The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

I really loved the interactions and personal growth without situations or personalities seeming to be contrived. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I am all kinds of in love with this cover!

This was such a heartwarming mother & daughter story. ❤️ A leisurely told historical fiction that takes place during the second world war and which pulls from the stories of the lost colony of Roanoke and the Dare stones. It was beautifully written. Overall, it was well paced. However, I found that sometimes the story slowed to a snail's pace. That said, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. I loved the setting. It was very atmospheric, and the author did an amazing job of immersing you into that setting. The characters were all likable and had depth. What more can I say? Yours truly is giving this one, two solid thumbs up!

ARC Via NetGalley

Interesting Twist On Dual Timeline Historical Fiction. Over the course of 800+ books in the last three years alone, I've read quite a few dual timeline historical fiction books. Generally, one of the timelines is “current”, or at least mostly current - end of the 20th century at its oldest. Here, the “current” timeline is actually much older - the last months of WWII - and the “older” timeline is much older - 16th century. The poetic prose here highlights the idealized South of the pre-air conditioning era... and yet also doesn't shy away from discussing some of its lower points, including both slavery and extrajudicial murders. (I intentionally don't use a particular “l” word there, as it generally has connotations that do not apply in the particular situation in the book.) All of this is wrapped around the mysterious Dare stones and how so many of them could be judged to be fake... except the first one, Eleanor Dare's stone and the tale therein inscribed isn't necessarily so easily dismissed. The care Brock takes to show an atypical yet also completely realistic and plausible tale of what happened and why to Ms. Dare is quite remarkable, and indeed this shines through in the variety of other situations portrayed in this book as well. It quickly becomes readily apparent that Ms. Brock is a Southern storyteller of the best form - one that doesn't excuse the atrocities of our past, yet one that also respects the real and vibrant cultures of the era, showing that even while misguided on particular points, the overall people were not the monsters many non-Southern (or even Southern of particular political persuasions) writers portray them as. Truly a remarkable work in so many ways, and very much recommended.

This was a real interesting book. Roanoke has fascinated people from the beginning, everyone wondering what happened to those who were left behind. Told from the perspective of Eleanor Dare, the expedition leaders daughter, this is a book that will captivate and keep you interested the entire way through.

Great book, easy weekend read.