Postcard For Reader

Cate of the Lost Colony

Cate of the Lost Colony
Author: Lisa Klein
Series: ---
Publisher: Bloomsbury
How Received: publisher ARC
Release Date October 14, 2010

The greatest unsolved mystery of American history--what happened to all the colonists who landed on Roanoke Island in 1587? This novel traces the fortunes and misfortunes of one Cate Archer, banished to Virginia by a jealous Queen Elizabeth because of her dalliance with Sir Walter Ralegh. What will be her fate in this dangerous New World?
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My friend Megan is a Lisa Klein fangirl. Whenever I brought her name up, she had nothing but praise. So when I had the chance to read Cate of the Lost Colony, I hoped it would live up to her expectations.

I admit it: when I see a big chunk of historical related text that sets the scene, I skim it. That was the only flaw in Klein's story - her chunks of text for the background were distracting. I would have been much happier had they been spread throughout.

Besides that, though, I thought it was a fantastic story. I loved Lady Catherine Archer. She reminded me quite a lot of me - at the beginning when she was getting a handle on things, right up until the end where she realized the difference between lust and love.

I thought the rest of the characters were very well done as well - there's quite a wide variety of them, and for all of them to be captured in a way that made me believe them made me quite happy.

And Klein really does know how to capture a scene - I felt like I was sucked into the book (at least for most of the time; when the historical blocks of text appeared, I skimmed and usually got distracted by something else for a few moments.)

All in all, a solid piece of historical fiction and a nice idea for the mystery of Roanoke. I would happily read other things of hers.

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 9/10. Very good, though it would have been better had the historical stuff been spread throughout.

Cate of the Lost Colony comes out on October 14! Be sure to preorder a copy or go out and pick it up at your local bookstore - and if you come back in an hour, you have the chance to WIN a copy! DO IT.