Where do I even start?

I have been fascinated with the missing colony of Roanoke for as long as I can remember. I was the world's weirdest kid, between that story and the fairy tale Bluebeard.

Eleanore Dare ( and her daughter Virginia) were a constant star in my own mystery stories. What happened to this woman and her child? Kimberly Brock has given us a fascinating tale of possibility.

Alice, in post-WWII, newly widowed, returns to her birthplace in search of her identity. Her daughter Penn is with her and is the age that is supposed to have her vision of her future. Alice has long felt that she missed hers when she was of age.

This is a story of possibility. Of where we come from, of who we are, of our heritage, of our roots. Kimberly Brock is an amazingly talented writer and I can not WAIT to see what she does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A wartime southern gothic tale at its finest. I absolutely loved the folklore woven throughout this piece. It's part southern. Part gothic. Part WWI. Part women's fiction. Part dual timeline. And I loved it all. I highly recommend for readers of gothic and southern fiction.

Brock has written another immensely readable book. Told from two different historical perspectives (1590 and Post WWI) the mystery of the lost peoples of Roanoke, Virginia is intertwined with generations of women searching backwards.
I enjoyed the research that Brock did to bring to life early Roanoke and a more contemporary Georgia. The atmosphere of both make it all the easier to slip right into this book.
History, mystery and a close examination of the mother daughter bond create a book I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend.

Ohhh boy, this book. This book.

First off: That cover, y'all! For reals! That's what initially piqued my interest with this read--and the incorporation of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. I was looooong fascinated with anything Virginia and the colonial period growing up (hello, American Girl and the Felicity doll/series!), so this just brought all that right back to the forefront.

Secondly, Brock's writing style. The book itself is one of those that really deep-dives into its characters (albeit certain ones in particular). As other Goodreads reviews note, there isn't much on Eleanor Dare herself, per se; the focus is much more on Alice and Penn (and Penn entirely steals the show). But if you want a big fat read, this may be it: it clocks in at 464 pages; even for me, a fast reader, it took me nearly a month to complete (granted, while reading other things too).

That being said, I don't think I have highlighted a fiction read as much as I did this one in a while. Some of Brock's words, I just had to sit with for a while like, "Wow." And read, and re-read, and sit with, and think for a while. Beautiful.

I also loved the Georgia setting. I've got family down there and have visited a few times (plus did some grad-school courses through Brenau University, so that was an additional fun connection!). And Savannah! A glorious city! I'm ready to go back now. :)

I will note, there is some language and one intimate scene (that thankfully faded to black pretty quickly). Neither, I felt, were necessary, so that was a bummer. I was thankful for the many other beautiful things about the read!

Fans of Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends, Madeline Martin's The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II, and Susan Meissner's Secrets of a Charmed Life and The Last Year of the War will likely enjoy this read.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was thrilled to be approved for this book. I have always been fascinated with the first great American historical mystery: the Lost Colonists of Roanoke. Brock does a good job of creatively explaining what happened to Eleanor and Virginia Dare. I have no ever heard of the Dare Stones.
Told mostly during the waning days of WWII, it’s a story about mothers and daughters and connecting with the past. I liked the parts about Eleanor Dare in the 16th century the best.
It’s an imaginative read about an unsolved mystery

I was expecting this to be a gripping tale of the mystery of the Lost Colony. Instead, it's a slow, meandering story about a town where old hurts bubble beneath uneventful, everyday lives. This book is not a good fit for me. DNF at 53%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

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

I was so excited to come across this book - there is SO much to love about this story, and I’m not sure which aspect I love most 💕

* Gorgeous cover (and perfectly matched book surprises)
* Amazing tagline
* Mother-daughter relationships (with a bonus 15 generations of mother-daughter connections)
* Eleanor’s Commonplace Book and the amazing history included (Journal, scrapbook, recipe book, family tree…)
* Family legends
* The intensity of the desire to protect our daughters but also help them flourish in their own ways
* Dual timeline storyline
* Real-life historical elements that send me down the google rabbit hole 🕵🏼 The Lost Colony of Roanoke is such an interesting story!
* Slow reveal mystery

I wanted to hug this book and then proudly display it on my shelf.

While I appreciate the opportunity to read this, unfortunately this one will be a DNF for me. I struggled to get to the 25% mark and as a result, do not think this one is a good fit.

Thanks to Harper Muse, I was provided an ARC of The Lost Book of Elenor Dare by Kimberly Brock via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*****Publishing April 12, 2022*****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️A mother/daughter tale bonding over the discovery of their own family history of Elenor Dare, all the questions and mysteries surrounding Dare Stone, and their family home, the Evertell.

After Alice’s husband died in WWll , Alice takes her teenage daughter back to the family house, Evertell. Her hopes is it would help them cope with their grief. Penn and Alice each make their own discoveries with finding out the details of Evertell women who were heirs to Elenor Dare. What will they discover and will they get the answers they were looking for? Will they end up selling the home or will they fall in love with it?

A compelling read that is hard to put down! I loved how the book was from Alice and Penn’s viewpoints! It showed their struggles, and self discoveries. It was fun to see Penn discover who she is as a teenager and what she wants for her future, when trying to discover and uncover her family history. Great book for Historical Fiction lovers and book clubs!

To put it simply...I couldn't put this book down. Kimberly Brock weaves a delightful story about Alice Young and her daughter Penn who live in Georgia in the waning years of WWII. They make a journey to Alice's childhood home near Savannah where Alice grapples with her past and moves into the future. Both she and Penn are somewhat lost and the story is a journey about finding themselves. Eleanor Dare is an ancestor of Alice's and her story is held in a book handed down through generations of women. Through Alice and Penn's time in Savannah, Eleanor's book guides them to find their own truths in a timeless manner. I can't do this book justice with my words...just get a copy and learn about these amazing women.

I was obsessed with The Lost Colony as a kid. The idea of a book exploring its fate and the gorgeous cover is what drew me to the book. The premise held such promise but, sadly, it didn’t deliver in my opinion. It’s disjointed and confusing and The Lost Colony seems like an afterthought.

I’m well aware that this is an unedited advanced copy, but paragraphs like this one made it difficult to read and follow the story when I had to work so hard to decipher what was being said: Officials from Emory University Eleanor White Dare, daughter report that a California man of Roanoke’s colonial governor, traveling through coastal John White. White departed the North Carolina may have dis covered an important clue in the 350-year-old mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

This one is a DNF for me.

Loved it!
I was sold in the first sentence of the synopsis. A widow and her daughter came to inherence the mysterious house. The place where Alice grew up and associates with the mother who lost her mind, getting lost among other bitter-sweet memories. Through the eyes of her child, Penn she re-discovers the magic of her family inherence. The commonbook written by her ancestors started for one of the survivors of the Roanoke colony, Eleanor Dare.
I must admit that I started it with a lot of expectations, the synopsis got me from the first line. And even if at first the narration was a little slow. I loved it. The plot is built perfectly. The characters gain a place in your heart real fast and the story just catches you. The changes in the narration are perfectly done to mix the stories of the two main characters, and the chapters written by Eleonor. A book that could get almost anyone caught in the mystery and lives of its protagonists.

Who wouldn’t want to inherit a book passed down from woman to woman for 15 generations?! This story has every element I could ask for: an old mansion,
a mysterious ruggedly handsome man, a book of curious memories, recipes, and special concoctions, and a lost stone with engravings. This is a rich, character-driven novel, told in the alternating viewpoints of Alice and her daughter, Penn, with excerpts from the diary of Eleanor Dare woven throughout and leading to a dramatic conclusion! I loved the connection to a real mystery! Read this if you enjoy tales of family drama and unraveling mysteries.

I really didn't know much of the Roanoke history. I have heard some and because of books like this one, I have started reading more and more about it. It is an interesting mystery that may never be answered.
Eleanor Dare is Alice's (several) great grandmother. Not only did she inherit Evertell, there seems to be a curse on the women of the family. Alice returns to prepare to sell her family legacy before the curse can catch up with her daughter.
A very interesting story of motherhood, set with a backdrop of a widow from WWII. It has themes of family, forgiveness and racism.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading more of Kimberly Brock's books.

"The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare" is a beautiful story full of history, mystery and family. Alice and Penn were immediately likeable characters that I was quick to invest in and want to know how their lives were going to continue. The setting was detailed that I could envision walking through the estate and town. I love flashbacks and the ones that Kimberly Brock has put into the narrative were wonderful to read and offered an all around historical story! Thank you to Kimberly Brock and Kate Rock Book Tours for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Wonderful mother-daughter story that focuses on the legacy of strength and wisdom that is shared from one generation to another. Upon their return to Evertell, both Alice and Penn seek to discover the secrets of the past. It is through this understanding that they find the strength and hope to forge their own paths in a future full of promise.
I was hooked by the very first line, mesmerized by Brock's lyrical prose that brought to life the setting of Evertell, with its mystery and magic, and the heartache of loss that has followed Alice since she was a child. The author pens an intriguing twist to the story of Eleanor Dare's disappearance and the controversy surrounding the Dare stones. I found this to be a wonderful blend of historical mystery and romance, but most importantly as a story of the role that generations and events take in shaping us, but not in defining us.

Kimberly Brock is a new to me author and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the author/ publisher through Netgalley. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Eleanor, Agnes, Catarina. Marguerite, Francoise, Esme, Garnet Lee. Sally, Anagelique, Bernadette, Camille, Delaney. Flora, Callisto, Claire. A bunch of strong women through the ages, followed by Alice and now, Penn. Just mothers and their daughters.

After experiencing two massive losses, life for young war widow Alice Young and her teenage daughter Pennilyn has changed for the worse. When Alice inherits Evertell, the place where she grew up and also the place where she lost her mother, it opens up a door to her past that she has kept buried. Alice and Penn make their way to Evertell with the intention of fixing the place up and then selling it. But life has a way of working its own magic on our innocent unsuspecting selves, doesn’t it?

"Curses might be dismissed as superstitious, but consequences are very real.”

Once we get to Evertell, the history that Alice has kept hidden slowly unfurls and it takes us back to the 1500s to Eleanor’s Tale and the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony. Simultaneously, we also witness Penn’s quest to find herself and Alice making way for the future through her troubled past with everything coming together satisfyingly well at the end.

Mark your calendars for the 12th of April to meet the descendants of Eleanor Dare while I thank @netgalley, the publisher and the author for the approval of an ARC for me.

“We need not be content it with simply being part of the story. We may choose to be the storytellers."

P.S.: The Jewish tradition of leaving a pebble at a grave instead of flowers (because stones last forever) was an unexpected piece of knowledge gained from this book. The idea of a prayer to watch over departed souls exists in every religion, but this one feels amazingly thoughtful.

P.P.S.: 10+ reviews on NetGalley!! Such privilege to get to read a book before the world. Thank you, @netgalley

The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare was a beautiful story! I didn't know that this story was inspired by the disappearance of the Roanoke Colony & that Eleanor Dare was a real person who lived during that time! So it was interesting to learn something new. Following along as each character deals with her own time and own ups and downs I couldn't help but feel drawn to them. The writing in this book is absolutely wonderful! The author has a way of capturing you & bringing this history back to life right before your eyes! I loved the mystery & suspense! The pace, the characters, the setting all of it flowed well together! A wonderful story!

Thank you Kate Rock Book Tours & Kimberly Brock for sharing this beautiful story with me!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I’m an avid historical fiction reader and was super excited to read this book based on the synopsis. I have been fascinated by mysterious disappearance of The Lost Colony of Roanoke and had high hopes this would feature a more imaginative story about where Eleanor and the colony ended up while tying back to descendants many decades later. As I read the pages, I kept waiting for the story to take a different direction and was ultimately let down by the time I finished the book.

I did enjoy the mother-daughter character development between Alice and Penn. The struggles of woman were well depicted for the time of WWII, which is when a majority of this book takes place. It outlines the emotional toll of losing husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. I also enjoyed the incorporation of one character in particular that showcased woman stepping up for difficult jobs while the men were away fighting the war. The book was beautifully written throughout with exquisite detailed descriptions to the surrounding environments of the characters.

I was disappointed chapters featuring Eleanor’s perspective were not introduced until halfway through the book. From the book title, I was expecting to be introduced to her perspective more early on and for there to be a more mysterious element to the book. Overall, I wish the historical element of The Lost Colony of Roanoke was more prominent in storyline.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Muse, and Kimberly Brock for an ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love the cover, love the premise, loved the book. I thought this was such a fun and interesting story. I have always been fascinated of this tale and loved the in-depth story the author unfolded. I definitely will be recommending this book!