Thank you Macmillan Audio / Netgalley, #partner for the ALC of Acts of Violet in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: July 5, 2022
Summary:
From Margarita Montimore, the author of GMA Book Club pick and national bestseller Oona Out of Order, Acts of Violet is a dazzling and twisty new novel about a famous magician who disappears, leaving her sister to figure out what really happened.
Nearly a decade ago, iconic magician Violet Volk performed her greatest trick yet: vanishing mid-act. Though she hasn’t been seen since, her hold on the public hasn’t wavered. While Violet sought out the spotlight, her sister Sasha, ever the responsible one, took over their mother’s salon and built a quiet life for her daughter, Quinn. But Sasha can never seem to escape her sister’s orbit or her memories of their unresolved, tumultuous relationship. Then there’s Cameron Frank, determined to finally get his big break hosting a podcast devoted to all things Violet—though keeping his job hinges on an exclusive interview with Sasha, the last person who wants to talk to him.
As the ten-year anniversary approaches, the podcast picks up steam, and Cameron’s pursuit of Sasha becomes increasingly intrusive. He isn’t the only one wondering what secrets she might be keeping: Quinn, loyal to the aunt she always idolized, is doing her own investigating. Meanwhile, Sasha begins to experience an unsettling series of sleepwalking episodes and coincidences, which all lead back to Violet. Pushed to her emotional limits, Sasha must finally confront the most painful truths about her sister, and herself, even at the risk of losing everything.
Alternating between Sasha’s narration and Cameron’s podcast transcripts, interspersed with documents that offer a tantalizing peek at Violet herself, Acts of Violet is an utterly original, propulsive story of fame, deception, and forgiveness that will make you believe in magic.
My thoughts:
I absolutely loved Margarita Montimore’s last book, Oona Out of Order, so of course when I saw this new one I had to read it…and I’m so glad I did – it was so fun! I loved that it was another original, inventive story that kept me engaged from start to finish and another one that was again fantastic on audio!
This book is hard to pinpoint as far as genres because it really is a mash-up of a few. It’s got a great mystery in terms of what really happened to Violet to make her disappear, but then there is also the family drama aspect in terms of the sister relationship, which I happened to love. And of course, there is the true crime aspect with the podcast snippets – though this is a very light part of it. And let’s not forget the magic aspect…though I do wish this was a bigger part of the story.
I really found this to be a fun, engaging read. The characters are fully flushed out and I loved the way the author used different formats to tell the story – emails, the podcast, different points of view and articles. It’s definitely an entertaining read, yet it touches on some real-world issues that give you pause – feminism, grief, life in the limelight and sibling rivalry to name a few. I definitely recommend giving this a go if you haven’t already.
Audio thoughts:
The audio of this was a pure delight and I highly recommend going this route if you like listening to books. It’s narrated by a full cast and really makes the book come to light. It is a fully immersive listening experience and I found myself completely captivated from start to finish. Definitely recommend this book on audio!
