On a chance meeting four women from vastly different backgrounds band together to form The Lady Adventurers Club. They are brought to Egypt by club member and archeologist Anna Baring to witness the opening of her latest find, a pharaoh’s tomb.

The year is 1923 and King Tutankhamun’s tomb was considered the find of the century the previous year. Egyptians had violently broken away from British Colonial rule and the country was in a fragile state. The adventure begins when the three club members arrive and meet up with Anna.

The story is a rush of adrenaline with nonstop action even through some of the obvious plot devices. Of the four women the mathematician Georgette is my favourite character. She is pivotal to the plot more so than Anna with her logic and observational prowess.

The romance between Anna and Clara started in a very uncomfortable manner to me. Anna is Svengali-esque with her domination and controlling the emotions of a naive Clara. She is conniving in her methods to seduce her. Fortunately, the story centres more on the adventure than the romance and kept me reading.

I admire the idea of this story and hope to see more styled after it. Even with the questionable romance and some obvious plot twists I did enjoy the novel. Here’s hoping the next one will be polished a little brighter.

I received a free advance review copy from Bella Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.25 stars. I’ve read a couple of Frost’s YA fantasy books which I liked and was glad to see now an adult sapphic historical adventure book being released. In the end this book was not totally what I wished for, but I do hope Frost will continue this into a series as it has potential.

As the title promises there is lots of adventure. Four ladies meet in NYC and found “The Lady Adventurers Club”. Not long thereafter they meet in Egypt as Anna (the archeologist) has discovered a pharaoh’s tomb, but nothing is as easy as it looks and nothing goes according to plan. I love adventure like Indiana Jones or The Mummy and this book has that feeling so that made me very happy. Nevertheless, I had several issues with the storyline.
First, several things were inconsistent and too convenient. As an example, the women have to face inequality with men in their daily lives (the story is set in the 1920’s), this book starts with showing that Anna is not allowed to do anything in Egypt, but later she digs, finds, and is allowed to excavate a pharaoh’s tomb, how is that possible and why did she not do this sooner, and who funds all this? I guess they might be minor points, but these things can annoy me when they don’t add up.
Second, the plot was rather predictable as big clues are dropped. The twist near the end I liked a lot though, I saw parts of it coming, but wanted to know how it would play out and I enjoyed the ending.

Frost made significant efforts to have four very different main characters, both in occupation and character, which is something I appreciate. There’s an archeologist, a mathematician, a barnstormer and a sharp shooter. They are all around their forties and this is where another problem arose, while they all have pretty extensive life experience they were so naive and made incredibly poor decisions. It had a strong YA feel to it and while I can accept that behavior for teenagers these ladies made me roll my eyes several times.
Furthermore, all ladies have their specific qualities and I liked three of them a lot, but unfortunately I didn’t like Anna. Especially her behavior in the romance that plays out felt predatory and egotistical. While one of the other ladies did address it (kudos for that), Anna didn’t change her behavior and I could not root for her or the romance.

All in all, this is the type of story I like, even though I had some clear issues with it. If you can suspend belief then this is a fun book to read. I do hope Frost will continue with this series and will improve on the mentioned points in the future. The ending provides a good opening for more adventures.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore anything related to ancient Egypt, throw in a sapphic romance element and I'm desperate to get my hands on the book! Although I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy the story as much as I thought I would.

I really enjoyed the historical elements of the story. I also enjoyed the snippets of the Egyptian culture during that particular time period but the romance element of the story left me underwhelmed.

I enjoyed how Anna and Clara ended up but the way they got there was strange, to say the least. Anna just seemed so intense that it kind of ruined the romantic element for me but overall, a good read if historical fiction is your thing!

I went in to this book very excited, the story sounded fun, the characters were interesting and diverse, and the idea of an all-female adventure book is very appealing. I liked the first bit or so, but once the group meets in Egypt, things fell apart for me. The 'twist,' that the tomb is raided and the treasure is stolen before the group returns, was set up really poorly, it was very obvious in a particular scene what was going to happen and who was going to do it. And a lot of the book is like that, it's heavy-handed and too transparent. I also did not like the romance at all, it was underdeveloped, happened too quickly, and Anne often came off as predatory towards Claire (who is unfamiliar with LGBTQ individuals, much less the concept of dating another woman and often expresses confusion and apprehension). I think where the two ended up was fine, but the relationship lead up was not done well. I also did not like how the plot was handled and how things were resolved. There were a few hints as to what could be the problem, but having the tomb be cursed For Real and a Real Goddess come to take it back was not only a poor way to end the book, but also a bit insensitive, in my opinion, especially in how it was handled and how it wasn't really addressed after the fact. Overall, the concept was great, I think there's a set-up of a sequel, but i'm not sure i'd continue the series.

A group of very different women meet at an Egyptology lecture in the early 20th century, and form The Lady Adventurers Club.
This was a fun thrill ride of a story, with mystery and car chases. The scenes of different cities in Egypt, complete with some of the unrest of the time, enhances the storyline, the characters, and the stakes of the chase.
The turn into fantasy at the end was a little jarring, though it had been hinted at throughout. But I actually enjoyed it once I went with it.
My biggest issue of this book is the way Anna and Clara interact. Anna comes on incredibly strong to say the least. But it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth how she crosses boundaries with a "I know you'll love it once I show you" attitude. This is especially true since the women talk about the culture of men acting entitled and abusive. Although there is a happy resolution, I couldn't shake my bad feeling through the end.
All in all, a good read. I would recommend for the excitement, the taste of history, and the characters themselves.

Thank you,, Bella Books, for allowing me to read The Lady Adventurers Club early!

I quite enjoyed this Indiana-Jones--esque novel!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for granting me permission to review this ARC.

Overall, I enjoyed it and hope that it will become a series. Each character was different enough to add something special to the storyline, however I found sectioning off portions as if it were from each perspective to be redundant. It didn't seem to add a significant enough personal details to make it worth it. I especially felt like I didn't get much of a backstory on Eliza. The relationship between Anna and Clara felt a bit rushed considering Clara's backstory and Anna was almost predatory in her persuasion.
The last bit of supernatural elements was unexpected and felt artificial, I wish it had been sprinkled throughout the story rather than one large event in the end.
The best way to describe the book is a strange blend of the Mummy and the all female remake of Ghostbusters, that somehow works well together.

The Lady's Adventures Club by Karen Frost.

Thank you Netgallery for a ARC e-book copy for an unbiased review.
Historical fiction. Check
wlw main characters. Check.
Aspects in any book I love.

Overall I enjoyed the book and would have happily given this 4 stars. Possibly even 5 stars. It is though set at 3 stars for me. Although the reality is more 3.5.
What did I enjoy? Overall the settings and characters were intriguing and felt pretty good for the story at hand. I felt the author did a great job at bringing each character's history to us, allowing us to understand their motivations in the present.
Needless to say, we begin with Lady Anna Baring, and instinctively you know she's going to be wiped from the history of a certain archaeological find. And sure enough, that is what occurs. From that, she does a talk, where we are introduced to the 3 other women. From there, after correspondence is sent, they join Anna in Egypt to go on a dig she is arranging for a previously undiscovered tomb.
Suffice to say, there are shenanigans afoot, and it doesn't go to plan. I won't write more on this so as not to spoil it.

The world-building was good. Solid in its execution and you felt that sense of the historical aspects easily. But from there it also needed some greater expansion in one of two areas, not least, the religious aspect, which seemed to be crammed in to make a plot point work, rather than brought in greater detail earlier.

It also veered unexpectedly - for me at least - into a paranormal storyline. While in itself, this isn't usually something I'd have any kind of problem with, it seemed at odds with the synopsis and overall premise the book implied. Yes, there is a hint with 'weird, unnerving things seem to happen wherever they go,' but it doesn't encompass for me at least, what actually was coming. Do not get me wrong, perhaps if there had been more to show it was there, for example in the tags (I only see Historical fiction and LGBTQIA tagged on Netgallery) then it wouldn't have been quite such a jarring experience.


I also felt at times Anna was manipulative, particularly when it came to the romance aspect, and that made me feel somewhat uncomfortable reading it. Which is a shame, as I felt a similar vein of difficulty in wlw relationships of the time could've been achieved without it being done that specific way. I've read other wlw historical fiction where it has indeed been tackled without a need for that aspect.

Overall, though it is a solid book for a wlw audience. I feel nothing really stood out, but it also isn't a bad book to read. Hence a solid 3 out of 5 star rating for me. I'd certainly still recommend this as a book to read for anyone who enjoys this genre.

The book is about a group of (at first) unlikely friends that form a "ladies' adventurers club' because women aren't accepted in (men's) explorer's club in the 1920s.

I was super excited seeing their adventure in Egypt following Anna's new discovery. I really wanted to know how they'd get out of everything that happened and how they'd prove to society that women can do what men can. But I didn't get what I hoped for. Only at the end of the book the religion of Ancient Egypt plays its part, without it being actually acknowledged before. I also thought they would tackle more on the club... so If it's a standalone book I wish we got more of it.

Also the romance between Anna and Clara.... didn't sit well with me. I usually fancy sapphic romance in books, and actually seek f/f relationship in books other than romance, but I caught myself skipping some pages when they were interacting because it actually bothered me to read it. In their first encounter I thought they had chemistry, but then as they meet again, their romance felt almost predator like and it lacked the spark they once had.

The Lady Adventurers Club by Karen Frost
⭐⭐⭐

CW: Colonialism, Jim Crow, gun violence, homophobia


What a fun adventure about a group of women in their late 30s/40s racing to recover Egyptian artifacts The Lady Adventurers Club is a magical realism historical fantasy about four women (Anna, Clara, Eliza and Georgette) who meet by happenstance and form a friendship while trying to track down a group of looters and grave robbers across Egypt. The historical aspect of the book delivered. Frost clearly took her time researching Egyptian History, Colonial Imperialism, Geography, and political influence of nations in the early 1920s of each area mentioned in the story. The setting came alive at every turn and really grounded each of our four main protagonists and felt like the driving force of the story as well as character development. Anna, Clara, Eliza and Georgette are lovely characters and each gets their time to shine as narrator and show off their individual skills that help the group excel at whatever challenge is before them.

As much as I did enjoy the book there were a few things that somewhat bothered me. First, I feel the religion of Ancient Egypt played such a small part of the book.Without spoiling anything, I will say that it felt shoehorned in at the last minute to conveniently wrap things up. Had the religion of Ancient Egypt been mentioned earlier and weaved into the narrative from the beginning, I think the ending would have had a greater impact.

My second criticism was that the tone of the story occasionally felt off. For a book marketed to and for an adult audience there were times when the dialogue and some scenes felt a bit juvenile. So much so that I had to go back into previous chapters to check a character’s age because what they were saying or doing doing didn’t feel like it matched a 30/40 year old person. I owe this more to the fact that Frost has written several YA books (none that I’ve read), and this appears to be one of their first books for adult readers. I’m sure if The Lady Adventurers Club continues as a series this may improve.

Last, and my biggest criticism, the romance between Anna and Clara seemed a bit predatory and manipulative most of the time. This does get addressed between Anna and Eliza at one point and while it doesn’t change Anna’s actions, I was happy someone in the book called her out and stepped into stop it. To be honest, I wasn’t as invested in Anna and Clara’s relationship almost at all. It didn’t really do much for the story if they were together or not. But, this has stayed with me since finishing the book and thought it should be addressed.

Overall, if you are looking for a book with strong female protagonists who are ride or die for each other, or just a fan of the 1999 classic the Mummy and wanted it to have more queer representation, this book may be for you.

Thank you Netgalley and Bella Books for an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Good story. Lost Egyptian tomb. Mysterious villains trying to find it. Supernatural forces trying to protect it? Do the ladies find it?
Hope there is a sequel to this.

I requested an ARC for this book as the premise sounded interesting and it was categorised as LGBTQ+ and historical fiction, both genres of fiction that I enjoy!

Unfortunately, the book seemed a bit too YA for me, and it stumbled into the area of fantasy towards the end. Personally, I’m not a fan of either of those genres and I wouldn’t have requested the book had I known that.

I do however, really enjoy mythology and had the novel shown elements of mythology throughout I could have enjoyed it more - I do feel it was thrown in at the end to tie up loose ends and create an air of mystique.

I really enjoyed that the characters were all “older” (not teens/in their 20’s) and were LGBT. The book was quite feminist and I liked the anti colonial theme throughout, with the British Empire having retreated from Egypt.

I would recommend the book for anyone who enjoys YA LGBTQ+ and feminist fiction. It wasn’t to my taste but it made an okay read.

I love ancient Egyptian history and mix that with feminists on an adventure and I am all for it. This book is about an archeologist (Anna Baring) who finds a Pharaoh's tomb and invites the three other members of the Lady Adventurers Club (Georgette, Clara, and Eliza) to the great unveiling. Along the way, it all goes wrong and the women are set on a chase for their life against thieves and ancient myths. The plot was intriguing and enjoyable and I didn't want to put it down. Each woman had their own personality and clearly thought out voice. However, at times Anna struck me as manipulative which made me a little weary.

Overall enjoyable and I look forward to more adventures with the foursome.

Fun beginning of what I hope is a new series. Lady Anna Baring is an archeologist living most of her life in Egypt. Her work was conveniently ignored by Carter for the finding of King Tutankhamen’s tomb and she wants a great historical find of her own. While in NYC she meets and spends a dinner with three women. To their shock months later Anna invites the French mathematician, the pilot barnstormer and the quiet wild west trick shooter to Egypt to witness her latest discovery. Time is spent getting to know each other the characters during the travels but action heats up an attempt is made on their lives. I love the descriptions for the time period in history and especially the happenings in Egypt as they try and leave colonialism. The villain isn’t much a mystery but I was surprised at the story taking a paranormal turn. This is an adventure to read, think Indiana Jones but with a team of talented women. Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.