Butterfly Tattoo
June 27, 2010 by Admin Tattoo
Filed under Cool Tattoo Products
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- ISBN13: 9781605045443
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Michael Warner has been drifting in a numb haze since the death of his lover, who was killed by a drunk driver. As the anniversary of the wreck approaches, Michael’s grief grows more suffocating. Yet he must find a way through the maze of pain and secrets to live for their troubled young daughter. Out of the darkness comes a voice, a lifeline he never expected to find?Rebecca O’Neill, a development executive in the studio where he works as an electrician. Rebec… More >>
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Several years ago Rebecca O’Neill, an actress on a popular television program, survived a brutal attack by a deranged fan. Despite numerous plastic surgeries, Rebecca is still physically scarred and in a place like Hollywood, looks are everything. Now, she’s a behind-the-scenes executive in a studio, searching for that next great script. Unfortunately, her self-esteem took just as bad a blow as her body. Her parents moved across the country to nurse her back to health, but despite their nurturing and survivors’ therapy, Rebecca can’t overcome the post-traumatic stress caused by the attack. It didn’t help that less than two weeks after the incident and before the bandages even came off, her long time boyfriend and fellow actor, Jake, dumped her. Rebecca’s trained and re-shaped her body, but a muscular physique won’t camouflage the scars. Nor will it heal the asthma, panic attacks, or weakness left in her hand.
Enter Michael Warner. Electrician, widower, and father, Michael can’t seem to get past his partner’s loss and move on. His family’s life irrevocably changed the day a drunk driver killed Alex and physically and emotionally scarred their daughter, Andrea. Despite therapy, Andrea’s failed to open up to anyone and most days, Michael can barely motivate himself, let alone her. Accompanying her father at the studio one day, Andrea runs into Rebecca. Intrigued by the woman’s scars, she begins to open up.
Encouraged, Michael drags Rebecca into his life. He tells himself it’s for his daughter’s sake, but deep down, he’s attracted to the complex woman. The problem? Michael’s life partner was a man. Torn between what he desires and what he thinks he should desire, he needs to come to grips with what he wants and what others think is best for him.
I don’t even know how to begin to thoroughly explain Butterfly Tattoo. Normally I read stories whose characters are driven more by external conflict than internal conflict. Not so with this novel (and believe me, you’re getting your money’s worth page-count wise here). Intelligent heroine who has survived despite insurmountable odds? Check. Brooding, complicated hero? Check. Fully fleshed out secondary characters? Yep. Sufficient internal conflict? Whoa, yeah!
I’m not sure this is the type of book I could re-read again and again. Ms. Knight takes her reader, as well as her characters, on a winding emotional path full of potholes and switchbacks that’d put an Irish backcountry road to shame. She has to, in order to convince us that a man who partnered with another man for thirteen years could turn around and fall in love with a woman. She rummages around in her characters’ heads, dragging everything but the kitchen sink out of their mental closets. Estranged family members, overprotective parents, first loves, insecurities, failures: it’s all there. Vivid imagery and twists of words will remain long after you finish the novel. Things like, “When you work with writers for a living like I do, life’s little details are an herb garden, and you pluck a few ripe things here and there to give away.”
This story is more like an English cottage garden. All the diverse colors and shapes and wild unkemptness is tied together by a single unifying path: love. All I can say is go out and buy this book.
Chris
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
Rating: 5 / 5
Deidre Knight’s Butterfly Tattoo is unlike anything you’ve ever read. It defies easy categorization the same way it defies all expectation about what constitutes a normal family, a loving relationship, and a happy ending. One of the most satisfying books I’ve ever read, the characters have stuck with me long after I finished and I’m convinced I’ll still be thinking of them for years to come. It’s a novel about living through tragedy and overcoming grief, the bravery required to take a chance on someone new, and the untold joy of finding love where you least expect it.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys nuanced, highly emotional stories and complex, multi-layered characters. It’s a definite keeper!
Rating: 5 / 5
Butterfly Tattoo is a beautiful story about two deeply scarred people who manage to overcome their fears and take a chance on love. Rebecca, a former actress, was scarred both physically and emotionally in an attack by a crazed fan and now struggles to move past the attack and create a new life for herself. Michael was devastated when the love of his life was killed by a drunk driver and struggles to rebuild his life and to reconnect with his 8 YO daughter who was also wounded in the accident and who bears physical and emotional scars of her own. They are scared to move forward, yet they are deeply attracted to each other and start a relationship that has the potential to heal them both if only they can move past their fears.
Deidre Knight does a great job of drawing the reader into both characters’ lives and thoughts by alternating between Rebecca’s and Michael’s POV throughout the book. You feel the pain, the yearning, and the emotional growth of both characters. Rebecca and Michael are both deeply sympathetic characters and there are no villains, manufactured conflict, or “big misunderstandings” in this book. It’s just a story about not being afraid to follow your heart and about the fact that true love is a beautiful thing that enriches our lives, no matter what form it comes in.
One note – potential readers should know that Michael is bisexual. I thought this was a fascinating and somewhat unique sideline in a book classified as a romance that was tastefully and realistically handled and added great depth to the story.
Rating: 5 / 5
Butterfly Tattoo is a major departure from Knight’s Parallel and Gods of Midnight paranormal romance series, and a departure the genres I normally read as well. Though the story is billed as a contemporary romance and it does has romantic elements, the story is not just about two people falling in love and finding an easy happily ever after. The story is just as is much about how three people, two with physical scars, and all with soul deep grief for losses than occurred on ‘average’ days which had such far reaching personal repercussions for all those involved find a way to become whole again.
This is not the book for everyone – those who find the idea of a long term committed same sex pairing uncomfortable may be put off by leading man Michael’s grief over the tragic death of his life partner, Alex, and memories (handled very discretely) of kisses and touches between the two.
I really loved this story, it was emotionally complex and heart wrenching at times to watch Michael and his nine year old daughter Andrea deal with the fallout of their loss – Alex’s death left a gigantic whole in their hearts and has nearly broken the remnants of their family. Michael who is unable to deal with his own grief struggles to help Andrea with her loss while feeling like he’s lost his daughter in addition to his partner.
Inadvertently bringing light to the darkness that has enveloped Michael and Andrea’s lives for the past year is Rebecca, who ironically meets both Michael and Andrea during a power black out at work. There is an immediate attraction between Michael and Rebecca, which causes confusion for Rebecca when she later discovers Michael is `gay’ and guilt for Michael who feels as if his heart is betraying his dead partner. Andrea and Rebecca also find themselves to be kindred spirits in that they both carry physical scars in addition to the psychological ones, Rebecca from a stalker attack which nearly took her life and Andrea from the accident that killed her other dad.
There is so much going on in this story, and Michael’s apparent switch from ‘batting for the guys team’ which has everyone questioning whether it is real or a temporary reaction to his loss, adds a whole other dimension to what may potentially be a rebound relationship. Also in addition to Michael, Rebecca, and Andrea who are so likable that they quickly won my heart, Knight manages to give the dead Alex a real presence in the story and there is an wonderful extended supporting cast who have helped Michael and Rebecca survive the dark times and who are firmly working to give the pair the kick they need to get past self doubts and guilt to achieve a well deserved happily ever after.
On the whole Butterfly is evocative and well written, with just one jarring nit that gave me pause late in the story. The characters and their struggles were captivating and there were spiritual elements to the story that I am still thinking on as well.
Rating: 5 / 5
Have you ever had something affect you so strongly that you can’t stop thinking about it? Something that seems to just sneak up on you and smack you sideways? That is what this book did to me.
It is without a doubt, one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read and also one of the most beautiful.
It stars Michael, a widower, who is struggling desperately to get his life back together. His little girl is almost a stranger to him and no matter what he does, he cannot seem to get her to connect with him anymore.
Rebecca is a former actress who suffered a horrific attack from an obsessed fan. Now she works behind the scenes and is still trying to get her life together three years after the attack.
A fateful meeting in a dark room and both their lives change forever.
Okay, so that’s the basic idea behind the book, but it doesn’t go into how emotional this book was. It was written in a strange way where each chapter was written in 1st person from either Michael’s or Rebecca’s POV. But honestly? I think that’s what made this book so powerful.
It delved so very deeply into their psyches. And their psyches are pretty banged up. Michael’s just about killed me. After losing his partner and almost losing his daughter, he’s hit rock bottom. When he meets Rebecca, it’s like his whole world is brightened and he can see it again.
Watching him as he realizes she’s more than just a pretty woman and that there’s something there between them was just…gorgeous to watch. It was like taking a beautiful vase that had shattered and watch it being put back together piece by piece until miraculously it looks the same…only different.
I know I’m not doing a good job articulating just how powerfully this book affected me. I feel like I’m not doing it justice.
I will just say that if you’re looking for an unbelievably powerful story that will rock you sideways, but leave you with a feeling of pure joy at the end, this is the book for you. If it doesn’t effect/affect you in some ways…I dunno. All I can say is read it. You truly won’t be disappointed.
Rating: 5 / 5