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joo13's review against another edition
4.0
It's a year after Grace was raped by her (now ex) boyfriend and she still can't cope. A chance meeting with Ben, a councellor, makes her want to make the effort to get her life back.
This has adult themes, but is not too gritty. It is boy meets girl, etc, but it has an underlying message of how to get help if this has happened to you and that you can survive. In saying that, it is not preachy at all. The basic is, this is a really good, well written story.
This has adult themes, but is not too gritty. It is boy meets girl, etc, but it has an underlying message of how to get help if this has happened to you and that you can survive. In saying that, it is not preachy at all. The basic is, this is a really good, well written story.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
4.0
What kind of book is this? : angsty romance with themes of rape victim
This is a first for me from this author, and the book did really great. Even though most of the theme is a girl suffering from a rape I did manage to chuckle here and there. Tidbits of information that were pretty funny. The overall theme though is not funny but it shows a young woman's courage to become of survivor. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Grace is as attractive as her name, and she meets Ben who wants to help her. The story goes through him helping her and what she does to begin to heal. Lovely story. Thanks netgalley for a read, in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is a first for me from this author, and the book did really great. Even though most of the theme is a girl suffering from a rape I did manage to chuckle here and there. Tidbits of information that were pretty funny. The overall theme though is not funny but it shows a young woman's courage to become of survivor. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Grace is as attractive as her name, and she meets Ben who wants to help her. The story goes through him helping her and what she does to begin to heal. Lovely story. Thanks netgalley for a read, in exchange for my honest opinion.
kateh3077's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Elle and goodreads for allowing me to read this amazing well written book.
This book is well worth the five stars I have given it in fact if I could I would give it far more because it was a difficult subject to write about covered in a very sensitive and funny way.
When i finished reading the book my immediate thought was that it had been written in a way that it could be the journal that the main character in the book wrote during her recovery from her experience & said she wanted to publish.
The story as a whole was fantastic as it was about how different people people recover from different experiences they have in life a survivor of rape, a survivor of the results of a family member being raped and a woman surviving an abortion she had as a teenager.
I really identified with the main character, Grace, of this book as I have was raped by a longtime friend and boyfriend so I went through similar feelings for a longer time afterwards until I eventually saw a counsellor several years after the fact. I also neither screamed nor fought back when it was happening for self preservation purposes as the person involved had Scichzophrenia so I didn't want to want to trigger him to have an outburst and hurt me.
I loved the developing love story in the book between Grace and Ben because they were so obviously well suited. Which is why I was so upset when it looked like Grace finding out about Ben's whole past had ruined their burgeoning relationship but thankfully the strength of their feelings for each other won out.
I fully intend to buy the book in paperback format because its a book that I definitely want on my bookshelf because of the lovely story and amazing writing as well as the beautiful cover art. And I fully intend to recommend the book highly to others as well both in person as well as on my blog.
This book is well worth the five stars I have given it in fact if I could I would give it far more because it was a difficult subject to write about covered in a very sensitive and funny way.
When i finished reading the book my immediate thought was that it had been written in a way that it could be the journal that the main character in the book wrote during her recovery from her experience & said she wanted to publish.
The story as a whole was fantastic as it was about how different people people recover from different experiences they have in life a survivor of rape, a survivor of the results of a family member being raped and a woman surviving an abortion she had as a teenager.
I really identified with the main character, Grace, of this book as I have was raped by a longtime friend and boyfriend so I went through similar feelings for a longer time afterwards until I eventually saw a counsellor several years after the fact. I also neither screamed nor fought back when it was happening for self preservation purposes as the person involved had Scichzophrenia so I didn't want to want to trigger him to have an outburst and hurt me.
I loved the developing love story in the book between Grace and Ben because they were so obviously well suited. Which is why I was so upset when it looked like Grace finding out about Ben's whole past had ruined their burgeoning relationship but thankfully the strength of their feelings for each other won out.
I fully intend to buy the book in paperback format because its a book that I definitely want on my bookshelf because of the lovely story and amazing writing as well as the beautiful cover art. And I fully intend to recommend the book highly to others as well both in person as well as on my blog.
jasminepnwgirl's review against another edition
5.0
*Provided with a copy from NetGalley, for an honest review*
At first I was a little hesitant to read this book, but I am glad that I did. *Warning* this book does involve some topics that might be sensitive.
Grace is a young woman, who has hit rock bottom. She has been violated, paranoia has set in (I don’t blame her being paranoid either). When she gets home from work she makes sure that she has locked all her doors, not only does she check it once, but several times. Grace, hasn’t told anyone what has happened to her because she has lost trust in everyone. One night, she goes to this center for women, but before she walks in the door, she decides to leave.
You then meet Ben, who is a counsellor and sees Grace leave the woman center. He sees the pain on her face, and knows exactly what she is going through, because he has his own demons that he is working through. Right then and there, Ben wants to heal Grace. Grace is not the only one who needs healing, Ben needs it as well.
They both don’t want to tell each other what happened to them, but when the truth comes out, they must make a decision, can they be together? Can they heal each other?
Elle Harper, did a great job writing this book. She brought a topic to life that is not talked about much. There is a message hidden within the book that you will understand at the end. I definitely recommend this book!!!!!!!!
At first I was a little hesitant to read this book, but I am glad that I did. *Warning* this book does involve some topics that might be sensitive.
Grace is a young woman, who has hit rock bottom. She has been violated, paranoia has set in (I don’t blame her being paranoid either). When she gets home from work she makes sure that she has locked all her doors, not only does she check it once, but several times. Grace, hasn’t told anyone what has happened to her because she has lost trust in everyone. One night, she goes to this center for women, but before she walks in the door, she decides to leave.
You then meet Ben, who is a counsellor and sees Grace leave the woman center. He sees the pain on her face, and knows exactly what she is going through, because he has his own demons that he is working through. Right then and there, Ben wants to heal Grace. Grace is not the only one who needs healing, Ben needs it as well.
They both don’t want to tell each other what happened to them, but when the truth comes out, they must make a decision, can they be together? Can they heal each other?
Elle Harper, did a great job writing this book. She brought a topic to life that is not talked about much. There is a message hidden within the book that you will understand at the end. I definitely recommend this book!!!!!!!!
rks97's review
4.0
'Butterfly' is a beautiful story of two broken people in desperate need of each other, yet them being together isn't as easy as they need it to be.
Grace Elliot has gone through something that no person ever should especially when it was someone she trusted and thought she loved. She's the ghost of the person she used to be and she knows she needs helps but she can't bring herself around to get it. That is until she meets Ben Hardy, a counsellor. Meeting him brings back hope in her life but she didn't expect to fall in love with him.
It's hard to review this book, especially Grace's character because I don't know if it was a realistic representation of what she went through. I don't know. But, what I do know is that it definitely did feel realistic and as a reader, it really hit home hard. Reading about her journey and how much she started to love herself and realise none of it was her fault was definitely emotional and it was so easy to empathise with her and feel proud of her. She was such a brill heroine and written incredibly well.
Ben Hardy was also a great character, I loved reading in his POV and the breath of fresh air he brought into Grace's life was lifting and inspiring. From the beginning of the novel we don't know the full extent of what he did to get imprisoned but it was quite easy to guess what and why he did what he did. And, again, it was so hard to judge him off the bat because in some ways he had a justified reason. He was a great character though and he brought the much needed laughter and humour into the novel as well as Grace's life.
I thought the secondary characters, especially Grace's friend Lisa, were great and very endearing. They were the much needed contrast to the darker side of the novel. All of the secondary characters, from Lisa to Ben's boss, had back stories and I think that definitely helped Grace realise she wasn't alone.
The dual POVs were wonderfully written and both Grace and Ben had completely different voices and the character development was consistent for each of them and the contrast between their voices was also consistent which can be very hard to find in dual POV books.
The author definitely doesn't shy away from the truth of each of the character's past which was brilliant. It was all dealt with and nothing was left out.
All in all, this is a book about love, hope and a journey for both of the two characters. It really is great!
*Thanks to the author who sent me a free copy in exchange of a review!*
Grace Elliot has gone through something that no person ever should especially when it was someone she trusted and thought she loved. She's the ghost of the person she used to be and she knows she needs helps but she can't bring herself around to get it. That is until she meets Ben Hardy, a counsellor. Meeting him brings back hope in her life but she didn't expect to fall in love with him.
It's hard to review this book, especially Grace's character because I don't know if it was a realistic representation of what she went through. I don't know. But, what I do know is that it definitely did feel realistic and as a reader, it really hit home hard. Reading about her journey and how much she started to love herself and realise none of it was her fault was definitely emotional and it was so easy to empathise with her and feel proud of her. She was such a brill heroine and written incredibly well.
Ben Hardy was also a great character, I loved reading in his POV and the breath of fresh air he brought into Grace's life was lifting and inspiring. From the beginning of the novel we don't know the full extent of what he did to get imprisoned but it was quite easy to guess what and why he did what he did. And, again, it was so hard to judge him off the bat because in some ways he had a justified reason. He was a great character though and he brought the much needed laughter and humour into the novel as well as Grace's life.
I thought the secondary characters, especially Grace's friend Lisa, were great and very endearing. They were the much needed contrast to the darker side of the novel. All of the secondary characters, from Lisa to Ben's boss, had back stories and I think that definitely helped Grace realise she wasn't alone.
The dual POVs were wonderfully written and both Grace and Ben had completely different voices and the character development was consistent for each of them and the contrast between their voices was also consistent which can be very hard to find in dual POV books.
The author definitely doesn't shy away from the truth of each of the character's past which was brilliant. It was all dealt with and nothing was left out.
All in all, this is a book about love, hope and a journey for both of the two characters. It really is great!
*Thanks to the author who sent me a free copy in exchange of a review!*
booklady72's review against another edition
5.0
Grace is in a dark and lonely place. She can’t face what’s happened to her and tries to hide behind a mask every day. She’s alive but not living.
Ben is sure he can heal Grace, it will help him face some of his own demons from one night when his life was shattered.
When they meet, everything changes and they try to save each other, until something from Bens past threatens everything. Will it tear them apart or make them understand the healing power of forgiveness and love?
What an amazing book! It is written so beautifully and is so powerful. Told from the perspectives of both Ben and Grace, it is easy to follow. It reminds us that bad things do happen, but they don’t need to define who we are and we can overcome them and move on with our lives.
Thank you TBC Reviewer Request Group and Sibelius Hodge for the pleasure of reading this fantastic book.
Ben is sure he can heal Grace, it will help him face some of his own demons from one night when his life was shattered.
When they meet, everything changes and they try to save each other, until something from Bens past threatens everything. Will it tear them apart or make them understand the healing power of forgiveness and love?
What an amazing book! It is written so beautifully and is so powerful. Told from the perspectives of both Ben and Grace, it is easy to follow. It reminds us that bad things do happen, but they don’t need to define who we are and we can overcome them and move on with our lives.
Thank you TBC Reviewer Request Group and Sibelius Hodge for the pleasure of reading this fantastic book.
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