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The Bungalow
The Bungalow
The Bungalow
Audiobook8 hours

The Bungalow

Written by Sarah Jio

Narrated by Gin Hammond

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

In the summer of 1942, twenty-one-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses-of life, and of love-that have haunted her for seventy years.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2012
ISBN9781593166229
The Bungalow

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Reviews for The Bungalow

Rating: 3.8758865390070922 out of 5 stars
4/5

141 ratings23 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very long on romance, very short on anything else. Not my cup of tea.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A little predictable and definitely sappy but not bad overall.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Book Description:In the summer of 1942, newly engaged Anne Calloway sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora-Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure of a lifetime than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry, and their friendship soon blossoms into hues as deep as the hibiscus flowers native to the island. Under the thatched roof of an abandoned beach bungalow, the two share a private world-until they witness a gruesome crime, Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. A timeless story of enduring passion, The Bungalow chronicles Anne's determination to discover the truth about the twin losses--of life, and of love--that have haunted her for seventy years.My Review:This is the 3rd book that I have read by this author. It is definitely my favorite so far. It is a quick, easy read from the WWII era on the tiny island of Bora Bora. It is an interesting read about romance and friendship with a touch of mystery. The characters were unique and well developed. The story has twists and turns that held my interest to the end. I look forward to read more of Sarah Jio's books. I would highly recommend this book to those who love romantic "feel good" stories.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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."
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!:)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have to say I was pretty let down by this one and have to wonder at all the great reviews. I very much enjoyed Jio's "Violets of March", so was looking forward to another by this author. But I felt this was really sub-par. The writing was really not anything to get excited over. The plot was so-so...at times really predictable and cliche'd, and at other times better than average. I felt the ending redeemed the novel somewhat, but overall I was disappointed in this second novel by Sarah Jio.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I still had many un-answered questions when I finished this, and I don't like it when that happens. Cool cover, though!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Anne Calloway puts her wedding on hold after training to be a nurse. She and her best friend Kitty leave Seattle for Bora Bora as members of the Nurse's Corps and their lives are changed forever. Jios' exotic descriptions are lovely, but she doesn't neglect the harsh realities of war. Much of the story is related by an elderly Anne, to her granddaughter Jennifer, but it is so well written and engaging, I found it hard to put down. Like her first novel, Jios includes a mystery within this story of people's lives and it all comes together very well.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read Sarah Jio's debut novel The Violets of March last year - and loved it. I had no doubt that I would enjoy her latest book, The Bungalow, as much. But I was wrong - I actually enjoyed it more!Anne Calloway is ninety when her granddaughter Jennifer brings her a letter - one that asks questions about a murder in 1943 and so Anne begins to finally tell her story...Anne has already gone against her well to do family's expectations for her. She and her friend Kitty both added nursing qualifications to their college degrees. "What we'd do with these credentials was of great concern to our parents. Heaven forbid we actually use them." Anne's future is already planned for her - marriage to Gerard Godfrey, the local banker's son. "Mother and Mrs. Godfrey had planned the union since I was in infancy, of course. Calloways would marry Godfreys. It was as natural as coffee and cream."But, it is 1942 and the War is on. When Kitty announces that she has enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and is shipping out for the South Pacific, Anne does the unimaginable - she follows her heart and signs up as well.Kitty and Anne land in Bora Bora. Kitty sees it all as a grand adventure, while Anne is more reserved. But Anne is inextricably drawn to Westry, one of the soldiers on base. Together they discover an abandoned beach hut and it is here that they fall in love - and plan for a life together when the war ends. But the locals say the hut is cursed. And it may well be - a horrific event puts an end to their sanctuary - and their plans for the future.Jio has again woven the past and present together to create an absolutely addicting story. But it is the past that captured me the most. I loved the character of Anne, her decisions to follow her heart, her kindness and her innocence. Jio has captured the naivete of a young woman discovering herself in a turbulent time period. I initially enjoyed the character of Kitty as well, drawn to her sense of adventure. However, by the end of the book I quite disliked her. The setting itself is a character in the book as well. I was able to picture clear blue water, white sands, palm tree, island breezes and of course, the little bungalow. Jio's writing flows easily and effortlessly. I was caught up in the story from first page to last. It's hard to pigeonhole The Bungalow into one genre slot. It's historical, but there's a (not too hard to solve) mystery as well, but the romantic thread is the most compelling. Yes, there are coincidences that tie things up quite neatly in the end, but you know what? - It works. For a feel good read to warm you up on a cold winter night, pick up The Bungalow. Releases Dec. 27/11.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Twenty-one year old Anne who has trained as a nurse and is newly engaged, decides to spend a year as a nurse in Bora Bora during the war in 1942. She goes with her best friend Kitty and there she finds a new love, and a beach hut said to be haunted by the locals and once owned by the famous painter Paul Gauguin. What follows is a scandal and a murder that is never resolved until many years later when she is telling her story to her granddaughter and at last returns to Bora Bora to find closure. Lush tropical settings, this is a nostalgic enjoyable read. Based on an ARC from Net Galley.