In addition to the lure of magic tricks that might be more than just illusions, Montimore gives us groupies, internet trolls, and debunkers. We see the charismatic Violet roaring through success after success, leaving others to deal with the fallout. The chief clean-up woman is Violet’s sister, Sasha. Trying to live a normal life in the face of her sister’s voracious fans, she’s also trying to protect her daughter, Quinn from her nearly deadly fascination with Violet.
In passing, Montimore takes a healthy swipe at the media-fueled culture of celebrity. One that provides financial rewards to the few who feed the masses with delicious details of other people’s lives.
Well-paced. Working through the thinking of the podcaster and Sasha was fascinating.

3.5 stars. This book worked really well for me over audio. I really enjoyed the story and narrative but felt like the ending fell flat in comparison to the potential plot twists the author set up in the first half of the novel.

This one took me forever to get into. I think because there are so many different characters thrown at you immediately (I listened to the audiobook version so a lot of different narrators) once I did I couldn’t stop.

This was so different than any other book I’ve read. There different timelines and then a podcast and also emails. It was great once you can get the hang of what is going on.

I loved the ending so much. It was absolutely my favorite part of the whole book!

I loved the full cast narration. I enjoyed the different formats, interview, emails, etc. I loved Oona out of order so I was very excited to read Acts of Violet. It did not disappoint.

Acts of Violet is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to in a while. The production was really phenomenally done, and the voice actors made me feel like I was listening to an actual podcast.

Acts of Violet is compelling story about a mysterious disappearance of a female magician at the height of her fame. The story is about Violet's disappearance, but it's through the lens of her sister Sasha and a podcast host who is trying to uncover what actually happened to her.

I adore a book about sisters and complicated relationships. Acts of Violet is a propulsive and a very satisfying read.

Margarita Montimore had a big task living up to her previous book, Oona Out of Order. Happily, she met my expectations and more! This novel is told in many different styles, from podcast episodes to emails and newspaper clippings to a more traditional first person narrative. The author does a great job keeping the plot moving, and all the time we wonder what really happened to Violet Volk. I love that this book was narrated with an ensemble cast, adding richness to this already amazing story. Montimore has a wonderful way with magical realism, and this novel should not be missed.

I really really enjoyed this book! I never read OONA OUT OF ORDER (I plan to now) so Margarita Montimore is completely new to me. What a great writer! Her fresh creative take, her approach to telling this story through use of interviews and podcasts was so well done, reminiscent of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s DAISY JONES AND THE SIX. I really loved the elements of *magical realism, connected with Sasha deeply, and enjoyed this book start to finish. Excellent narration from the full cast!!! Highly recommend.

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore is an excellent and intriguing contemporary fiction novel, that's part sci-fi and magical. Violet Volk was a famous and iconic female magician from the 1990s who disappeared during a performance in 2008. The story largely takes place ten years later, from the perspective of her sister, Sasha, and includes a podcast, letters, and other media. It documents Violet's rise to notoriety and their family's history. It focuses largely on the complicated, mercurial relationship between the sisters, who love each other, but have a hard time getting along and understanding each other. I loved how the novel is set up and it was such a perfect read for audio. The amazing audiobook features a full cast, with Brittany Pressley as the main narrator (Sasha). Margarita Montimore has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This Audible Audio version is in a realistic podcast form, with numerous narrators, which works very well.
Violet Volk is a famously eccentric magician who disappears permanently during a performance in an old theater in her hometown. The podcast interviews friends, former teachers and an ex husband regarding her personal life, culminating in a vigil on the 10 year anniversary of her disappearance.
The podcaster insists on trying to get an interview with Violet's reluctant sister, Sasha.
The narrative goes back and forth from Violet's sister's perspective, emails and public podcasts which include professionals in magic & show business and professionals who delve into the paranormal.
Violet's sister begins to see reoccurring patterns of numbers "222", which used to be a sign off Violet and Sasha used in correspondence with each other. Is "Checkmate", the anonymous person sending random clues to the podcast company actually Violet herself?
I thought the story was interesting because the setting is near where I grew up in South Jersey and I recognized the names of local places. But the podcast seemed to go on and on forever without much development and I can't say I cared much about Sasha or Violet Volk, or whether she was ever found.

This was a really fun read -- well paced, the structural concept was clever, using the podcast investigation as the framework, a realistic depiction of the inherent competition of sisterhood, and the desire to solve the mystery kept me reading. But that's also what made it disappointing in the end. The total lack of closure or payoff was a bit frustrating, and the ending with its ambiguity felt like the author didn't know what really happened either.

Having loved Oona Out of Order, I was delighted to receive a copy of Acts of Violet. The audiobook cast narrating this book definitely add to the experience.

This book is more of a deep study of the main character than a fast-moving plot-based mystery, but the format of the book with podcasts really worked in the audiobook format.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This was an awesome audiobook but the actual story was so lacking. As someone who lovvvvved Oona- this story was so lacking. It was such a disappointment.

I wanted to love this. I really did. I applaud the author for the creative use of the podcast as a way to fill in the story gaps. I thought the podcast interviews added a lot to the audio version. The narrators did a great job voicing the characters. Unfortunately, I just didn't care about the characters. Violet wasn't particularly likable. The book seemed to focus more on Sasha and her dysfunctional relationship with her sister. I stopped reading/listening to this several times and only picked it back up for what I thought was coming at the end. I was left feeling very blah about the whole thing.

I would be willing to read this author again. I liked the creativity in the the way this story was told (and it has a very appealing cover!). I really enjoyed her first book, Oona Out of Order. I think something about this one just wasn't the right fit for me. I never felt invested.

*Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy.

I absolutely loved this book! So layered and compelling! I didn’t want to stop reading until the very last page. And the audiobook is fantastic!

The audio for this book is wonderful because it truly sounds like you’re listening to a podcast. Highly recommend reading the book this way! This is a slow, character study type of mystery and I think there are a lot of readers who will enjoy it. I didn’t necessarily love how the book ends.

The audiobook experience on this one really brought the book to life! This was my first reading experience with Margarita Montimore, and I loved the mixed narrative styles throughout. I was hopeful for a story with a bit more magic and a more cohesive ending, but the different voices and narrative styles made this one wildly entertaining.

Thought this was very boring. The story had an element of intrigue however the ending was not as fruitful as I had hoped. Many mysteries were not resolved and the resolution to the greatest question was not nearly what I hoped.

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio and @flatiron_books for my audio and physical copies. I absolutely loved this one! This was an absolute perfect audiobook. The format of this book is unique in that it’s part podcast, part letter, part story so it translated perfectly to audio. There are also 10 narrators in this story so it’s quite the performance. All narrators did a phenomenal job. I ended up doing this whole book by audio and I loved every minute it. I highly recommend checking this one out on audio if you are interested in this one. I had a few questions with the ending so I think I need to go back and read the last couple of chapters, but for the most part I was absolutely blown away by this one and highly recommend. This one just came out this week! Officially moving @damiella onto my favorite authors list and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

Violet was a famous magician who vanished nearly 10 years ago. As the anniversary of her vanishing approaches, the hype grows among fans as they wonder if Violet will make herself re-appear for her biggest trick yet. Cameron is determined to make it big in the podcasting game and he’s convinced that Sasha, Violet’s private sister, knows more than she’s letting on and will be his big break. The story is told between podcast episodes and Sasha’s POV as she is forced to confront the demons of her past and the looming shadow of her sister.
The magic of the movie Now You See Me meets the format & production of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder?
When the audiobook started, I was so excited. I was ready to give this 5 shining stars because the production value is *chef’s kiss*. Truly the only way to read this. However the story fell flat to me. The majority of it was fine. And if the ending had been amazing, it would have gone up stars for me, but I truly hated the end so it ruined it. This author likes to mess with reality and the way she did it in Oona Out of Order was something I found fun, but this one was so unsatisfying to me. The middle of the book felt much slower than I thought I would be, as she add some character building that felt like it was just for the sake of it and not having anything to do with the plot.
I know a lot of people loved this book, so in the end, I think I was just expecting something different that was more in line with my tastes, and it was not, but it may definitely be for others.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had high hopes for this one. The title is clever and I looked forward to the audiobook with its stellar cast. And it was a fabulous production. The combo of podcast and other media like emails and text messages with the narrative from the past and present was compelling. What happened to Violet Volk??? Unfortunately the story itself is lacking and the end is much too abrupt and just weird. The audio production earns an additional star.