If the 1999 Brandan Fraser and Rachel Weisz classic, The Mummy and the 2009 Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law Sherlock Holmes had an intrepid teenager obsessed with Dracula, the result would be The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett.
When Theodora Fox’s treasure-hunting father fails to turn up at the hotel in Istanbul, Theo is surprised to find her ex-best friend and possible love of her life, Huck Gallagher in his place. She has no time to process the shock of seeing him, as her hotel is ransacked by a dangerous coterie of priests and mysterious men. The two flee, hoping to follow the cryptograms that Theo’s father left her in his beloved journal on a mad quest for Dracula’s potentially murderous ring. It isn’t easy for Theo to put aside her feelings for Huck, the hate and the anger at being left behind a year ago fueling her desire to find her father and put this all behind her. And with each new destination, the journey becomes fraught with danger and the chance of them all escaping unscathed dwindle.
Fans of Jenn Bennett know that this is her first fantasy debut and what a fantasy debut it was! Heart-pounding, mysterious and swoon-worthy, this book has earned Jenn the title of Queen of the Hate To Love Romance (or maybe the Exasperated to Love). She has a talent for creating characters that you desperately want to get back together based on the few pages of background (almost all her characters have some of shared history that occurred before the start of the book and it provides enough romantic tension to be believable).
From the get-go, a reader can tell this is going to be a well-plotted romp. I found myself late constantly while reading because I just had to read a chapter or two more.
Go forth and read this fantastic, swoon-worthy, exciting novel and then immediately after, find me on twitter so we can talk about it! And then you have to read all of Jenn’s other books because they’re fantastic. Happy reading!
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