Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio


The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Paperback, 304 pages
Published April 26th 2011 by Plume
ISBN
0452297036 (ISBN13: 9780452297036)

Summary

A heartbroken woman stumbled upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author.

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.

Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily's good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

A mesmerizing debut with an idyllic setting and intriguing dual story line, The Violets of March announces Sarah Jio as a writer to watch.


My Thoughts

I am so glad this was my first read of the New Year! I loved this book! I saw it on so many best reads of the year lists. I pulled my copy out and dug right in. I sat down with the book and read straight through the first half. If I had been home alone, I would have read the whole book in one sitting. Yes, it is that good!

I loved the setting of Bainbridge Island. I have never been there but have always longed to go. The descriptions of the island put me on the island, as if I were physically there. I could feel the sand between my toes! Sarah's descriptions are simply wonderful!

Emily has been dumped by her husband for another woman. She goes to visit her great-aunt Bee on Bainbridge Island. In the room she is staying in, Emily finds a diary from the 1940's. Emily, being an author, is interested and starts to read the diary and before long is mesmerized by what she reads. The big mystery is, who are the characters in the diary and what happened to them. I love a good story that revolves around a diary or letters from the past. I was instantly taken with the diary, much like Sarah. I was dying to know what happened back in the 40's and how did it relate to Sarah and her family. Esther, the diary's author, is as broken as Emily. We have the Esther's diary storyline and the story line of Emily and her future. I love how the two story lines compliment each other nicely. The flow of the two stories was easy to follow along with. It was really well done! I found myself anxious to learn how each story would end. However, I was sad to see the story end as I was really enjoying reading it.

I am amazed that this is a debut book! I would have never guessed that! It is a wonderful read and I am looking forward to reading The Bungalow by Sarah Jio. This book will make my favorite reads list as well. I highly recommend it!



I personally bought this book last year. I read this book for the Just For Fun 2012 Challenge.

17 comments:

  1. I don't know how it's possible that not only have I not read this book yet but I don't even own it yet. I'm going to have to fix that. Great review.

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  2. Oh, this one sounds like a great read! My first read for 2012 was fantastic as well, I read Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax.

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  3. There have been so many excellent reviews of this book, I don't know why I've just been gazing at it from afar. And now there is The Bungalow too! Looks like I have a project.

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  4. I have been wanting to read this book for months. I will get to it this month for sure!

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  5. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Beth ... I did too!

    Have a lovely weekend!

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  6. Yay! I recently got both of her books... gotta read them ASAP!

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  7. This one is on my WishList...I keep reading so many good things about it :)

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  8. Isn't this one so good? I read it on vacation last year and it was just perfect for that time. We're going for another week in AZ next month and I've decided that will be the perfect time to read THE BUNGELOW. Sigh. Can't wait.

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  9. I was amazed that this one was a debut book too and her sophomore effort was almost as good as this one!

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  10. This one is also on my list of books to check out! So many good reviews...

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  11. I'm so glad you liked this one too! It was one of my top reads from last year. I didn't realize she had a new one.

    2 Kids and Tired Books

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  12. I've heard a lot of good things about this book. Glad you enjoyed it and I'm glad to hear the two stories merge well. I'll keep this one in mind. It's always great to start the new year with a bang!

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  13. I don't think I've heard a single bad thing about this book. I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read it yet but I plan to. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.

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  14. So glad that your 2012 reading started off on such a positive note :)

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  15. I liked The Violets of March very much, and I'm sad that The Bungalow expired on NetGalley before I had a chance to read it. (Now I know to get on those galleys more quickly!)

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  16. Reading reviews like yours make me so sad that I passed on this one due to a backlog on my review books! Now I have to buy it to enjoy it!

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  17. I really liked this one too. Great review.

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