After a string of unsatisfying reads, I needed a safe haven to avoid slipping into a reading slump—and for me, that’s a Sarah Jio book. Her writing style is effortlessly engaging, and the twists and turns in her stories never fail to captivate. Blackberry Winter was no exception. Though it started off a little slow, once the story picked up, I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end.

Set across two timelines, the novel weaves together the disappearance of a three-year-old boy in 1933 and a journalist’s search for answers in the 2010s. As in many of Jio’s works, the two narratives intersect in a meaningful way. The transitions between the timelines are seamless, and the characters’ struggles and intentions are deeply relatable and moving.

Heartbreaking yet engrossing, this is a story I highly recommend for anyone looking to curl up for a few hours and get completely lost in a book.

As a bonus, I loved the cameo appearance of Emily and Bee from The Violets of March!