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The Bungalow

by Sarah Jio (Goodreads Author)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 3,432 ratings · 690 reviews

A sweeping World War II saga of thwarted love, murder, and a long-lost painting.

In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry...more

Paperback, 290 pages

Published December 27th 2011 by Plume

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Community Reviews

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Feb 11, 2012 Taryn at My Secret Romance rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, favorites, emotional-angsty, love-triangle, rekindled-love, reviewed-by-me, romance, some-suspense

Reviewed for Under the Covers

Isn’t it frightening to think that in the blink of an eye, your life can change so drastically? All it takes is for you to walk through door number two instead of door number one. The decisions you make in that moment can define the rest of your days.

I looked deep into his eyes. “It’s why I need to go,” I said. “I need to find out.” He looked away. My words had hurt him, and I hated that. His left arm, the band one, hung from his torso, limp, lifeless. He didn’t lik...more

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Feb 23, 2012 ♡KarLynP♡ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-historical, audiobook, kisses-only, read-2012, steam-mild

This was an enjoyable story, but it did require a lot of suspending your disbelief. I enjoyed the 1943 WWII setting in Tahiti, and was mildly intrigued by the suspense built around a murder and other odd events. But this kind of romance is not for me, and despite the possibility of a long awaited HEA I am not sure I’d even classify this book as a romance. It’s much more of a women’s fiction with a love story.

Anne Calloway is 90 years old when we first meet her. She has spent her life dreaming of...more This was an enjoyable story, but it did require a lot of suspending your disbelief. I enjoyed the 1943 WWII setting in Tahiti, and was mildly intrigued by the suspense built around a murder and other odd events. But this kind of romance is not for me, and despite the possibility of a long awaited HEA I am not sure I’d even classify this book as a romance. It’s much more of a women’s fiction with a love story.

Anne Calloway is 90 years old when we first meet her. She has spent her life dreaming of a lost love and the mysteries that surrounded it, which occurred in 1943. Anne and her friend Kitty traveled to Tahiti as nurses to help with the war, a sudden decision which also leaves Anne’s fiancé Gerard home without his bride to be.

While on the island Anne meets Westry, and his unique charm steels her heart. They discover a secret beach bungalow believed to be cursed by the natives, and they spend their free time there enjoying each other’s company and ultimately falling in love. But their one year tour of duty comes quickly, and the events that occur changes much. A murder, betrayal, jealousy among best friends and desperate times interweave with the story.

While I prefer reading straight romance novels, I do enjoy the twist of two lovers torn apart only to reunite much later. However I am not fond of dishonesty and cheating in any relationship, and despite the warm and tender feelings we see between Anne and Westry, she is still wearing Gerard’s engagement ring. Because of this, and also several wrong decisions and misconceptions on Anne’s part, I found myself not liking her as a heroine. She made a lot of choices for other people, assumed she knew answers without ever questioning, and ultimately made a selfish match with a person who deserved better.

The fact that Anne was 90 years, and thus Wesley was 94 or 95, old also rubbed me as too implausible. I guess it’s possible that at their age they could be so agile and healthy, but I didn’t buy it. I also felt the character development was lacking, and the I just couldn’t relate with the secondary stories. Some of them felt like they went nowhere. This was an enjoyable read, but it does requiring a lot of suspending your disbelief. It is a great book if you just want to escape to the 1940’s and enjoy a bit of mystery and romance, but don’t take it too seriously.
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Aug 07, 2012 TinasBookReviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

When Anne's best friend Kitty decides to enlist in the nurse corps and finds out she's leaving the country, Anne doesn't hesitate to join her. Putting off her marriage, disappointing her mother and even hurting Gerard(the groom)can't stop the overwhelming desire to help in the war effort. Determined to do something she feels is right, Anne packs her bags, buys her ticket and is off with Kitty to Bora, Bora.

When the women step off the plane its entire new world, men are everywhere and its not lik...more When Anne's best friend Kitty decides to enlist in the nurse corps and finds out she's leaving the country, Anne doesn't hesitate to join her. Putting off her marriage, disappointing her mother and even hurting Gerard(the groom)can't stop the overwhelming desire to help in the war effort. Determined to do something she feels is right, Anne packs her bags, buys her ticket and is off with Kitty to Bora, Bora.

When the women step off the plane its entire new world, men are everywhere and its not like the nice men at home, they both were warned that the war tends to change people, but can't help but be shocked at the way of life. The shock wears off though and Anne becomes accustomed to the Islanders and the soldiers who shape her everyday life very quickly. Working takes up most of her time, but in the free moments her and the other women there form relationships with each other and the men they take care of. While Kitty go's back and forth between a few of the men, Anne winds up catching the eye of Westry, a quiet good-looking soldier who loves art and loves the island. Of course Anne never planned on falling in love with another man but quickly becomes consumed with her deep feelings for Westry. This is what love feels like, its explosive and heated and all consuming, its everything Anne thought it could be. During the days that Westry and Anne fall deeply in love they find an old abandoned bungalow on the beach of Bora, Bora. When time allows between the fighting, the wounded and the struggles of the war, Anne and Westry meet at the bungalow and share precious moments together. If one can't get away, they leave each other love letters addressed to their code names and communicate by poems, terms of endearment and the excitement of hidden gifts. Caught in the madness of WWII, both them know every second counts and at any time the war could change things. Even with the chance of facing consequences with her family Anne has given her whole heart to Westry, she can't help but feel guilty for leaving Gerard behind, but knows Westry is the man shes always been looking for.

In the midst of her own feelings, Anne doesn't catch some of things going in Kitty's life. Her once best friend is distant, sneaky and harboring secrets about her love life and about the circumstances shes been facing. Chaos is all around them and one night as everything comes barreling to a head, Anne is a witness to a murder in front of her bungalow, one that will shatter her life in the now, one that will change her course and one that will follow her to old age.

Im so in love with this book, I can still smell the water crashing into the island of Bora, Bora, hear the wind as it ripples the roof of the bungalow and hear Anne and Westry laughing as they share a private moment. Sarah's writing was so exquisite in its sheer talent to transport me to a different time and place that I felt alive in that moment. The eagerness of love, the passions and desires seeped of the pages and I truly enjoyed the experience.

All in all an excellent tale of love, sorrow and betrayals mixed with eerie superstitions from a time long ago.

(Read Full Review at Blog)
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Jan 01, 2012 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read-books

I'll be reviewing this fully on Chronicles, but this novel set the bar high for my 2012 reading. I was definitely looking forward to it as The Violets of March was easily my favorite book of 2011, but The Bungalow was a joy beyond my expectations.

A warning: There's a surprise adoption theme in the book which isn't really discussed in any other reviews or snippets. It could be triggering for some. Look for more of that on Chronicles.

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Jan 11, 2012 Becky rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've had this book's release date marked on my calendar for months. I loved Sarah's first novel, but I can only explain my feelings about reading this one as similar to a second date - excited, nervous, and wondering how it could possibly be better than the first.

The second date was incredible.

From the start, I was enchanted: "He was there, of course - in uniform, shyly smiling at me as the waves fell into the shore. I could hear them - their violent crash, followed by the fizz of a million bubb...more I've had this book's release date marked on my calendar for months. I loved Sarah's first novel, but I can only explain my feelings about reading this one as similar to a second date - excited, nervous, and wondering how it could possibly be better than the first.

The second date was incredible.

From the start, I was enchanted: "He was there, of course - in uniform, shyly smiling at me as the waves fell into the shore. I could hear them - their violent crash, followed by the fizz of a million bubbles kissing the sand."

(That's from the first page people!)

It took me awhile to process the story - I was enraged by the actions of some of the characters, and swooning at others. It takes a lot for me to really fall in love with a leading male character, but I fell head over heels for Westry. However, I couldn't figure out why I was angry at the end of this book. I liked the story, I connected with the characters, but I was in a bad mood for the rest of the day when I finished it!

The next day (after I woke up, still thinking about the story), I realized I was angry because it ended. The love the author created between these characters was so heart-warming and incredible I was angry I didn't get to experience more of it!

The love was almost tangible; I can still feel myself wrapped up in the relationship like a warm, cozy blanket. (And let me tell you, if Westry was real, Ben might have serious competition).

There were twists in the story I wasn't expecting - at the end there were things I was anticipating and I found myself almost holding my breath! I won't go into details (I don't want to give anything away), but I was engaged the whole time. This book was a quick read (I finished it in a day), but I was in the story the whole time, and the few times I had to put it down I felt weird because I missed it, and wanted to get back to it.

I originally gave the story four stars but realized I've been thinking about it so much it had to get five instead. I'm already thinking about re-reading it! (less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Ns rated it 4 of 5 stars

A beautifully-written and heart-breaking story. The Bungalow appealed to me for two reasons: the WWII backdrop (my favorite time period to read) and the Bora-Bora island setting. How unique and exotic! I ended up falling for the story for much more than these reasons, though.

It is a bittersweet love story with a bit of a murder mystery involved. Having read many WWII stories, I really appreciated the beautiful setting and the different perspective on the war. Rather than seeing the war from the...more

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May 27, 2012 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

One word.... WOWWW :) I absolutely loved loved loved this book. No doubt I will read more from this author. It's one of those books that you can not put down to save your life. No really....

Mom: Jenna! The house is on fire!

Me: Yeah, I thought I smelled something funny. I'll be with you in a sec I really need to see how this ends.

And I also have a feeling I'll be thinking about this book tomorrow. After I've moved on to a new book. yep that's totally healthy

PS - with a name like Kitty did I rea...more

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Nov 04, 2011 Bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, full-of-wonderful, arcs-read, adult, edelweiss-netgalley

The Bungalow was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Penguin Group (USA).

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

A sorrowful tale of war and the effect it has on each and every life involved.

The Storyline
It is 1942 and WWII is being fought. Anne Calloway is engaged to marry Gerard Godfrey and there are just a few weeks till their wedding; their marriage being planned from birth.

”Calloways would marry Godfreys. It was as natural as coffee and cream.”

Their relationship is one lacking i...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Jio has done it again with a sweeping love story set in Bora bora and one that covers a lifetime. I instantly became enraptured with Anne and Westry.

If you are looking to be carried away, look no further.

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Feb 26, 2012 Emily Cunningham rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! Read it in 24 hours; needless to say I couldn't put it down. Quick and easy. Sweet love story.

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Sep 26, 2012 Anne-marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-reads, all-time-favorites

This is a wonderful novel. I loved the subplots woven into the main love story and the ending was perfect. READ it.

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Mar 09, 2013 Ricki Treleaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think that The Bungalow might be the most perfect beach read. Ever. The setting is the island paradise of Bora-Bora during World War II. Twenty-one year old Anne Calloway is a college nursing graduate, and has recently become engaged. Uncertainty over her impending nuptials convinces Anne to join the Army Nurse Corps, and she is sent to the Pacific with her best friend, Kitty. Anne develops a crush on a handsome and enigmatic soldier named Westry, and they soon begin having a love affair.

One e...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Kyrianna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

So glad that I decided to read this book. I was shocked out how quickly this became one of my new favorites of all time. Let me start out by saying that Sarah Jio is an amazing writter. I love the fact that she gets to the point of her story but in just a beautiful way. Within the first two sentences I knew I wouldn't be able to put this book down. The way she is able to give you such a vivid picture without dragging you along for 3 chapters is a breath of fresh air. She is definately an author...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Teatree_elle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Jio is a talented writer. While I gave Violets of March an extremely negative review, I had so thoroughly enjoyed Blackberry Winter, and was on the fence about reading The Bungalow. I had read the reviews, both good and bad, and even the spoilers because I wasn't sure if I was prepared to spend money on a new novel after having been annoyed at spending $12.99 on Violets of March. I waited a bit, long enough for me to forget the spoilers and still felt compelled to read the Bungalow. I'm su...more

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Sep 26, 2012 megan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical_fiction, fun-dont-judge-me

More like 2.5 stars--but I'm not in the rounding up kind of way with this one. I finished this book and read a majority of it on a plane ride from Denver to Detroit. That flight is only two hours long. So--you know--it was engaging for the duration of the flight. For that, I am thankful and I appreciate the book's ability to keep my attention without having to make me think too hard when I panic during turbulence (true)--but it was just a little too "too stupid to live" for me. I mean, the heroi...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Agatha rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm sorry, but this book is completely insane. As in: insane in the membrane. It is like a bad Lifetime movie and it just stretches all limits of credulity. It's the same author as The Violets of March but I wouldn’t recommend this one in any way, shape or form, unless you were looking for something extreeeeeemely simple.

Want a quick synopsis? Ok, fasten your seatlbelts. Here we go:

Jennifer’s grandmother Anne reminisces about her time during WWII, when she decided to postpone her marriage to we...more I'm sorry, but this book is completely insane. As in: insane in the membrane. It is like a bad Lifetime movie and it just stretches all limits of credulity. It's the same author as The Violets of March but I wouldn’t recommend this one in any way, shape or form, unless you were looking for something extreeeeeemely simple.

Want a quick synopsis? Ok, fasten your seatlbelts. Here we go:

Jennifer’s grandmother Anne reminisces about her time during WWII, when she decided to postpone her marriage to wealthy Gerard and go use her nurse training to be a nurse in the Pacific theater, in Bora Bora, with her good friend Kitty. Kitty immediately jumps in with the wrong crowd and does a lot of carousing and ends up pregnant, has the baby, places the baby (a girl whom she wishes to name Adella), with local adoptive parents, and then lapses into PPD and her friendship with Anne is severely strained. Kitty herself begins to fall in love with US soldier Westry and they meet and have liaisons in a little bungalow they find on the beach; astonishingly (this completely stretches all limits of credulity) they find a painting in there that was left behind by a previous occupant, none other than Paul Gauguin (like I said: strains the limits of ALL credulity, right?). They even meet some of the ladies whom Gauguin painted, who are also being victimized by the soldier who got Kitty pregnant and who, eventually, ends up killing one of them who refuses to stay silent. Anne and her beau treat her with morphine to ease her final moments and then bury her in the sand. At the end of the war, Anne goes back to Seattle – where her father now lives with her French housekeeper and her mother has absconded to NYC where she is an alcoholic and has an affair with a decorator – but Anne always wonders if she was meant to marry Gerard or was Westry her one true love? Her friend Mary (nb who later commits suicide), who has now been stationed in France as a nurse to the troops there, writes to say she has found Westry in a hospital there and she wonders if Anne wants to come to see him, to find out once and for all. She travels to Paris but is not allowed to see Westry b/c Kitty is there treating him and they appear to have fallen in love! She cannot believe it. She goes homes, marries Gerard, and has a perfectly fine marriage with him that lasts the ages. Years later, she finds out that Kitty had still been suffering from PPD when she did not permit Anne to see Westry in Paris, and she didn’t love him, she only admired him b/c he had tried to protect her from the mean soldier who had gotten her pregnant. Kitty didn’t marry Westry herself either but went home to CA, married another man, and had 3 daughters. Anne helps Kitty find her daughter whom she place for adoption so many years ago in Bora Bora and now Kitty has 4 daughters again, not just 3. Ann and Kitty reunite and become friends again and Anne and Westry reunite through some other plot device that continues to strain credulity, and they are both widows/widowers now and their white heads bow together as they walk across a fall college landscape scattered with falling leaves. UGH!!

So, show of hands?!? Who’s interested in this one?!? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? (less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Lydia Laceby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-star-must-read, contemporary-women-s-fiction

Originally Reviewed at Novel Escapes

I fell in love with this book. A love story first and foremost, The Bungalow is also a tale of friendship, forgiveness and growth amidst a gorgeous beach backdrop in Bora Bora that is surrounded by a raging war. This novel captivated me from the first page and I polished it off in a few sittings – which unfortunately is rare for me these days. The romantic angle really should have seemed over the top, but it actually worked, which surprised me at times and is...more Originally Reviewed at Novel Escapes

I fell in love with this book. A love story first and foremost, The Bungalow is also a tale of friendship, forgiveness and growth amidst a gorgeous beach backdrop in Bora Bora that is surrounded by a raging war. This novel captivated me from the first page and I polished it off in a few sittings – which unfortunately is rare for me these days. The romantic angle really should have seemed over the top, but it actually worked, which surprised me at times and is a testament to Jio’s writing.

The Bungalow had me wanting to hop on a plane, find a romantic bungalow on a beach and set up shop there. Oh, the writing and reading I could do. And the romance… I think anyone with an adventurous side can relate to Anne’s hopping on a plane. Her sense of duty pushed her to go against the wishes of her family and finance, mere weeks before her impending wedding and she found a little something more on the island than she anticipated.

I never questioned the love between Anne and Westry and could feel how torn she was between the promises she made to the finance she left behind and her love for Westry during such an uncertain and devastating time. And how dreamy a name is Westry Green by the way? I recently read a post by Sarah Jio who revealed the story behind it. Westry Green is actually the name of someone she knew and she told him that one day she would be using his name in a novel. I think she has definitely done the name justice. Ahhh, Westry….. Westry Green…

Sorry, I got to daydreaming…

Anne was such a naïve and innocent character which contrasted sharply to her best friend, Kitty, and ultimately the war setting. As her life shifts from the cozy privileged life in Seattle to the sights and worry of war, her perspective changes with the ultimate knowledge that their lives could be shattered at any moment. The bungalow offers a glimpse of peace and when love with Westry ignites a passion she’s unfamiliar with dependable and sturdy Gerald, there’s never any question which way her heart will lead.

At times I couldn’t help but wonder about the convenient timing of certain events – sorry, I can’t divulge for spoilers - but then I would remember some of my own coincidental meetings and random events in life and be convinced. Sometimes life just has a way of putting people, places and events exactly where they’re needed, whether you even know it or not. Serendipity? Fate? God? Whatever you believe, this book might just convince you a little more. Or even if you don’t, this book might just convince you. Regardless of your view, they somehow seemed to work in this novel and I’m still surprised that they didn’t bother as much as they probably should have.

Even the predictable ending didn’t phase me. I shed tears. Many of them. And I was grateful I pushed through to finish the novel in the evening and not the following morning on my way to work on the subway. The bawling would have been mortifying. I’m fairly certain this novel would make a gorgeous movie. A love story for the ladies, with some war action for the boys amidst a stunning Pacific beach backdrop and a great storyline. Yep, I’m pretty sure it would be a winner. A Nicholas Sparks kind of tear jerker comes to mind….(less)

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Apr 01, 2012 Brenda Whitner rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Sarah Jio. I really enjoyed the book and have purchased her first novel The Violets of March. This was a love story / mystery. Anne is engaged to be married to Gerard Godfrey and it is just a few weeks until their wedding. At their engagement party her best friend Kitty announces that she is joining the war efforts to become a nurse overseas. Anne decides that she can’t let her best friend do this on her own and she calls off the wedding and sets off to Bora Bora fo...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Rebecca rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So this book was one that I was looking forward to and was hugely let down by it. I wanted to read it because I heard it had a minor theme of adoption in it... what I didn't know was that this book had minor themes of everything in it it seemed.

It's a small book (only 287, and small pages... the kind that take you a second to read). It was a book of "and then's...". What I mean by that is that it never lingers on any one subject very long. It is constantly like "and then this happened...". It is...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Jody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, historical-fiction, romance, suspense

This book was won through the First Read's giveaway. Thank you for a great story.

This is a romance between Westry and Anne during World War II. It takes place in the South Pacific in Bora Bora. Jio does a great job in conveying the sense of being on the island through her vivid descriptions, making you wish you could visit sometime.

Anne is engaged to Gerard, but just does not feel the passion. She leaves to join the action in the South Pacific using her recently acquired nursing degree. Her fam...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Missy Olive rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sarah Jio is an amazing story teller! I fell in love with her writing style in Violets of March and she did not disappoint with The Bungalow.

As a reader, I just wanted to tell Anne what to do at many points in the story. Despite my objections, Anne did not listen to me as Sarah had her own thoughts in mind for Anne, Westry, and Kitty.

Everyone knows that I am a sucker for love stories. Well this love story has tangles, layers, and even suspense. I simply could not put it down.

The story begins in...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Paperback Dolls rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-2012, reviewed-by-eowyn, contemporary-fiction, 4-stars

Reviewed at Paperback Dolls.com

I loved how Sarah Jio wove love, mystery, past and present in her last novel The Violets of March and she has accomplished this perfect combination yet again with her latest novel The Bungalow. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest novel and Plume was nice enough to provide Paperback Dolls with an ARC. Jio’s latest novel begins in the present as Anne’s daughter is trying to solve a mystery about a beautiful sculpture at her college and Anne receives a note...more Reviewed at Paperback Dolls.com

I loved how Sarah Jio wove love, mystery, past and present in her last novel The Violets of March and she has accomplished this perfect combination yet again with her latest novel The Bungalow. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest novel and Plume was nice enough to provide Paperback Dolls with an ARC. Jio’s latest novel begins in the present as Anne’s daughter is trying to solve a mystery about a beautiful sculpture at her college and Anne receives a note from Bora-Bora requesting her help in solving a long forgotten murder on the island. With this note Anne is swept back up in the past of her youth and memories of the love she has never forgotten.

Jio takes us on a journey from the young Anne Calloway who is smart and living in a time when women did not have the choices they do today. For a young girl of her time and her privilege she was expected to marry, stay home and raise children. In a brief moment she decides to head off to Bora-Bora in the Army Nurse Corps. One of my favorite quotes centers around this inevitability in Anne’s life when she is told “You be yourself,” she said. “And never ignore what your heart is telling you, even when it hurts, even when it seems like following it will be very difficult or untidy.” I wish I had followed this advice a few times in my own life.

The story takes shape as Anne discovers the true nature of others, the reality of her childhood friendship and the beauty of love. I could imagine lounging on the beach in the warm breeze and the beauty of young love. I have to admit that I loved The Violets of March more but I think it’s because I could identify with the character and what was going on her life than I could with Anne. I also thought the mystery aspect was less exciting in The Bungalow than it was in Violets however, the romance and complicated relationships involved among friends was just as endearing in this book.

Overall, I finished the book quickly and loved the fact that it centered on nurses in WWII. The descriptions of the Bora-Bora made you feel as if you were there walking on the beach with your feet in the water, sand between your toes and the breeze in your hair. I was engrossed in the changes in Anne as she meets Westry and discovers what passionate love is and with her despair as her friendship with Kitty begins to falter after so many years. Jio once again has written a touching story of the complex relationships in our lives and how they affect us. I would definitely recommend this if you are looking for an engaging quick read.(less)

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Dec 19, 2011 Luanne Ollivier rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read Sarah Jio's debut novel The Violets of March last year - and loved it. (my review) I had no doubt that I would enjoy her latest book, The Bungalow, as much. But I was wrong - I actually enjoyed it more!

Anne Calloway is ninety when her granddaughter Jennifer brings her a letter - one that asks questions about a murder in 1943 and so Anne begins to finally tell her story...

Anne has already gone against her well to do family's expectations for her. She and her friend Kitty both added nursing...more I read Sarah Jio's debut novel The Violets of March last year - and loved it. (my review) I had no doubt that I would enjoy her latest book, The Bungalow, as much. But I was wrong - I actually enjoyed it more!

Anne Calloway is ninety when her granddaughter Jennifer brings her a letter - one that asks questions about a murder in 1943 and so Anne begins to finally tell her story...

Anne has already gone against her well to do family's expectations for her. She and her friend Kitty both added nursing qualifications to their college degrees. "What we'd do with these credentials was of great concern to our parents. Heaven forbid we actually use them."

Anne's future is already planned for her - marriage to Gerard Godfrey, the local banker's son. "Mother and Mrs. Godfrey had planned the union since I was in infancy, of course. Calloways would marry Godfreys. It was as natural as coffee and cream."

But, it is 1942 and the War is on. When Kitty announces that she has enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and is shipping out for the South Pacific, Anne does the unimaginable - she follows her heart and signs up as well.

Kitty and Anne land in Bora Bora. Kitty sees it all as a grand adventure, while Anne is more reserved. But Anne is inextricably drawn to Westry, one of the soldiers on base. Together they discover an abandoned beach hut and it is here that they fall in love - and plan for a life together when the war ends. But the locals say the hut is cursed. And it may well be - a horrific event puts an end to their sanctuary - and their plans for the future.

Jio has again woven the past and present together to create an absolutely addicting story. But it is the past that captured me the most. I loved the character of Anne, her decisions to follow her heart, her kindness and her innocence. Jio has captured the naivete of a young woman discovering herself in a turbulent time period. I initially enjoyed the character of Kitty as well, drawn to her sense of adventure. However, by the end of the book I quite disliked her. The setting itself is a character in the book as well. I was able to picture clear blue water, white sands, palm tree, island breezes and of course, the little bungalow.

Jio's writing flows easily and effortlessly. I was caught up in the story from first page to last. It's hard to pigeonhole The Bungalow into one genre slot. It's historical, but there's a (not too hard to solve) mystery as well, but the romantic thread is the most compelling. Yes, there are coincidences that tie things up quite neatly in the end, but you know what? - It works. For a feel good read to warm you up on a cold winter night, pick up The Bungalow. Releases Dec. 27/11.

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Aug 11, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, favorites

It is the summer of 1942 and twenty-one-year old Anne Calloway finds herself forced to choose between pursuing a search for an elusive, all-consuming, passionate love or marrying a man she knows will provide her with a lifelong comfortable love.

Joining her best friend Kitty on a medical tour of duty to Bora-Bora as a nurse, Anne leaves all notions of comfort behind. Closer to war and suffering than she has ever been her entire sheltered life, Ann begins to find pieces of herself she never knew e...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure if this book would be any good when I picked it off the shelf at the library; but I soon changed my mind. I really liked this book and was sorry to see it come to an end. The characters really came alive and it was not the light romance I was expecting. Told from an old woman's perspective, Anne Calloway tells her granddaughter how she had changed her mind and postponed her wedding to Gerard, a good, solid man she has known her whole life, right after their engagement party. Instea...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel's speaker is Anne Calloway, an older woman whom circumstances cause to look back on her youth when she was a nurse stationed on Bora-Bora during World War II. The major part of the story occurs in 1942 and 1943 on Bora-Bora. Anne is engaged, but unsure of her feelings toward her fiance and finds herself drawn to a soldier named Westry. The two develop a secret friendship and meet in a small hidden building, the bungalow of the title. But things are happening to Anne's best friend Kitt...more

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Mar 07, 2012 April Plummer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, women-s-fiction

This book was funny. The opening lines stole my breath away with their beauty. Then, somewhere in the middle, my interest started to wane a bit. There was something about the author's style that I just wasn't sure I liked. Some lines were beautiful, but some were...I don't know how to explain it.

Yet the beauty of the romance, the heart of a woman in love with a man...her story compelled me to keep reading. And it wasn't just a love story. It was a story about the power of friendship as well. Fri...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Audrey Dailey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club-selections

This is a Book Club selection so I don't want to give away too much in my review, but we aren't reading it until the summer so I do need to write down a few thoughts to keep me from forgetting them.
I liked the overall premise of this story--an older woman recounting her experiences as a nurse in the South Pacific in World War Two--and I loved the island setting. I thought the plot had potential but didn't live up to it. I found the plot "twists" to be predictable, and while I enjoyed the myste...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Five Big Stars! This is a poignant love story set during World War II.

Summer of 1942 finds Anne Calloway living a quiet, sheltered life in an upper class neighborhood of Seattle. She recently graduated from nursing school and is newly engaged to the wealthy and handsome Gerard, someone she has known her entire life. Parental expectations gently prodded her into the engagement. The comfortable childhood friendship between Anne and Gerard has evolved into a warm, loving relationship but Anne finds...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Jodie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Sarah Jio does it again! What a beautifully crafted novel. You can almost smell the hibiscus flowers through the pages. The characters are well developed, and the plot moves along effortlessly. Sarah's novels are just a joy to read. I start reading them andby the time I realize I am thirsty or hungry, I am a hundred pages into the story. The entire world completely disappears while I read one of Sarah's novels. Don't miss out on this wonderful reading adventure!

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About Sarah Jio

Sarah Jio is the New York Times bestselling author of BLACKBERRY WINTER, THE VIOLETS OF MARCH (a Library Journal Best Book of 2011), THE BUNGALOW, and the forthcoming, THE LAST CAMELLIA (5/28/13), all from Penguin/Plume. Sarah is also the health and fitness blogger for Glamour.com. She has written hundreds of articles for national magazines including Redbook, O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, SELF,...more

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The Bungalow/ The Drop/ The Best of Me/ Love in a Nutshell

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“Marriage, my dear, is not suicide.” — 1 person liked it

“I buttoned my sweater against the wind on my skin - winds of change.” — 1 person liked it

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