Title: The Lady Rogue
Author: Jenn Bennett
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Edition/Pages: Ebook 384 pages
Goodreads page

I received an arc copy of this from Simon and Schuster via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Summary

This takes place in 1937 and follows Theordora Fox whose father is a treasure hunter and world traveller. Once again she is left behind in a hotel while her father tracks down some ancient relic. But then the boy who suddenly disappeared from her life a year ago, shows up at her hotel and tells her, her father is missing and may be in trouble.

The two them travel across Eastern Europe to find her father and in the process find a web of dangerous men and occult magic.

Overview

I think this is a case of it’s me, not you. This book just never clicked with me. I’m terrible with history and historical fiction is definitely not my genre. So all the historical references went way over my head…

➸ POV – This is told in 1st person from Theo’s POV and in between each chapter we get a journal entry from her father, Richard’s, journal.

➸ Theodora Fox – 17, Trouble-maker, Believes in magic and curses

➸ Huck Gallagher – 18, Irish, Lost family to a car accident, Taken in by the Fox’s

➸ Richard Fox – Father, Widower, Treasure hunter, MIA

Content Warnings: Death of a parent, Violence

What I Liked

➸ I loved the Romanian setting and mysterious vibes of this story. I’m not a huge fantasy or historical fiction reader, so this book was definitely out of my comfort zone. But I love a good mystery and atmospheric setting so this definitely helped me connect with the story more.

What I Didn’t Like

➸ There was just so much time walking… and walking… and then riding a train… and walking some more. I was 71% into the ebook and I was ready to chuck my kindle across the room if I had to read one more scene about them walking and fighting.

➸ In general things just felt very drawn out. Their travel, their fights, their discussion of their relationship. By the end I was honestly just sick of hearing about all of it.

➸ I hate the miscommunication trope and this had it in spades. Both the main plot and the love plot were built around miscommunication. Not a fan.

➸ The relationship in general I just never got on board with. I didn’t feel anything about or connect with their love story in any way.

➸ And that ending… so much of this book was spent wandering that I was hoping for a big payoff in the end. But this climax lasted for all of a chapter and ended so dang conveniently. I was really disappointed.

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Overall this story wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect to any characters, I didn’t enjoy the meandering pace, and I found the climactic action scene underwhelming.

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