The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen – 320 pages
Book Blurb:
Eight months after dropping out of Tarble, an all-women’s college, twenty-two-year-old Ruby Rousseau is still haunted by the memories of her senior year-a year marred by an affair with her English professor and a deep depression that not only caused her to question her own sanity but prompted a failed suicide attempt.
And then a mysterious paisley print suitcase arrives, bearing Ruby’s name and address on the tag. When Ruby tries to return the luggage to its rightful owner, Beth Richards, her dorm mate at Tarble, she learns that Beth disappeared two days earlier, and the suitcase is the only tangible evidence as to her whereabouts.
Consumed by the mystery of the missing girl and the contents of the luggage-a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, the book on which Ruby based her senior thesis, and which she believes instigated her madness-she sets out to uncover the truth, not only about Beth Richards’s past but also her own. In doing so, Ruby is forced to reexamine the people from her past: the professor who whisked her away to New Orleans and then shattered her heart and the ghosts of dead women writers who beckoned her to join their illustrious group. And when Ruby’s storyline converges with Beth’s in a way she never imagined, she returns to the one place she swore she never would: her alma mater.
My Review: 4 stars
I really enjoyed this book. This author took on the dark subject of suicide and made it highly readable from both the character’s point of view as well as through the several women authors that she referenced. This book has prompted me to now read A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf as well as some others. With an easygoing and likeable voice, the author took us on a mystery with many characters that all fit nicely together at the end. Although the believability of the end could seem farfetched to some, it didn’t bother me at all; I liked it. The setting was well portrayed in nearby Kenosha, Wisconsin and New Orleans, LA and had me hankering for a beignet. Grief (in its many forms) is a central theme in this book and overall it would make an excellent choice for discussion.
Quotes I liked:
It seemed a reason to believe Beth was still alive. The words she scribbled there still had a pulse.”
– “They say that time heals all wounds, but I beg to differ. It seems time only deepens the scars.”
– “Anger isn’t such a bad thing, Ruby. It moves obstacles. Nothing would happen without anger. It’s the catalyst of change.”
– “The past is a funny thing, Ruby. It is nature’s most underestimated ghost. It is still very much alive. Its heart still beats. It haunts. And it is always impacting, always dictating the future, which eventually becomes the past. You see, it multiplies, this enigma. It grows larger until at the end, it swallows your entire life. Every day, every moment becomes the past.”
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a... read more
Read this book at your suggestion & LOVED it! It was the perfect vacation read with bits of romance, suspense & mystery. Thanks for the suggestion good book fairy 🙂
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a... read more
Review:Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn blew me away with its humor, heart, and heat. I’m newer to rom-com (Romantic Comedy) and after reading quite a few of them, I totally think that this one shines above.Full disclosure, I know the author quite well. She’s my daughter; but it’s the honest truth when I say I loved the heck out of this book. I was literally laughing out loud at some points and fell hard in love with Blake, the broody Brit, and Ella, the relatable journalist who could be my BFF.The pacing of the story was spot on as I fell into the fast-paced life of an F1 driver, and the toll racing takes on both their minds and bodies. I appreciated the slow burn to the ultimately spicy and steamy romance. It made the wait and tension totally worth the wait! For me, smart conversation and good banter can make or break a book. This one had so much wit and humor that I’d be happy with that alone.The settings in this book take the reader all around Europe which makes for great escapes. Ella, who hails from Chicago before moving to New York, offers many local references which I loved.On top of the heart, humor and heat, there are also some serious issues woven through the book such a loss of a parent, mental illness, and sexual abuse. These issues are presented with sensitivity and care.Bottom line, if you’re looking for a book to make you laugh with a good dollop of spice, pick this one up. Readers are all saying they can’t wait for the second in the series.@carlyrobynauthor 📘Have you ever watched an Formula One race? OR Favorite trope in rom-coms? ... See MoreSee Less
Read this book at your suggestion & LOVED it! It was the perfect vacation read with bits of romance, suspense & mystery. Thanks for the suggestion good book fairy 🙂
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So happy you liked it!
Reading this now. So far so good. Love your new website
Thanks Ann. I appreciate your support. Glad you’re liking the book.