My online bookclub was looking for a comfort read and while browsing Goodreads’ Most Comforting Reads list we were all attracted by the storyline of Violets of March: after a nasty divorce, Emily decides to have some me-time with an aunt who lives in a gorgeous island. There she discovers an old diary that uncovers Dark Family Secrets.
Written this way, I really fail to see what the attraction was. It has “formulaic” all over and it delivers: white woman with a seemingly perfect life and enviable husband discovers she has been blind, that everything was A LIE! and goes on an adventure to a place full of handsome men who fall for her at first sight. In the meantime she still has time to dig into her family’s history, heal past wrongs and restore her faith in true love.
So, not my cuppa, but I can see the attraction. There’s definitely a comforting side to it, even if just because you already know the story from somewhere.
***
Other (kinder) thoughts: S Krishna’s Books, Rundpinne, write meg!, Book Chatter, Stacy’s Books, Devourer of Books, Literary Housewife, Book Line and Sinker, Jenn’s Bookshelves, Lesa’s Book Critiques, Lakeside Musing, BookNRound, Small World Reads, Linus’s Blankets, 2 Kids and Tired Books,
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October 25, 2013 at 4:53 pm
A.
Please do post more!;) A.
October 30, 2013 at 9:48 pm
Alex
** 🙂
October 28, 2013 at 4:30 pm
Charlie
I read about her other book, Blackberry something? It sounded okay but I remember reviews being mixed. Just from your first few sentences this one sounds typical. Still, it’s a pity it wasn’t good.
October 30, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Alex
Blackberry Winter – it has the same vibe than this one. I feel like saying “it’s not you it’s me” to the book 🙂
October 28, 2013 at 7:28 pm
CanaryTheFirst
I think I’ve become allergic to any kind of storyline that involves some kind of discovered letters, diary, whathaveyou. I’m trying to think of whether I’ve ever had a great reading experience with this story trope, and I’m coming up blank!
October 30, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Alex
I know what you mean, especially nowadays that it seems so popular. I think that just like vampires, I’ll also keep away from this gimmick as well.