Book Review: The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare (arc)

The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare (arc) (2022) by Kimberley Brock

Fiction | Historical Fiction

Disclaimer: In every review that I complete, I try my best to avoid spoilers of any kind and include spoiler warnings when necessary.

About the book (from Goodreads)

The fate of the world is often driven by the curiosity of a girl.

What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke remains a mystery, but the women who descended from Eleanor Dare have long known the truth lies in what she left behind: a message carved onto a large stone and the contents of her treasured Commonplace Book. Brought from England on Eleanor’s fateful voyage to the New World, her book was passed down through the fifteen generations of daughters who followed as they came of age. Thirteen-year-old Alice had been next in line to receive it, but her mother’s tragic death fractured the unbroken legacy and the Dare Stone and the shadowy history recorded in the book faded into memory. Or so Alice hoped.

In the waning days of World War Two, Alice is a young widow and a mother herself when she is unexpectedly presented with her birthright: the deed to Evertell, her abandoned family home and the history she thought forgotten. Determined to sell the property and step into a future free of the past, Alice returns to Savannah with her own thirteen-year-old daughter, Penn, in tow. But when Penn’s curiosity over the lineage she never knew begins to unveil secrets from beneath every stone and bone and shell of the old house and Eleanor’s book is finally found, Alice is forced to reckon with the sacrifices made for love and the realities of their true inheritance as daughters of Eleanor Dare.

In this sweeping tale from award-winning author Kimberly Brock, the answers to a real-life mystery may be found in the pages of a story that was always waiting to be written.

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Note: Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for allowing me access to this arc! Please note that all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Review

The synopsis for this book is fascinating, and as a lover of historical fiction, I was pretty excited to read it. Especially since the Lost Colony of Roanoke is a fascinating mystery that I examined during my History degree. For the most part, it was a good read. I found myself entranced by the beautiful mystery of Evertell that Brock paints a picture of.

The unknown was powerful. It was the monster in the dark, the secret in the box, the poison in the wine.

The Good Things

1. The story, overall, is a fantastic concept. It is fitting for historical fiction (at least the second half) and is a fast read, despite the merging storylines and multi-generational aspects.

2. The main character's sense of loss is profound, and reflective of

3. The dual timelines were written really well! I've read books where it takes away from the overall story, and that was definitely not the case with The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare.

4. The family's homestead is described exceptionally well. I find myself wanting to go there and see it for myself.

5. The writing is beautiful and seems heartfelt. It is clear that the author was passionate about the story and (most of) her characters.

The Bad Things

1. The history aspects that I was looking forward to (Roanoke history) took way too long to get around to, and I'm still a tiny bit disappointed.

2. This is the first time in a while that I've read a book where one of the main characters is not exceptionally likable, despite the fact that she is clearly supposed to be.

My Final Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5

Release Date: April 12, 2022. Pre-order this from Amazon by clicking here!

If you have access to this ARC, please feel free to leave comments concerning how you liked -or didn't like, no judgment here- it! If you don't have access, let me know if this is on your tbr! I would love to hear your thoughts!