Remember that crazy country and western song, I’m my own grandpa…? The lyrics offered a comedic look at the family dynamics created when a man marries an older woman, who also happens to be the mother of his father’s young wife. By ignoring the “step” prefixes, the singer realizes that since he is step father to his father’s wife, and thus his father’s father-in law, he’s effectively, his own grandfather. Talk about complicated relationships. But that was just comedy. When consenting adults engage in complicated relationships and no bloodlines are being crossed, it’s messy but there’s no law against that.
The Roanoke Girls is a look at one Midwestern family dynamics – a rich oil-man Yates, his wife, Lillian and the girls in their household, all of whom either run away forever or die young. When we meet them, Yates and Lillian are grandparents to two teenaged girls, Allegra and Lane, both of whom have come to live in the house because they have one else. What should be a place of safety becomes a haven for incest and rape. Long after Lane has escaped, Allegra is reported missing and Lane returns to try to find out what went wrong, not that anything has ever gone right for any of the Roanoke girls before. 
What I Liked About The Novel
- The flashbacks helped to present character development so we got to meet even the characters who weren’t present during the main story.
- Even though I worked out the motive behind the disappearance quite early, there was still some element of surprise at the end
- I felt the size was adequate and the story was told in a good pace
- The cover was interesting and the design represented the story well
What I Didn’t Like
- The plot was vile
- I didn’t like any of the main characters and found it hard to support their choices
My Rating
I gave this 3 stars because I could appreciate the writing style but I really wanted to rate it lower because I hated the plot so much.
Book Details
- Title: The Roanoke Girls
- Author: Amy Engel
- Format: Hardcover
- Genre: Suspense / Thriller
- Pages: 288
I received a free copy of The Roanoke Girls from Blogging For Books in order to complete this review but that did not influence my rating.
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Interesting – I agree that the book cover looks like the story you describe. I’m not sure I would want to read about a family like this, even though I like stories about family relationships coand s. Thanflictnks for the balanced review!
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Oops, something happened when my fingers slipped over my touchpad! That’s supposed to say “I like stories about family relationships and conflicts. Thanks for the balanced review!”
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Thanks. You’re right that it’s a twisted story that wouldn’t appeal to everyone. This plot, in particular, took family “relationship” to a whole different level.
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I totally agree with you, the plot was not my cup of tea, but I did enjoy the flashback style a lot!
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Thanks for reading my review. I really didn’t like Lane’s character. Didn’t like her choices, couldn’t find a reason to empathize with her. I wonder why the author didn’t give us someone to root for – I was hoping Tommy would be a good guy.
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Thanks for recommending this. I’ll check it out. I love there is a mystery going on. 😀
Have a great week. I hope you have awesome reads to read this week.
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I do have some great books lined up for the week ahead. I am participating in Read-O-Rama on my YouTube channel and attempting to get through a 5 book TBR. It’s going to be interesting to see if I can. I started with I’ll Give You The Sun /Jandy Nelson.
What is your current/next read?
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I just downloaded this book last week, and have heard good things. Sorry you found the plot vile! Thanks for sharing, and have a great week. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
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I would love to hear your thoughts when you read The Roanoke Girls, Laurel. I would not be offended if you have a different opinion. In fact, I would welcome chatting about it with someone who saw the story from a different perspective.
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Lovely blog.
Thanks for your honest review.
Have a wonderful week.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading
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Thanks so much, Elizabeth.
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