10.25.2013

Morning Glory By Sarah Jio | Book Review


STATS:Paperback, 304 pages
Expected Publication, November 26th, 2013
Publisher, Plume

Description from Goodreads:
New York Times bestselling author Sarah Jio imagines life on Boat Street, a floating community on Seattle’s Lake Union—home to people of artistic spirit who for decades protect the dark secret of one startling night in 1959.
Fleeing an East Coast life marred by tragedy, Ada Santorini takes up residence on houseboat number seven on Boat Street. She discovers a trunk left behind by Penny Wentworth, a young newlywed who lived on the boat half a century earlier. Ada longs to know her predecessor’s fate, but little suspects that Penny’s mysterious past and her own clouded future are destined to converge.


My Thoughts:
First of all, I was thrilled to receive this on NetGalley as an Advanced Readers Copy. Sarah Jio is one of my favorite authors, if not the favorite. She is great at putting everything I love in books all rolled into one. All her novels deal with present day, historical fiction, mystery, and romance. What's not to love?
I adored Morning Glory. It being set in a houseboat community in Seattle was amazing. It was one of my favorite places when I was able to travel there. (She even rented a houseboat to do her writing in.)
The characters were so developed that I could see them as I read. All the characters are a bit of a mystery and you really don't find out anyones complete story until right up to the end. The main character is Ada. You know that she has lost her family but not how it happened until well into the book. With flashbacks to the 1950's, you are able to see the people of Boat Street in their heyday and then as they are in present day.
Ada finds a hope chest from a previous owner, Penny, and she is determined to find out what happened to her. While working on the mystery she finds that the people of Boat Street have many secrets and none of them want to talk. She also grows closer to her handsome neighbor and has to come to grips with her own past to make a future.
I honestly can't wait for this book to be published and see what others think. I can't pick a favorite from Sarah Jio and I have read them all. Once I get my hands on one, I can't put it down until I am finished. I will literally stay up all night if I have too. ;) She never ceases to surprise me, and just as she did in Blackberry Winter, we are once again given a little gift of seeing a previous character from The Violets of March appear. I just had to smile when that happened. I am also a huge fan of good endings. They don't have to be exactly what I want to happen, but I want them to tie up lose ends and make me feel like it is really over. Sarah Jio is a pro at that.

My Previous Reviews of Sarah Jio novels:
The Violets of March
The Bungalow
Blackberry Winter
The Last Camellia

It is important to note that I received this Kindle edition as a courtesy from Plume via NetGalley in return for a book review. That being said, the feelings expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced by an outside source.

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