Haunting Violet
Walker Children's
June 21, 2011
352 pages
Goodreads/Amazon
Violet Willoughby has spent her life as part of her mother's fraudulent medium/spiritualist act. More skeptical than not only those who come to her mother's readings, but just about anyone else, Violet does not believe in spirits or ghosts.
Except they seem to believe in her.
A very persistent, very stubborn ghost is now making herself known to Violet. A ghost who seems to have died a violent death and won't just go away.
Violet's going to have to figure out what the ghost wants and if she can accomplish it.
That and if this new found ability is going to ruin Violet's plans of getting away from her mother once and for all through marriage. Of course, the only person who can help her is Colin, the friend she's had since childhood who works for her mother - and might pose a different sort of problem for her potential marriage.
Can Violet manage to resolve it all --and without her life falling apart?
Can Violet manage to resolve it all --and without her life falling apart?
There are not enough good things I can say about this book! Haunting Violet is the kind of book that makes me love that I have a blog because maybe just one person will read this post who wasn't planning on reading the book already and then will . . . and maybe then they'll tell someone how splendiferous it is! (Well, maybe not using that exact word.) It's just that good of a book.
Set in the 1870s, Haunting Violet is historical fiction and the historical details seem to be accurate and really add to the story's depth and the readers' enjoyment of it.
Chock full of mystery, intrigue and drama, but also the humor and kick butt heroines that Alyxandra Harvey displayed such a talent for in her Drake Chronicles series, this standalone has something (so much, really) for everyone. And while her heroine might not be one to swoon, Harvey has once again created a very swoon worthy male character in Colin (I'm more than a little bit in love with him, I think).
Alyxandra Harvey crafts such brilliant stories and (as with the Drake Chronicles books) I love the relationships between her characters so, so much that I almost hate for the book to be over - except that they all find such brilliant resolutions that I can't really hate it.
(Can't say that I would hate for this to be a series, though-or for the characters to happen to show up in another of the author's books ;-))
A magnificent mystery, love story, historical fiction tale, and ghost story to boot, I cannot recommend this one enough!
42/10 stars
Ginormous thank you to Kate at Bloomsbury for my review copy of this book
(Trailer in my right sidebar or here is a link to a longer one)
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