Part Michener's Return to Paradise, part Cameron's Titanic, and part McCarey's Affair to Remember.
It's a short novel, almost a novella, really; and I had some issues with it at first (what I felt were inaccuracies regarding the Seattle area where I grew up and the Tahitian Islands where I vacationed a few years ago), but once I got over that, I found myself enjoying the book and looking to see where the characters would take it.
My conclusion is it's an enjoyable, light read perfect for the beach or curling up by the fire on a cold day. ( )

This book was recommended to me by my sister while we were both reading "All the Flowers in Paris," and she said she had read this one. While I've read many books taking place during WWII in Europe, I think this is the first one I've read that took place in the Pacific. It was a beautiful, but sad love story, as well as a mystery that lasted many years. I may check out more of this author's books. ( )

Anne Calloway's future is already planned out. She's going to marry Gerard Godfrey, a wealthy young banker she's known all her life, and begin her life as wife and mother. But it's 1942 and WWII has just started for the Americans. Both Anne and her best friend, Kitty, have studied nursing and decide to sign up for a tour as military nurses. Before long they are shipping out for the South Pacific island of Bora Bora. Kitty sees it all as a grand adventure, while Anne wants to find out if she's ready to settle down and raise a family. On Bora Bora Anne meets Westry, a soldier stationed there as well. Before long she is sneaking away to meet him in an abandoned bungalow. One night they witness a brutal crime that will alter the course of their future together.

Many years later Anne receives a letter from a woman in Tahiti who asks for any knowledge she may have about a murder which took place during the war. This letter is the impetus for Anne to tell her story to her granddaughter, which is done in flashback for most of the book.

I enjoyed much of the story line of this engaging novel. It was an interesting mystery and a tale of friendship, as well as betrayal. I also found many elements of the story to be very predictable and thought it was more of a romance novel similar to those of Danielle Steel. Despite it's predictability I was still turning pages quickly to see how it ended. I didn't like it as well as Blackberry Winter but I'm certainly still a Sarah Jio fan. ( )

This love story is light reading and a decent story if you don't check out details too closely. For instance, someone who was paralyzed in the war and confined to a wheelchair later walks. In real life, that seldom happens, if ever. Several other details seemed incongruous, and even with that, it's entertaining, though predictable. For you romantics, it's a nice read. ( )

I absolutely LOVED this story!! War, long lost love, the south Pacific and a missing painting what more could you ask for in a novel? This is my first book by this author and will not be the last. I could not have enjoyed this beautiful story more. ( )

Luckily I didn’t have very high expectations for The Bungalow by Sarah Jio as I ended up struggling through it. It is a romance but unfortunately the romance comes at the cost of a believable story. This tale of nurses serving in the Pacific theatre during World War II was full of one-dimensional characters who make very poor choices. The main character, Anne, was so weak willed and wishy-washy that she drove me crazy. Her best friend, Kitty, did such a 180 degree turn in her personality that it was impossible to take this book seriously. Plus we had characters zipping off to Paris, during the war, at the drop of a hat, which I know would have been impossible. And don’t get me started on some of the strange coincidences that the readers were asked to accept. This author appears to disregards all facts and just delivers on the romance and the exotic setting of Bora Bora.

Obviously The Bungalow wasn’t a book for me and I think I will have to make sure to avoid this author in the future. ( )

loved this :) the scenery is amazing and the drama is insane ( )

Very long on romance, very short on anything else. Not my cup of tea. ( )

Excellent book! One of those you can not out it down stories. A love story set during WWII and on a island in the Pacific I knew I would love it. I didn't want the story to end. Can't wait to read another book from this author. ( )

Anne Calloway's future is already planned out. She's going to marry Gerard Godfrey, a wealthy young banker she's known all her life, and begin her life as wife and mother. But it's 1942 and WWII has just started for the Americans. Both Anne and her best friend, Kitty, have studied nursing and decide to sign up for a tour as military nurses. Before long they are shipping out for the South Pacific island of Bora Bora. Kitty sees it all as a grand adventure, while Anne wants to find out if she's ready to settle down and raise a family. On Bora Bora Anne meets Westry, a soldier stationed there as well. Before long she is sneaking away to meet him in an abandoned bungalow. Their relationship blossoms into a passionate romance. Caught in a time of war, they know they can't afford to waste a moment. In the small, hidden bungalow they can hide from the chaos of war. One night they witness a brutal crime that will alter the course of their future together.

Many years later Anne receives a letter from a woman in Tahiti who asks for any knowledge she may have about a murder which took place during the war. This letter is the impetus for Anne to tell her story to her granddaughter, which is done in flashback for most of the book.

I enjoyed much of the story line of this engaging novel. It was an interesting mystery and a tale of friendship, as well as betrayal. I also found many elements of the story to be very predictable and thought it was more of a romance novel similar to those of Danielle Steel. Despite it's predictability I was still turning pages quickly to see how it ended. I didn't like it as well as Blackberry Winter but I'm certainly still a Sarah Jio fan.
( )

A little predictable and definitely sappy but not bad overall. ( )

When Anne Calloway’s grand-daughter brings her a letter enquiring about events almost 70 years ago it finally opens the door for Anne to tell her story. During WW2 Anne left her fiancée all but literally at the altar and left to travel to Bora Bora as a nurse. Of course love and heartache are both found in this tropical paradise and that is Anne’s story.

I enjoyed Ms. Jio’s Violets of March so much I was looking forward to reading this book. It did not disappoint but did follow the same trajectory as the first. An elderly woman, a secret past, a mysterious object arrives and then, finally, the unfolding of the story. The location and characters are different but the pattern is the same. Ms. Jio is a wonderful story teller so I did enjoy the book, but if there is a third book on the horizon I hope she expands her horizons a little bit.
( )

Grabbed this one off the sharing library shelf at my local coffee shop while waiting on my lunch, and finished it before the evening was over. An engaging read.

Anne is engaged but wondering if she's missing the passion her best friend Kitty always talks about. So Anne and Kitty take their new nursing degrees and join the Army Nurse Corps in Bora Bora during WWII. The island is beautifully described, and the characters realistic. Kitty, the romantic, finds herself hotly pursued but Anne finds a soldier who captures her very heart in a little Gauguin bungalow. As their enlistment period expires, the group splits up and Anne seems to lose both her love and her best friend forever.

Anne captured my heart in this story and I rooted for her with every turn of the page.

Not great literature, but enjoyable. Recommended. ( )

A timeless and beautiful story in an exotic setting of wartime passion, mystery, love and loss, discovery of the heart, and second chances.

Sarah Jio has a way of reaching in the past and connecting to the present time to find romance, mystery, intrigue, betrayal, history, love and of course, a page -turner poignant story which will allow readers to escape to the enchanting seas of the South Pacific.

The name and the front cover paradise is enough to draw you into a serene island hideaway world, with a backdrop of lush tropical waters, and the simplicity of a thatched roof beach bungalow where two share more than one another.

From love to war, for almost marriages, to finding true passion in Bora Bora (what’s not to like) with a blissful and romantic adventure with a solider (Anne and Westry), to a brutal crime – can these star-crossed lovers connect again some seventy years later?

Sara Jio has impeccable timing as she unfolds the layers, one by one to connect all the pieces for a compelling yet passionate story of love. (It is never too late). If you love historical fiction, friendship, mystery, and romance, The Bungalow is for you!

Slowly making my way reading Sarah Jio’s books, pleasantly finding each holds a unique heartfelt story.

Love the quote: “Marriage, my dear, is not suicide.” ― Sarah Jio, The Bungalow

http://judithdcollins.booklikes.com/post/837640/-thebungalow
( )

This author stayed out of my sights for so long and I can't explain why… this book was fabulous. It had everything, Bora-Bora, no further explanation needed,mystery, history, romance, and a somewhat happy ending… and I have one more of her books to read and then a brand new one! ( )

Another enjoyable book by Sarah Jio.

This was started in the present and went to 1942 and finished in the present.

It was another book that sucked you in quickly.

Anne, was engaged to be married but her friend Kitty and her left to be nurses for the war. There we learn about love, lies, spam, friendship, life, death and the list goes on. ( )

I like the idea of this story - a grandmother telling her story to her granddaughter. I thought the reader was a bit too breathy. The reader sounded anxious and expectant the whole time, though perhaps that was the idea. I like to be read to in a calm manner. ( )

mmmm another page turner from Sarah Jio!

beside the relational intrigues, the aspect of unsolved mystery is an ever present background motivation that kept my mind churning with 'what about...?'
fascinating with descriptively detailed personalities, exotic locations and episodic life stories on several levels, this story is sure to please. Characters that connected this reader emotionally with each triumph, disappointment or loss, I would have loved to linger over at least another chapter of resolution!

Thank you, Sarah, for another day on the couch with multiple cups of tea! ( )

Set during World War II it is the story of a young who becomes an army nurseon Bora Bora. The finds love there but what about her fiance back home and her best friend's betrayal? ( )

A wonderful story reminiscent of the notebook and other “old fashioned" love stories. Thought the story was entertaining and moved quickly. Really could see it as a movie. ( )

Ever since I read "BlackBerry Winter" last year and loved it I have been wanting to read more of Sarah Jio's books. I finally got the chance to read this book and know after reading it I am mad that it took me so long (I am currently obsessively checking my library's website to see when someone will return "The Violets of March" so that I can read it.)

This book was beautifully written. I felt as though I was transported to Bora-Bora with Anne and Kitty. I loved that this book had romance, mystery, and twists. I love WWII historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint.

I just can't say enough about the ending of this book. It was great and brought tears to my eyes.

Well I hope my review made sense and I apologize for the insane rambling. I cannot wait to read "The Violets of March" and "The Last Camellia." ( )

As with most reviewers, I base my thoughts on a book by the way it makes me feel. Did I laugh out loud, was I scared witless, was I horrified, stupified, confused? This story of Westery and Anne tugged at my heartstrings--and I am not one for sentiment--it will make you smile, frustrate you and confuse, but boy what a love story! Listen to it on Audio--Gin Holland is marvelous!! However you read, just do it! Oh, and Bora Bora for a background!:) ( )

Oh my....Sarah Jio does it again!! I love the way she can weave a story so tightly, that it becomes entrenched in your soul.

The basic plot is this: Wartime 1942. Two best friends Anne and Kitty decide on the night of Anne's engagement party to both sign up as nurses to help in the war. Both for different reasons: Kitty to find a life, Anne to live a life. They are sent to the island of Bora-Bora where Anne meets and falls in love with a soldier named Westry, the two sharing the Bungalow as their hideaway. This island is full of secrets we come to find out, but in the Bungalow there is nothing but safety and love. Then the war ends. Anne goes home to her fiance, Gerard. Kitty is continuing her nursing in Europe and Westry is critically injured and in a hospital in France. Anne must make a choice. She decides before she can go through with her marriage, she needs to see Westry one more time and goes to him. There she is shocked to find Kitty, who tells Anne that Westry does not want to see her....for her own selfish reasons. Anne leaves and marries Gerard. End of story??? No way.....

Years go by and Anne is contacted by a woman in Bora-Bora who is researching a story and wants to meet with Anne. Anne, accompanied by her grandaughter, returns to Bora-Bora and finds not everything was how it seemed all those years ago. Finally, the wartime truths begin to emerge....

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I was seething with anger, the next I was searching for a kleenex. This is romance in its truest form, without the need for raunchy sex scenes and coarse language. Love endures, regardless of fate or circumstance. I would be lying if I said I wasn't reminded of "The Notebook" or "Titanic" when reading this story. There were many similarities within the plot, but this did not distract from the book at all.

The final sentance says it all:

"I nestled closer to him, wrapping my arm around his just as two wine-colored leaves fell from a nearby tree branch, dancing in the autumn breeze on separate paths before falling softly to the ground, where they settled on the damp earth, side by side."

What more is there to say??

( )

Oh my....Sarah Jio does it again!! I love the way she can weave a story so tightly, that it becomes entrenched in your soul.

The basic plot is this: Wartime 1942. Two best friends Anne and Kitty decide on the night of Anne's engagement party to both sign up as nurses to help in the war. Both for different reasons: Kitty to find a life, Anne to live a life. They are sent to the island of Bora-Bora where Anne meets and falls in love with a soldier named Westry, the two sharing the Bungalow as their hideaway. This island is full of secrets we come to find out, but in the Bungalow there is nothing but safety and love. Then the war ends. Anne goes home to her fiance, Gerard. Kitty is continuing her nursing in Europe and Westry is critically injured and in a hospital in France. Anne must make a choice. She decides before she can go through with her marriage, she needs to see Westry one more time and goes to him. There she is shocked to find Kitty, who tells Anne that Westry does not want to see her....for her own selfish reasons. Anne leaves and marries Gerard. End of story??? No way.....

Years go by and Anne is contacted by a woman in Bora-Bora who is researching a story and wants to meet with Anne. Anne, accompanied by her grandaughter, returns to Bora-Bora and finds not everything was how it seemed all those years ago. Finally, the wartime truths begin to emerge....

This book was an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I was seething with anger, the next I was searching for a kleenex. This is romance in its truest form, without the need for raunchy sex scenes and coarse language. Love endures, regardless of fate or circumstance. I would be lying if I said I wasn't reminded of "The Notebook" or "Titanic" when reading this story. There were many similarities within the plot, but this did not distract from the book at all.

The final sentance says it all:

"I nestled closer to him, wrapping my arm around his just as two wine-colored leaves fell from a nearby tree branch, dancing in the autumn breeze on separate paths before falling softly to the ground, where they settled on the damp earth, side by side."

What more is there to say??

( )

I highly recommend this book! I read this book in one sitting. Anne Calloway puts her marriage on hold while she goes off to Bora Bora to be nurse in World War II. I Love how Sarah Jio puts mystery and itrigue into her novels with a love story. ( )