Sarah Jio does it again with a two part story that is oh-so pleasing to read. Jio has an amazing ability to interweave the past and the present, and this new title does not fail to keep one reading long in to the night. Jio really came through on the ending which had me in tears but content with the outcome.

While I really enjoyed the story and found myself empathizing with several of the characters, I couldn't help but feel as though the author tends to follow a formula for her books. The format of the story greatly reminded me of her previous two novels.

could not put this book down.was excellent

This was great read! I started and finished reading it during a vacation and this book was great to pick up and finish quickly. This was a real tearjerker for me, but the overall theme was captivating!

First of all I need to confess that the cover of this book is what attracted me. Such a beautiful cover and what turns out such a beautiful story. Yes this book was filled with coincidences, some of them far fetched. I could forgive the coincidences only because I don't think the authors intentions were to make the reader solve a mystery. The underlying story and the parallel lives of Vera and Claire made this reader rejoice at the ending. Side note to this book...not an Ethan fan.

M MMB

3.5 stars - This book made me feel things. Yes, I agree with many other reviewers that most of the plot line was way too good to be true; things just happened to fall into place perfectly for the gal solving the mystery of the boy's disappearance. And yes, there were some pretty obvious errors that the editor failed to catch. BUT I was invested in the mystery element throughout the book. It is probably largely due to the fact that I am a mother of a young boy myself, so it made the emotions that Vera was feeling even more real. Plus, I liked the setting of Seattle, and it was interesting glimpse back into the 1930s and the hardships of the times for poorer folks.

Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2012/10/blackberry-winter.html

A blackberry winter is an expression used to describe a cold spell in late spring when the blackberry bushes are blooming. In this case, it refers to two snow storms in May about 80 years apart.

Claire Aldridge is a newspaper reporter assigned to write a human interest story about a storm in 2010. She discovers that a similar storm occurred in 1933. While researching to find an "angle" for her story, she reads about the disappearance of a child during the 1933 storm. Vera Bradley was single mother who came home from work on the morning of that storm and found her three year old son Daniel missing. The mystery of the disappearance was never solved.

The books weaves back and forth between Claire's story and research and Vera's story. Slowly, similarities and connections emerge. The connections continue to build coming to a shared conclusion to both stories.

Claire's story - of her marriage, of the loss of her child - is an interesting one. Vera's story - of love and of single parenthood - is also interesting. The connections between the two, however, create too neat a package. Everything seems to come together piece by piece very conveniently. Unfortunately, that removes some of the "genuineness" of the two individual stories and makes it seem somewhat contrived. It is an okay book, but not great for that reason. Fun to read while it lasts, but not memorable.

*** Reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers program ***

I have enjoyed every book Sarah Jio has written. This one started out on a sad note, so I wasn't sure if I was going to like where it was going. I loved the element of mystery, of family history and how everything fell into place. Good read!

A bit mystery, a bit romance, a bit tragedy. This book was compelling from beginning to end. I cared very much about both Vera and Claire and wanted desperately for their stories to end well.