BLOG TOUR - The Butterfly Garden

DESCRIPTION:

I blamed my son for the death of my daughter…

When twenty-five-year-old Erin loses the man she loves, she flees London for Cornwall and takes a job at Hookes End, a huge house clinging precariously to the Cornish cliffs. The owner, frail reclusive novelist and butterfly enthusiast Maggie, has kept the curtains of her dusty house drawn for many years. But as she and Erin spend evenings together by the fireside, sharing stories of the past, Erin feels her shattered heart begin to heal. In return, Erin agrees to help Maggie find her long lost family before it is too late.

Years ago, Maggie’s son Lucas ran away to the other side of the world after the death of her daughter ripped the family apart. Maggie is desperate to see Lucas again – there is something she needs him to know.

Erin wants to help Maggie find peace so she vows to track down her lost son. But when at last she finds Lucas, in a far- away place of searing heat and pearly sands, it becomes clear that he is hiding something too.

As Erin grows closer to Lucas and unravels the webs of deceit entangling mother and son, she learns about the terrible tragedy that changed their lives forever: the night when a little girl in a fairy nightdress went missing. But with Maggie’s time fast running out, is it too late for them to find the forgiveness they need to move on?

A heart-wrenching page-turner about a family ripped apart by guilt and lies. Set against the storms of the Cornish coast and silvery tropical sands of a distant paradise, The Butterfly Garden is a story of love, loss and letting go. Fans of Jojo Moyes, Harriet Evans and Lucinda Riley will be gripped.


BUY LINKS:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3iIoT3c
Apple: https://apple.co/2OY3Q08
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3lKrEke
Google: https://bit.ly/2NME1zE

MY THOUGHTS:

 

Title:   The Butterfly Garden

Author:  Sophie Anderson

Publisher:  Bookouture

Genre:   Women's Fiction

Format:  Kindle ARC

No. of Pages:   309

Date of Publication:   June 21, 2021

My Rating:   4 Stars 

Secrets and pain go hand in hand in this emotional story by debut author Sophie Anderson. Erin's troubled life grows even more disconcerting when she takes on a job helping novelist and butterfly enthusiast  Maggie write her last book. Maggie is dying from a brain tumor and this book that Erin is working on is like none other like Maggie had ever written.

Maggie had been living the life of a recluse while penning mystery novels. Erin is taking a risk heading to the house in the Cornish cliffs, but she takes on the job anyway. The more time Erin spends with Maggie, the more drawn in she becomes. Maggie has one final wish. She wants to see her son Lucas one more time. Lucas left home at the age of eighteen after a tragedy, and has taken on the life a a butteerfly expert deep in the heart of the Costa Rican jungle. Maggie may be dictating words to Erin, even recalling truly tragic experiences from her past, but what she wants most is to talk to Lucas just one more time.

Erin does make the trip. She finds beauty and peace unlike anything she'd eveer known. What is more is she sees Lucas and the two share a connection, despite their twenty-year age difference. But, that is not what is important to Erin. What is most important is fulfilling Maggie's wishes. 

Secrets can destroy families. That fact is driven home in this compelling story. This feeds into grief and guilt and can truly remove all hope. This story put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Along the way Erin learns secrets about her own life. How she deals with these secrets is a true test of her character. This book made me think about what could have happened and how things were left as this touching story came to a close.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sophie Anderson enjoyed a career in TV production in London before working with her husband to set up an online software business where she wrote the marketing content. But neither scratched that creative itch to tell a story, so she enrolled on a writing course and wrote her first novel The Butterfly Garden. She lives in Sussex with her husband, four children, a cocker spaniel and two cats.

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