My book reviews for the Scarlet Revolution trilogy by Genevieve Cogman, Scarlet, Elusive and as of September 3rd 2025, Damned.  Please be aware that the reviews for later books contain spoilers.

Revolutionary France is no place to be, especially for aristocrat vampires facing the guillotine. But the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel are determined to rescue them. And they have an ace up their sleeve: Eleanor, a lowly maid from an English estate with a striking resemblance to French royalty.

For Eleanor, the League and their legendary deeds are little more than rumour – until she’s drawn into their most dangerous plot yet. The mission? Travel to France in disguise, impersonate Queen Marie Antoinette and rescue the royal family. If they succeed, it’ll be the heist of the century.

But there’s more to fear than ardent Revolutionaries. For Eleanor stumbles across a centuries-old war between vampires and their fiercest enemy. And they’re out for blood . . .

Sunday Times bestselling Scarlet is the first book in the Scarlet Revolution trilogy, set during the turbulent French Revolution, and featuring all of Genevieve Cogman’s trademark wit and fast-paced plotting. It’s perfect for fans of The Invisible Library series, Kim Newman and Gail Carriger.

This book was provided for free by Black Crow PR and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

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It is my pleasure to be a part of the UK Blog Tour for Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman, hosted by Black Crow PR. This is the first book in her new series set in the French Revolution. It’s a Scarlet Pimpernel retelling with vampires, which I naturally jumped at as soon as I heard about it! While I’ve never read the original book, I adored the TV Show with Richard E. Grant, and we all know how much I love vampires. I’ve had Genevieve Cogman on my TBR for years and haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy of her The Invisible Library series. 

Scarlet is the type of book that was either going to be amazing or fail miserably, and thankfully, it’s as brilliant as it sounds. It follows the story of Eleanor, a young servant in a vampire’s household. One day, she’s given the opportunity to serve drinks to her mistress’s guests. It should be just another day in the life of a maid, but what Eleanor doesn’t know is that her life is about to change forever. The guests are, in fact, Sir Percy Blakeney and his wife, Lady Marguerite Blakeney, and they need Eleanor to help them save vampires from facing the guillotine in France.

Whisked away to the Blakeney’s estate, Eleanor finds herself in a very different world from the one she’s known before. She learns new skills and is treated like an equal rather than a servant. All she has to do is help the Blakeney’s and their friends with a mission to France, a mission only she can help with because she looks like a noblewoman they want to save. Once they’re sure of Eleanor’s commitment to their cause, they reveal to her that it isn’t a noblewoman that she resembles, it’s the Queen of France – the infamous Marie Antoinette. Despite the danger, Eleanor’s resolve doesn’t waver; it’s not just the Queen that’s at risk, it’s her two children. If Eleanor can help save lives, then she’s going to do everything she can to help.

In Scarlet Cogman showcases her skills as an established writer by deftly combining the supernatural with historical events, while being sensitive to the unrest that fueled The French Revolution. As Eleanor learns all about what is happening in France, first from her tutor Charles and later firsthand in Paris, so do we. Cogman does well to avoid information dumping, weaving the information into interesting scenes that show character growth. I learned far more about the French Revolution reading this book than I ever did whilst reading a history book, and with the wide variety of characters, it was an unbiased view. Normally, The Scarlet Pimpernel is very biased towards nobility, but with a former maid as the main character, we’re offered a much-needed fresh perspective.

Fast-paced with adventure at every turn, Scarlet is an enjoyable read with charming characters. Despite the pace of the book, Eleanor’s journey from a simple maid to a spy did not feel unrealistic, and she grew well into her new position by the end of the book. I absolutely loved Lady Blakeney and hope we see more of her in the next one.

I’m not quite sure why this wasn’t a five-star read for me. When rating a book, I question how the book made me feel in comparison to other books I’ve rated five stars, and there was just something missing with Scarlet that didn’t quite compare. I think it might just be that this was book one, and while it was great to witness Eleanor’s growth, we’re left at the end of the book on the precipice of what could be. I’m interested in seeing what happens next now that Eleanor is in a very different position from what she was at the start of the book. That isn’t a complaint about Scarlet or Cogman’s writing; we needed to see Eleanor’s journey, we needed to be there with her on it, and the next book is going to be all the better for it. The scene is set for book two, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Eleanor and her friends next!

Revolutionary France is full of blood and bite, as vampires plot for power. Featuring Genevieve Cogman’s trademark wit and fast-paced plotting, Elusive is the second book in the Sunday Times bestselling Scarlet Revolution trilogy.

Eleanor, once a lowly English maid, is now a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, know for their daring deeds and rescuing aristocrat vampires from the guillotine.

Eleanor and the League are investigating the disappearance of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, the notorious French statesman and diplomat. But they soon uncover two vampire parties feuding for power, and learn that Talleyrand's disappearance is part of a bigger, more dangerous scheme – one that threatens to throw France into bloody chaos . . .

Perfect for fans of The Invisible Library series, Kim Newman and Gail Carriger, Elusive is the thrilling follow-up to Scarlet, a witty and inventive retelling of the beloved tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

Elusive by Genevieve Cogman continues the story of maid Eleanor and her involvement with the Scarlet Pimpernel. Now working as a maid in the Blakeney household when not accompanying Sir Percy and his friends on missions, Eleanor’s perspective of the world and her place in it has started to change since the events of her first mission to France. She has been back there several times since, and can’t help comparing the ways that the English aristocracy while away their time drinking as people die in France.

It’s not just Eleanor’s worldview that has grown; she’s recognising the way that her friends, especially the noblemen, treat her. When they need a woman, especially someone who can pose as a servant, they are happy to have her along on their missions, but when she tries to act on her own, she is told it is too dangerous. Those feelings grow even stronger when Sir Percy goes missing in France while on the hunt for the notorious French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyran.

For safety, the Chief likes to keep things close to the vest, meaning that if a member of the League is caught, they only know so much. It’s a good tactic until he’s the one that’s missing, leaving the rest of the League struggling to put the pieces together with little intel to go on. Determined to be of use and not made to sit on the sidelines, Eleanor starts to make her own plans alongside those of the League with the help of Anima, the mage spirit inhabiting her body.

But things in France are getting more dangerous, and as Eleanor and the League try to find Sir Percy and their other missing friends, they stumble across more than they bargained for.

After finishing the first book, I had hoped to see more development of Eleanor in this book, and Cogman certainly delivered on that front! I felt that the way her thoughts and awareness changed was very on point with her experiences, as well as the period she lived in. It was particularly startling to start the novel with her as a maid, to be honest, rather than living as a peer to the Blakeneys or running a modiste as discussed at the end of the last book. There are also multiple times during Elusive when Cogman steers the point back to Eleanor’s low social status, as Eleanor herself reminds us of the harsh reality of living in Georgian England.

That didn’t get tedious, however, at the start of the book, Eleanor’s constant back-and-forth about whether the nobles considered her part of the team or even cared for her was beginning to wear on me. While a maid might find it difficult to accept, members of the aristocracy could act honourably or accept her as family, the situation Eleanor finds herself in isn’t a normal situation. She has, by this point, been on several missions and in incredible danger alongside these men. The bond between them is beyond social classes.

What it isn’t, is beyond gender, and Cogman does a fine job of showing the disparity between how they treat Eleanor compared to Marguerite. Whether it is Lady Blakeney’s history, experience with age or that she is the Chief’s wife, she is treated with much more respect, and while they protect her, they would never dream of telling her she couldn’t go somewhere if she put her mind to it. Unlike Eleanor, who they treat as a little sister rather than one of them.

A lot happens in Elusive, and Cogman has done a wonderful job of spinning a conspiracy. A character whom I expected never to see again (and wrote off as a nobody) is suddenly very much in the thick of it, and I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes. There is also a scene between Eleanor and someone else, which was my favourite part of the book, and I’m very happy with the way that Cogman chose to handle that character.

I would have liked to have learned a bit more about some things, but I can also see why Cogman chose to only reveal so much in this book. Book three is going to be an absolute cracker, that’s for sure!

For a former English maid, the stakes have never been higher . . .

Damned is the final book in the Scarlet Revolution series, a spellbinding adventure of magic, vampires and mayhem from the bestselling author of the Invisible Library series.

1794. Eleanor, former English maid, is a member of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel - and now a promising mage. With a vampire plot thwarted in Paris, the League’s next daring rescue is that of the Pimpernel’s beloved wife, Lady Marguerite, imprisoned in her London townhouse on unjust charges of treason and espionage.

But Lady Marguerite’s captivity is only the first threat from the League's vampiric enemy. With the King known to be ill, possibly mad, England is not as it should be. Vampires conspire to take control over the whole country whilst challenging Eleanor and the League at every turn.

But then, using her growing magical powers, Eleanor uncovers a devastating, centuries-old secret. It is one so steeped in blood, that it will change not only England, but the entire vampire world, forever . . .

Discover where Eleanor's journey first began in the Sunday Times bestseller, Scarlet.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

After the events of Elusive, Eleanor finds herself alone, her spirit guide, Anima, departed from the living world. As the only living mage that the League knows of, she is the key to stopping the vampires’ plans for England. As the country starts to devolve into chaos, with riots spreading like wildfire, the League find one of their own in the crosshairs. The Scarlet Pimpernel’s wife, Lady Marguerite, has been accused of treason and is under house arrest, an attempt by the vampires to keep the League distracted. 

Now that they know that Lady Sophie, Eleanor’s former Mistress, is more involved with the vampire conspiracy than they realised, the entire League and their families are at risk. After a daring rescue of Marguerite, Eleanor and her companions head to Oxford, hoping to find some clue that will give them an advantage over the vampires before the country they love is irrevocably changed.

I was looking forward to Damned, especially after the first two books being superb. The finale felt quite ‘meh’ in comparison, especially the big reveal. I have to admit it was a different approach, the problem for me is that it felt like it came out of nowhere. The character linked directly to the ‘weapon’ that the League are searching for was treated like a minor character in the first book. Although they become more significant in the second book, their role in the third book felt limited. Their role didn’t feel nearly developed enough for them to play such a key role, with their lackeys taking centre stage. 

In addition to the disappointing reveal, the end was quite cliché with a fairytale nuance that felt out of place. Eleanor’s growth from the previous book felt like it disappeared in Damned, with her constantly complaining that she “was only a servant”. By this point in the story, she is the only known living mage and clearly is not just a maid. The first few times it is mentioned reads as anxiety; after that, it felt repetitive and started to grate on my nerves.

It was good to see Lady Margeurite in action, and there are some wonderful scenes with her, Eleanor and Charles. There are considerably fewer scenes with Sir Percy as a result, which makes sense considering the situation. I would have liked to have seen more of the couple together; however, this is Eleanor’s story, not theirs. 

While Damned was not quite to my liking, Cogman does wrap things up neatly and offers options for future stories set in the same universe. An origin story for one of the characters would be particularly interesting and would explain some of the inconsistencies I’ve mentioned.

Thanks for reading my book review for the Scarlet Revolution series by Genevieve Cogman!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!

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