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The Violets of March

Sarah Jio (Goodreads Author)

3.82 · Rating details · 23,288 ratings · 2,882 reviews

From the New York Times bestselling author of Always and Blackberry Winter, a heartbroken woman stumbles upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author.

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

Ten years later, the tide has turned on ...more

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Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Published April 26th 2011 by Plume

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Dec 05, 2010 Sarah Jio rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

I wrote this book, so I'm allowed to love it like my firstborn, right? :) Thank you, everyone, for reading and sharing your comments. ...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Janet rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: gave-up

First off, the story sounds familiar-recent divorcee goes away to recover. Having just signed divorce papers, when she arrives at her great-aunt's place, she gets two dates within about 48 hours of arriving. I don't know if someone who is still shocked by a divorce would jump into dating quite so soon.

Second, there were too many characters whose names begin with the letter E. Emily and Evelyn are alive. Elliot and Esther are in the diary Emily finds. And at least one of these people is still al ...more

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May 10, 2011 Laura Kay Bolin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

http://anovelreview.blogspot.com/

I am an avid reader. I love to read. I love to read all sorts of genres. I have been asked over the years, “what is your favorite book,” well I don’t have one. There are just too many good ones out there. But from now on I have an answer. I will from now on answer, “The Violets of March by Sarah Jio.”
Emily Wilson had it all. Married to a GQ handsome hubby, bestselling author her life was picture perfect. Suddenly, it was all over. Her husband leaves her for anoth http://anovelreview.blogspot.com/

I am an avid reader. I love to read. I love to read all sorts of genres. I have been asked over the years, “what is your favorite book,” well I don’t have one. There are just too many good ones out there. But from now on I have an answer. I will from now on answer, “The Violets of March by Sarah Jio.”
Emily Wilson had it all. Married to a GQ handsome hubby, bestselling author her life was picture perfect. Suddenly, it was all over. Her husband leaves her for another woman and her best-seller writing career is going know where because she has writers block. Where can she go? She decides to go back to one of her favorite places in the world, Bainbridge Island, where she spent her summers growing up visiting her Aunt Bee.

There to deal with the loss of her marriage and hopefully to find some inspiration for a new book, what she finds instead is an Island full of secrets and two love interests. Love interest number one is Greg, an old high school boyfriend and the other good looking local artist, Jack. While figuring out her own love life, she stumbles onto an old diary dated from 1943. As Emily begins reading the story of diary, she finds her own life to have parallels to the author, Ester’s, life. Emily begins to realize the sort of love she wants and deserves. Feeling so close to Ester, she realizes she must solve the mystery, but the more Emily learns the more questions arise.

I have a very messy house right now, because I could hardly put this book down. I read it in one day and that is not an easy feat in my home. When I read the journal entries (which are more of a story within a story) I felt transported to another era. I was completely engaged in the story and lost track of time. The descriptions are very well written. I could smell the salty air and I could feel Emily’s frustration. The entire time I was trying to figure out the puzzle of the story and I could not figure it out. I wanted the mystery solved, but at the same time I didn’t want the story to end.

This book has goosebump moments and brought me to tears! I LOVED this book! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading!
This is Jio’s debut novel. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Jess rated it did not like it · review of another edition

SPOILERS
I am 96% finished with this book (per the Kindle app) and I'm not sureif I can finish. I started skimming the review just below this and absolutely agree with the forst paragraph about jumping into dating. ALL of the characters were so superficial- I never cared for any of them. A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when people fall in love, or find someone amazing, and I don't know why. The writing just felt so rushed and insincere! I never once felt the connection between any of the 'lovers'. We SPOILERS
I am 96% finished with this book (per the Kindle app) and I'm not sureif I can finish. I started skimming the review just below this and absolutely agree with the forst paragraph about jumping into dating. ALL of the characters were so superficial- I never cared for any of them. A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when people fall in love, or find someone amazing, and I don't know why. The writing just felt so rushed and insincere! I never once felt the connection between any of the 'lovers'. We all remember our first loves- but my first impression of the whole Greg relationship was that he was just some high school summer crush. I'm actually laughing to myself as I write this, remembering the whole sappy scence where he takes her to the rock where he carved their names.

Other issues of annoyance:

1. I find it hard to believe that EVERY SINGLE PERSON but Esther went by nicknames. (I'm laughing and eye rolling again)

2. Every time the author wanted to convery that the person talking was elderly she had them call Emily "dear". About a quarter way through the book I was thinking it could be a drinking game, but then I realized that 2 chapters later I would probably be cross eyed. (Might have made for a better book) 4 chapters later, all I could picture every time I read that word was a haggard crone, croking the word out while brushing her hair with a fork. Wasn't Bee supposed to be this vivicious women!

3. If I went weeks without telling my best friend I had terminal cancer and she didn't notice something was up on her own, she's fired.

4. I wanted to barf (yes, I'm very eloquent) every time I heard Emily described as 'beautiful'. That seemed to be this girl's only saving grace. I never found her personality, she was a bad author, and when she finally did write another book she just finished someone elses. She also proved to be quite stupid, reading a book about her grandmother's mistakes, just to make the some ones herself.

Pausing to finish book (Once I start I have to finish)...

Oh, Jack is an idiot, too. Suddenly their connection makes sense. ...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Christina rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ever since I've discovered the joys of reading self-published works by multiple talented authors on Amazon, it is extremely rare that I purchase a book for more than $7.99. Having just finished "Blackberry Winter" by Sarah Jio, I was excited to read more of her novels. At the end of "Blackberry Winter," there were a couple chapters, a sneak preview, of "Violets of March." After reading a bit of it, I decided to venture onto Amazon and was a taken aback by the price - $12.99. Gulp! I hadn't paid Ever since I've discovered the joys of reading self-published works by multiple talented authors on Amazon, it is extremely rare that I purchase a book for more than $7.99. Having just finished "Blackberry Winter" by Sarah Jio, I was excited to read more of her novels. At the end of "Blackberry Winter," there were a couple chapters, a sneak preview, of "Violets of March." After reading a bit of it, I decided to venture onto Amazon and was a taken aback by the price - $12.99. Gulp! I hadn't paid that in a long time but I figured I would go for it as I had really enjoyed her other novel and was fond of her writing style. Needless to say, three very short hours later, I was infuriated and wanted my money back.

The mysterious character, Esther, revealed herself to be a thoroughly despicable and selfish character. Was I supposed to be happy for the woman who faked her own death because she was suffering from heartbreak, who not only placed an extremely disproportionate guilt trip on her lover and best friend? She was a hot-headed cavewoman, always quick to anger but too immature to search out a resolution. That poor woman who in the 1940s was engaged to what was apparently a very handsome man who had no qualms getting into debt so long as she wore this beautiful engagement ring. Man, what a tough life she had! Apparently, she loved Elliott so much but was so quick to assume the worst of him. Yep, that's real love there.

Was I supposed to feel compassion when she showed none to the daughter she had easily left behind, the daughter who grew up immensely insecure of her mother's love for her? I'm sure her daughter will feel loads better after she meets her half-sister who grew up loved by their mom. Yes, this will certainly draw Emily's mom out of the distance she had previously created between her and the island. Her mother loved her enough to leave her so easily. Ridiculous.

So Esther went on to visit the world - good for her because she was so stifled before! GTFOH. This book had me until the end as the story miserably attempted to wrap up a really fucked up ending with a nice shiny bow.

As for the relationship between Emily and Jack, the falling in love so quickly aspect was unbelievable. This woman just wasted seven years of her life with someone she thought she knew only to discover that he was unfaithful and left her for another. In what world would a woman that experienced that betrayal quickly fall into the arms of someone she just met? Oh, but this was needed to desperately demonstrate parallels between the main character and the grandmother who she coincidentally looks exactly like. Lets throw in the fact that of course Emily and Jack, the grandchildren of the story's ill-fated star crossed lovers, are meant to be. This makes up for everything.

Also, this whole charging $12.99 for a story that took so little time to read is abhorrent. Never again. I do not recommend this book on any level. ...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Kathryn Bashaar rated it liked it · review of another edition

This book was okay. It was very light and easy to read. It certainly held my interest. I wanted to keep reading to find out the answer to the mystery, and I ended up finishing it in two days.
It was neatly plotted, with all the loose ends tied up at the end, and the atmosphere of the island was very well drawn.
The book suffered from a flaw that bothers me in a lot of women's literature, though: the main character is essentially passive. Things just happen to her. She's got writer's block, here h ...more

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Aug 07, 2013 smetchie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, better-without-a-letter, starry-starry-eyed, hate-myself, nook-or-kindle

You know how your facebook friends post the most annoying crap and you keep telling yourself you're gonna block them so you don't have to see their fucking pointless updates but you never do because deep down, (even though it's twisted and you hate yourself for it)you like those vapid, poorly written posts because they make you feel superior?

That's exactly what this book is like.
It's not good.
No. It's not.
It's badly written chick lit and the main character is a hopeless idiot. But I'll be god ...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Afton Nelson rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

The characters are flat and boring, the dialogue is mind numbing, like when you overhear a conversation in public and it's the stupidest conversation you've ever heard and you just want the people to stop. talking. It was trite, cliche, with no depth to it at all. There were little things through out that bugged me, like when she described her aunt, an 80+ year old woman as "barreling" out of a car on page 21. I know some pretty spry octogenarians and none of them barrel. Then there was the frie ...more

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Jun 24, 2018 Diana rated it liked it · review of another edition

3-1/2 Stars

I love when a book tells a present day story intertwined with a story in the past. In this book, our main character Emily, finds a diary which she can’t stop reading. Although The Violets of March had a slow start for me, I eventually became engrossed with it. Once the characters from the diary began to connect with the characters from the current day, I didn’t want to stop reading. I was expecting more from the ending and that took my rating down a little but Sarah Jio is now on my ...more

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Jun 22, 2015 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: authors-first-novel-debut, read-2015, womens-fiction-chicklit, listened-to-audiobook, stand-alone-novel

★★★½
The Violets of March is a standalone, women's fiction novel written by Sarah Jio. This novel offers three interweaving storylines: one from present day, a historical story from a 1940's diary, and one that is reference from a novel published in 1930: Years of Grace. All the storylines reflect each other in some way or another and this setup created many characters and plots to keep track of. Although I found this challenging at times, I thought it was worth it in the end. Themes in this book ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 ☮Karen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, audio, overdrive

There are many family secrets to be discovered at Aunt Bea's house on Bainbridge Island, to where Emily, an author, escapes when her husband leaves her for another woman. A diary, or maybe the beginnings of a memoir or novel, is found in the nightstand; and while Emily is telling us her story, she is also reading us the diary, and oftentimes the present emulates the past. Sometimes a little too conveniently or too pat. And it is so frustrating when you know the characters are on the verge of a b ...more

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Jul 29, 2013 Megan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS BADLY WRITTEN BUT I CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO BOTHER TO FIX IT. I usually really like stories like this, where someone is unfolding mysteries of the past, but this one ended up bothering me more than I enjoyed it. Emily's husband cheated on her, has moved out, is weeks away from a wedding with the new woman, and they've just signed divorce papers, but Emily hasn't told anyone but her best friend? That seems weird. And it's also not very important to the plot, so I'm not sure ...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Catherine rated it did not like it · review of another edition

OK, I knew this book was chick-lit and a romance, but still thought it would be somewhat better than what it was. The writing wasn't bad but it was totally and completely unbelievable. Heroine gets divorced, goes to island, immediately has two handsome men in love with her. There is never any sense of "am I ready to love again?" or "wow, how lucky can I be after my bitter divorce?" or "ha ha, gonna rub my ex-husband's face in it!" Emily never seems to have any emotions at all.

The main plot is s ...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Jan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

The wood violets that appear spontaneously in one character’s yard in this rather silly story supposedly signify “healing and hope.” And for some unearthly reason the protagonist, Emily, is meant to bring the long-kept secrets of Bainbridge Island residents to light and thus bring about a great healing -- by unraveling the story in the mysterious diary she finds in her great-aunt’s home while visiting from New York City -- a diary that was written in 1943 by “Esther,” at the insistence of a fort The wood violets that appear spontaneously in one character’s yard in this rather silly story supposedly signify “healing and hope.” And for some unearthly reason the protagonist, Emily, is meant to bring the long-kept secrets of Bainbridge Island residents to light and thus bring about a great healing -- by unraveling the story in the mysterious diary she finds in her great-aunt’s home while visiting from New York City -- a diary that was written in 1943 by “Esther,” at the insistence of a fortune teller who told her “your words will have great importance for the future” and that she must write her story “before it is too late.”

But Emily must do the unraveling alone; her great-aunt Bee, Bee’s dear friend Evelyn, their neighbor Henry, and her own mother will not enlighten her although they all clearly know what happened way back when. It’s just too painful, but also, again for some unearthly reason, it must be Emily who brings the closure everyone has been waiting decades for.

To mix things up further, Emily has come to Bainbridge shortly after a painful divorce to be healed herself. She hasn’t visited the island for many years and finds the landscape, the sound, and the special memories to be soothing. But she’s barely off the ferry boat from Seattle when she is invited on dinner dates by two different men. No grass growing under her feet!

So now we have the convoluted story in the diary, with characters who are called by their own names or maybe their middle names or maybe by other names entirely so that by the end you hardly know who’s who. And we have Emily and her two budding romances, which apparently make her quickly forget her sorrow over her husband’s recent betrayal. We have “true” love gone awry because of misunderstandings and pigheadedness. We have unrequited love that lasts a lifetime. And we’re never clear why anyone loves anyone else in the first place; “she’s the most beautiful girl on the island” seems to be a favorite reason.

I asked myself why I read this entire novel -- right through the climax that beggars belief -- when it was so clearly not to my liking early on. It was a fast read, for one thing, and I was just curious whether it got any better. After all, it had been chosen as one of the top ten women’s fiction novels of 2011 by the eminent Library Journal. And that’s another mystery that could use unraveling.
...more

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Aug 25, 2015 Myrna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

A dual story line that portays loss, regrets, love, mystery, and hope. Sarah Jio continues to be one of favorite authors. 3.5+ stars!

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Oct 31, 2011 Romancing the Book rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

Review by Kate: Emily Wilson’s perfect husband turned out to be not so perfect…he left her for another woman. Emily wrote a best-selling novel several years prior to the opening of the story, but has been living with writer’s block ever since and cannot seem to find a story. Somehow, Emily’s great-aunt Bee learns of Emily’s woes, and invites her to visit her on Bainbridge Island, in the Puget Sound. This is one reason I was so excited for this book, as I have been to Bainbridge Island and fell i Review by Kate: Emily Wilson’s perfect husband turned out to be not so perfect…he left her for another woman. Emily wrote a best-selling novel several years prior to the opening of the story, but has been living with writer’s block ever since and cannot seem to find a story. Somehow, Emily’s great-aunt Bee learns of Emily’s woes, and invites her to visit her on Bainbridge Island, in the Puget Sound. This is one reason I was so excited for this book, as I have been to Bainbridge Island and fell in love with the island.

Emily says that she will stay for a month, and leaves New York City the day after her divorce is final. While staying in her Aunt Bee’s house, Emily reminisces on the countless summers she spent there as a young girl. She had been away from Bainbridge Island for ten years, because her husband never wanted to visit. Aunt Bee’s home is rather large with several rooms that Emily had never really been able to discover, as Aunt Bee kept them locked. This time, instead of having her usual room (the one she remembered from her childhood), she is placed in a room where she discovers a diary in the nightstand drawer. While Emily is reading the diary, she actually thinks it is her aunt’s writing of a fictional story, and not an actual diary from 1943. But Emily starts to uncover facts that support her thoughts that this might be an actual diary, and not a work of fiction. The story in the diary progresses as Emily is courted by two different men on the island…one from her past and another whom her Aunt Bee warns her against.

I have to admit that I had high hopes for this story, but had a difficult time with the flow of the language. It seemed rather stilted, especially the conversations. Everyone talked the same way, and Ms. Jio seemed to have a thing against contractions. I did enjoy the diary parts, as the language flowed a little more smoothly. Also, having been to Bainbridge Island, from the writing I did not get a very good sense of the island itself. The ferry ride was well-described, with the smells, but you didn’t have a sense of the people on the ferry… I always found that a great place to people watch.

I found myself confused quite frequently as to the relationship between some of the characters. Aunt Bee was very strict on who she socialized with, or with whom Emily should see. The characters in the diary were some of the same in ‘present day;’ however, the author changed every single name, so you had no sense of which person was who…and that made it a little difficult to piece the story between the past and the present. Ms. Jio had good intentions in making this a mystery, but having to have it all wrap up in the last fifty pages because the correct information was not given along the way, makes it a little difficult to accept. I had a hunch of what was going on, but it was so convoluted that I found myself flipping back and forth throughout the story, trying to piece it together…I stopped myself from making charts and diagrams, though.

Emily’s character was rather flat. I really had no empathy for her and I found myself wondering several times if the main character was based on her, as she was a writer and could only write a paragraph or two at a time. I sometimes wondered if Ms. Jio did the same thing, as there were several inconsistent facts throughout the story. The two different love interests of Emily were also rather shallow. The story really doesn’t go into why she chose one guy over the other. I sometimes wonder how books get published with seemingly little editing. Wouldn’t an editor ask for more detail or more emotion?

I did give this book 3 stars, as I found I was more invested in the diary portions of the story, and wanted to see how it tied together with the present story (which was still a little confusing when all was said and done). I wish I could have gotten to know the characters better, as I am sure they all had great stories to tell. However, I don’t know if I could recommend this book. I know that several others have fallen in love with this story…I am just not one of them.

Quote: “We’re two old women who haven’t had a date in several decades, Emily,” said Evelyn. “Give us a little nugget.” ...more

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Mar 16, 2020 Wanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers, public-library, female-authors, read-in-2020, romance

Part of my 2020 Social Distancing Read-a-thon

This novel was basically an updated version of the Gothic romance/mystery novel. A young woman protagonist who has suffered a set back and goes to stay with a relative to get her life reorganized. She discovers that her family has big secrets, which involve the guy she has run into on the beach. What is going on and how is he involved? An old diary mysteriously appears in her dresser drawer, giving her clues to work from. Of course there are the inevi ...more

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May 24, 2014 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sweeter-reads

What a great story! Once I started reading I couldn't stop. For some reason, this story, actually, both stories in this book resonated with me. This is the second book I have read by Sarah Jio and it wont be the last. This book was a feel-good story that most people would enjoy. ...more

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Sep 12, 2018 Ivi Oltovska rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing, 1002-before-i-die, sakam-knigi, over-hyped

this book is totally stolen from my diary!! it doesn't deserve my total attention! I admit it is good but still...2 stars ...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Dem rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really wanted to like this book and had expected more from it, having read the blurb of the book " so when Emilly's great aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington state, Emily accepts, longing to be healed the the sea, researching her next book Emily discovers a red velvet diary,dated 1943 whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life............ I was intrigued by the blurb as it had the makings of an excellent story.

The plot however i ...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Britany rated it liked it · review of another edition

Emily Wilson's life is falling apart at the seams, her husband was having an affair, and they have decided to divorce, her writing has stalled, and she lacks clarity. She decides to make a trip out to see Aunt Bee on Bainbridge Island, WA. It's just what she needs...

What she finds there is a hidden red velvet journal that reveals dark family secrets that have been buried for decades, and will change Emily's life as she knows it. Sound dramatic? This book had huge potential, but never seemed to p ...more

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Jan 23, 2016 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Jenny (Reading Envy) by: Elizabeth☮

Shelves: cold-weather-islands, read2016, romance, location-usa-washington, around-the-usa, bedside

This was one of the books recommended to me in my romance novel reading quest. I can see why, as it is set on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and the central character is a woman finding herself and love after a bad breakup. She stays with her great-aunt on the island, and finds a journal from 1943, one which seems to have something important inside.

This was more complex than many of the contemporary romance novels I read but still had that taste of ultra-convenience when it came to the right pe ...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Heather McKeon rated it liked it · review of another edition

In general I really enjoyed this book and the journey it took me on. It's has an unexpected mystery that gets unraveled through out and I always like a mystery and trying to solve it as I read. And I will say that this one kept me guessing a bit as I tried to put all the pieces together, but I did figure most of it out along the way. My major complaint is that there are way too many people in this story that used to go by another name. As the 'mystery' is being unraveled at the end it's all "oh ...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Anna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 28, 2011 Bonnie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

I saw this book being offered as a giveaway months before its official release date and as soon as I read the summary I wanted to read it so bad. I did not win the giveaway unfortunately; however, once I got my hands on it I started it immediately.

The story's main character Emily Wilson is trying to survive a broken heart as her husband has just left her for another woman. Trying to pick up the pieces of her life and feeling altogether lost, she decides to spend a month visiting her great-aunt

...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Genna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

The story is sure please grandmothers, mothers, and daughters alike with its genuine charm, eloquent writing, and romantic portrayal of the transcendence of love.

While it took me a little longer than usual to really get into the book, once I did, I read the entire novel in a few hours, hungrily. The story beautifully captures the power that love has to transcend time, war, and generations. The dual plot lines work wonderfully, masterfully weaving the past with Emily’s own quest for self. Jio’s w ...more

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May 22, 2013 B the BookAddict rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: spring-challenge, junk

For a novel based on the beautiful Bainbridge Island and Puget Sound, this one is remarkably devoid of description. What that resulted in for me is basically a very flat novel; merely words on a page. I wasn't shown very much of where things were happening, neither was I really engaged with any of the characters. None of them showed very much emotion throughout the story, including around the time of the funeral. As for the secret which Emily was seeking the answer to: honestly, it was all rathe ...more

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Jul 17, 2020 Maureen rated it really liked it

This is a wonderful heartwarming story. It is perfect for a summer read.
It is told in the present day and a story in a 1940’s diary. The stories are intertwined with one another.

Emily newly divorced is heartbroken is an author from New York City.
She is given the opportunity to visit her aunt on Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington. The descriptions of the island are breathtaking, it makes you want to pick up and go there.
Emily finds a diary in the bedroom in Aunt Bee’s home. Should she r ...more

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Mar 16, 2014 Diane Chamberlain rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

When people ask me who writes like me, I often tell them Sarah Jio. Love her books.

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Mar 24, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

I love this book.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

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About Sarah Jio

Sarah Jio

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Sarah Jio is the New York Times bestselling author of ALWAYS, published by Random House (Ballantine), as well as seven other novels from Penguin Books, including, THE VIOLETS OF MARCH, THE BUNGALOW, BLACKBERRY WINTER, THE LAST CAMELLIA, MORNING GLORY, GOODNIGHT JUNE, and THE LOOK OF LOVE. Sarah is also a journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, Glamour, O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, ...more