Therese Heckenkamp

Lila lives alone in a secluded location and hasn't leave her property for pretty much anything for years. She raises butterflies and is happy to just be alone with them. Until her life is disrupted by a man who wants her to sell him some butterflies for a butterfly release at her sister's wedding. Harvey's presence and persistence chip away at the fortress she's built around herself and make her question if she's really happy with her life the way it is.

On the surface, The Butterfly Recluse is a sweet, clean romance with some simple faith thrown in. There is a twist near the end and an action-filled climax. For me, it was a middle-of-the-road read. Harvey's persistence annoyed me, and it was difficult for me to like him for a while.

Lila's reclusiveness was what first interested me in the book. I am an extreme everything social (shy introvert with extreme social anxieties and even anti-social at times) that could easily lead to becoming a recluse in the right circumstances. In the end, though, her reasons for becoming a recluse weren't related to her personality so much as caused by PTSD from a traumatic event in the past. Even still, she seemed to overcome her near-agoraphobia a little too easily from my perspective. And as far as her PTSD goes, I could see where the author was bring it out, but I felt it was swept away too easily in some areas. Meanwhile, at one point, she really overreacts to what I assumed was an innocent statement (we never really know for sure) related to her past trauma, for the sake of the plot.

The romance was sweet, but also very cliche and filled with tropes. The way the two characters flirted early on, when they'd barely met, seemed like something out of a TV show for kids/teens. Of course, I didn't realize it was a YA novel until now, because it wasn't listed that way on site I read it through, and the main characters are adults. For that reason, the romance may be spot-on, though still not for me.

I had some inklings about the plot twist, but still didn't actually see it coming when it happened. The climax was a little overdone for me, but I think it would still appeal to many. I would say people who enjoy clean, YA romance would very possibly enjoy this book, and for others, it's worth checking out other reviews to decide if you want to read it or not.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.… (more)

OH MAN, I WAS INTRIGUED WITH THE FIRST PAGE! I never understood why women stayed in a abusive relationship, and I CHEERED when Brook finally had enough of Connor when her six year old got in the way and got hurt! Brooke and Ella h had fled in the middle of the night while Connor slept, but time after time, found her Ian his brother and Dane, his best friend found her and banged on her door and said that SHE had killed him, then the police showed up. I thought that Max, Brook's best friends' brother was a good guy, but he had ran from his problems in California. Max had wanted Brook but he chose his career over her, and then she had married Connor and got pregnant.… (more)

I was immediately pulled into this story of a grieving mother and her bizarre encounter with a mysterious stranger. The story moves at a good clip, presenting new twists that kept me engaged. I loved how the central character, Mae, never doubted herself, even when all circumstances weren't in her favor, and how this played into the suspense (was she right, or was she crazy?) Physical descriptions of both people and places were pretty vague, but this being a psychological thriller, my imagination just filled in the details. It's not terribly long, so didn't require a big time commitment.
I received this as an Early Reviewer advance copy; my experiences with such have been mixed, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this!… (more)