Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an ARC of this novel to read and review.

Novelist Kristin Harper hits all the right notes in her latest offering. There is a beautiful setting, historic Dune Island on the Atlantic; a surprise bequest from a reclusive and reputedly “crazy” great-aunt, with strange conditions attached; conflict within families; conflict between families. And of course a beautiful, capable and untrusting female character who becomes entranced with a handsome, capable and “can he be trusted” male character.

The mystery at the start—why did Great-Aunt Violet leave her cottage in a secluded hamlet on Dune Island to her grand-niece Paige, a Chicago nurse whom she had never met—is not the actual mystery at the centre. Paige, still smarting from a recent unforeseen break-up, is taken aback at her good fortune and happy to comply with one of the weird conditions, that she visit the property and own it for three months before deciding to stay or sell. If she stays, it is all hers. If she sells, the money will be divided evenly between Paige and Violet’s other remaining kin, Paige’s brother, her Aunt Shirley, and her cousins, of whom she is close only to Tara. All of them promise to contribute funds and help with the cleaning up and sprucing up of the derelict cottage, which is prime real estate. Paige doesn’t even entertain the thought of leaving her job and life. At least not consciously.

The real mystery has to do with the story behind Aunt Violet’s tarnished, heart-shaped locket that Paige finds while making her way through the clutter, without any of the promised help, except that offered by landscaper Seth Hathaway, who turns up propitiously. He is a member of the Hathaway clan, island aristocrats who employed young Violet as a babysitter for a child relative during the Second World War.

Then real mystery concerns a scandal involving Violet and the young Hathaway heir, Edward, that broke apart a long standing (if unequal) relationship between the Hathaways and the Atkins whose property abutted their vast estate. Such was the community approbation that Violet became an instant outcast. It was assumed, and remained the belief, that she had been in love with Edward, who was socially out of reach to a mere seamstress like Violet.
After her own father’s death, she remained alone and left her cottage only to move into a nursing home some 70 years later.

This much of the story Paige had learned from her aunt Shirley. The locket’s time-worn inscription leads Paige to some fruitful information about what really happened in August 1943, at the height of American military preparations at the island. In the meantime, her relationship with her self-absorbed relatives, the elite Hathaway clan, and the honourable but often misunderstood Buddy, provide the context for her own mid life awakening.

This is a fine romance, with a compelling mystery and some very interesting and likely mostly forgotten historical detail about home front military preparations in wartime. The lead characters are both admirable and good hearted people, though Paige is occasionally just peevish and her family, especially silly Tara, to whom she gives in often, are simply annoying. Seth is clearly smitten on first encounter, and infinitely patient while he waits for the untrusting Paige to trust again. An awful lot happens during the brief three weeks of Paige’s visit, in terms of romance, mystery, and especially property renovation, but this is romantic fiction so it’s all part of the enjoyment.

Such a lovely 6th book in the Dune Island series, so enjoyed them all up to now and look forward to more to come.
My thanks as always goes to Netgalley and Publishers Bookouture for the lovely early read

Aunt Violet's Locket is the 6th book in the Dune Island series, but the first Kristin Harper novel that I have read. Although part of a series, Aunt Violet's Locket works well as a stand-alone novel. The location is wonderful and works well as a dual timeline novel. During 1943, the Island was the site of military maneuvers, while in a more contemporary setting, military ordinance is still making an appearance. The beach front setting probably speaks to many readers. I know it certainly appealed to me.

Mostly the characters are enjoyable, with Paige as the protagonist, who has inherited her great aunt's beach front cottage. There is some romantic interest and a number of local characters who are interesting. Paige's relatives are more neuritic than most relatives, and while many of us no doubt have a relative who is a pain, Paige seems to have more than a fair share of neurotic relatives. I could certainly understand why she might want to escape from her family. The plotting was good, although in one area, predictable. But I didn't care, since the novel was fun and delightful. The genre of starting over and transforming a life will hold the reader's attention. I know I enjoyed reading Aunt Violet's Locket.

Thank you to author Kristin Harper, publisher Bookouture, and NetGalley for proving this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Escaping into a nice beach read is the best way to spend an afternoon.

A beautiful story which had me hooked from the start, i enjoy this series and i look forward to reading more. I would highly recommend this to everyone

Aunt Violet’s Locket by Kristin Harper is a most delightful contemporary novel. It is the sixth book in the Dune Island series but can be read as a stand-alone.
An unexpected inheritance sees the lead character travel to a remote island in order to claim an isolated property. It is everything she doesn’t want, but a summer spent preparing to sell sees more changes than in just the building.
Links to the past are unearthed as a character seeks out the truth behind the stories of her late ninety nine year old great aunt whom she never met. It has all been smoke and mirrors as there was so much more to her than the alleged wilting wallflower.
Secrets, stories and lies from World War II have been buried but are unearthed unexpectedly. This causes a dilemma – what to do with the knowledge?
Within the novel society has put an emphasis on women marrying young and not ending up on the shelf! Women are to be homemakers. Much is made of a showy engagement and wedding, without much thought to the actual marriage.
All the characters are delightfully drawn, realistic and likable. The leading lady was easy to relate to and I loved the dog called Blossom.
Aunt Violet’s Locket was a positively charming read about life, legacy and inheritance which is so much more than bricks and mortar. Our legacy is the character we leave behind and not just our possessions. Invest wisely in your life, as your reputation will remain.
I received a free copy from the publishers for a blog tour. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this story. Paige inherits her Aunt Violets Cottage in Dune Island, She inherited it because she is still single. She shares this with the rest of the family and takes her vacation and goes there. At first she is going there to fix it up to sell.. But while she is there , the things she learns about Violet makes her want to stay. The things she went through and the secrets she kept simply touched Paige. She met Seth and things changed for her. Plus so much changed. This story contains some history of Dune Island during the war. A VERY GOOD READ.

This is exactly the type of book I usually go for, I love a dual timeline story. I felt that this one fell a bit flat. I wanted to hear more about Violet and her story. I also found Paige’s relatives petty and irritating. Not a bad read, and I found the history element interesting, but I did end up skim reading the story.

A fantastic story of the sacrifices people make to be with the ones they love, and how bringing family secrets into the light can change everything. Very well written, with relatable characters and well-constructed dialogue resulting in a very disturbing — but also satisfying — storyline ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book, easy to read, a very good sense of place , and a good cast of characters. The storyline was fabulous and although set in the now it had a very evocative sense of the past. Highly recommended.

Aunt Violets Locker by Kristin Harper

Paige out of the blue is bequeathed an old isolated cottage on Dune Island for a great aunt she didn’t even know about. The book starts out with Paige going to Dune Island to get a long neglected property ready to sell but as the story unfolds things start to change for Paige as it goes from a simple diy to delving into the past and the twist and turns as she tries to find out more about the reclusive aunt she never met herself and that things aren’t always as they seem.

Fabulous story that as you turn the pages you become embroiled in Paige’s quest to make a dilapidated cottage habitable to sell and the mysteries unfold and family fights as they all want the money but no involvement.

Great read and characters though not all likeable but the big question is what will Paige ultimately do?

“Where’s a good ‘carrier seagull’ when you need one?”

I think this is Kristin Harper at the top of her game!

I’ve enjoyed ALL of the Dune Island novels, but this one has a perfect balance of history, mystery, sense of place, romantic tension, family drama, and literary lessons. It’s worthy of ALL THE STARS.

Furthermore, the appeal of the 1943 timeline was as strong as the present day timeline.

The characters were fantastic; so masterfully crafted! I loved Paige Taylor’s reaction to her inheritance and how she grew from her original thoughts about the “dinky little hut” to treasuring her Great Auntie Violet’s “quintessential Hope Haven cottage”. Each time she was brusque, she took time to think and appologized. Lexie was a handful at first, but loved how she grew, too. I appreciated how the FMC of both timelines were united in loss and how the reaction to the loss took them on different journeys. Seth Hathaway was dreamy and a perfect MMC. I shed a tear at the abrupt ending to the beech tree legacy.

Among the many highlighted passages, these two stand out:
💛Being reminded “of the principle that most choices involve loss, too.”
💛The importance of learning to be content with who we are and giving agency to inner strength that comes from living life on our own terms

I’d give anything to sit on the deck at the Atkin’s home on Spindrift Lane, sipping an iced Americano, listening to the gull calls and the waves lapping the shore.

This can be read as a stand alone. Congratulations to the graphic designer - all Harper's covers are beautiful!

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Heartwarming read with a mystery to solve and things are not always as they seem. Paige inherits her spinster aunts cottage and plans to sell but finds it hard to let go.

Get lost in the wonder of dune island. Go along as Paige inherits her late aunt violet cottage and then after finding a locket falls in love with her story, the island and maybe a new life and love.

Aunt Violet’s Locket by new to me author Kristin Harper is an interesting story of how an inheritance changes the life of the beneficiary and a family who has much to learn about each other. The author has done a good job defining her characters, especially their prejudices, self-centeredness and closed mindedness. There’s a mystery about the illusive Aunt Violet who the family believes lived as a hermit. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of the book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.

This talented author has written a cannot put down novel. Although fiction, it reads like nonfiction, at times. The realistic characters keep the story moving quickly. The characters are likable and intriguing. Family and friends…love and romance…secrets from the past…a locket…a bequeathed home…this adds up to an intriguing story of love and loss…I could not stop reading. Aunt Violet…misunderstood…do not miss this story. I will read it again. Thanks Netgalley.