The Secret Life of Violet Grant - Beatriz Williams

The Secret Life of Violet Grant

By Beatriz Williams

  • Release Date: 2014-05-27
  • Genre: Historical Romance
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 610 Ratings

Description

A story of love and intrigue that travels from Kennedy-era Manhattan to World War I Europe from the New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight and Husbands & Lovers.

Fresh from college, irrepressible Vivian Schuyler defies her wealthy Fifth Avenue family to work at cutthroat Metropolitan magazine. But this is 1964, and the editor dismisses her…until a parcel lands on Vivian’s Greenwich Village doorstep that starts a journey into the life of an aunt she never knew, who might give her just the story she’s been waiting for.

In 1912, Violet Schuyler Grant moved to Europe to study physics, and made a disastrous marriage to a philandering fellow scientist. As the continent edges closer to the brink of war, a charismatic British army captain enters her life, drawing her into an audacious gamble that could lead to happiness…or disaster.

Fifty years later, Violet’s ultimate fate remains shrouded in mystery. But the more obsessively Vivian investigates her disappearing aunt, the more she realizes all they have in common—and that Violet’s secret life is about to collide with hers.

A People StyleWatch “Must Read Book”
One of Reader’s Digest’s Top Summer Thrillers of the Year

Reviews

  • Strong witty women

    5
    By 323EL
    Beatriz Williams’s novels have sharp, humorous dialog that keeps the plot humming to a usually twisting conclusion. She writes of romance in realistic yet lyrical terms. Her heroines are always strong women with wicked senses of humor, always a plus when reading for pleasure.
  • Absolutely marvelous must-read!

    5
    By ViridWoman
    The main narrator of this piece, Vivian Schuyler, couldn’t be better named. She’s sassy, vivacious and hysterically funny. But the book will make you feel the whole gamut of emotions—I’m pretty sure I teared up at the end, an ending I didn’t see coming. All in all, I LOVED IT!
  • Great!

    5
    By Beginning Lady
    A good page turner with likable and interesting characters. Nice pace. Interesting history notes.
  • Wow! Just wow!

    5
    By Papillion727
    Great character development and intriguing plot, with a surprising twist at the end. Read " A Hundred Summers" first, as some characters re-appear.
  • Surprisingly witty and fun summer read

    4
    By DCSlouch
    I love history and the mix of family and history made this a captivating read if also somewhat unbelievable - in I wish it could be so way... Thanks, Looking forward to reading many more.
  • Disappointing

    2
    By Mac-Chick
    Disappointing, as a first read from this author. The book starts off interestingly enough and I downloaded the iBooks sample before purchasing the book. I love the banter between Vivian and Dr Paul, and the post office scene is both fun and funny. There are some great one-liners in this book. However, after the first quarter of the book it gets rather mundane and predictable. By the middle of the book I was bored. Without giving too much away, I think the 1964 love story reads more like a soap opera and I got to the point where I just wanted to rush through Vivian’s chapters and spend more time on Violet. Although much of that story also seemed to follow a recipe. There are a couple of twists and turns that saves the book from a one-star rating. There really isn’t much new here insofar as storyline (it’s all been done before). The friendship between Gogo and Vivian, while the author tried to show it’s strength, isn’t strong at all because you need to be able to share the truth. Still, if you like historical fiction combined with love stories you might like this book.