INDIANA JONES, and, honestly, I could not agree more. (Which is a fantastic thing!! It contains much of the acclaimed movies' action, adventure, heart, and humour -- anything that reminds me of that series is bound to be a winner, in my eyes)!

With a title as compelling as "THE LADY ROGUE," I knew it was going to be great. And I LOVED it!

Theodora and Huck's banter was top-notch, and the added element of their shared (romantic) past added a layer of angst and tension that really drew me into their relationship.

The setting was incredibly atmospheric -- I'm a sucker for historicals, and the Romanian setting is one which I haven't seen much of in YA literature, but absolutely loved learning about. Not to mention, legends and folklore and magical objects are just my cup of tea, and this title had all of 'em (and more)!

If you're looking for a dark, fierce and immensely engaging YA tale, THE LADY ROGUE will undoubtably reel you in and keep you flipping 'till the very last page!

3.5 stars

I've familiar with Jenn Bennett's contemporary world, so I was excited to see her branch out into the fantasy world. Her writing is very engaging, but I felt it was a little under developed as a plot. It felt like I was reading a YA Indiana Jones with the Vlad the Impaler (aka Count Dracula) fable. Lots of adventure, but again I wanted more !

The file formatting made the book illegible. As that is no fault of the book's content, I'll rate a neutral 3 stars.

This was okay. Nothing overly special here. Felt a lot like Indiana Jones, but with a leading gal and an attractive boy sidekick her age. The Dracula pieces of the story are not vampire-like at all; but instead focus on the actual Vlad Dracul, human, who did exist. Good enough but nothing spectacular.

If you want to go on a treasure hunt you will find The Lady Rogue has something for you. If you're hoping for blood, gothic overtones, and vampires this is NOT the book for you. Those looking for an intriguing mystery are also likely to be let down. While there is a mystery here, and it should be the focus of the story, it's not that entrancing. This is more of a girl coming into her own teen book than anything. The love story is meh as the chemistry between the characters is missing.

Overall this was a very disappointing read for me. I would perhaps try another book by Jenn Bennett in the future. There was enough here that with some good editing, focus on mystery writing, and a less snowflake-like heroine; I could see Bennett telling us some interesting stories. Sadly The Lady Rogue isn't up to par; especially in the high saturated teen fantasy genre.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

3.75 ( I received an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I have been reading this book for a while, I even managed to read one of the author's YA Contemporary books and really enjoyed it. I believe this Jenn Bennett's first YA fantasy and also mixes historical fiction as well as a murder mystery plot. Her writing is always fun and witty, yet in a second become emotional. Thea is a smart and stubborn main character, who is trying to be taken seriously by her Indiana Jones esque farther. 1930's Eastern Europe, childhood crush coming back into the picture, espionage, history, and Dracula related mythology. The last little bit went a little of the rails but overall it was a very good read.

Was a resale good attempt on a YA historical novel. It had an interesting premise and I felt it was executed well for a first try. I enjoyed the characters’ banters and their relationship. They’re journey was entertaining and thrilling. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading this authors other work

This was definitely an interesting take on the Vlad the Impaler story. I loved that it was not a direct retelling or a story that had an obvious plot. It was captivating from the start. However, the excitement quickly died down for me past the midpoint, and I rushed to finish, just wanting it to be over.

I enjoyed this book so much! It's such a fun romp, it's historical, but not too far away from the now, and so there was some familiar technology, but still a great atmosphere, and it was a great combo to read! Plus there was the whole adventure with Vlad the Impaler's ring.

There were two main relationships in this book. Maybe three, but it was kinda intertwined with the other two. Because it's a triangle between Theodora, Huck, and Theodora's dad. And the one between Huck and Theodora's dad was the background, because we're in Theodora's head, so her relationship with Huck, and her one with her dad, were the ones that she focused on!

Throughout this book, we travel to a lot of different spots in Romania, and it was great to see these various towns and cities. There was a lot of rich history, and with all the adventure going on, there was never a dull moment!

I loved how we got a bit of fantasy with this book, it was faint, but at the end, there was just a little bit more. It added just that extra bit of oomph in the end, and made it so satisfying to read, because there was just that extra bit of conflict because of it, that was so great to read!

Loved this book, it was such a great read, and I enjoyed everything about it!

I really enjoyed The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett. At first, I had a hard time but I pushed through and it was pretty good! Full of action, mysteries and a little bit of love. I loved reading a book set in Eastern Europe as it was a first for me. Thank you NetGalley for a free ebook copy.

Jenn Bennett is a queen of contemporary, and, incidentally, one of my favorite authors, so I was quite looking forward to seeing her dive into historical fantasy.

I'm still not sure what I think about this.

On one hand, you have two great main characters. Theo and Huck are well developed and have quite the history, which makes their relationship entertaining and interesting to read about. Both of our leads are witty and quick on their feet, and I really enjoyed reading their banter. However, I'll be completely honest here, it's probably my least favorite pairing of Jenn Bennett's. It wasn't bad at all, it just didn't make me swoon as much as her contemporary work did.

There's also a beautiful setting. The story starts off in Istanbul and then travels all the way to Eastern Europe - more specifically Romania -, and the descriptions, without being too heavy, made me feel like I was right there with the characters. This is not a very popular setting to begin with, so it intrigued me quite a bit.

On the other hand though, I thought the plot was a little weak. For the most part, I think Jenn Bennett concentrated her efforts on the romance, and while I did enjoy it, I wanted more of the actual storyline. I feel like the story kicked in only in the second half of the book, and that's the part I enjoyed the most. Still, the outcome was a little bit predictable and fell short for me.

Also, on a completely different side note, I don't really feel like this was fantasy at all? There were a few fantastical elements sprinkled here and there throughout the book, but it's only really at the end that we go into full fantasy mode. I know fantasy isn't Jenn Bennett's usual genre, but I just didn't really feel like I was reading a fantasy novel. For some, that might be great, but I have to admit that I was a little let down by that.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but I was also a little bored with it. I wish this would be a series because I see so much potential in these characters and their story!

I was really excited when I saw that Jenn Bennett was writing a YA historical fantasy, and this book did not disappoint! I adore her contemporaries and always love her characters. This genre shift wasn't any different. I really liked Theodora and Huck but wasn't totally in love with them. (Like I was with Bailey and Porter of Alex, Approximately.) Maybe it was the excitement of the journey and the constant threat of danger, but I didn't get to know them as much as I wanted to in order to feel really connected to them.

The aspects of the journey and the dangerous nature of their adventure were what made this book really exciting. I never knew what was coming next and what other interesting people they would meet along the way. It was really easy to read "just one more chapter..."

The historical elements were great - especially when magic was blended in with history. It felt like it could all be very real, leading me to have a mindset similar to Huck about it all. The setting, pacing, and writing style were all really good. I have some Romanian ancestry, so this book made me want to travel to Romania even more! The descriptions of the journey were lovely and transportive. There might even be some train travel in my future...!

Theo and Huck were fun main characters - and good thing, because they were the focus of over 90% of the book. There was a fairly big cast of supporting characters, but they all had quite small roles. The villain could have been a bit more present for me to really see how awful he supposedly was - murder aside, I suppose. The ending was left pretty wide open, so it was fun to imagine what adventure these two sweethearts will get up to next!

This was a really interesting book! I loved following the characters around and discovering new places! The writing is just as good as Bennet's other books and I'm super excited to see what's next for her!

So... here's the thing. I really loved all of the books I've read by Bennett so my hopes were so high for this one - and I'm just not sure it was able to meet them.

Thanks so much to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

This story follows Theodora, her father, Richard Fox and her love-interest turned heart-breaker, Huck. When Richard is tasked with finding the real bone ring once worn by Vlad the Impaler - aka Dracula - he sets up Theo in a hotel room in Istanbul with a tutor and takes off. Shortly after, she is ditched by her tutor who takes all the money and runs off with a musician, leaving Theo alone in Istanbul. The arrival of Huck signals that all is not well - Theo hasn't seen him in a year after he took off - and now he brings news that he has been working with Richard, who has now disappeared. As the two set off on an adventure to find Theo's father, truth's - both between them and centuries-old - arise.

Now, you might be reading this synopsis and thinking to yourself, "Wow, that sounds pretty similar to the sort of thing that Kerri Maniscalco does with the Stalking Jack the Ripper series - of which there is literally a book called Hunting Prince Dracula." If you're thinking this, then, well, you'd be right. Of course, there are differences between the two, Maniscalco's is more about murder-mysteries, Bennett deals with mysteries more generally, etc. But there are similarities - in fact, it was in large part the fact that the synopsis reminded me of one of my favourite series so much that I requested this one for review. All I'm saying is that comparisons are inevitable - and I'm not sure I'd pick Bennett's over Maniscalco's.

While I really liked the setting and general atmosphere of the book, as well as the characters, I just found that not a lot was really happening. Which might seem strange given that, actually, quite a lot happens in this book. It just felt as though the mystery/mission sometimes took a backseat to the romance. I liked the characters and their dynamic, but I wanted more from the plot than what I got.

I won't spoil the ending but I will say that when we finally did get there, I wasn't sure how it was going to play out. There wasn't really much else left to reveal and, at one point, I had 40 pages left to go and I thought to myself, I'm not sure what the big finish is going to be. It just felt like the threads of the story slipped away a bit towards the end.

Overall, this was still a good book, but if you are looking for something along these lines in terms of Dracula, historical fiction, and romance, there are better options.

I have loved Jenn Bennetts books so was excited to hear she had a fantasy coming out.

Theodara’s dad is a traveling treasure hunter, and she has always gone along with him. But shes been left behind. Her dads protege and Theos past love shows up with the information that Theos dad has gone missing. Together they must track down the ring her father was hunting in hope it will lead them to him.

This book feel a little short to me. The characters are hard to relate to and the story seems a little everywhere.

*3.5 stars*

I had pretty high hopes for this one as it's has a historical setting in Eastern Europe! It follows Theodora and Huck as they are on the run, trying to crack secret codes left by Theodora's father and using the hints he leaves to try and find him. Since I love both historical settings and adventure, this seemed right up my ally!

Theo was a great main character in my opinion! I loved how strong willed she was and how much attitude she could give when needed. I did have a few issues with the romance in the story. Theo and Huck have a history, and it made it hard for me to connect to their relationship when the majority of it started in the past, but there's not flashbacks to give insight as to how their relationship started.

If you're looking for something fast-paced with an entertaining set of characters to follow, I'd recommend this to you!

I've always enjoyed Jenn Bennett's romance, something that surrpises me every time. So when I heard she was writing a historical fantasy, I was intrigued. I love history, I love secret societies and magical artifacts, so I was excited to get my hands on this book. A lot of The Lady Rogue felt like a rehash of her contemporary romance in a historical fantasy setting, but it was still on the whole enjoyable.

I feel like Bennett has a fairly good formula going when it comes to her main characters and romances, and The Lady Rogue is no exception. There's Theo, an adventurous daughter of a treasure hunter, and Huck, an Irish boy that her father took in years ago. They have History. They rekindle their history on a wacky adventure together. So, fairly typical Jenn Bennett, and I think people who are primarily romance readers -- and not so much fantasy readers -- will really enjoy this. However, as someone who's not usually a fan of romance, I felt like the romance between Theo and Huck took precedence over a lot of the actual treasure hunting and adventuring plot, which was mildly disappointing because I was really excited for the treasure hunting. They do have a great dynamic, though, with lots of fun between them--it was the Drama that I wasn't too fond of.

One thing that I couldn't help but notice throughout the book was that it still entirely felt like I was reading a contemporary novel--Theo's voice didn't feel historical, and neither did her father's in the journal snippets we were offered. For me, it's always a bit jarring whenever I'm reading historical fiction and the characters sound too modern, and I feel like The Lady Rogue encountered that particular pitfall. Of course, this is something that gets better with practice, and Bennett has three good contemporary romance novels under her belt, and only one historical fantasy -- so I'm sure if she continues to write along this manner it'll improve.

As for the plot: I'm always up for a nice, good romp spouting historical facts, but I felt as if a lot of the plot points relating to the actual hunt for Vlad's ring was set aside to focus on the romance. I did find all the lore and history behind Vlad the Impaler really interesting, because he's a very vivid character in history where most people know the folklore and not the truth. The Lady Rogue gives a lot of the truth, despite Vlad's ring being entirely made-up. There's a lot of very well-researched history in this book, which I appreciated. (Most of which I recognized from And I Darken by Kiersten White, in fact. We love YA historical fiction in this house.)

I do feel like Jenn Bennett fans or romance fans would enjoy The Lady Rogue, because a lot of the plot has such an atmosphere of classic romance. But if you're going in for historical fiction or a good history based fantasy that draws on lore and artefacts, it may be best to go with something like The Gilded Wolves or City of Brass.

In the words of the great songstress, Adele: WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL-LLL-LLL

Truly. Everything was there for this to be such an incredible book, but alas, it went in a direction I did not anticipate.

I shall start with good—and there was quite a bit. Theodora—or Theo as we know her—was a great main female character. She shone across the first few chapters and I fell in love with her almost immediately. Named for a long-dead empress, Theo is a fierce, clever girl who is sick and tired of constantly being left behind. And rightfully so! Her father is a treasure hunter, who travels the world in search of magical and cursed objects, researched and tracing back across Dynasties and Empires of old. He brings Theo along, only to dump her at a luxurious hotel while he goes off into the rugged unknown. As annoyed as she is with it, she uses it as fuel to learn and prove her father wrong. I thought she handled herself remarkably throughout the book, and it is utterly refreshing—and I mean this in the best way possible—to see a girl get roughed up and not magically be okay the next hour. This trooper has a black eye for a large portion of the last half, and it felt so good to see that kind of realism.

I'm sure you've sussed it out from the summary, but there is a romance between Theo and Huck. He is an Irish lad who was taken in by the Fox family years before when his parents died. I have to say that while enemies-to-lovers is my favourite romance trope, in a close second is the one where the characters already have history, and not a happy one. I <I>love</I> those relationships where they meet up for the first time after a year or so has passed since they ended, good or bad. Nine times out of ten there's enmity between them similar to being enemies, but you know they're still hung up on each other while you try to figure out what happened in the past. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Theo and Huck. They bounced off each other quite pleasantly and were amusing to follow along with. And again, in Theo's favour, she didn't do things for Huck, but for herself.

I fully expected this to be a proper treasure hunt book though. Like, ala <I>The Gilded Wolves</I> at the very least. I was hoping for that element of magic and ragtag teamwork. The premise surrounds Dracula, so you'd think there'd be some measure of paranormal at least. And to some extent there was, but to me it felt weak. I expected there to be an epic adventure, especially with the <I>incredible</I> young Indiana Jones vibes that drew me in at the start in Istanbul. However, it felt too much like them having no money and bussing and taking the train from this Eastern European country to that one. The writing kept me riveted, but the journey grew tiresome after the third time they lament not having enough money to do this, or stay here.

What really wrecked it for me was the ending. Hokey is the best word I can use to describe it. I just ... sigh ... <I>really?</I> That was the best you could come up with? It felt like such a typical and tired sort of ending that it tasted a little sour. Especially since up until that point the book was pretty good.

If you're looking for a quick and entertaining standalone, look no further!

A book!! About!! Romania!! Jenn Bennett, I could kiss you. For several years now I've had a slight obsession with Romania, and as of late I've been enamoured with trying to find books that take place there. They are so few and far between, so when I do find one, I am ecstatic. And this one is so good. Who wouldn't want to read it, honestly? All you had to say was Vlad Dracula and I am on board. This is the perfect book to read come October, or even just autumn in general. I adore books about journeys, and this one fits that bill. ESPECIALLY when the journeys involve following instructions and hopping from place to place chasing a mystery. I really liked Theo, and I thought she was a great character. She is tired of being left behind and 'protected', so she takes matters into her own hands to solve the trail of clues in search of her father, who may or may not be hiding secrets regarding her of his own. I did like Huck as well, although he was a bit more one-dimensional. It's not instalove, since Theo and Huck have a history, but its very clear from the beginning that they will eventually clear things up and get together. Even though they start off as 'enemies' (if you could even say that), it's pretty obvious that someone will come clean about something eventually. The rest of the characters are more like quirky carnival-like kind of characters, each a clue to the overall mystery, clues that Theo and Huck must solve before they advance to the next step. The plotline and search for Vlad Dracula's ring is by far the most interesting part of the book. I loved how Theo found out more about her mother as the story progressed, and how her mother was a clue to solve the final mystery. I'm a bit surprised that I didn't call the twist about Theo being related to Vlad Dracula, as now that I know it, it makes a lot of sense for the story to go in that direction and seems almost natural. I loved the mystery of the rings and how instead of one real and two replicas, they form into the shape of puzzle ring. I find it a bit weird that Theo could figure that out but her father couldn't, though. Or maybe he did, and she just didn't know it. I loved all the Romanian bits so much, and how much the culture/country was tied into the story. I realise that should be obvious, considering the subject, but I am very grateful. There are a few things that struck me as odd, though. The book takes place in 1938, on the brink of the Second World War, and yet no mention of the events leading up to it at all. Having done a bit of research, I know now that at first, Romania remained neutral, but I feel a bit of acknowledgement would have been nice. You almost forget about the characters’ impending doom entirely (especially at the end when they are spending the forseeable future in Paris). I also found it a bit odd that nearly every single person they ran into could speak English, and I'm just not sure how likely that would have been during this time period. I did like that Theo spoke Romanian, however, and used it often.

I really really liked this book. It is so much fun, and while it might resemble other popular YA books, especially in the style of writing and characters, the story certainly isn’t one that I’ve come across before. If there are other Romanian-themed YA books out there, I’d love to hear about them (or even Vlad Dracula-themed books, to be honest). It’s not hard-hitting literature, but it’s a fun book about traipsing through foreign countries. And a cursed ring. What’s not to love?

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love Jenn Bennett: she has such a huge imagination, and I love her quirky writing style. (She tends to have a little gimmick for each story: in this one, her use of word clues in various crossword puzzles was such fun!) This is a young adult, verging on the new adult, novel delves into the Occult and is set in 1938. I tend not to do paranormal, but for a chance to read a new Jenn Bennett, fresh off the presses, I will definitely go there!

Theodora and Huxley (aka Theo and Huck) are star-crossed lovers, who meet again - quite unexpectedly - in Istanbul. Richard Fox was an amateur "Gentleman Adventurer" and he and young Huxley would go off on wild, hair-raising adventures, always leaving Theodora safely behind in one hotel or another - much to her aggrieved chagrin. This time Theodora was left kicking her heels with her hired female companion in Istanbul while Fox went off chasing a ring that may have belonged to the Dracula family, and which may possess supernatural powers.

The sudden arrival of Huck at her hotel bodes ill: just the previous year, Huck had been sent back to Ireland when Theo and Huck were caught in flagrante delicto in her bedroom, doing what teenagers often will do! (No spoiler alerts here!) Richard Fox had taken Huxley in and raised him along with Theo when Huxley's Irish immigrant parents were killed in a streetcar accident. But when friendship blossomed into attraction between the young teens, Theo's father accused Huxley of betraying his trust and packed him off to Huxley's aunt in Ireland, separating the young lovers.

Huxley and Theo are still secretly pining for one another.. Theo is upset with Huck because he never responded to any of her letters (unsolved mystery there!) and Huxley was told by Richard that Theo has moved on and is dating other eligible young men. Well, the story heats up with non-stop action: the young lovers hardly have time to sort out their personal affairs, they are so busy running away from the deadly band of men who are also looking for the enchanted ring.

I loved the descriptions of all the countries Theo and Huck traveled through: Istanbul, Bulgaria, Romania, and finally, Transylvania! And yes, we do get to go inside an ancient haunted castle and experience magic at its deadliest!

I sensed a sequel in the making: there are a few unresolved matters, and Jenn Bennett does tend to serialize her paranormal adventure novels. I really enjoyed this fast-paced read: the story is action-packed and the rekindled romance between Theo and Huck was too sweet for words! I look forward to more stories involving Theo, Huxley and Richard! Highly recommended!