Fictional Answer to a Historical Question

If you could sum up Roanoke Vanishing in three words, what would they be?

A Review of audiobook Roanoke Vanishing by Auburn Seal Narrated by Caprisha Page Auburn Seal has written a very interesting theory of the fate of the roughly 115 colonists who settled on Roanoke Island in 1587 only to disappear without a trace. Avery Lane, a student trying to write her thesis so that she can graduate, has chosen the story of the settlers as her topic. Unknown to her there were/are? people who did/do? not want the truth to be discovered and broadcast to the world. A group of these people made it nearly impossible and extremely dangerous for Avery to research her topic, endangering her friends in the process.Auburn Seal has written this story in alternating time between 1587 and the present in a chapter in the present and a chapter in history very effectively. You must listen to Caprisha Page's audiobook presentation of Auburn Seal's Roanoke Vanishing. It is an experience you want soon forget. It also, might make you think about so called facts on which our history is based.Who was Virginia Dare? Google it. What happened to Virginia Dare? Listen to Roanoke Vanishing.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. It kept me wondering what could possibly hinder this girl's research next.

What about Caprisha Page’s performance did you like?

Caprisha, in her own special way of presenting a story, has managed to keep me interested in the story and amazed at her character representations. Caprisha is a unique storyteller. I look forward to hearing more of her narrations. Perhaps in this Vanishing Series of Auburn Seal's.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, if you have nine hours to spare and a nice comfortable chair.

Any additional comments?

This is an audiobook you absolutely must add to your library.

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5 people found this helpful

Super awesome!

What did you love best about Roanoke Vanishing?

I really liked the way that the historical facts were woven into a great fantasy.

What other book might you compare Roanoke Vanishing to and why?

I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but the bigger mystery felt a bit like A Great and Terrible Beauty.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

She does an excellent job overall. She reads too slow, however, once I sped up the narration it was fine. She does the voices of the ladies particularly well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, of course. Sadly I have children and a job pressing on my time.

Any additional comments?

Absolutely recommended!

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4 people found this helpful

Engaging story for History buffs

What did you love best about Roanoke Vanishing?

Great story line that kept me involved till the end.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Caprisha Page?

Depends on the book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me want to study what happens to the lost colony of Roanoke

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Highly enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I came across this book entirely by accident, I joined some audiobook group and this was the book they gave me for signing up. All I can say is - wow. I would never have read this book outside of someone recommending it to me, the cover looks like romance, and it contains paranormal activity (ghosts) which I tend to view with skepticism.

I thorough enjoyed it. I liked Avery Lane and her friend Jen, and, for the most part, they were pretty well developed. Her initial break up with her boy friend of five years seemed a little forced at the beginning, but on the whole the motives and reasoning of the characters felt realistic. Avery does tend to over react without giving people a chance to explain, but given her personal experiences it's understandable.

I really liked all the history included, I'll be reading more about the Roanoke Colony. Elinor was a wonderful character, I don't know how much of her story is fictional (at the time of this review) but on the whole her letters felt pretty historically accurate in style (other than calling her husband "amazing" at one point, which sounded a little too modern).

Caprisha Page did an excellent job with narration, I enjoyed her voice. She didn't do much in the way of distinct voice differences for characters, but it was always clear who was speaking.

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3 people found this helpful

I've always wanted to know...

Would you listen to Roanoke Vanishing again? Why?

This was a great fictional look at what could have happened to the people that vanished from Roanoke. I enjoyed the theory and listening to the book, will definitely listening to the next one in the series. Unless I just don't remember what went on in the first book when part 2 comes out, I doubt I will listen to it again. It is memorable enough that I shouldn't need to hear it a second time.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved that it combined true facts and real people with a theory and made an awesome story. There are a few ideas on what could have happened to the lost colony, and this fictional version gave life to the people of the past. It even has a supernatural element, making it a bit more interesting.

What does Caprisha Page bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She did a good job with the main character. I did enjoy listening to the book. I don't know that the audio version would be considered any better than the print version though. A few times I did feel the narration was lacking something.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions really. The most would be early in the book, before they leave for the island. I will not say what, I don't want to give anything away.

Any additional comments?

Fun and interesting. If you like history, mystery, and supernatural~ this book has some of all of that.

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3 people found this helpful

Author needs more experience...

You have to be more acquainted with U.S. History than what I am to grasp a better understanding of the topic. It makes college professors look like the asshole a vast majority of them are. I do sense that this author is amateurish in her writing, but I would read another book by her.

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1 person found this helpful

Interesting idea.

Avery Lane wants to do her thesis on the fate of the 117 missing colonists of Roanoke because she finds it fascinating and has some theories she believes could be possible. But her professor tells her to drop it and choose something else.But she doesn't want to! That is until she meets a group that call themselves the Descendants. They threaten her and tell her to drop it or die. But it's not that easy because Avery is seeing the ghost of one of the colonists, who tells her that their story needs to be told. Can she solve the mystery before the Descendants stop her?

This wasn't at all what I was expecting and took a little while to fully take off. The plot was interesting and intriguing and I enjoyed the spin the author put on it. I've always found the Roanoke vanishing fascinating anyway and loved that the author put her own stamp on it. I liked that we get to see both the past and the present and I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks.

Avery was a great character. She is determined, smart, loyal and brave. She has her mind set to figure out what happened to the people and tries not to let others distract her from that goal.

In all, this was a good read. It was a little long winded at times but I still enjoyed the overall story. The ending lines up for the next book and makes me eager to see what Avery discovers next.

Caprisha Page was clear and read this well. I loved her voice for the flashbacks and she had plenty of other tones and voices for the rest of the characters that made them easily distinguishable.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

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3 people found this helpful

bad narrator good story (hard T's impor-TanT)

I just couldn't get past the narrator. Aggravated the heck out of me. She is a Martha Stewart over pronouncing "T"s in imporTanT LiTTle etc. If the narrated did it all the time I would assume that's just how she speaks but she doesn't She gets carried away and speaks like the rest of us not how she thinks she SHOULD be speaking. Hated it. not Hay Ted it lol If you can get past it & aren't overly sensitive as I am it's a descent story. Grad student doing a thesis on Roanoke. Her theory is that the colonist knew each other and came to American to avoid being prosecuted for being separatists from the church in England. People who have things to hide try to thwart her investigation / thesis. I liked how historical facts were intertwined with fiction and I also like the two person / two time periods story line. Both characters well developed tho Avery the student overreacts WAY too much. Different narrator I'll get part 2 same narrator - NEVER!

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2 people found this helpful