The Violets of March

By: Sarah Jio

Narrated by: Lyssa Browne

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In her 20s, Emily Watson was on top of the world: she had a best-selling 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.

Sarah Jio is the author of The Violets of March, her debut novel. Based in Seattle, she's been the health and fitness blogger for Glamour.com and a contributor to major magazines, including Real Simple, Redbook, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cooking Light, Glamour, SELF, Health, American Baby, and many others.

©2011 Sarah Jio (P)2011 Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Romances related in time--

Every one in a while I enjoy a great love story. THE VIOLETS OF MARCH is a wonderful book for exploring love from the present, the past, and also the love of a place. For ten years, Emily Wilson has been living the good life in the big city, as an author with a handsome husband, until that dreaded day when hubby found 'the new love of his life'. An invitation from her great-aunt Bee to visit her old home on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, comes just in time for Emily to get away and hopefully, heal her heart.

Once on the island, and settled into a lovely room in her aunts home, she finds an old diary in her bedside table. As the story progresses, Emily becomes engrossed in Ester's diary from the 1940's. As Ester's love live becomes complicated, Emily finds herself dating two island men, and complicating her own life as well. The story progresses in the first person story of Emily, and diary excerpts within Ester's diary. Strangely enough, Emily begins to find relationships between the people in the diary and those people around her, but she finds herself asking my questions with every answer she finds regarding Ester's life. Her own new relationships are becoming more intense and demanding also.

The transitions and tension in this book is deftly done by Sarah Joi, as I found myself growing closer and closer to both women. The life and people of the Island added a splendid atmosphere to this book. The characters were very real and emotionally compelling. I found this to be a great charming first book by the author.

A little far-fetched, but still enjoyable!

After the first hour I was a bit unsure about this one, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a little far-fetched and predictable-like the author tried to pack every idea she ever had into this one novel.

That being said, after listening to just about the 1/2 way mark I was hooked on the love story between Elliott and Esther. I could take or leave the other sub stories happening concurrently-but this was a heartwarming tale of everlasting love that I did enjoy.

Lyssa Browne did a great job with the narration.

A good read

I enjoy Sarah Jio books. This wasn’t my absolute favorite of all her books but it was still good with likable characters. My only complaint is the narrator, who spoke so S L O W that for the first time I actually sped up the reading! Otherwise she did a good job.

Lots of Twists and Turns

What made the experience of listening to The Violets of March the most enjoyable?

I LOVE a good mystery salted with romance. The Violets of March offers this plus more. It was a really great audio listen about the enduring power of true love. The narrator was awesome. She gave voice to the many characters in the community of Bainbridge Island, Washington. The story is captivating. There is a story within a story with purpose. One story is about Ester and Elliot - they are soul mates, lovers, magnetic. Their story takes place in 1943. The next is about Emily, a recent divorcee, who goes to stay with her Aunt Bee to recharge and recover from her failed marriage. When Emily discovers Ester's diary in her Aunt's home, this is where the fun starts. Emily tries to figure out the secrets surrounding Ester and Elliot's story. There is a lot to enjoy about this book. The setting takes place in Bainbridge Island. After listening to this audio, I want to go there! It sounds pretty spectacular.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ester and Elliot. Their love is the story of 1st love where everything loves and hurts so much (ok, think i need some john mellencamp background music here).

Any additional comments?

I got sucked in very quickly. I didn't want this audio to end. I think I will be reading more by Sarah Jio.

LOVELY BUT CONFUSING

I enjoyed this book very much. The story line and the setting were very nice. However, I became confused at many places along the way.

Just a Dull Fluffy Beach Read

Felt this book was dull and just a piece of fluff but it did hold my attention enough to finish it. Its perfect quick read/listen for a weekend at the pool type book. Lyssa Browne did do a good job with the narration.

Great story, narration didn't match character

I had to listen to this on 1.3x speed. The narrator was much too cheerful and her tone did not match her character at all. It was very distracting to listen to the vibrato in her voice go up and down, as if she was reading to a child. Speeding up the audio helped mask the constant variation in her voice so that I could focus on the story, but it is a shame that this was not noticed when edited. For a woman who just got divorced, she sounded much too cheerful all the time.

Well worth the listen

Loved this story and the narrator did an excellent job. Really liked the way she narrated the elderly people in the book, giving the impression of their fragility. Great debut novel.

Excellent story and well developed

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, easy listen and connects all the dots

What did you like best about this story?

seeing the discovery in the family history

Have you listened to any of Lyssa Browne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

n/a

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

discovering who characters where in past and who/how they evolved

timeless

My all time favorite novel. listening to it brought all new feelings for this story