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The Violet Hour
By: Victoria Benton Frank
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pub Date: 8/12/25

This is the second book in the Lowcountry Tale series. I love love love these! Victoria’s writing is so on point and always makes you feel like you're in the deep south! She writes just enough like her mom to fill that void for me!
This book focuses on Violet. She’s the youngest in their family of all strong, passionate and emotional women after a horrible tragedy. Violet is getting her feedback under her and has begun photographing weddings. She’s questioning her life choices and the path she sees ahead for herself. The setting was gorgeous as always, I really love the family connection you feel with these women.
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This was a quick easy book to read.
It’s full of some family drama and some hot romance.
It’s a perfect beach read!

I would like to note that I hadn't read the first book in this series, but I didn't feel like I had to to understand the story.

I think we are at a time when authors aren't writing about real life as much. I know when I was twenty something and living in NYC, I wanted books set there, but the storylines always seemed far fetched and now that I'm older, I want more substance, which this book provided. As a grief coach, I appreciated how grief was handled in this book. It's not a "one size fits all" journey and that was clear. This also tackles compounded grief and the reality that a break up can be just as hard to mourn as a death or other life change.

This was a more difficult book for me to get into, but it is well written and the characters are developed well.

I appreciate netgalley allowing me to read an arc of this book.

This sequel to the author's previous novel features the two sisters, plus a friend who's stepping into the shoes of her late lifestyle influencer mother.
Good story, but I did not find it as enjoyable as the other novel.

The Violet Hour is a sequel to Magnolia Summer but can be read as a stand alone. Many of the characters are the same but this book focuses on Violet and her bestie Aly. They are both going through difficult times but in the end, their strength and friendship see them through.

This book felt like a warm hug with a side of growing pains. Frank’s strength lies in her richly drawn female relationships! Violet’s family is loud, loving, and flawed, while her dynamic with Aly (a standout character!) balances grief with wry humor. The Lowcountry setting is pure magic. You can taste the peach tea and feel the ocean breeze. While the multi-POV/timeline hops took some adjusting, the emotional payoff made it worth it.

The Violet Hour by Victoria Benton Frank was a perfect beach read! It was fun to head back to Low Country and experience it through Victoria's voice. I truly loved the emphasis on female friendships and the inspiring journey of self-discovery following significant change. Violet's growth, supported by Aly, comes across as genuinely authentic, and I appreciate when characters are authentic and relatable. The "loud, passionate women" in her family bring a delightful mix of humor and warmth to the narrative, giving it some levity. Benton Frank clearly possesses a profound love for Low Country, which radiates through her writing, making the setting feel like an essential character in its own right. I did feel as though the ending was kind of rushed and missing something. Overall, a fantastic read!

The Violet Hour is book two in the series from Victoria Benton Frank. The first book was My Magnolia Summer. It is about two friends Aly and Violet. This story is about mostly Violet. It is told in alternate storylines. A wonderful southern fiction set in the low country. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books.

This is book 2 in the series, A Lowcountry Tale. Victoria is carrying on a wonderful tradition of good stories from the Carolina low country that her mother inspired. Returning to Sullivan's Island is like a summer vacation. Violet and Aly help each other navigate a summer of tragedy and unhappiness. Can't wait for a return visit.

I was absolutely thrilled to get my hands on an ARC of "The Violet Hour," the second book in Victoria Benton Frank's Lowcountry Tale series. As someone who lives in the Lowcountry, I was especially eager to see how she would capture the essence of this beautiful area, and let me tell you, she really delivered. The descriptions of the landscape, the vibrant food scene (I work within walking to places like Park & Grove, which is a favorite spot of mine!), and the unique atmosphere of Sullivan's Island were just spot on.

The story centers on Violet Adams, the youngest in a family of strong, passionate Lowcountry women. She's always been the steady, traditional one, but after a sudden breakup and a subsequent tragedy, she finds herself adrift, unsure of who she's supposed to be anymore. Her best friend, Aly Knox, an influencer still grappling with her own loss and adjusting to Southern living, steps in to help Violet navigate this new, uncertain chapter. It's a journey about rediscovering oneself and finding success and meaning, right here in the Lowcountry.

What I really appreciated was the focus on female friendships and the empowering journey of self-discovery after profound change. Violet's evolution, with Aly's support, feels very authentic. The "loud, passionate women" in her family are a wonderful presence, adding humor and warmth. Benton Frank clearly has a deep affection for this region, and it shines through in her writing, making the setting itself almost a character.

"The Violet Hour" is a lovely read that perfectly captures the beauty and flavor of the Lowcountry, making you feel right at home with its characters.

★★★★☆

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I really wanted to like this book, but it fell very flat to me. I enjoyed reading about Charleston and mah jong, but that’s all I liked. The plot was very clunky with some parts not making sense at all.

Victoria Benton Frank is back with the second in her Lowcountry Tale series and this one focuses on Violet. She thought she had her life all figured out, until she didn't. She is fresh off of a breakup and reeling. Her best friend Aly is an influencer whose influencer mother recently passed away. Together these two friends must grapple with some big life changes as they establish who they are and what they want to do or be in life. Set on Sullivan's Island, the lowcountry appeal is the perfect backdrop for this novel. This is an easy summer read much in the vein of her mother, Dorothea Benton Frank's work, but with some updated storylines and social issues. While it is not completely necessary, I would recommend reading the first book in the series, My Magnolia Summer prior to this one.

Victoria Benton Frank’s sophomore novel The Violet Hour is a heartfelt continuation of her writing about the Lowcountry, an endeavor started by her late mother Dorothea Benton Frank. With this second installment in the series that began with My Magnolia Summer, Frank proves she’s not merely a nepo baby: instead, she is lending her own voice, one that is both contemporary and emotionally resonant.
Coming out August 12, The Violet Hour unfolds over two intertwined yet distinct plotlines, each anchored by a pair of compelling females. The title character Violet Adams, the younger daughter in a three-generation family of strong-willed Southern women living on Sullivan’s Island, is building a new life after she endured a miscarriage and an unreliable boyfriend in the first book of this Lowcountry Tale series. As she launches a wedding photography business, she begins to reclaim her sense of who she is while facing new challenges as well as the unraveling of deep-held family secrets.
In contrast, Aly Knox is a social media influencer grieving over her late mother. Her story becomes the more interesting of the two as she grapples with a new woman in her father’s life—one who is slowly erasing traces of Aly’s mother in the family home and driving a wedge between her father and his three adult children. Readers will love to hate this woman who has taken over the family home going as far as changing the locks and ridding the pantry of the special family coffee mugs.
Frank’s writing retains the warmth and wit that defined her mother’s novels, but she brings a sharper lens to issues like miscarriage, social media, and generational trauma. Her prose is lush with Southern charm, yet unafraid to tackle uncomfortable truths. The friendship between Violet and Aly is the novel’s emotional anchor, a testament to the enduring power of female connection.
Victoria Benton Frank has stepped confidently into her own narrative space, honoring her mother’s legacy while carving out a fresh, relevant voice in Southern fiction. This novel will resonate with fans of Dorothea Benton Frank, but it also stands firmly on its own, inviting a new generation of readers to the Lowcountry.
Victoria Benton Frank got her feet wet in publishing when she partnered with her mother to create the book Teddy Spaghetti (2020). Frank was born in New York City and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, she worked in restaurants in New York before returning to Charleston, South Carolina, with her family.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 22, 2025.
I would like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Thank you NetGalley and gallery books for an advanced reading copy of this title!

This was such a sweet, summer read. It’s about figuring yourself out after everything falls apart and leaning on the people who really know you. Loved the Southern setting, the friendship, and the little moments of hope throughout.

This book is full of Southern charm and makes a great summer read.

Violet is trying to move on after a really tough relationship. The story is mostly about her, but I found myself really connecting with her best friend, Aly. Both women are going through a lot and have big choices to make.

Their lives aren’t perfect—things get messy, just like real life. That’s what makes the story feel honest and easy to relate to.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read The Violet Hour!

If you're looking for a fantastic beach read, I can highly recommend THE VIOLET HOUR. It's book #2 in the Lowcountry Tale series, but can be read as a standalone. It has friendships, love, loss, and new beginnings. I thought that all of the characters were well rounded and relatable. As a huge fan of Charleston, this book really resonated with me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram account @coffee.break.book.reviews shortly.

This was, to be frank, not a good book. I noticed that this was the second in a series so I quickly borrowed the first one from the library. The first one (My Magnolia Summer) is good not great, but had enough intrigue that I was interested in reading The Violet Hour. However, I felt like there were soooo many plot holes and outright mistakes throughout the book that I could not overlook.
For example:
-Chris tells Violet that he's looking for a job, and then on the next page he says that he has a work dinner... which one is it?
-George's birthday dinner has decorations for Michigan University... it's University of Michigan, and Google will get you there
-Aly and Violet eat BBQ and then go home... Aly takes a shower and goes down to the kitchen where Violet makes her a sandwich for dinner... I'm sorry, but good Southern belles simply do not have second dinner
I also didn't understand the timeline. Does this book take place a year or a few years after the events of the first book? It couldn't seem to decide.
Please don't get me started on Joyce-George-Aly and how that ended at the mah jongg tournament.
Anyway, needless to say I would not recommend this to others and will not continue on with the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

A fantastic story about sisters, relationships, life, and so much more. Masterfully crafted and populated with characters that will stay with you long after you finish the book; this book must be added to your summer reading list.

Dorothea Benton Frank writes good southern charm books but for some reason this one was just ok for me. I’m not sure the relationships between all the characters really struck me as how things would go but something was a little off. It’s not a bad book but it’s not a great book either

This book evoked the feeling of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Something about the low country setting completely transports you! This has the makings of the perfect summer beach read that deserves a spot in your beach bag. I want to go back and read the first low country book My Magnolia Summer now. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.