50 in 2012: Book Thirty Three

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is the summer of 1942 and twenty-one-year old Anne Calloway finds herself forced to choose between pursuing a search for an elusive, all-consuming, passionate love or marrying a man she knows will provide her with a lifelong comfortable love.

Joining her best friend Kitty on a medical tour of duty to Bora-Bora as a nurse, Anne leaves all notions of comfort behind. Closer to war and suffering than she has ever been her entire sheltered life, Ann begins to find pieces of herself she never knew existed. While out on a beach stroll one afternoon, she stumbles across a secluded beach bungalow. In it, the remaining objects of what looked to be a talented artist. Here, she also forms a relationship with a soldier named Westry Green. Mysterious at first and respectful of her engagement, Westry eventually provides her with the passion and magic she never thought would be hers. The walls of their bungalow shelter them from the evil and tragedy swirling around them.

The natives attempt to warn Anne about the haunted bungalow and the curse bestowed upon it and those who enter: a lifetime of heartache. Confused, Anne fails to understand as the bungalow has provided her with the greatest love she has ever known. Unfortunately, Anne and Westry soon learn that the curse is not merely a fairy tale…

Lies, war, heartache, murder…and a love that spans generations. Absolute magic.

Very reminiscent of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. A love story that will stick with me long after having finished it. A story that inspires the pursuit of utter and complete happiness, yet illustrates the sacrifices of commitment and duty. One for the favorites list…