Roanoke Vanishing by Auburn Seal
Series: Vanishing Series #1
Paperback, 323 pages
Published October 31st 2013
Genres: Adult/ New Adult Historical
Source: ecopy from Author
What if the only thing standing between you and certain death was the spirit of someone long dead?
Avery Lane, a plucky grad student, is determined to discover the fate of the colonists from sixteenth century Roanoke. Nearly one-hundred twenty souls vanished without a trace in August 1597 and their demise has remained a mystery to world’s historical experts. Aided by a ghost from that time, Avery is certain that she is closer than ever to the truth, but soon discovers that some people will stop at nothing to keep the secret buried. Can Avery find the answers she seeks before it’s too late?
I am so fascinated by all things history, and Roanoke is a special area of fascination for me. I found myself stepping into Avery’s shoes and living through her in Roanoke Vanishing because she loved Roanoke even more than me. I loved her passion for history. The historical mystery aspect of this book was so wonderfully done. It made for a riveting and kind of mystical story. The book alternates back and forth between present day with Avery as the main character and the past with Elinor Dare as the main character. I really liked that in the present we watched Avery try and solve the mystery of what really happened to the people of Roanoke, and in the past we got to see the authors rendition of what happened to the colony. It was so detailed and well done.
Avery is dedicated and so focused on her goal. I really liked that we got to see so much of her thought process while she was trying to solve the mystery. She is a history grad student and she is working on her final thesis. She comes up with a theory of Roanoke that the colonists were actually a group of separatists fleeing from England in search of religious freedom, and her theory spawned from that. Her professor shot down her idea and was a complete jerk about it. But she doesn’t give up. And she even gets help from the original Elinor Dare. I loved that mystical “ghost” element thrown in. It was really cool.
The mystery is pretty intense in this book. Not only is Avery trying to track down what happened. A mystery that NO ONE in the historical community has been able to solve, but she has some super scary people breaking into her house and threatening her.
My only tiff with this book is with some of the secondary characters. Avery’s friend Jen. I loved her at first, but then she did something that completely annoyed me. I get where she was coming from, but still I just don’t know why she would do what she did. But my real problem was with Ethan. His connection with Avery just didn’t seem real. From the second he met her, she was doing nothing but getting him in trouble. At work she was asking him to do things that could get him fired, after work she got him robbed at gun point. I mean this is not someone that I would fall for. Luckily, the romance aspect of this book was not the main focus at all, and Ethan was a nice guy so the kind of fast and forced romantic interest did not deter me from loving the historical mystery part of the book. I am hoping we will get to know Ethan better in the next book and I won’t have this disconnect with him and Avery anymore.
The mystery overshadows everything else in this story. Which is just the way I wanted it. And I really loved how the author turned this book into a really awesome sounding series. This is going to be a must read series for me. I can’t wait to see what Avery’s next research topic is going to be. We get a hint of the general area at the end of this story and I am excited!
Auburn Seal enjoys zipping through life in the lovely Pacific Northwest where she finds herself surrounded by a great family—one super-cool husband and three awesome children—and gorgeous scenery.
She is a fair-weather blogger (it’s possible she has commitment issues), and has a unique ability to weave the dead into her stories.
Auburn graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Student Loans. Oops, Justice Studies. Note the irony. Still, Go Sun Devils!
One of her favorite activities is getting to know new people, so send her an e-mail and check out her website. auburnseal@gmail.comAuthor Links:
(1) eBook copy of ROANOKE VASNISHING
*Note this post contains affiliate links. Any/all money made through my amazon affiliate account goes back into the blog for giveaways.
Misfit Mormon
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AToMR
I am so glad you enjoyed ROANOKE VANISHING! I love historical as well and Roanoke is definitely a real life mystery. 🙂
Christy @ Love of Books
Ohhh this sounds interesting despite the slightly problematic secondary characters. Was your undergrad degree in history?
WordsPoeticallyWorth
Thanks for the review. Sounds like a good read.
Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
Auburn Seal
Thanks so much for the review! I’m glad you enjoyed my book!
Auburn Seal
Christy,
I actually majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Political Science, but I’ve always LOVED history! The mystery of the Lost Colony intrigued me since I was in junior high.
Kriss @ Cabin Goddess
Oh looking forward to another good fiction in regards to this historical mystery! I love it!
Diane Elizabeth
I love history and Roanoke is fascinating to me. I’m really looking forward to reading this one, thanks for the review.