Sometimes doing what’s right... is murder. Roguelyn only ever wanted to save her father, not be a dutiful Duke’s daughter, so when she accidentally kills a fellow soldier in the king’s army, she is forced to flee into enemy territory. With no support and a price on her head in her own country, she must must convince a thief, a spy, and a bard to help her rescue her father and clear her name. Alone in a country ravaged by war, dealing with her own trauma, and navigating a foreign court, Roguelyn’s only chance at success is to rely on her friends for help. Will Roguelyn push past her own barriers and save her father and her kingdom? Or will her own stubbornness and fear become too large to overcome?
R.A. Lewis is a sci-fi and fantasy author. She lives in Oregon with her husband, two dogs, four cats, and 247 fish. R.A. Lewis has two degrees from the University of Oregon in Psychology and Sociology and loves to explore mental illness, trauma, and the depths of emotion and passion in the human experience within her writing. Her favorite ways to recharge (so she doesn't pull her hair out from arguing with her characters) are reading, daydreaming, spending time with her human and fur family, watching zombie movies/shows, swimming, working out, and napping.
You can visit her on Facebook (R.A.LewisAuthor), Instagram (@author.r.a.lewis), Amazon (ralewis), Pinterest (authorralewis), or her website (www.authorralewis.com). You can also follow her on Bookbub for reviews.
R. A. Lewis' debut YA fantasy novels follows a young Duke's daughter, Roguelyn, as she attempts to save her father from the fortress of an enemy king.
The novel started dramatically, something I always enjoy, though we were not given an extensive view into the heroine's life before the story begins. The plot was well balanced and there was always a bit of action around the corner.
Roguelyn is quite your typical teenager, full of angst and the surety that she knows what she is doing. At times this left me frustrated with her, but at others it made her all the more relatable. However as the book progresses, she remains the teenager but does grow to be more mature. I liked her much more later on and as the end came I found myself insistent that she get a happy ending!
I didn't like Will, and found him to be ignorant and annoying, although of course this is essential to the plot line. A lot of the other side characters were loveable and had unique personalities, which I enjoyed!
I found that at times the writing could be quite basic, but the story read easily with simple, classic wording. There was some beautiful description in places. The dialogue varied; at times it was genuine and casual, but at others it felt a little forced.
I wasn't so sure how I felt about the love story…there seemed to be a large number of men who liked Roguelyn. At first I wasn't so keen on her relationship with Liam, because it was quite predictable, but I ended up liking them together. As for Hawkin, when we first met him I really disliked him, but as the plot moved on I began to respect him because he was always loving to Roguelyn, even though he kind of threatened her at first…as you can tell, the characters have complicated relationships with each other, which made them all more likeable or dislikeable and definitely made them seem more real.
I loved reading the story of Roguelyn struggling to find her place in a man's world, although at other times the storyline was somewhat cliche, but these days it's hard to find fantasy that isn't!
Some of the issues included were very important, and I definitely feel this book sends an important message in regards to sexual assault, though those who want to read it should consider this a trigger warning; it does contain scenes of violence and sexual assault.
I really liked this indie fantasy novel, so thank you to RA for sending me an ebook copy to review. Go read it, ya'll!
I enjoyed writing this book. I put so much of myself into Roguelyn, including some of her traumas that I sometimes have a hard time separating myself from the story.
This is a standalone fantasy novel with some romance, intrigue, violence, and adventure.
Roguelyn is strong, so strong. She pushes past her own PTSD and learns to deal with her trauma through action. She's not afraid of a fight. Of course Hawkin will steal your heart away like the criminal he is, but ultimately charismatic and protective Liam takes the cake. And a personal favorite of mine is Henndo. He's based off a friend of mine who truly is the sweetest, most understanding and caring dude you've ever met. And Henndo looks just like him. He even helped me do character design for Henndo when I was just beginning to write the book.
I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.