#BookReview THE ROANOKE GIRLS by Amy Engel #TheRoanokeGirls @aengelwrites @HodderBooks #NetGalley

Beautiful. Rich. Mysterious. Everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl. But you won’t when you know the truth. Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family’s rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But what she doesn’t know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice…

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Ohh. Emm. Gee. This is one hot, sticky, creepy AF book and I loved it.

“Our barbed-wire affection was the type of love I understood”

The Roanoke Girls is a beautifully written, hypnotic and seductive story. The images drawn are striking and Amy Engel’s writing is lush, but lean: she is skillfully vivid but does not allow the descriptions to drag on for five extra pages, outstay their welcome and detract from the gripping story.

And gripping it is. Although there are some relatively early revelations in the book, the clever plotting and ‘then and now’ structure keeps the suspense and tension alive and there are plenty of developments throughout.

There were many characters I liked, and several I did not (no spoilers) but each and every one of them made me feel something. I was genuinely gripped by this from the first surprising page to its satisfying ending.

Part mystery, part thriller, part drama and part shocker, I would recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind feeling a bit disconcerted and is looking to dive into a sumptuous and compelling beach read. Perfect for our current UK #heatwave! 🙂

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC of The Roanoke Girls.

If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book: Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US