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The Bigger Picture
When Sage’s best friend Marshal asks if she would be his wife, she is prepared to spend the rest of her life helping his political campaign. Sage understands the life she is walking into and has come to peace with what it means for her.
After an unfortunate incident, Jayden must move back home. Luckily her twin, Marshal, offers her the guest house on his property. Jayden accepts, wanting nothing more than to provide a safe place for her nine-year-old daughter, Lila, while she reevaluates her life.
Sage and Jayden get off to a rocky start, but while Sage finds herself battling her carefully constructed walls, Jayden struggles to hide her growing feelings for her twin’s fiancée.
A feel-good romance about two women who find each other by looking at the bigger picture.
Content warning:
This novel contains gun violence with an active shooter in the beginning of chapter 13.
After an unfortunate incident, Jayden must move back home. Luckily her twin, Marshal, offers her the guest house on his property. Jayden accepts, wanting nothing more than to provide a safe place for her nine-year-old daughter, Lila, while she reevaluates her life.
Sage and Jayden get off to a rocky start, but while Sage finds herself battling her carefully constructed walls, Jayden struggles to hide her growing feelings for her twin’s fiancée.
A feel-good romance about two women who find each other by looking at the bigger picture.
Content warning:
This novel contains gun violence with an active shooter in the beginning of chapter 13.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2022
78 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 17, 2023
One thing I always know when it comes to Violet Morley‘s books is that they will make me feel at peace. You just know you will get a totally sweet book and there won’t be lots of angst and drama. Sometimes this is just what you need in life and it’s exactly what I got again in this book.
It’s a very sweet, slow-burn story that also deals with some more serious topics. I don’t wanna give away any spoilers so I won’t mention every topic that is included but what I can say is that for me the story is built in the most perfect way. I mean if you’re a fan of slow-burn of course. If you don’t like them, then better stay away from this book.
Sage and Jayden actually meet under very unusual circumstances and shouldn’t feel anything for each other. Jayden being the twin sister of Sage‘s fiancé makes it impossible to fall for each other. Ok not impossible of course, we know that, but Jayden is very serious about respecting her brother‘s relationship. Sage on the other hand is only playing a role in her fake-relationship with Marshal (Jayden‘s twin) but she can’t tell this Jayden.
What I loved was that even if Sage and Jayden spent lots of sweet moments together, the start wasn’t a very easy one. They clashed more than once which reminded me a few times that you should never judge a book by its cover. But after they have overcome their rocky start, they realise how wonderful the other is. Enter Lila Jayden‘s daughter and the sweetest cat called Tuna and you just can’t feel anything else than happiness. I smiled a lot during the book and even the more serious or exciting scenes in the book left me with a warm feeling.
If all of this sounds good to you, definitely check out this book. I highly recommend it and can’t wait for more by Violet.
It’s a very sweet, slow-burn story that also deals with some more serious topics. I don’t wanna give away any spoilers so I won’t mention every topic that is included but what I can say is that for me the story is built in the most perfect way. I mean if you’re a fan of slow-burn of course. If you don’t like them, then better stay away from this book.
Sage and Jayden actually meet under very unusual circumstances and shouldn’t feel anything for each other. Jayden being the twin sister of Sage‘s fiancé makes it impossible to fall for each other. Ok not impossible of course, we know that, but Jayden is very serious about respecting her brother‘s relationship. Sage on the other hand is only playing a role in her fake-relationship with Marshal (Jayden‘s twin) but she can’t tell this Jayden.
What I loved was that even if Sage and Jayden spent lots of sweet moments together, the start wasn’t a very easy one. They clashed more than once which reminded me a few times that you should never judge a book by its cover. But after they have overcome their rocky start, they realise how wonderful the other is. Enter Lila Jayden‘s daughter and the sweetest cat called Tuna and you just can’t feel anything else than happiness. I smiled a lot during the book and even the more serious or exciting scenes in the book left me with a warm feeling.
If all of this sounds good to you, definitely check out this book. I highly recommend it and can’t wait for more by Violet.
June 6, 2023
This was DNF for me. I couldn’t get into the writing style.
May 22, 2024
4 Stars
The thing that boosted the plot in my opinion is the secrets between the characters in the story. The secret added depth and texture to the characters. It’s basically salt. The flavour was enhanced thanks to it.
I also noticed that the author includes neurodiversity and reps to the different letters of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet. Normalising and talking about these things adds to the uniqueness of the author’s writing style. 1 more book to go for meee!
The thing that boosted the plot in my opinion is the secrets between the characters in the story. The secret added depth and texture to the characters. It’s basically salt. The flavour was enhanced thanks to it.
I also noticed that the author includes neurodiversity and reps to the different letters of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet. Normalising and talking about these things adds to the uniqueness of the author’s writing style. 1 more book to go for meee!
September 15, 2023
This was enjoyable!! I adored the progression of feelings Jayden and Sage have for one another, and how easily their lives are integrated together before even accepting their feelings / actually becoming a couple.
This book really needs a trigger warning though, as there is an incredibly traumatic event (well, a number of traumatic events discussed or that happen, in either the past or present) a little over halfway through. I did not see it coming.
This book really needs a trigger warning though, as there is an incredibly traumatic event (well, a number of traumatic events discussed or that happen, in either the past or present) a little over halfway through. I did not see it coming.
October 31, 2025
I found this beautiful book on my TBR shelves! I LOVE this book! I adore the plot, I love the characters, especially Lila the daughter of Jayden. Sage starts out a little toxic but comes around. I highly recommend this good feeling book! 5 stars!
March 6, 2023
beautiful
Finding love again when you least expect it. Losing it from trauma could be the hardest thing anyone can endure. It takes courage to open your heart to let love fill you up and trust that by doin so, it heals you again.
Finding love again when you least expect it. Losing it from trauma could be the hardest thing anyone can endure. It takes courage to open your heart to let love fill you up and trust that by doin so, it heals you again.
June 3, 2023
i hate politics
August 20, 2023
This was a 2.5 rounded down, mostly because while I enjoy the trope, the problems I had with this book were two-fold:
1. The character motivations were confusing at best, and plot-convenient but not very realistic at worst.
- Incredibly strange that
- Also very weird that despite being alleged best friends, Marshal and Sage spend absolutely no time together and seem to have no affection or banter between them and could be mistaken for polite and considerate strangers living together.
- Additionally, the motivations of the clearly evil woman campaigning (heh) for Marshal's affections would be
I could go on, but a lot of the conflict seemed inorganic and very low stakes but not intentionally so. For example:
2. Instead of quiet moments and actual character interactions, we have emergency situation or crisis on top of crisis bringing the main characters together, which is just not convincing for me. I don't want to list the multiple crises, from health scares to actual danger, but it just felt like artificially created drama after drama to get the MCs together.
1. The character motivations were confusing at best, and plot-convenient but not very realistic at worst.
- Incredibly strange that
- Also very weird that despite being alleged best friends, Marshal and Sage spend absolutely no time together and seem to have no affection or banter between them and could be mistaken for polite and considerate strangers living together.
- Additionally, the motivations of the clearly evil woman campaigning (heh) for Marshal's affections would be
I could go on, but a lot of the conflict seemed inorganic and very low stakes but not intentionally so. For example:
2. Instead of quiet moments and actual character interactions, we have emergency situation or crisis on top of crisis bringing the main characters together, which is just not convincing for me. I don't want to list the multiple crises, from health scares to actual danger, but it just felt like artificially created drama after drama to get the MCs together.
January 17, 2023
The Bigger Picture is a fun, adorable and easy read by Violet Morley. Morley's writing has greatly improved from her first book to this last one and I love seeing the author's talent's grow with each book she releases.
I'm a sucker for stories with kids, pets and siblings and we got all of those in this one! After a public incident costs her her job, Jayden returns to her hometown and moves into the guest house on her brothers property. While Jayden is single and has a child I don't think I would classify her as a 'single mom'. Lila's a bright and energetic kid who is very much loved by both of her moms. One of the things I adored about this story was how well Jayden and Lennox were able to co-parent Lila even with Lennox living far away. The two are amazing friends and always have their daughters best interests at heart.
Sage is best friends with Jayden's twin brother Marshal and as of late has agreed to marry him. Not because they're in love, no, Sage is a lesbian whose wife was tragically killed years before and Marhsal is asexual. He's running for political office though and many voters aren't sure they trust a single man and since Sage has sworn off relationships as she doesn't want to fall in love again after the devastation of losing her wife. So when Marshal asks her to marry him to help with his campaign it seems like a win-win situation.
Enter Jayden, Lila and their adorable kitten named Tuna. When Sage and Jayden begin spending time together both alone and with Lila that plan Sage had of not falling in love again begins to crumble. Jayden doesn't know her brothers relationship with Sage is fake, however, so she spends a lot of the book feeling like she's falling in love with her brothers straight fiance. Because Marshal hasn't told anyone that he's asexual Sage is stuck between a rock and a hard place because her best friend has asked that she not tell his sister whats going on until he has the chance to talk to her himself.
Overall the book was wonderful but I did feel like things may have been rushed towards the end? I would have liked to have seen more of the characters interactions once things came to light. The idea for this story was fantastic but there needed to be a bit more meat which is the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.
Also! I would LOVE to see a book from Lennox's perspective, she was a fantastic secondary character and would make an awesome main character as well.
I'm a sucker for stories with kids, pets and siblings and we got all of those in this one! After a public incident costs her her job, Jayden returns to her hometown and moves into the guest house on her brothers property. While Jayden is single and has a child I don't think I would classify her as a 'single mom'. Lila's a bright and energetic kid who is very much loved by both of her moms. One of the things I adored about this story was how well Jayden and Lennox were able to co-parent Lila even with Lennox living far away. The two are amazing friends and always have their daughters best interests at heart.
Sage is best friends with Jayden's twin brother Marshal and as of late has agreed to marry him. Not because they're in love, no, Sage is a lesbian whose wife was tragically killed years before and Marhsal is asexual. He's running for political office though and many voters aren't sure they trust a single man and since Sage has sworn off relationships as she doesn't want to fall in love again after the devastation of losing her wife. So when Marshal asks her to marry him to help with his campaign it seems like a win-win situation.
Enter Jayden, Lila and their adorable kitten named Tuna. When Sage and Jayden begin spending time together both alone and with Lila that plan Sage had of not falling in love again begins to crumble. Jayden doesn't know her brothers relationship with Sage is fake, however, so she spends a lot of the book feeling like she's falling in love with her brothers straight fiance. Because Marshal hasn't told anyone that he's asexual Sage is stuck between a rock and a hard place because her best friend has asked that she not tell his sister whats going on until he has the chance to talk to her himself.
Overall the book was wonderful but I did feel like things may have been rushed towards the end? I would have liked to have seen more of the characters interactions once things came to light. The idea for this story was fantastic but there needed to be a bit more meat which is the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.
Also! I would LOVE to see a book from Lennox's perspective, she was a fantastic secondary character and would make an awesome main character as well.
April 24, 2025
Stars: 5 Stars
Format: Digital
Series: Stand Alone (Kinda)
Steam Level: Steamy
I read this for the 2025 Sapphic Book Bingo reading challenge for the prompt Vegetarian or Vegan MC.
The reason I say this book is “kinda” a Stand Alone is that it absolutely can be read as one but there are characters who are mentioned from Under the Sitka Sky. So if you want to catch all the references the order you should read is:
Under the Sitka Sky
The Bigger Picture
When Dreams Change
I don’t know if any of these characters make an appearance in later books released by Violet Morley.
CW: there is a mass shooting that happens in this book. It’s on page but the protagonists aren’t injured. There is also the death of a spouse but that is in the past.
Quick Thoughts:
- I wanted to wrap Sage up in the fluffiest blanket that has ever been made
- There is a special place in my heart for stories where the divorced couple co-parents wonderfully and become friends again. Seeing that kind of support for their kid and each other never gets old
- Once again, Violet Morley has written a kid that isn’t a perfect little angel but so stinking cute and adorable that you’d fight a crocodile for them
- Except for Brandi (and her stans), I loved all the characters in this. They each had their own unique personalities
- Watching Sage, Jayden, and Lila become a family felt like a natural progression for them and exactly what each of them needed
- Loved that there were missteps (both of them) when it came to interacting with Lila and when they do, they apologized to her
- So. Much. Pining. This book had me yelling “FFS KISS HER!” more than once
- That phone call with Brandi HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- Protect Marshal at all costs
- That epilogue was freaking adorable
- The only thing that irked me in this book is that I would have liked to get more of Jayden’s thoughts/feelings/processing about everything when she finally learned the truth
- I don’t know how Violet Morley does it. I have read four of her books and they’ve all been amazing
Overall I loved this book. It was so sweet but still had my emotions spinning. I seriously hope that Violet Morley continues to write for years to come.
Format: Digital
Series: Stand Alone (Kinda)
Steam Level: Steamy
I read this for the 2025 Sapphic Book Bingo reading challenge for the prompt Vegetarian or Vegan MC.
The reason I say this book is “kinda” a Stand Alone is that it absolutely can be read as one but there are characters who are mentioned from Under the Sitka Sky. So if you want to catch all the references the order you should read is:
Under the Sitka Sky
The Bigger Picture
When Dreams Change
I don’t know if any of these characters make an appearance in later books released by Violet Morley.
CW: there is a mass shooting that happens in this book. It’s on page but the protagonists aren’t injured. There is also the death of a spouse but that is in the past.
Quick Thoughts:
- I wanted to wrap Sage up in the fluffiest blanket that has ever been made
- There is a special place in my heart for stories where the divorced couple co-parents wonderfully and become friends again. Seeing that kind of support for their kid and each other never gets old
- Once again, Violet Morley has written a kid that isn’t a perfect little angel but so stinking cute and adorable that you’d fight a crocodile for them
- Except for Brandi (and her stans), I loved all the characters in this. They each had their own unique personalities
- Watching Sage, Jayden, and Lila become a family felt like a natural progression for them and exactly what each of them needed
- Loved that there were missteps (both of them) when it came to interacting with Lila and when they do, they apologized to her
- So. Much. Pining. This book had me yelling “FFS KISS HER!” more than once
- That phone call with Brandi HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- Protect Marshal at all costs
- That epilogue was freaking adorable
- The only thing that irked me in this book is that I would have liked to get more of Jayden’s thoughts/feelings/processing about everything when she finally learned the truth
- I don’t know how Violet Morley does it. I have read four of her books and they’ve all been amazing
Overall I loved this book. It was so sweet but still had my emotions spinning. I seriously hope that Violet Morley continues to write for years to come.
January 10, 2023
This was a very enjoyable read, i havent read anything from this author before but I discovered this book on my Kindle and couldnt scroll because the book cover was so pretty. And everyone who knows me, knows i love a good book cover.
Obviously this is not all a book need, but its a good start. This one goes in strong. Very strong. The story is nothing completely new, with a twin/sibling falling for the partner of the other but it was for me the first one very well written and Not where i Had to rant the whole time about the betray.
Sage lost her wife and was sure she would never fall in love again, so what would be better than to marry her asexuell best friend Marshal, who helped her through her darkest hours. Enter Marshals free spirited twin and her daugter Lila, after a rocky start these got along very well, to well?!? The way this Story was written was super sensitiv, considerate and it just felt right. I loved how they became fast a huge family, i loved the Character of Lila and her kitten Tuna a lot they added so much love, laughts and deepnes to the lovestory of this book.
Obviously this is not all a book need, but its a good start. This one goes in strong. Very strong. The story is nothing completely new, with a twin/sibling falling for the partner of the other but it was for me the first one very well written and Not where i Had to rant the whole time about the betray.
Sage lost her wife and was sure she would never fall in love again, so what would be better than to marry her asexuell best friend Marshal, who helped her through her darkest hours. Enter Marshals free spirited twin and her daugter Lila, after a rocky start these got along very well, to well?!? The way this Story was written was super sensitiv, considerate and it just felt right. I loved how they became fast a huge family, i loved the Character of Lila and her kitten Tuna a lot they added so much love, laughts and deepnes to the lovestory of this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2023
4.25
Overall it's a good book that I wouldn't mind reading again in the future. I wish it was longer though, not "omg I need more of them together so please give me a longer epilogue", but actually "I need more of them together, more than the summaries of what happened in this book."
I love the characters - especially Lila, she's such a sweetheart who deserves the world. I also love the relationship that Lennox (Lila's other mom) has with Lila and Jayden, it just feels so wholesome.
There were a few representations of different identities and disabilities in this book and I love that for us.
There were a few things that trip me up - the inconsistency of how famous was Jayden's scandal, their heights (I feel like Jayden was taller than Sage, but apparently not? someone let me know please), etc. But they were mostly little things that I could ignore and move on.
Overall it's a good book that I wouldn't mind reading again in the future. I wish it was longer though, not "omg I need more of them together so please give me a longer epilogue", but actually "I need more of them together, more than the summaries of what happened in this book."
I love the characters - especially Lila, she's such a sweetheart who deserves the world. I also love the relationship that Lennox (Lila's other mom) has with Lila and Jayden, it just feels so wholesome.
There were a few representations of different identities and disabilities in this book and I love that for us.
There were a few things that trip me up - the inconsistency of how famous was Jayden's scandal, their heights (I feel like Jayden was taller than Sage, but apparently not? someone let me know please), etc. But they were mostly little things that I could ignore and move on.
February 5, 2023
A Delightful Book
This was a refreshing change from some of the other romance novels I’ve read. The characters don’t self sabotage, and the obstacles they face are generated from communication barriers and misunderstandings. The active shooter incident was written reasonably, I believe, and the struggles of Jayden’s daughter, Lila, in the aftermath, as well as Lila seeing the obvious even as Jayden and Sage did not was a cute twist.
I loved this book and it goes onto my personal “read again” list.
This was a refreshing change from some of the other romance novels I’ve read. The characters don’t self sabotage, and the obstacles they face are generated from communication barriers and misunderstandings. The active shooter incident was written reasonably, I believe, and the struggles of Jayden’s daughter, Lila, in the aftermath, as well as Lila seeing the obvious even as Jayden and Sage did not was a cute twist.
I loved this book and it goes onto my personal “read again” list.
November 26, 2024
There are books that you just swallow in one, you go through the pages of smooth writing as I'd watching a movie. The story is so interesting, the characters so playful, you can't put the book down. It was exactly how reading this book felt like.
July 9, 2025
awesome
Not a lot of people know about Bell’s palsy and I have it too. It was amazing to read about it and I loved how you described it. It was nice to hear and the story was sweet too!
Not a lot of people know about Bell’s palsy and I have it too. It was amazing to read about it and I loved how you described it. It was nice to hear and the story was sweet too!
January 23, 2023
This book dealt with some difficult subjects but moved steadly through them. It wasn't rushed but it set a nice pace that didn't linger. It was different and that's just what I needed!
May 8, 2023
Excellent story!
October 25, 2023
This was the longest under 300 page book I've ever read in my life. A lot of it made no sense or it was made out to be a bigger deal than it actually was and the plot supported that. There was also so so much telling and not enough showing. And then random plot lines that didn't impact anything at all and seemed to be added for shock value. Not my favorite sapphic romance.
October 9, 2024
3.5⭐
I didn't like the first half but thankfully it got better in the second half.
I ended up enjoying it but it sadly wasn't as great as I'd hoped.
I really didn't like the characters at first but I eventually started liking them well enough.
Lila and tuna were definitely my favorites
I didn't like the first half but thankfully it got better in the second half.
I ended up enjoying it but it sadly wasn't as great as I'd hoped.
I really didn't like the characters at first but I eventually started liking them well enough.
Lila and tuna were definitely my favorites
Read
January 20, 2023Really liked this, a different story background, but a nice ending
March 25, 2023
I liked it. At the start I wasn't sure about the writing style. I didn't get a good feel for the character's personalities. But I'm glad I stuck around, it was a cute story.
Read
November 24, 2024DNF
May 3, 2024
I enjoyed the writing style which is what made me finish the book. Some events don't make much sense in this story and I found that Jayden and Sage lacked chemistry.
September 1, 2024
3.5 ⭐️
but it leans more towards a 4
but it leans more towards a 4
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews