Sharon Cameron

An arranged marriage escalates into a tantalizing game of cat and mouse for Sophia Bellamy and the wealthy René Hasard in the Sunken City that was once Paris, where a vigilante is either freeing or kidnapping imprisoned opponents of the new revolution that is unfolding in the city. Simultaneous eBook.

Rook

Megan During

Rachel Kanyid

I'm not sure why, but I just really don't like the historical style setting in this book.... The French revolution-esque future thing just...wasn't my thing. 
Otherwise I liked it okay. The story was very adventurous, and I'm sure a lot of other people will really love it.

jess

The premise made me REALLY happy but the pacing was so slow that I couldn't focus myself on the book. Too many POV jumps and the romance was annoying and it took way too long to get to the end.

Mary Horton

I decided on 4 stars, though it may be subject to change in the future. We'll see once I end up reviewing it. ^_^

Aleena Korell

This book was not perfect... but I really, really enjoyed it.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my favorite books, but I've found it's an underrated classic, especially to younger people; so I was certainly surprised and excited to find a retelling/tribute to it in YA fiction. I was a little wary I'd be disappointed, but HAD to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did.

The beginning had me nervous. It started off far too similar to TSP's beginning, nearly parallel in every way. But a few chapters in, it veered off in a new direction, and once we got to know the two most central characters, Sophia and René, I was satisfied. Cameron puts enough twist on TSP to keep you guessing, but stay a fitting tribute to the amazing original characters. 

The good: Sophia and René were fantastic. The one complaint I had at the end of TSP was not seeing MORE witty banter between Marguerite and Percy. I got it here. Their relationship was a slow burn, Sophia initially loathing him, the two not really being able to trust each other but wanting and having to. And they're just fun-- both have an affinity for sneaking around, climbing out of windows, nicking things, and general mischief. MINIMAL SWOONING, thankfully, and maximum mischief. The stakes were high and the characters were pushed to their limits. Really, it was just an all-around enjoyable story. 

The not-as-good: There's a whole side-plot where we're in a dystopian world that feels like Revolutionary France and technology is ancient history, and it was just unnecessary. The book overall is a bit too long, and taking that plot out entirely could probably have fixed that problem and made it more concise. I almost wish it had been set in actual Revolutionary France instead, or even just its own world. And yes, there IS a love triangle-- and while I don't hate it, I can't say I love it either. It's good character development for Sophia, the separate foils of both Spear and René. It puts tension on what kind of person she truly is vs the personality others project upon her. But I'd think that Spear knows Sophia better than he seems to after growing up with her. The villain, LeBlanc, wasn't all that sneaky, either-- just obsessive; and his obsession with the goddess of Fate made him a slightly less than formidable opponent than I'd imagine the Rook would require. But even with few sneaks he kept up with lots of crazy, and the tension built nicely to a satisfying conclusion. 

Overall, really loved it. Sophia is a great heroine-- not all-powerful or perfect, but intelligent and strong as a woman and as a heroine. René is a really enjoyable character, a fun expansion and twist on all the Sir Percy wittiness/mischief in The Scarlet Pimpernel... which everyone should definitely also read :)

b.andherbooks

Rook is a swashbuckling adventure story set in a distant future UK and Paris where all technology is considered "mythical" and the terror of guillotine (now called a razor) is back in full force. 

A young girl named Sophia, supported by her family and friends, secretes out prisoners of the repressive Parisian regime under the guise of a man called "The Rook." When she isn't masquerading as the Rook, she is hoping that her arranged marriage to a wealthy Parisian named Rene Hasard will help rescue her family's estate (and continue her secret work). 

When Sophia and Rene finally meet, they find themselves both helplessly attracted to one another, yet not able to trust their feelings or each others motives. Neither Sophie or Renee are what they seem, and as they begin a dangerous and exciting dance towards each other this may mean certain death under the Razor's blade, especially when Sophia's brother is arrested as the Rook and they plan to rescue him.

Sort of a blend between The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Tale of Two Cities, and classic YA Dystopia, Rook impressed the hell out of me. Sophia is an excellent female character. She is strong, resourceful, witty, and able to take care of business. Rene is her foil - charming, suave, yet with his own secrets. Their banter and sexual tension is A-MAZ-ING, and I love how the ending played out (no typical YA fare there).

Rook is completely self contained in this one novel, bravo to Cameron who could easily have turned this into a trilogy. Since it is one book, I did find the world building a bit on the light side (I was a little confused about the pseudo religion that came a bit out of nowhere for me), but with everything else being so excellent, I didn't even care while reading. There is a nice author note at the end explaining Cameron's thought and logic on this world and was really appreciated.

Also, this is who I kept picturing as Rene (although a bit less refined):


Highly recommend.

Rook

Reviews