sarahrara's review against another edition
3.0
This was a somewhat frustrating listening experience. It was partly due to the narrator, who had an unmistakable "old lady" voice. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as the book starts out being narrated in first person by a young girl, the voice felt incongruous. It only really fit old Posey, and there's a bunch of other POVs in the story. I feel like it was at least part of the reason I had trouble getting into it, though she narrates the story well.
However, the main issue for me was the story itself, and to some extent the way in which it was told. It strikes me that a lot of (female?) writers writing mystery or historical fiction tend to base their stories too strongly around the idea of there being a secret that somebody cannot tell somebody else, but in the end the story doesn't really support it. In this case I can kind of see why the "main" secret was kept for so long, but there's also a couple of side secrets complicating other relationships, and it frustrated me to no end that people didn't just tell the truth rather than ruin their lives over some misunderstanding. It doesn't feel genuine.
Also, I would say this is mainly a romance (or indeed several romances), and it suffers from the same thing they all suffer from: people fall in love within 5 minutes and then have to spend the rest of their lives together. I know literally no-one who has gone on one or two dates with someone and then been irrevocably in love. Why can it not be built more gradually and realistically?
In short, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. There was also an issue that Nick brought up with Posey towards the end, about something that bothered him in his childhood (I will refrain from saying what it was to avoid spoilers), and it was glossed over entirely too quickly for my comfort.
My favourite parts were Posey's university days (for some reason I always enjoy reading about people attending prestigious universities in the past) and Amy's story arc.
Having devoured the Seven Sisters series, I can vouch for Riley being a great storyteller (and a prolific one, who does insane amounts of research), but this one just fell a bit flat for me.
However, the main issue for me was the story itself, and to some extent the way in which it was told. It strikes me that a lot of (female?) writers writing mystery or historical fiction tend to base their stories too strongly around the idea of there being a secret that somebody cannot tell somebody else, but in the end the story doesn't really support it. In this case I can kind of see why the "main" secret was kept for so long, but there's also a couple of side secrets complicating other relationships, and it frustrated me to no end that people didn't just tell the truth rather than ruin their lives over some misunderstanding. It doesn't feel genuine.
Also, I would say this is mainly a romance (or indeed several romances), and it suffers from the same thing they all suffer from: people fall in love within 5 minutes and then have to spend the rest of their lives together. I know literally no-one who has gone on one or two dates with someone and then been irrevocably in love. Why can it not be built more gradually and realistically?
In short, I found it difficult to connect with the characters. There was also an issue that Nick brought up with Posey towards the end, about something that bothered him in his childhood (I will refrain from saying what it was to avoid spoilers), and it was glossed over entirely too quickly for my comfort.
My favourite parts were Posey's university days (for some reason I always enjoy reading about people attending prestigious universities in the past) and Amy's story arc.
Having devoured the Seven Sisters series, I can vouch for Riley being a great storyteller (and a prolific one, who does insane amounts of research), but this one just fell a bit flat for me.
jessthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
Posy is nearing 70 years old and lives in her old family home, Admiral House in the Suffolk countryside. Her memories of her beloved childhood home centre mostly around her time with her father before he passed away, and how they used to study butterflies together.
The story alternates between Posy in her 70s, and her relationships with her two sons, and extended family, and when Posy was younger, her relationship with her own parents and past lovers. It turns out that everyone has secrets, and perhaps Posy doesn't always quite remember everything the way it really was. Posy will need to dig deep to reassess her life and her beliefs as she unearths Admiral House's deep hidden past.
This wasn't the best book I have read by this author. The basis of the story was good, if not almost completely predictable, but the characters themselves were quite shallowly drawn. The dialogue was also atrociously stilted. But it was an easy read.
Posy is nearing 70 years old and lives in her old family home, Admiral House in the Suffolk countryside. Her memories of her beloved childhood home centre mostly around her time with her father before he passed away, and how they used to study butterflies together.
The story alternates between Posy in her 70s, and her relationships with her two sons, and extended family, and when Posy was younger, her relationship with her own parents and past lovers. It turns out that everyone has secrets, and perhaps Posy doesn't always quite remember everything the way it really was. Posy will need to dig deep to reassess her life and her beliefs as she unearths Admiral House's deep hidden past.
This wasn't the best book I have read by this author. The basis of the story was good, if not almost completely predictable, but the characters themselves were quite shallowly drawn. The dialogue was also atrociously stilted. But it was an easy read.
read_dream's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
roris_book_club's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Bel libro, racconta la storia di Posy e della sua famiglia. Molto bello, non è sembrato un libro di 600 pagine, scritto molto bene
myjourneywithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
When a story seems to rely heavily on mysterious secrets that are constantly hinted at but aren't revealed till the end, does that tend to annoy you or does it make you enjoy it more?
The Butterfly Room boasts of two such secrets in the story and I have to admit, if it wasn't for that I probably would have left the book unfinished halfway through. That's not to say it was a terrible story or terribly written. But everything about it was just average to me.
The book starts with Posy as a young child living in her enormous family home Admiral House during World War 2, just having seen her father off as he leaves to rejoin the battlefront. The story alternates with the timeline in the present where Posy is now nearly seventy years old and back at Admiral House, eagerly awaiting the return of her beloved son Nick. Struggling to maintain her huge childhood home, Posy is in the process of making the agonizing decision to sell it when Freddie, a flame from the past, turns up and brings with him some old memories.
Both Freddie and Nick harbour some of the aforementioned mysterious secrets and throughout the story these kept being hinted at. Nick's secret was quite obvious to me though Freddie's kept me guessing. The air of mystery was exciting at first but it did get a little old after a while and I felt like telling the author to just spit it out
The Butterfly Room boasts of two such secrets in the story and I have to admit, if it wasn't for that I probably would have left the book unfinished halfway through. That's not to say it was a terrible story or terribly written. But everything about it was just average to me.
The book starts with Posy as a young child living in her enormous family home Admiral House during World War 2, just having seen her father off as he leaves to rejoin the battlefront. The story alternates with the timeline in the present where Posy is now nearly seventy years old and back at Admiral House, eagerly awaiting the return of her beloved son Nick. Struggling to maintain her huge childhood home, Posy is in the process of making the agonizing decision to sell it when Freddie, a flame from the past, turns up and brings with him some old memories.
Both Freddie and Nick harbour some of the aforementioned mysterious secrets and throughout the story these kept being hinted at. Nick's secret was quite obvious to me though Freddie's kept me guessing. The air of mystery was exciting at first but it did get a little old after a while and I felt like telling the author to just spit it out
danielle__2386's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kalkie's review against another edition
3.0
This is an OK read which bumbles along at a reasonable pace but isn’t earth shattering in any way.
I have enjoyed Lucinda Riley’s “Seven Sisters” series (except for “The Missing Sister” which was entirely unnecessary and anticlimactic!). This certainly has the same feel of family drama and privileged lifestyle about it as the Seven Sisters series with the story peppered with trips to Fortnum and Mason’s, boarding school dramas and million pound houses aplenty!
What did surprise me is the extensive amount of drunk driving featured in the book. I actually checked the publication date and was surprised to see it was published in 2019 as the approach to drinking and driving seemed very out of synch with current practices.
I have enjoyed Lucinda Riley’s “Seven Sisters” series (except for “The Missing Sister” which was entirely unnecessary and anticlimactic!). This certainly has the same feel of family drama and privileged lifestyle about it as the Seven Sisters series with the story peppered with trips to Fortnum and Mason’s, boarding school dramas and million pound houses aplenty!
What did surprise me is the extensive amount of drunk driving featured in the book. I actually checked the publication date and was surprised to see it was published in 2019 as the approach to drinking and driving seemed very out of synch with current practices.
lecturedudimanche's review against another edition
5.0
Lucinda Riley fait partie de ces autrices que j’aime lire, et je ne regarde même plus les résumés lorsqu’un nouveau roman fait son apparition.
Une fois de plus, j’ai été saisie par la plume de l’autrice, qui m’a transportée entre deux époques : les années 40-50 et le début des années 2000.
Une fois de plus, j’ai été saisie par la plume de l’autrice, qui m’a transportée entre deux époques : les années 40-50 et le début des années 2000.