This is one of those rare wonderful authors you find on Net Galley and read everything they write. Susanna Kearsley is masterful at historical fiction . Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinions are my own.

This book is the prequel to The Winter Sea. This is a sweeping historical drama set in Scotland during the 1700's. We are introduced. to Lily and Adam. It is their story as they navigate a new world of politics. Politics and religion are at the forefront of their world with the new Union of Scotland with England causing upheaval. This is the fascinating story of the Jacobites and religious restrictions of the time, of forging new alliances and new politics. It is fascinating and I enjoyed this book from beginning to end.
A wonderful book I highly recommend.

It's 1707 and Scotland is suffering unrest during the Jacobite rebellion.  Lily Graeme comes forward to claim her husband's wages after his death in service of his country.  The problem is in proving they were married at all. Adam Williamson is one of the men on the committee to decide on the validity of her claim, but he finds himself less than impartial because he's very attracted to her.  The story jumps back and forth throughout Lily's life,  with a lot of historical and political information of the times. I loved Lily's story,  but I got a bit lost in the complicated history. Overall probably 3.5 stars for me rounded up to 4.
I received an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

I ended up enjoying this history-laden historical fiction with a twist.

The first half of the book is filled with Scottish history, a plethora of characters and two timelines. Because of this the first half of the book was a bit of a confusing slog for me. However, about halfway through there is a plot twist to this story that I was not expecting at all! This propelled me forward to finish the book as quickly as I could so I could figure it all out in the end.

It is clear that a lot of research went into this story and I learned a lot of elements of Scottish history that I did not know about. Mainly, that Scotland tried to found a colony in the Americas called New Caledonia, Darien, near the Isthmus of Panama.

The second half of this book grabbed and held my attention with the plot twist woven into rich historical detail.

I received an advanced copy from Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 rounded up

Canadian author Susanna Kearsley is known for her in-depth research and vivid descriptions that bring history to life in stories that have two timelines - usually one modern and the other historical. In this latest book, a companion/prequel to her much loved book The Winter Sea, Kearsley changes things up a bit by setting both of her timelines in 18th century Scotland.

The first timeline follows the investigation into whether Lily, a young widow of a Scottish soldier, is owed financial compensation after his death while in service to his country. The second timeline shows the reader details of Lily's childhood.

Kearsley, a former museum curator, is known for her love of research and this book is filled with detailed historical facts. But it felt like the storytelling took a back seat to the historical aspect and by including some secondary characters who were based on real people, I feel she may have limited the range of her narrative. I also found the historical details sometimes confusing, and I struggled to keep straight the historical facts and the large character list (of which there were several men named Jamie). The story takes a bit of time to get going, but if readers are patient, Kearsley sets the stage for an ending that will have readers quickly turning the pages until the final twist.

This isn't my favourite book by Susanna Kearsley, but she remains one of my go-to Canadian authors when I'm in the mood for historical fiction. I appreciate her passion for history, and I think this would be a great pick for Scottish history buffs.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for my complimentary digital copy given in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a while since I've read any Susanna Kearsley novels but was intruiged when I saw this was a prequel to The Winters Sea.
The main character in this is Adam Williamson and he is called upon to investigate the marriage of Lily Aitcheson to Jamie Graeme. The story takes place late 17th century/early 18th century
The level of historical information that Susanna gives in her books is astounding and she has a brilliant way of incorporating real characters in her tales of fictional characters
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

It helps immensely, I think, to have a good grip on the important personalities and religious conflicts in Scotland in the late 1600s and early 1700s while reading this well researched novel about a woman trying to prove she is a widow and therefore entitled to the wages of her dead husband. Adam has been tapped to find out the truth about Lily, who claims to have been married to Jamie Graeme. He tells the story in the "present" while it takes a third person perspective when it moves back in time to Lily's history. She was born on the Graeme estate - from a tenant family. Her life was idyllic until it wasn't- it really wasn't- and she struggled to adulthood through abuse, assault, poverty and the rest. Adam picks her life apart in bits as he interviews those connected with her, starting with the witnesses to her wedding. There's a fair amount of drama and then...a twist. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I learned quite a bit about Scotland during this time frame but the novel can be dense in spots because of the detail. I know others were swept away into the story but I kept finding myself hauled back somehow. That said, it's an excellent read for fans of historical fiction.

Set during the time of the Jacobite revolution, the book centres around Lily, the widow of a Darien sailor, who on attempting to claim her husband’s wages, finds herself in the middle of a political upheaval. Told through the eyes of Adam Williamson, he is investigating claims by family members, requesting recompense for their loss, in the line of duty.
Whilst a complicated story with Scottish history, threaded throughout, this book is a fascinating story. I always find it a thrill to uncover a piece of history, whilst reading of the relationships playing out at the time. The plight of Lily and those who suffered for their involvement in a war, that led to considerable loss, highlighted her strength and resolve.
This book held my attention and the rich detail given showed the considerable research, required for this intriguing story. Well worth the read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have so many mixed feelings after reading this book. I want to go back and read it from the beginning again, but it wouldn’t be the same. This is a twisty novel about secrets, and tangled histories, crime and politics and war and love. It's Susanna Kearsley as usual with extra suspense, mystery, and dark and windy closes.

Sergeant Adam Williamson is our narrator. He's just gotten back to Scotland to visit his former commanding officer. While he's visiting, a request comes in from official channels asking his commanding officer (who's not there at the time) to assist with an investigation into a woman who claims she was widowed and deserves her late husband's pension. Adam agrees to take up the investigation in place of his friend, and so he ends up taking us down twisty roads of personal history related to the widow in question but that go as far as international politics.

It's unusual that I don't see plot twists coming, but I didn't have my finger fully on this one until after the denouement. If you like Kearsley's works, or just mysterious historical fiction set in Scotland, try this one.

eARC via NetGalley.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was unfortunately not to my taste and I didn't enoy it. I couldn't come to grip with the language, it felt off for me, I realize it's one of those books it's me, and not the book :)

Included as a top pick in bimonthly October New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

Content Notes: [familial death (by the government, war, illness, etc); sexual grooming of child; attempted rape of child; imprisonment/indenture of child; attempted prostitution of child (hide spoiler)]

4.5 stars

I burst into tears like ten times and stayed up until 5 am, which is how you know Susanna Kearsley wrote a good one. She's one of the best writers of historical fiction right now and a skilled spellcaster of black magic (why else would I care about the Jacobites so much?! Damn those Stewarts!). SUCH a treat for folks who love the Moray/Graeme-connected books. They aren't the protagonists, but the periphery is a delight all the same.

I... have no idea how to review THE VANISHED DAYS? I don't even know if I SHOULD review until I've reread a couple times. A brilliant execution of (mild spoiler about plot structure, not content) [ unreliable narrator, which means that my reread will be VASTLY different than my first read. I bet it's a totally different book since I missed most of the clues initially (in my defense, I read from 11 pm to 5 am. Not my most clear-headed time of the day. (hide spoiler)]. I don't even know what to say about the plot other than it's best to go in without knowing anything. I provided content notes above, if needed. One of the scenes took me aback wrt the darkness, but it was not gratuitous. THE VANISHED DAYS is darker than the other connected books, but it still left me happy in the end. SK puts her characters through the wringer, but I promise the ending is optimistic.

THE VANISHED DAYS is a prequel to The Winter Sea and intersects with many familiar characters (seriously: so many. I was screaming incoherently despite the novel being chill with on-page introductions). The Morays! The Graemes! Captain Gordon! Others I won't name because you will scream! I'm glad the arc had a family tree because I really needed it (why are they all named Anna and James?? Okay, I do know that it's based on a real-life family tree, lolsob). I was also the embodiment of that Leo-pointing-at-TV gif when a secondary character said the words "The Vanished Days" late into the book.

I liked how both MCs were "commoners," for lack of a better word. The connected books haven't always been about aristocrats, but the MCs were still extremely privileged in society (the Moray/Graeme families are blood relations to lairds and grew up in a safe household). This is not true of Lily and [redacted], who have been unsafe/uncomfortable from childhood to present circumstances.

It's interesting how... undevoted some of the characters are to the Jacobite cause. Maybe they're sympathetic, but they're also not passionately fighting for it. [Redacted] says that it's pointless to take a side in politics/religion because the tides always change. Other characters frequently (and tiredly) say that there's always an invasion (in the context of how it ruins their lives/opportunities to travel). None of them are zealots to a cause or "true king" -- they're just ordinary people who get caught up in the political battles of rich aristocrats. It made me realize that the Morays/Graemes arduously fought for the cause because they could afford it. I have other thorny thoughts on the Jacobites and privilege (specifically how it was interesting to view the Moray/Graeme family from an outsider/across-class-lines POV), but they're spoilery. 🤐

I could go on and on, but I won't (my fingers are tired from typing, lol). Such a great read from Kearsley and 100% worth the sleepless night. Fingers crossed for a book featuring Maggie and other spoilery names mentioned at the end. I hope THE VANISHED DAYS works for other SK fans (please talk to me once you've read it!). I have SO MANY thoughts -- on Jacobites, on prostitution, on the Darien scheme. My brain is a swirling chaotic mass and I can't unload on anyone right now, alas.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The history was a bit complicated to me at times. Discovery Lily's tale was intriguing, but the overall pace of the book was a bit slow for me. However, I enjoyed the surprise ending.

Susanna Kearsley has such a gift for story telling that easily transports the reader to another place and time. I will admit there is a lengthy cast of characters and a very detailed historical element that required my full attention and concentration to keep things straight, but the mystery component and twist and turns I’m not accustomed to seeing in historical fiction captivated my attention and had me turning the pages well into the wee hours of the morning. This was my first Susanna Kearsley novel but it won’t be my last. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley (@netgalley) and the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark (@sourcebookslandmark), for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Settle in for an epic journey of the heart!

"There is properly no history; only biography." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson must have been thinking of a book like this one, which brilliantly combines factual events, historical figures, and an exquisite fictional narrative into one of the most absorbing, enthralling romances I've ever read. The author's end notes themselves are a breathtaking historical lesson, adding such dimension to her characters - both fictional and based on real people.

Adam is telling the story of how he and Lily came together, and even when he's telling her side of the story you can feel his respect for the truth and the love he has for her. The surprise twist was a stroke of genius, a masterful secret barely hinted at until it was revealed at the perfect time. The HEA was sublime, perfectly sweet and satisfying for these two.

If you're not a fan of history and just want a romance that gets straight to the point, this isn't the book for you. Adam and Lily's story must be told alongside all the political intrigue of their day because without it, there is no story. This is a book you want to take your time with, rereading the beautiful prose and going back and forth to check what you've just read against what you read a few pages ago. It's the first book I've read by this author, and now all I can think of is grabbing all her other books and carving out the time to meticulously pour over each one like I did with this one.

I spent far too much time researching the internet for more background information on the people and events referenced throughout. This is not a book you just read and move on from; this will give you a book hangover that will stay with you for days as you process everything you've learned along the way. It's everything a book should be, and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

There are no words to describe how amazing this book is! It is now one of my all time favorites (as are the rest of the books in this series). I was hooked from the first paragraph, because Susanna Kearsley has a gift of being able to describe every emotion with such a sublime beauty that I often held my breath until the end of a passage.

While reading The Vanished Days, everything else around me seemed somehow trivial and unimportant compared to what was happening to Lilly and Graeme. I could not put the book down until I knew their complete story.

This book truly has it all! The characters are so real, that I felt I was going through everything together with them--I was right there! Lilly, Graeme, and the narrator are some of the best characters in historical fiction, full of angst and longing and stoic self-sacrifice--such noble souls! They were worthy of our respect and caring. The "villains," though hateful, were totally believable and their motives made sense. There was no "telling" in the book--just showing by the characters' actions.

There was a compelling mystery! Susanna Kearsley has the ability to find a real historical mystery, character or event (one that is not too well known by modern readers), and weave it into a saga that is wholly probable, and fascinating.

The background of eighteenth century Scotland was written with an authenticity and historical detail that immersed me into that era. I kept thinking of the movie, "Somewhere in Time" and how a character from the future traveling back to the past, found a modern penny in his pocket and that brought him back to the present. There were no pennies in this book. It was as if Susanna Kearsley was writing about something in her own time.

It took me weeks after reading this book to stop reliving it in my mind. I was sad to finish it because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to these beloved characters. I hope this series continues. I just cannot get enough!

This ARC was provided by NetGalley, and this review was voluntarily written.
# TheVanishedDays #NetGalley

The Vanished Days is truly a gripping novel that follows the inquiries of Sergeant Adam Williamson as he works with a clerk named Gilroy to determine whether the claims of a woman named Lily Graeme that she was married to the deceased Jamie Graime are true. If her marriage can be proven then she is eligible to collect his owed wages from a government settlement. There are many layers to this novel which jumps back and forth in time between Lily's childhood and the inquiry itself. What at first seems like a simple investigation proves to have many levels which tie into the politics of the time. The more Williamson learns of Lily's past life, the more he is drawn to her. Lily is an interesting character who has overcome many obstacles including being abandoned by her true love. The further you read into the novel, the more you realize that an intricate web of consequences has been created and can't help but wonder how there can be a satisfying end. Much to my delight, the ending did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed The Vanished Days for not only it's careful plotting but also the way Susanna Kearsley painted such a vivid picture in my mind of the world in which Lily lived. I could almost feel the sea breeze at my back!!! .

I’ve been a fan of Susannah Kearsley’s writing for years and have read all of her books, so I was thrilled to be granted an ARC of her latest novel by Simon and Schuster Australia via Netgalley. It didn’t disappoint.

Kearsley is back to her brilliant best with this latest addition to her Jacobite storyline. The Vanished Days serves as a kind of companion or prequel to The Winter Sea and gives background and leadup to that story. She also introduces some of the characters from the other books.

Unlike the earlier Jacobite books there is no supernatural element and the dual time periods are both historical, but this did not, in any way, detract from my enjoyment of this wonderful story. It’s filled with historical detail, heart-wrenching and heart-warming storylines of familial and romantic love, adventure and danger, and a jaw-dropping revelation at the end that I truly didn’t see coming. Now I need to go back and read the novel again to see if there were any clues I missed!

Fans of Susannah Kearsley are sure to feel like they’re back with old friends again. Her previous book, Bellwether was only a 4-star read for me, but The Vanished Days is some of her best writing ever. I thoroughly recommend this novel to her fans, those who love impeccably researched historical romantic fiction, and those who love reading about Scotland.

I’m now going to reread the Jacobite novels in order of their timeline - The Vanished Days, The Winter Sea, The Firebird and A Desperate Fortune.

Oh how I love Susanna Kearsley's beautifully written tales of Scottish history! "The Winter Sea" was a five-star read for me and this prequel (which also can be read as a stand-alone novel) is almost as great. Ms. Kearsley is an incredible storyteller and deftly weaves fact and fiction into a riveting tale of romance and intrigue. She has a talent for breathing life into little-known historical figures and crafting a story around them. "The Vanished Days" has everything I want from historical fiction; vivid characters, an authentic historical backdrop, strong and independent women, a twist of romance, and of course, danger to liven things up. Though the plot was slow to develop at first, I quickly became captivated by Lily's story and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. This is the kind of book for which you forgo your lunch break so that you can read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review.

I had looked forward to reading this story since I enjoy Susanna Kearsley's writing but unfortunately I really found this book to drag.. The book jumps back and forth between Lily's childhood and teen years and then back to the present when they are investigating her story. The Scottish history seemed to weigh the story down and while it might be important I had a hard time keeping track of who was on which side. The only redeeming item in this book is the ending which came as a surprise to me and still leaves me with some questions about what was happening throughout the book.
I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This was the first book I've read by Susanna Kearsley, so I was unfamiliar with her style. This is a slow book and took me some time to finish but I really enjoyed it. I understand that it can be read as a stand alone or as part of her Scottish series. Lily Aitcheson has brought forth a claim to the government for compensation over the death of her husband, James Graham. With the validity of her claim called into question, she is interviewed by a man named Adam Williamson, who upon receiving a request to visit a friend in Edinburgh finds himself standing in the man's place on the inquiry into Lily's claim. Lily's story begins to unfold, bringing with it a harsh past, a deep love, and a great twist at the end. All the characters came to life in this book and the setting was one I hadn't encountered before. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys well researched historical fiction and light historical romance. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. I've been a big fan of Kearsley's writing for years. In fact, the The Winter Sea was my first adult foray into historical fiction, so I was pleased to see a prequel to what I thought should've been a much longer series. I'll admit, this one was a bit harder to get into at first, simply because I hadn't recently read the other 2 books and I was worried there were parts of the story that I'd miss out on or not get by having read them more recently. I think this does well if you haven't read the other 2 books, recently or at all. I'm always a fan of Scottish history, because so few books I've read cover the Jacobites and their history. This was a great read, and I really enjoyed the story of Lily and Adam. Kearsley's books always show a passion for historical research and accuracy. A great, sweeping read for the cooler months!