Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

6 reviews

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

Actual rating: 4.75

Dot Hutchison’s mind?????? This was one of the more disturbing books I’ve ever read, an intricately woven psychological suspense thriller of captivity and control.

I was fascinated by this story, with every terrifying and twisted detail revealed, every piece of the puzzle notched into place then thrown back into the pile of crazy. The writing was very fast-paced and the dual POVs lended well to this kind of storytelling—one from the main character during her days of being held captive, the other from the FBI agent interviewing her in the aftermath of her rescue. There are no “chapters” per se, but none of it ever feels like it’s dragging.

I don’t want to give anything away about the plot and how insane it truly is, but this book definitely gave me serious chills and thought spirals. It reminded me of The OA a lot, as well as “Pretty Girls” by Karin Slaughter, both of which I loved. But overall it’s a very unique story of abduction, delusion and survival. 

I took off a quarter of a star only because there was one element of the ending that seemed a little too coincidental!! 

Only other thing I would say is this book is riddled with graphic, upsetting descriptions and depictions. Pretty much any trigger you can think of is in this book so it’s not for the faint of heart, like at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

phoricho's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I initially rated this book 4 stars, but after a couple of months of it living rent-free in my mind, I decided to change that to a 5 star. My original rating was more due to the fact that this book left me not knowing how to feel. It was so different from anything I've ever read, both in content and layout. 

Content-wise, it's a very dark book, and the characters go through numerous traumas. It's not for everyone. Check the trigger warnings.

Layout-wise, there are no chapters. That's unique, but it works with the story. There are two parts, and the POVs are broken up by section breaks. 

Yes, it's a horrifying story, but I thought it was beautifully told, and the characters felt so real. I'm excited to read the rest of the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

valeriarag's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Very interesting book, I can say I haven't read anything like this in a while although the end wasn't as good as I hoped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sydbingus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I think the “twist” at the end was a little unnecessary and ruined it a little for me, but still a very enjoyable read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

b00murded's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Ending of the book felt very rushed. I personally did not like some of the ways the author decided to take the ending of the novel. This book has very dark content TW include: violence against women, harsh language, drug use, sexual assault.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, and Alcohol

eepi's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism

Be careful with this book.