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rseykora's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
acrox13's review
5.0
I couldn't put it down. The book is amazing and truly heart warming. It makes me believe that true love can happen to all of us and everything will turn out the way it should for a reason.
jmayse's review
4.0
Good story and development of characters. I thought this was a pretty quick, not too heavy read which was perfect for a vacation book. The plot kept me interested and I wanted to solve the mystery!
tashaseegmiller's review
4.0
This is a really sweet book. It's about a woman whose marriage is falling apart and she goes to visit her aunt in Washington State to heal, discovering things about herself she had forgotten as well as uncovering a mystery from the 1940's. I really enjoyed this quick read - it was a completely lovely book. I will read her other books.
utahmomreads's review
5.0
This review originally posted on my blog : http://bit.ly/mzbQlh
During all the craziness last week, The Violets of March by Sarah Jio was my escape. Instead of laying in the hotel bed worrying about all the mess and stress, I just opened the pages of this book and lost myself in the story.
I must admit that I went to great lengths to get a copy of this book. For some reason when I read an early review and heard that it would be released in May, I just knew I wanted to read it. Perhaps it was because my dear, dear college friend grew up on Bainbridge Island, WA and the island is the setting for this story. Or maybe I was just drawn in by the promise of a buried secret discovered in a long-forgotten diary. I'm a sucker for those kinds of stories.
Emily, the protagonist, is a gorgeous and best-selling author who is suffering from writer's block and her husband just left her for another woman. Hoping to heal, she escapes to her great aunt's home on Bainbridge Island. On this beautiful island, Emily discovers the old diary containing a mystery that inspires her to write. And of course, she just might find love again. Ultimately, it is a story of forgiveness.
There's nothing especially new or earth shattering in The Violets of March. It's a typical healing-from-life story with some romance and ancestral mystery on the side. It could have been a little longer. The story would have benefited from more character development. But also, I didn't want it to end because I liked it. I like it a lot.
Jio writes well. It is easy to get wrapped up in Emily's story and the story in the journal. I could barely put the book down until I finished the last sentence. Jio uses the setting to her advantage in building the plot. While Emily's story is rather predictable, Jio is successful at writing enough twists and turns into the story contained in the diary to keep the reader guessing until the end.
The Violets of March is a perfect book for the beach (in spite of the cold and wet, I believe summer is coming), to read on an airplane or at the hotel while you're house is being cleaned up after a flood. If you're going on a trip, grab a copy and throw it in your suitcase. You won't regret it.
Maybe I can talk my college friend into taking a trip with me to Bainbridge Island this summer. I'll just make her read this book. It will probably be more difficult/impossible to convince my husband.
After some mild begging, I received a free copy of this book from the publishers. However, this is my honest review and I have received no compensation.
During all the craziness last week, The Violets of March by Sarah Jio was my escape. Instead of laying in the hotel bed worrying about all the mess and stress, I just opened the pages of this book and lost myself in the story.
I must admit that I went to great lengths to get a copy of this book. For some reason when I read an early review and heard that it would be released in May, I just knew I wanted to read it. Perhaps it was because my dear, dear college friend grew up on Bainbridge Island, WA and the island is the setting for this story. Or maybe I was just drawn in by the promise of a buried secret discovered in a long-forgotten diary. I'm a sucker for those kinds of stories.
Emily, the protagonist, is a gorgeous and best-selling author who is suffering from writer's block and her husband just left her for another woman. Hoping to heal, she escapes to her great aunt's home on Bainbridge Island. On this beautiful island, Emily discovers the old diary containing a mystery that inspires her to write. And of course, she just might find love again. Ultimately, it is a story of forgiveness.
There's nothing especially new or earth shattering in The Violets of March. It's a typical healing-from-life story with some romance and ancestral mystery on the side. It could have been a little longer. The story would have benefited from more character development. But also, I didn't want it to end because I liked it. I like it a lot.
Jio writes well. It is easy to get wrapped up in Emily's story and the story in the journal. I could barely put the book down until I finished the last sentence. Jio uses the setting to her advantage in building the plot. While Emily's story is rather predictable, Jio is successful at writing enough twists and turns into the story contained in the diary to keep the reader guessing until the end.
The Violets of March is a perfect book for the beach (in spite of the cold and wet, I believe summer is coming), to read on an airplane or at the hotel while you're house is being cleaned up after a flood. If you're going on a trip, grab a copy and throw it in your suitcase. You won't regret it.
Maybe I can talk my college friend into taking a trip with me to Bainbridge Island this summer. I'll just make her read this book. It will probably be more difficult/impossible to convince my husband.
After some mild begging, I received a free copy of this book from the publishers. However, this is my honest review and I have received no compensation.
mbenzz's review
2.0
I'm gonna try not to get into a big long review since there are so many others here, but while this was a book that was certainly difficult to put down, there were just too many coincidences and holes for me to truly love the story.
I took issue with many of the things that have already been mentioned here...how pretty much EVERYONE in the diary used different names later in life (who does that?), why Emily's mother was allowed to become so close to a woman (Bee) who was such a good friend of her real mother when everyone just wanted to forget her. How convenient it was that Evelyn was sick and dying right at that exact time that Emily was visiting, and how ridiculous it was that after only days on the island Emily had TWO men falling in love with her.
I liked the story in the diary, but I too found it difficult to muster up any sympathy for Esther. She made it very clear from the beginning that she never really loved Bobby...so WHY marry him? And the scene in front of the hotel, when Esther throws the ring at Elliott? Ridiculous. All he had to do was explain in one simple sentance what he was doing. If Esther wouldn't talk to him, then why didn't he explain it to her best friends, Frances, or Rose, so they could in turn tell Esther? Sure, it would have ruined the surprise, but he would have had her back. I just found it very hard to believe that this couple who supposedly loved each other SO much, split up over such a silly misunderstanding.
I could go on (like about the ending and what a let-down it was...or how in the world did they miss her rolling out of the car...or how cliche it was that Jack came crawling back), but I'll let all that go. It was quite a page-turner, but the reader is just expected to believe way too much. The double story had great potential, and the diary was something I looked forward too, but I just feel like this book was sent out to print before being edited properly. If you can suspend all believe and just take this as a simple story, then you'll love it. But if you're not one for coincidences and loopholes, this book will just annoy you.
I took issue with many of the things that have already been mentioned here...how pretty much EVERYONE in the diary used different names later in life (who does that?), why Emily's mother was allowed to become so close to a woman (Bee) who was such a good friend of her real mother when everyone just wanted to forget her. How convenient it was that Evelyn was sick and dying right at that exact time that Emily was visiting, and how ridiculous it was that after only days on the island Emily had TWO men falling in love with her.
I liked the story in the diary, but I too found it difficult to muster up any sympathy for Esther. She made it very clear from the beginning that she never really loved Bobby...so WHY marry him? And the scene in front of the hotel, when Esther throws the ring at Elliott? Ridiculous. All he had to do was explain in one simple sentance what he was doing. If Esther wouldn't talk to him, then why didn't he explain it to her best friends, Frances, or Rose, so they could in turn tell Esther? Sure, it would have ruined the surprise, but he would have had her back. I just found it very hard to believe that this couple who supposedly loved each other SO much, split up over such a silly misunderstanding.
I could go on (like about the ending and what a let-down it was...or how in the world did they miss her rolling out of the car...or how cliche it was that Jack came crawling back), but I'll let all that go. It was quite a page-turner, but the reader is just expected to believe way too much. The double story had great potential, and the diary was something I looked forward too, but I just feel like this book was sent out to print before being edited properly. If you can suspend all believe and just take this as a simple story, then you'll love it. But if you're not one for coincidences and loopholes, this book will just annoy you.
emkotch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kleigh67's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
triplet_mom's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
amlibera's review
3.0
To be truthful, I think I read the first few chapters several years ago and then this book languished on my Kindle. Now that I've read it, there's a good reason for that. The languishing I mean. It's just not that good. At face value, it's the "kind of thing that you want to read when you want to read that kind of thing." Comforting scenic PNW location, two timeline story, etc. But it just never really comes together. The characters are collections of traits rather than people, the romantic relationships are confusing, and the mystery (such as it was) resolved through incident rather than discovery. More like 2.5 stars.