Acts of Violet
By Margarita Montimore
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
[Blurb]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.

[Review] Wow. Holy bananas! What a start to a book. I can't (in recent memory) remember an audiobook starting in such a way that gripped me right from the first 2 minute. I even wrote in my book journal, "holy crap. What a start! One of the best audiobook beginnings I've heard in a long time. WOW! " I paused this book to make a TikTok, talking about how much I'm obsessed with this book. I made that TikTok when I was 20% into the book. Now that I'm done, I want to run to all of my friends and scream in their faces and tell them how much they need to experience this book.
As I'm typing this, the book's last words finish, and I'm tearing up because I don't want it to end. I've loved it so much. And I feel like I'm losing a sibling now that it's over.

I loved every aspect of this book. The constant twists and turns. I liked the guessing game. What happened. Who did it? I even started guessing in my notebook. At 26% through the book, I guessed ABC. At 45% I guessed XYZ. Just so you know, None of my guesses were anywhere near the actual right answer.

I love that the leads in this book are all strong woman, and the 1 man lead is helped by a strong women lead. I Can't say enough good things about this book!

Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. Thank you Margarita Montimore for writing such an amazing book. and thank you to the cast of voices for creating such a captivating audiobook experience.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC by Margarita Montimore. I loved Oona out of order and was so excited to read another book by this author. While I enjoyed this novel of magical realism, I did struggle with it almost as much. I didn’t enjoy the podcast sessions, but really enjoyed the part of the story as told by the sister of the missing magician. I found myself fast forwarding the chapters with the podcaster and the “secret identity” person. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to keep listening but it did seem to drag in places.

Short synopsis: Master magician Violet Volks disappears permanently during an act. 10 years later people are still obsessed with Violet and finding her.

My thoughts: I was so intrigued by the premise of this book, a female magician disappearing and never reappearing again. The audio on this was so great, full cast of characters and the podcast sections were so perfect.

This is a mostly character driven story with not much plot, but the development was done well through current and past timelines to give us a glimpse into Violet and Sasha’s upbringing.

I enjoyed seeing Violet overcome the odds stacked against her in order to fulfill her dreams of becoming a world renowned magician. We also got a glimpse into how fans could potentially affect a family dynamic.

The ending felt a little rushed and left me somewhat confused. It didn’t seem like all my questions were answered.

Read this if you’re a sucker for:
* Card tricks
* Podcasts
* Conspiracy theories
* Strong female protagonist breaking out in a male dominated occupation

This is a magical, mysterious summer read. I also enjoyed the author’s debut (OONA OUT OF ORDER), which requires a similar suspension of disbelief, so I’m not that surprised to have enjoyed this one as much as I did. Is it a perfect book? No. Are there some bits I could have done without? Yes. Is it fun, with a dash of supernatural wickedness? Absolutely. And the audio recording has multiple narrators, making it a delightful performance for the ears.

Thank you to @netgalley and Macmillan audio for the advance copy!

If possible, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this one on audiobook! The different perspectives of the letters/emails, podcast, newspapers and the present are easily recognizable through the audiobook and they have a great cast of characters for different voices! I really enjoyed learning about Violet through the different people who knew her. Obviously she had her adoring fans but the fact that her crew and niece loved her so much while her sister didn’t intrigued me. I loved the magical aspect blended together with the sleepwalking / communication to Sasha from Violet while she’s missing / dead. This is a unique story line and a unique storytelling that is unlike anything else I have read before and this made it soooo easy to listen to. (I finished in less than 24 hours!!) This book also did a great job of incorporating a LGBTQ character in a timeline of the 90s/00s when it probably wasn’t super common. This book was a lot more profound for a book I went into thinking was about a witch. I really enjoyed how the sister relationship developed as well as the mother daughter relationship, HIGHLY recommend!

Review can be found on goodreads, amazon, and will be posted to instagram (https://www.instagram.com/busywithmybooks_/) within the week!

I'm a sucker for an audiobook with a full cast. Add in multiple formats like a podcast and emails and it's a win for me. I really enjoyed how this story was told and the story itself, even though I'm still not quite sure what happened. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you liked Oona Out of Order, I think you'll like this.

Listening to this book doesn’t feel like you’re listening to a novel, but a real missing person podcast. Not a single detail is overlooked and you’re given a rich backstory about Violet and her disappearance. The narrators were so good and made the story so believable. You will feel sympathy for them, and anger at Violet. There was such a complicated history between Violet and her sister. The pacing of the story was a little slow in the beginning, but it flowed with everything overall. Once you hear it, things make sense to start slow. I really enjoyed listening to this and felt like it played out in real time.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, the narrators, and to Netgalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭!

Two years ago I read Oona Out of Order and I completely fell in love with Margarita Montimore writting, this story was so different from what I was expecting but it was simply captivating and magic. The audio was done with a full cast and it made it a fantastic experience to listen.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC

I enthusiastically recommend this audiobook! It has a podcast element which makes it feel like you were listening to an actual podcast, theme music and all. Plus, a different voice actor for every single character. It was quite the production!

Well, this one took me on quite a journey! The plot is so unique! Magicians, mystery, fame, mixed with family drama.

I enjoyed the story, especially the first half. I loved 'Oona Out of Order' last year and felt that the plot for 'Violet' was not quite as strong as 'Oona'. Though, don't get me wrong, it was still very entertaining and I definitely recommend it, especially if you have an affinity towards the paranormal/magic (which I typically don't). I just related more to her previous novel and can't help to compare the two.

If you love podcasts but haven't gotten into audiobooks yet, this would be perfect to get your feet wet!

Thank you for @netgalley
@macmillan.audio ,@flatiron_books and @damiella for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook is so well done, it made me want to listen to learn more about Violet and her disappearance. The full cast audio was fantastic with many people interviewed and the podcast aspect. I also liked Sasha's perspective in the book, as Violet's sister she didn't want to talk to Cameron on the podcast. This is an ideal audiobook and I highly recommend listening to this great book!

Intriguing from the start we learn of a girl with a talent for magic at a young age, but as the story progresses it slows down as it takes on narration from a podcast point of view. Although I wanted to learn what really happened to Violet, it didn't pan out enough throughout the story to keep me anxiously listening to find out.

Acts of Violet is such a fun audiobook. I usually don't like a full cast because I find it distracting but this was perfectly done. It plays out as a mix or narrative and podcast styles. I highly recommend this book on audio. I couldn't stop listening.

Beyond the audio style, I also found the story very compelling and the characters so interesting and dynamic. At it's heart it is a story of disappearance but it also includes such a complex family dynamic. I found myself identifying with different characters at different points in the story.

Magic, mystery, suspense, feminism, family secrets, and podcasts. This was such a cool book to listen to! Highly recommend to podcast fans💜!

Violet Volk is a famous female magician who disappears without a trace during a big show. It’s the ten-year anniversary of Violet’s disappearance, and she has grown infamous. Cameron is the host of a podcast about Violet’s life, and he is determined to get an interview from her estranged sister, Sasha. Sasha has been dealing with feelings of grief and betrayal for years and wants nothing to do with the podcast or any fanfare around her sister. Will the truth of Violet’s disappearance finally be uncovered?

This story is told through a mix of podcast episodes, interviews, emails, and traditional dialogue. While Cameron and Sasha are the main narrators, there are several more narrators during the podcast episodes. Never a dull moment!

I am always here for books that push boundaries and this one definitely went there. Thank you to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this digital ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Acts of Violet - Margarita Montimore
4/5⭐️

3.5 stars. One of the best full cast narration audiobooks I've read! The book had multiple formats used such as podcasts, emails, letters, interviews, etc. and the audiobook made it almost feel like real life events were happening and we were just listening to the audio clip of an actual interview. 5 stars for the format and performance of multiple narrators!

Violet Volk is a magician and performer! Her last and final great act she completely disappears from the stage NEVER to return. We follow the story and back life of Violet. We learn about her childhood and how people were amazed by her magic from a young age. We hear from teachers, her husband and her sister. If anything this turned out to be a book about sisterhood and that relationship. What happened to Violet? You the reader get to try and piece this puzzle together!

I was completely into the storyline, but then 2/3 in it started to feel kind of be repetitive. I didn't love how it ended and I actually need to discuss it in better detail with someone who has read it! I loved that the author took a really fun storyline and ran with it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audiobook in return for my honest review.

Thanks to @damiella @netgalley @flatiron_books and @macmillan.audio for the early Audio Listening Copy 

🐰 Violet Volk is a magician who disappears mid-act, never to be seen or heard from again, leaving her sister (Sasha) to figure out what happened. As the 10 year anniversary of her disappearance approaches, industry peeps are speculating if this was a trick gone wrong or if we can expect a big reveal. Meanwhile, Sasha is waking up from “sleepwalking” episodes, unsure what has happened.

💫 The perfect mashup of genres, Acts of Violet is a magical, mysterious family drama, and listening to the audio felt like a crossover between a fiction book and your favorite true crime podcast. I loved the mixed media appeal as well, as the story was told through letters, emails and podcast transcripts making it a really fun and unique read.  I highly recommend the audio for this one, it was a full cast production and an absolute treat.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook version of Acts of Violet, as it aided in the overall enjoyment of the book. I liked how the story was pieced togdther through the use of letters/emails, faux podcast interviews, and a straight-forward narrative. It starts off with an intriguing premise, where illusionist Violet has mysteriously disappeared. We learn about Violet through other characters’ relationships with her. I started losing interest throughout the story, and I was also waiting for a big reveal at the end.

I will start by saying that the audiobook was fantastic. The cast, the effects, the entire production elevated this book. I cannot say whether I would have finished the book otherwise.

The book started off strong, again because of the wonderful narrators who drew me into the story of the disapperance of Violet and the effect her disappearance had on her sister, Sasha. But as the story unfolded, it was just too slow and I didn't care enough about the characters, especially Violet, who seemed so unlikeable. And finally, the ending was a big letdown. I kept reading expecting some big twist or reveal (since Oona Out of Order certainly had that), but the ending kind of didn't answer why she disappeared. I was just left wondering why I just read the entire book.

Having listened to (and loved) Oona Out of Order while on vacation last year, I had high expectations when I received an ALC of Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore featuring a full cast of narrators. Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free copy in exchange for my honest opinion - you hit it out of the park with this one!!
Violet Volk is a female magician who revolutionized magic in the 90s, especially magic performed by females. She famously disappeared during a magic show in her hometown on 2/22/08. Closing in on the ten year anniversary, a podcaster convinces her sister Sasha, among others, to dish about their up-and-down relationships with the magician.
The audio of Acts of Violet listens like a podcast spliced with even more behind the scenes interviews. I can't recommend listening to it enough now that it's available today! And if you haven't experienced the fun of Oona Out of Order, that's another really fun audiobook to check out!

Acts Of Violet by Margarita Montimore, best selling author of Oona Out Of Order, is told partly as a podcast, Strange Exits. It's the story of Violet, a master magician who during a disappearing act never reappears. She's a pop culture phenomenon. Ten years after her bizarre disappearance she's still selling books, bio movies and merchandise.

Her sister Sasha is over it. She has no idea if something nefarious happened or it's been the longest publicity stunt ever. Or was Violet running from something...someone? Everyone thinks Sasha knows but she hasn't a clue. She does have anxiety and severe sleepwalking, where she wakes up outside her home. If only she could have one more moment with Violet.

With a full cast this audiobook is a complete play combining a haunting mystery, true crime podcast and family drama.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from MacMillan Audio via #netgalley for fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this audiobook!

I had high hopes going into it… I love books that utilize multiple narrators to properly portray the various perspectives, so this seemed promising. The plot concept was also intriguing.

Unfortunately, this audiobook was not for me. The story failed to pull me in. The cast of narrators was of good quality, but I could not enjoy the performance at my usual double-speed. Perhaps it would have been a better experience in print.