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Haunting Violet

by Alyxandra Harvey (Goodreads Author)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 3,244 ratings · 525 reviews

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She...more

ebook, 233 pages

Published June 21st 2011 by Walker & Company (first published May 24th 2011)

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Apr 25, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, coulda-been-worse, historical-fiction, mystery, supernatural

There is this thick culture in my home country that places deep respect and almost blind obedience upon members of family - especially one's parents.

I lived next door to a girl and her younger brother. Every day, she was made to do all the household chores, help her mother with the cooking and tend to their little shop. One breath out of line and she was beaten by her father. Her younger brother, on the other hand, spent his days running about God knows where from morning 'til night, never made...more

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Jun 28, 2011 Angelc rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-own-read, keepers

4.5 Stars

This is a great YA historical with a spooky, supernatural element, not to mention a sweet romance!

I've always been fascinated by the seances in the Victorian era, including all the tricks that mediums and con artists used to make people think they were communicating with ghosts. The book really portrays Violet's mother as taking advantage of people at their worst. We get to see all of the ways she tricked them in detail.

Sometimes, I wanted Violet's mother to be just little more of a sym...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Delilah V rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review for Haunting Violet By Alyxandra Harvey

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey is one of my all time favorite books! I loved it! It had such descriptive language in it at some parts you thought you were actually in the story. It on the edge of your seat wondering what would happen next. Haunting Violet pleasantly surprised me by being so good because I usually do not read thrilling books like this but I would recommend this book to anyone.

The book Haunting Violet takes place in the 1800's...more Review for Haunting Violet By Alyxandra Harvey

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey is one of my all time favorite books! I loved it! It had such descriptive language in it at some parts you thought you were actually in the story. It on the edge of your seat wondering what would happen next. Haunting Violet pleasantly surprised me by being so good because I usually do not read thrilling books like this but I would recommend this book to anyone.

The book Haunting Violet takes place in the 1800's and the main characher is Violet. Violet doesn't believe in ghosts until they start 'visiting' her. She starts getting visits very often from a ghost named Rowena. Rowena was murdered at the estate Violet was staying in. Violet thinks that she is Rowenas only hope of ever catching the murdered and exposing him for who he really is.

I think a strenght is at the end the book takes a really unexpected twist on who you think murdered Rowena because the whole time the author is hinting at you it is one person but it turns out to be the exact opposite! What I thought was a weakness about the book was in the beggining you think it takes place in our time period but then about one third in you find out it takes place in the 1800's! That made the book really confusing in the beggining.

I loved how the ending is so descriptive and fantastic you can't help reading all through the day! It is filled with surprises and answers to the questions you've had the whole time! For example when you find out Mr. Travis was secretly Rowenas lover you are just sitting there with your mouth open! Over all I found nothing that I disliked about this book! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read that keeps you on the edge of your seat! It is a great read for young adults all the way up to elderly! I rate this book 4.9 out of 5 stars. Read away!

February 23nd, 2012
Review by Delilah V.(less)

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Dec 14, 2011 Ashleigh Paige rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ashleigh Paige by: Cillian Beyond Birthday

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-awesome, yeah-i-was-giggling

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

Raised from a young age by a mother aiming for the stars and a father she knows nothing about, Violet is used to going along with her mother's schemes, like her claims to be a Spiritualist when she is nothing but a fake assisted by Violet and Colin, an orphan boy they took in. Being part of her mother's scheme has made Violet a skeptic, but then Violet starts seeing ghosts for real. One in particular, a girl named Rowena who mysteriously drowned the year b...more Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

Raised from a young age by a mother aiming for the stars and a father she knows nothing about, Violet is used to going along with her mother's schemes, like her claims to be a Spiritualist when she is nothing but a fake assisted by Violet and Colin, an orphan boy they took in. Being part of her mother's scheme has made Violet a skeptic, but then Violet starts seeing ghosts for real. One in particular, a girl named Rowena who mysteriously drowned the year before, keeps appearing to Violet and it's obvious her death was no accident. Violet will have to solve this murder to keep the same fate from befalling Rowena's sister Tabitha--or worse, Violet herself.

Violet's struggle with her mother, finding herself when she has to be surrounded by the lies her mother tells, and her developing gift felt so real to me and I came to care for her as if she were a real person. Sure, the novel is fairly low-stakes and there isn't much urgency in the threat posed to her, but Violet is such an interesting character that it doesn't matter. You care so much about how it's going to turn out after her gift turns up and her mother's fraud is revealed and her own gift is shoved into the spotlight that it drives the novel just as well as any urgent threat would.

None of the details jumped out at me as blatantly anachronistic, so that's always a good thing. The way the text would scratch at how confined young women were at the time in what they could do made me smile, but I wish those little moments could have been better expanded on. The Victorian Spiritualism fad isn't a subject I've had much interest in before, but being able to look behind the curtain and see how Violet, Colin, and Violet's mother pull their illusion together has changed that. I'll have to look for more information about how the tricks were pulled off. I know such manipulations are horrible, but I find them almost respectable. Manipulation doesn't happen very easily.

The only problem I had with Haunting Violet was that Violet's prim-and-proper-Victorian-girl voice sometimes got too dry and it made reading the novel feel less entertaining and more like a chore. These moments were only occasional, thank goodness. For most of the book, Violet's voice was clear and almost wry at times as she described the social confinements of women at the time and all the work that went into making a fake seance appear real.

Thanks to its well-researched Victorian details, the behind-the-scenes sort of look at the fraudulent Spiritualists of the time, and the way it pokes at how wrongly women were treated at the time, among many, many other details I don't care to list off, Haunting Violet receives a special honor. When I go to college next fall, I'll be taking my entire library of 300+ physical books with me, but most of them will be ebooks. Only the best of the best will go with me as physical books instead of ebooks and Haunting Violet has earned its place in those ranks.(less)

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Jun 18, 2011 Kristi-The Book Faery rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: atwt, ghosts, written-reviews, ya-arc-for-2011, ya-pub-date-june-11, ya-reviewed

The Faery’s View

Haunting Violet is such an apropos name for Alyxandra Harvey’s break –away from The Drake Chronicles! It is full of ghosts, thrills, romance but it’s also a murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. The most surprising aspect of Haunting Violet is that it is not only a paranormal romance but it is also, in my opinion, a very accurate historical paranormal romance set in the year of 1872.

Violet, the illegitimate daughter of a charlatan Spiritualist, has known...more The Faery’s View

Haunting Violet is such an apropos name for Alyxandra Harvey’s break –away from The Drake Chronicles! It is full of ghosts, thrills, romance but it’s also a murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. The most surprising aspect of Haunting Violet is that it is not only a paranormal romance but it is also, in my opinion, a very accurate historical paranormal romance set in the year of 1872.

Violet, the illegitimate daughter of a charlatan Spiritualist, has known very little love from her mother and along with Colin, an Irish orphan her mother allowed to live with them purely for the labor he provides, they all play a part in her mother’s scheming séances of those that are grieving and wanting to get in touch with those that have passed on. Violet and Colin have always looked out for each other and as they’ve gotten older Violet has started having different ‘feelings’ for Colin. Like the way her heart flutters when his hair falls over his brow or when she notices the muscles he’s developed as he’s gotten older. Colin has made living with her mother tolerable. Over the years her mother has made quite the name for herself in the Spiritualist circles because of her ‘successful’ yet deceitful séances. When an invitation arrives to visit the wealthy Lord Jasper, a known Spiritualist, at his country estate, she sees this as an opportunity that not only furthers her success but also to marry off Violet to the wealthiest bidder.

Upon arrival at Lord Jasper’s exquisite estate, Violet is presented as a lady and the gentlemen are taken in by her beauty and sweet nature. The other young ladies are immediately jealous and catty-particularly a beautiful girl named Tabitha. One girl, Elizabeth, quickly becomes a fast friend and makes Violet feel terrible about lying to her about who she really is. One thing that is extremely pleasant from Violets normal life: she has never seen so much food before, slept in a bed that was so soft nor has she ever had so much free time to read. The free time doesn’t last long though, eventually Violet starts to actually see a ghost, which is impossible because Violet doesn’t believe in ghosts! Violet can’t ignore it though; the ghost is identical to Tabitha, if fact it’s her identical twin that drowned a year ago despite the fact that she was an excellent swimmer. Foul play is afoot and it’s up to Violet, Colin and Elizabeth to find out before the murder kills Violet next.

Haunting Violet surprised me; I must confess that I’m not really big on ‘ghost’ books! Alyxandra Harvey did such an excellent job in her portrayal of the times that I almost felt as if I were transported to the late 1800’s. The descriptive was such that it was interesting and at times, humorous-I was never bored, in fact, I was fascinated. Violets character was so very likable! She is courageous, determined to do what’s right and cares deeply for others. The plot was amazing and unlike anything I’ve read before, it held so many elements while holding true to story. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a great ghost story but also to those who enjoy romance, intrigue and mystery.
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Sep 01, 2011 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, ya

Recently I read a writer's blog challenge about stakes. The stakes in a novel must be high to encourage a reader to want to finish the novel. Obviously, low stakes make for a boring novel. Most of the stakes presented were in the following format: so-and-so must do ______ OR ELSE ______ happens. Well, let me tell you about the "stakes" in this novel. Violet must find out who murdered Rowena or else... Well, I'm not really sure what will happen if she doesn't. Obviously, a murderer walks free, bu...more Recently I read a writer's blog challenge about stakes. The stakes in a novel must be high to encourage a reader to want to finish the novel. Obviously, low stakes make for a boring novel. Most of the stakes presented were in the following format: so-and-so must do ______ OR ELSE ______ happens. Well, let me tell you about the "stakes" in this novel. Violet must find out who murdered Rowena or else... Well, I'm not really sure what will happen if she doesn't. Obviously, a murderer walks free, but this doesn't really affect Violet. So who cares? I guess maybe you could say she's investigating because it's the right thing to do, but she's not. She just wants a ghost to leave her alone. The whole book fell flat for me. I found little calling to finish this book except for the fact that I rarely leave books half-read.

Violet's mother is a fake medium in the late 1800's, and she uses Violet and a boy she found on the streets, Colin, to help her scam people. They are fairly successful and are invited to a spiritualist house party. At this house party, Violet begins to see spirits of her own. Mainly, she sees a young girl that was murdered a year before on the property. Violet decides to try to find out who murdered Rowena (this is about three chapters). There are parties. There is a lukewarm romance. There is a semi-love triangle that was really forced. Her mother is scandalous. Violet might find out who her father is. (But who really cares, why was this even in the book?)

That summary probably even makes the book seem more interesting than it is. I genuinely think that in the hands of a better writer, the book would have been not-half-bad. Maybe still not good, as the plotting left much to be desired, but at least not terrible. In fact, I'm surprised to hear that Harvey has other books. The editing was very poor in the novel as well. How in the world can an adult writer or an editor confuse "past" and "passed." There were several errors in the book, but this was the most egregious. More than once, a character "swept passed" another. Ugh.

Finally, the characters were poorly done. What little characterization was present was akin to the old adage "telling not showing." Not to mention I found little to like about most of the characters.

Oh, and the mystery is obvious.(less)

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Feb 25, 2011 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-mt-bookpile

Since Harvey's Drake Chronicles is one of the better recent vampire series, I was interested to see how she did in another genre. This is still within the paranormal continuum, but it's historical fiction and Spiritualism, not modern vampires. And it's not bad.

Violet's mother is a Spiritualist, holding seances and "reuniting" the living and the dead. Of course it's all a hoax and the tricks she uses are described with some loathing by Violet (but if you've ever wondered, it's interesting to lear...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Book Angel Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Brilliant detail on spiritualism. Fab protagonist and brilliant romance *swoon.

I am a huge fan of Alyxandra Harvey's vampire series The Drake Chronicles, so I was very excited to read anything else by her, more so after reading the synopsis. I have to say that Haunting Violet has tipped the scales sending me into super fan girl mode. The book is superbly well written with dramatic atmospheric tension from the beginning.

I do not want to go into too much detail about the plot as you really NEED to...more Brilliant detail on spiritualism. Fab protagonist and brilliant romance *swoon.

I am a huge fan of Alyxandra Harvey's vampire series The Drake Chronicles, so I was very excited to read anything else by her, more so after reading the synopsis. I have to say that Haunting Violet has tipped the scales sending me into super fan girl mode. The book is superbly well written with dramatic atmospheric tension from the beginning.

I do not want to go into too much detail about the plot as you really NEED to read it for yourself. What I will say is that the story is heart pounding, compelling and utterly fascinating.

Written in first person narrative from Violet's perspective. The illegitimate daughter of a cruel, selfish woman; Violet is forced to help her mother deceive people while her mother pretends to be psychic, charging for her elaborate duplicity. Violet, in complete contrast to her mother, not only does she really communicate with spirits, she is caring, open and honest. The deceit she has to participate in with her mother, weighs heavy on her conscious. She is a very relateable character with her love of reading and escaping from the turmoil of her life into a book.

The setting of Victorian London is richly descriptive with beautiful use of simile and metaphor, creating a very realistic world. The historical details and portrayal of the divide in society added to the world building. The story had an air of Jane Austen in the narrative with the need to marry well, alongside the details of the parties on the country estate and the divide in classes. All extremely well portrayed. The feeling of women having no control over their own future without independent wealth really shone through. However, I did wonder how Violet was able to read given her standing in society. It may have been explained and I was too busy delving into the story to appreciate the details.

At one point I was a little worried that there was going to be a love triangle - thank goodness this didn't happen as I think it would have really spoilt the feeling of the romance within the book. I am not going to say anything about Colin apart from Wow and I want one. How Violet didn't have her eyes opened before I have no idea.

The portrayal of Spiritualism within the plot was superbly well researched and realistic. I give Alyxandra Harvey credit for the amount of research she put into it to make it so realistic. I would, if I had to be truly picky, like a little more detail about the circumstances that triggered Violet's abilities and more background detail about Lord Jasper's background especially regarding his knowledge of spiritualism.

I have surprised myself with being completely un-rambley today. I normally gush profusely when I like a book. This book contains the perfect balance of chilling ghostly tension, murder mystery and heart warming romance including some very hot kisses. So what are you waiting for- go read it [ : D ] (less)

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May 08, 2013 Shreesha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Haunting Violet has been authored by Alyxandra Harvey and was published by Bloomsbury. This book is also my first horror novel. However, I wouldn't call it horror per se. I did get goosebumps while reading the book but it did not scare the wits out of me, but, yes, I had to keep looking over my shoulder for spirits!

Mrs. Celeste Willoughby is a widowed medium. As in, she makes money by speaking to the dead loved ones of those alive. Yes, she makes money by being a phoney. The book is written in t...more Haunting Violet has been authored by Alyxandra Harvey and was published by Bloomsbury. This book is also my first horror novel. However, I wouldn't call it horror per se. I did get goosebumps while reading the book but it did not scare the wits out of me, but, yes, I had to keep looking over my shoulder for spirits!

Mrs. Celeste Willoughby is a widowed medium. As in, she makes money by speaking to the dead loved ones of those alive. Yes, she makes money by being a phoney. The book is written in the Victorian spiritualist era wherein it was a rage to be able to contact your loved ones from the beyond. Using this "talent" of hers, she stages several meets, stages them, she does not conduct any of them since all such activities are a setup. She is helped by her daughter Violet, her help Colin and Marjorie all of whom just can't wait to leave the shackles of her fraudulence.

All this, makes Mrs.Willoughby very famous, affords them a luxury they could only dream of and eventually gets them invited to Rosefield, to Lord Jasper's palatial home. Since this happens over the summer, as is the tradition, Lord Jasper has also invited his family and friends to stay over at his place (the reason for this is revealed at the end of the book). Mrs. Willoughby stages her first performanc by sprinkling some perfume here and there, making people believe their ancestors were in the room with them, by making it snow (while it is actually Marjorie showering feathers outside the window) and other special effects are created and the audience awed.

This stay is when Violet realizes that unlike her mother, she genuinely does have the rare gift of seeing spirits, to b able to converse with them. Being bombarded with endless spirits, she is determined not to tell her mother of the same since she would not think twice of parading her little girl's talents and making money out of it. One such ghost bothering Violet is Rowena. Rowena Wentworth, the niece of the current Sir Wentworth, Lord Jasper's neighbour. Turns out, Rowena had "accidentally" drowned in the lake. All this did not add up to Violet since Rowena was an ace swimmer and whenever Rowena's spirit occupied her body, she could taste a medicinal syrup in her mouth.

Thus beings Violet's investigation with the help of her best friend Elizabeth, Colin and a highly non-co operative Tabitha Wentworth, Rowena's twin sister who is wary of Elizabeth and is certain that her mother is a fraud (which is eventually exposed). How will they be able to place a finger on who murdered Rowena when she is unwilling to leave her sister's side, trying hard to protect her. As an added obstacle, it is clear to Violet that Rowena was strangled, and hence, her spirit voice cannot be heard and her gestures are not clear enough. This is Violet's adventure. She will have to crack the mystery. She will have to bring peace to Rowena's soul.

All in all, this book does not have a shocking ending. It is kind of obvious. But, it is good read nevertheless. Give it a go just once.

Rating: 3/5

Shreesha Iyengar
http://bombayiyengar.blogspot.in
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Apr 27, 2013 Michelle Arrow rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one's been sitting in my bookshelf for a while now, so today, I believed that it was the perfect time to start it.. and end it.

Haunting Violet was your average, cliché novel.

Cover Look: You got to admit, this one's pretty, although I felt as if I've seen a similar design to this one, Wondrous Strange kinda looks like it, I mean the style. If you had this novel in your bookshelf for a few months, like I have, more like six months, you start to find yourself cannot standing it. It g...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Lydia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, mystery, romance, teen, supernatural

Cover art: It's undoubtedly pretty (and I like the purple/violet) but there are so many covers almost exactly like this, Lauren Kate's books spring to mind but I have seen plenty of similar covers featuring a faceless girl in a lovely dress with some trees behind her.

Characters: I was pleasantly surprised by the heroine, Violet, who was smart and honest and realistic. Her continuous self-assurances that she wasn't going to be 'one of those girls' who swooned over men became grating, but her love...more Cover art: It's undoubtedly pretty (and I like the purple/violet) but there are so many covers almost exactly like this, Lauren Kate's books spring to mind but I have seen plenty of similar covers featuring a faceless girl in a lovely dress with some trees behind her.

Characters: I was pleasantly surprised by the heroine, Violet, who was smart and honest and realistic. Her continuous self-assurances that she wasn't going to be 'one of those girls' who swooned over men became grating, but her love for reading endeared her to me, and I found her actions to be realistic. Her friendship with Elizabeth was funny and warm-hearted, although as a character Elizabeth wasn't fleshed out much (apart from the reminders that she had a lot of flesh, therefore was not as attractive as Violet by comparison - though this was never directly said, it felt like this was being implied). Colin was annoying at first because of his hot and cold behaviour towards Violet, but I felt that their relationship and feelings which had been growing off the page since childhood were quite genuine, and as a reader I didn't feel like I was being clobbered in the face with clunky statements of how intense a sudden 'love' was, which is one thing which turns me off of paranormal romances. Violet's mother Mary/Celeste is certainly a stand-out character, ruthless and selfish, and the dynamic between her and Violet was interesting, though I was disappointed that Violet wasn't more active in trying to get away from her and was left by her mother instead.

Plot: This book is well written because it is very rich in detail; the descriptions of the paranormal events were successfully eerie and beautiful. The mystery of just who at the high society summer party murdered Rowena is an engaging one, and the story is also driven by Violet's relationships with her fraudulent medium of a mother and her budding romance with Colin, the latter of which did not overwhelm or drag the rest of the plot down. On top of seeing ghosts and being haunted by Rowena, Violet has to try and find a way to escape her mother's control and lies, even if it means marrying a rich man she doesn't love. In this regard I was disappointed that Violet was not more active in choosing her own future and had to be rebuffed by both Xavier and her mother instead of choosing to leave them - because in other areas of the story Violet was quite the action heroine. One problem I did have was that it was never really explained why Violet was suddenly seeing ghosts - she mentioned in passing that she fell in a river a few months earlier and when researching discovers that the 'sight' is often brought on after an illness, but makes no connection, and does not seem to be curious about how it started.

Other comments: I would recommend this for fans of Velvet by Mary Hooper.

3.5 stars(less)

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Jan 25, 2013 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review may end up containing slight spoilers definitely nothing big.
I picked up this book because I read Alyxandra Harveys Drake Chronicles and I fell in love with her writing. Without knowing what it was about, I dove in and all I can say is that I loved it. The fact that it was set in the 1860s made it so different from the books that I've read recently. Once I realized this book would be a mystery in the sense that the main character Violet was trying to find a murderer, I began trying t...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Violet’s mother is a fake medium who works to gain clients in the upper class of Victorian England. Violet’s mother is no one’s idea of a loving mother; in fact, she is often angry, harsh, and violent towards Violet and Colin, the boy her mother brought from the streets to work for them. These séances have made Violet immune to the idea of the supernatural…until one day a ghost visits Violet.

This ghost will not leave Violet alone until her killer is caught, but first Violet has to unravel the se...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Josie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction

Interesting concept, but not particularly well executed. A murder mystery needs to be tightly plotted, and this one wasn't. The pace dragged, and the ghost of the murdered girl seemed remarkably coy in revealing who her murderer was. (Seriously, just TELL VIOLET WHO IT WAS.)

Also -- and this is one of my biggest pet peeves -- even though this was set in the Victorian era, none of the characters acted or sounded like they were from that period. Violet, the main character, wouldn't shut up about he...more

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May 10, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Haunting Violet was a great read! It is centred around the character of Violet Willoughby, a girl who has a new-found talent for seeing the dead. For years her mother has swindled grieving patrons at fake seances. Violet's mother was a brilliantly horrible piece of work: one of those characters you could thoroughly enjoy loathing!

Violet herself was great. I always like characters who love the books I love, and Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favourites! I'm not usually one for historical setting...more

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May 06, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(3.5 stars) It’s Victorian England, and Spiritualism is all the rage. Violet Willoughby’s mother Celeste is a phony medium, using parlor tricks to scam her way up the social ladder. Now, the Willoughbys have been invited to the palatial estate of Rosefield for a grand house party. On this trip, Violet learns something shocking: she is a medium. A real one. And the ghost of a girl from the next estate over, who drowned mysteriously the previous year, is haunting Violet and demanding she solve her...more (3.5 stars) It’s Victorian England, and Spiritualism is all the rage. Violet Willoughby’s mother Celeste is a phony medium, using parlor tricks to scam her way up the social ladder. Now, the Willoughbys have been invited to the palatial estate of Rosefield for a grand house party. On this trip, Violet learns something shocking: she is a medium. A real one. And the ghost of a girl from the next estate over, who drowned mysteriously the previous year, is haunting Violet and demanding she solve her murder.

Haunting Violet is both a spooky mystery and a coming-of-age tale for Violet. She is constrained both by her cruel mother and by the strict rules of Victorian society, where even if you save the day, you’d better not be inappropriately dressed while doing it. Violet’s development is compelling as she tries to determine who she wants to be and what kind of life she will live, in a time when young women were not supposed to decide these things for themselves.

There’s a romantic element, too. Violet’s mother is pushing her to marry the wealthy but boring Xavier, but Violet is falling for her childhood friend, Colin, an Irish-born orphan. The choice between Mr. Wrong-but-rich and Mr. Right-but-poor is not new, really, but it works — and Colin makes a great match for Violet. They’ve got loads of chemistry, and he always has her back and wants her to be happy.

Alyxandra Harvey creates a cast of characters who come alive on the page. In addition to Violet and Colin, some good examples are Celeste, who’s fascinating to read about even though she’s a horrible person; Violet’s friend Elizabeth, who’s simply fun; and the ghost characters, who provide many moments of warmth and comic relief in addition to chills. Seriously, I love the ghosts. The lady with the blackberries. The pirate, with his comment about his own death. Lord Marshall’s wife! The schnauzer!

I do wish Violet had solved the murder before I did. The mystery in Haunting Violet bears a resemblance to a very famous story, and once I saw that story’s ghost beneath the surface of this one — pardon the pun — I knew who had done it, and I was right. But even setting that aside, there are a couple of major clues that readers will probably catch but that Violet misses. It’s actually another character who correctly interprets the most significant clue. It would have been much more satisfying if Violet had been the one to figure this out.

These issues with the mystery brought Haunting Violet down a bit in my eyes, as did a distracting error that was repeated several times: “passed” used in place of “past.” On the whole, though, I found it charming, and I enjoyed reading it. Sometimes you just need some goosebumps and a sweet love story on a dark and stormy night.

written for www.fantasyliterature.com (less)

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Mar 22, 2012 Maddie C rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book review – haunting violet

I would give this book an overall rate of 3/5 because the author did not really explain the book and characters very well and you were always wondering who someone was , the author would just say a name and not give any further description on who the person was.

I also did not know the age of the main character in the book, it is little details like these that help you make bonds with the characters and I think that it seems to make you more interested and like the...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Connor K rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I am going to be reviewing is "Haunting Violet" by Alyxandra Harvey, this book could be placed in the mystery to realistic fiction genres.

The book Hanuting Violet is about a girl who grows up with her single mom and wondering what life would be like with her father. Her mother and violet grow up in London, England with little to no money for non essentials, wich is tough considering that they have to go to fancy lord and ladies manors to do seances and attend fancy tea's and parties.

Fi...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-mysteries

Sixteen year old Violet has been assisting her widowed spiritualist medium mother since she was nine, so she is well aware that she's a fraud, playing people for money and fame. Celeste is also poor and is not a widow, in fact she had Violet out of wedlock. But she is desperate to keep up appearances, so as well as lying about her past, abilities and living above her means, she has even taken in two orphans - Colin and Marjorie - over the years to pose as her butler and hand maid.

Celeste Willoug...more Sixteen year old Violet has been assisting her widowed spiritualist medium mother since she was nine, so she is well aware that she's a fraud, playing people for money and fame. Celeste is also poor and is not a widow, in fact she had Violet out of wedlock. But she is desperate to keep up appearances, so as well as lying about her past, abilities and living above her means, she has even taken in two orphans - Colin and Marjorie - over the years to pose as her butler and hand maid.

Celeste Willoughby's game is working and she is respected enough that she has been invited to stay at the estate of a local Lord with other spiritualists for a week, as he is interested in the world of the paranormal. So Celeste brings along Violet, Colin and Marjorie to help her to fake her seances as usual, then she spends the rest of her time looking for a rich husband.

Violet has unsurprisingly grown up to be sceptic and wants to get married quickly, purely to escape her lying, social climbing mother, whom she can't stand for playing with the emotions of grieving families and who drinks 'medicinal' brandy constantly. So when Celeste lines up a rich suiter for Violet, she is quite excited by the prospect of stating afresh, out of reach of her money grabbing mother.

But Violet now has a secret of her own; since arriving out the estate of Lord Jasper, she has begun seeing ghosts. She may not believe in ghosts, but they certainly believe in her and want her to pay attention to them. Violet can't go on living in denial for too long, as the ghost of a drowned girl has zeroed in on her and won't be ignored. And since it looks like her death wasn't a accident like everyone believes - she was murdered - Violet will have to investigate the matter, before the ghost's surviving twin meets a similar fate.

So Violet has to solve a murder that officially never happened, keep her abilities hidden from her opportunistic mother and avoid scaring of a suiter who thinks that she's a rich girl, from a respectable family. Easy peasy.

***

I love how the setting is in Victorian London and that the heroine is trying to pass as a middle/high class society girl, as we have way too many street wise, gun toting, smart mouthed, 'sassy' heroines in urban fantasy books. Reading how people used to fake seances in those days was especially interesting for me.

The author has a perfect grasp on the sights, sounds and 'rules' of the era perfectly and knows how to add twists into the plot without them coming across as 'soap opera'. The book is meant to be YA, but it doesn't read as something tweeny - anyone can read this, from 9 to 90.

I'd especially recommend this to fans of chelsea quinn yarbro, Coleen Gleason and Gail Carriger. (less)

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Jan 24, 2012 Hylary Locsin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Sixteen-year-old Violet Willoughby has spent her life assisting her mother, Celeste, a fraudulent spiritual medium, in tricking wealthy widowers and grieving mothers out of their gold and silver. Life in Victorian England for a former housemaid left expecting a child after an affair with her wealthy employer was not easy for Mary Morgan. After Violet’s birth, Mary adopted the pseudonym Celeste Wil...more Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

Sixteen-year-old Violet Willoughby has spent her life assisting her mother, Celeste, a fraudulent spiritual medium, in tricking wealthy widowers and grieving mothers out of their gold and silver. Life in Victorian England for a former housemaid left expecting a child after an affair with her wealthy employer was not easy for Mary Morgan. After Violet’s birth, Mary adopted the pseudonym Celeste Willoughby, posing as a grieving widow with the ability to speak with the dead. Now “Mrs. Willoughby” and Violet live a life of fraud: pickpocketing, scamming and conning the wealthy into paying them for any solace after the death of a loved one. Violet hates tricking people. Her only consolation is in the comfort of her friend Colin: her mother’s longtime assistant who has grown up alongside Violet and helps Mrs. Willoughby perform her “séances”. One summer, the family is invited to Rosefield, a lavish country estate owned by the very wealthy and powerful Lord Jasper. If they can pull it off, the grand séance they will perform at Rosefield will ensure their place in society, as many members of Lord Jasper’s esteemed acquaintance have been invited especially for the event. Upon arriving at the scene of their next scam, however, Violet makes a startling discovery: she has begun to see the spirits of the deceased, not in the fraudulent way her mother claims to, but for real. Unsure of what to do with her newfound power, Violet is faced with the stubborn and troubled ghost of Rowena Wentworth, a fifteen-year-old girl and former neighbor of Lord Jasper’s who mysteriously drowned the previous year. Rowena seems intent on Violet discovering the truth about her death, but as Violet learns more and more about the secrets floating through the halls of Rosefield, she also discovers that her own life may be in danger.

This charming novel from veteran author, Alyxandra Harvey, is certain to delight both fans of historical fiction, particularly the Victorian era, and ghost stories alike. The main plot of the story is simple: Violet must help the ghost of the murdered Rowena to reveal who killed her, resulting in an always popular whodunit mystery. Below the surface, however, there is quite a bit more to Haunting Violet than just figuring out who the bad guy is. The relationship between Violet and her con-artist mother plays an important role in the story. Life for women of low social status in Victorian society was grim at best, and the reader can almost sympathize with the devious ways of Mrs. Willoughby, a former housemaid, who wants a better place in the world. The abuse enacted upon Violet by her mother is one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the book, particularly since one can imagine that similar circumstances between parents who live dishonest lives and their children occur on a daily basis in today’s society as well. In actuality, the novel provides just as much of a social commentary on the Victorian era as it does a ghost story, making it an interesting read for teens who are not as familiar with this period in time. Overall, Haunting Violet is an entertaining and well-paced ghost-story that readers of all ages can easily enjoy.

I’ve never read one of Alyxandra Harvey’s books before, but after finishing Haunting Violet, I think I can safely call myself a fan! Harvey lists Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice as amongst her favorite novels, and their influence is clearly felt in Haunting Violet. I am also very fond of the Regency and Victorian eras, and really enjoyed how well she portrayed life in Victorian England. The characters, setting and plot were all well-developed in Haunting Violet, and the story was expertly paced. I look forward to picking up Harvey’s next novel, and highly recommend this one to fellow Austen/Bronte enthusiasts!

(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Rosalia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, offtheshelf2012, paranormal-fiction, historical-fiction, young-adult

Violet's mother is a fake medium and she uses Violet help have fake seances, so no one is more shocked then Violet herself when Violet actually starts seeing ghosts and spirits while on a visit to a wealthy estate for her mother's grand rising up in the world. Violet begins seeing the ghost of a girl who was murdered a year ago and starts to investigate which is difficult in a world where proper behavior and corsets rule the drawing room.

I should have read this such a long time ago as it's been...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Book Whales rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted @ Book Whales

She didn’t believe in ghosts
But all that changed when she finally saw a real one

Haunting Violet is a murder mystery/ ghost story set in the Victorian era and all I could say is WOW! I really loved this book to bits that I couldn’t stop reading until the last page.
We follow Violet in her struggles with her fake spiritualist mother and her new found ability to see ghosts. And I mean the “real” ones. Her life changed when a ghost of a girl appeared to her, and it t...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Violet's mother is a fradulent medium who uses Violet, as well as Colin, a young man she took in, to help her in the ruse. When the group goes to a country manner for a protracted stay, Violet gets to hang out with her good friend, whose parents frequent spiritualist circles, as well as Trethewey, a young man from a fine family who has a romantic interest in Violet. The only problem? Violet keeps having visions of Rowena, a girl who violently drowned under suspicious circumstances, and begins to...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Heather Pearson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: canadian, ya

This story is set during the reign of Queen Victoria when Spiritualism and the holding of seances was most popular in England. Violet's mother, Celeste Willougby, used peoples' belief in talking to ghosts to exploit them for her financial gain.

Violet hated being forced to participate in these deceptions, but saw no way out of this lifestyle. While the two were on their way to the country estate of Lord Jasper, Violet's life changed for ever when she sited 'corpse candles' and the ghost of a gir...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Mayday Maddie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was recommended to me by the "Next 5" SPL booklist -- of the 5, this was the only one that sounded intriguing. Of course, upon reading the inside panel of the book I quickly regretted my decision. "The only person Violet can trust with her new secret is her mother's assistant, Colin, the boy she's grown to love but can never be with because of the rigid rules of their society." I nearly gave up there, but managed to force my fingers to prove the page. Just to see if SPL was totally wrong fo...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Jennifer Howell / Late Bloomer Online rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd give this book between 2 and 3 stars. I liked this book okay, but part of the problem is I'm not a huge fan of historical novels. I had trouble getting into this, and I loved Stolen Away so I wanted to try another of Alyxandra's novels.

Violet's Mother makes her living by fooling grieving people into believing she can contact the spirits of their dead beloved. She makes her daughter Violet participate in the scams although Violet hates every minute of it. Colin, was taken in by her Mother wh...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Sarah Mayor Cox rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-themes, young-adult-novels

The blurb says: “Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loo...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Larissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Violet always knew there was no such thing as ghosts, a fact that she could never admit with her mother being a medium. Mediums were another thing she never believed in, after all the years she spent assisting her mother in seances and readings she had just assumed that all mediums were frauds like her mother. But then one day Violet saw a ghost and everything she believed changed.

This was to be the most important reading of her mothers career with only the most important people in attendance. W...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Kirsti rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

'Haunting Violet' had so many elements I love; polite society, defying polite society, paranormal, forbidden romance and mystery. It was the typical 'whodunnit' atmosphere, and as per usual, I was clueless as to the murderer. I loved Violet, she was a mix of spunk, fun and naivety. Of course, Colin was obvious from the very start, with the potato sharing, but it was cute nonetheless.

I loved the writing! there was enough interest and slow build up to who murdered Rowena that I was constantly inte...more

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Oct 22, 2011 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the premise of Haunting Violet – set in the 19th Century (although the cover certainly doesn’t suggest this) and centring around elaborately faked séances, the effective way in which Violet’s mother earns her living; Violet herself disagrees with conning the rich and naïve, and longs for the day when she can break away from her selfish mother in the form of marriage…that is until she starts to see the dead for herself. However, for me, the actual novel itself fell short of this superb pr...more I loved the premise of Haunting Violet – set in the 19th Century (although the cover certainly doesn’t suggest this) and centring around elaborately faked séances, the effective way in which Violet’s mother earns her living; Violet herself disagrees with conning the rich and naïve, and longs for the day when she can break away from her selfish mother in the form of marriage…that is until she starts to see the dead for herself. However, for me, the actual novel itself fell short of this superb premise. I also found that there were eerie similarities between this and The Body Finder – both main characters are called Violet, both feel the dead, both fall in love with a childhood friend and both feature murderers – but I’m sure that they were merely interesting coincidences.

The writing was good, but I’m always hesitant to read period novels as the author always appears to be trying too hard to write in the appropriate style of that era, and more often than not it comes across and makes for bad reading, which I found was the case with Haunting Violet, including dialog that appears far too modern, and I think this was the reason I found it hard to get into at first. The line breaks used for dramatic effect were far too overused and I felt that there were too many characters to keep track of, and many of them were dull and not at all developed.

I was slightly disappointed to see how much the romance aspect overtook the ghost aspect, which is what I was hoping the novel would be mainly about as I adore a good ghost story, and it’s rare to find in the YA genre. Add to that the fact that I found the romance very badly played out, abrupt and featuring a dreaded much overdone love triangle and I was pretty let down by Haunting Violet.

However, the mystery element of ‘who done it’ was quite good, and had me guessing for quite a while, though the red herrings were obviously so. I wish Harvey would have included more of an explanation as to why Violet suddenly started to see ghosts, as the ability clearly wasn’t hereditary. The séance scenes were very well done and the most interesting scenes in my opinion. Most of the characters were likeable, especially Violet’s friend Elizabeth who is charmingly cheeky and Violet’s self-centred mother – a love-to-hate character. Overall, it’s a quick read for a rainy day, especially if you’re a historical romance fan who’s partial to the odd ghost story – it’s not brilliant but nor is it awful. (less)

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About Alyxandra Harvey

www.alyxandraharvey.com

Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fac...more

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“I was secretly entranced with the idea of a lady novelist. I should dearly love to be one. Or maybe a goblin-fighting-pirate-queen. It was difficult to choose sometimes.” — 35 people liked it

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