Review: A tender, poignant love story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 28, 2014
Grace and Ben are damaged people, but they are also survivors. Elle Harper does a wonderful job telling the story of two individuals living with the pain and guilt of past trauma and events until Fate throws in each other's path in Butterfly.This tender and intriguing New Adult contemporary romance shares a dual POV and I really liked reading from both main characters' point-of-view. The author did an excellent job conveying both as distinct individuals with their own strong and unique voices. Grace is dealing with the painful memories of being raped, submerging herself by day into working at the coffee shop her aunt left for her to run. Early morning, she awakens from the nightmares plaguing her. When she meets Ben, she feels something for the first time in a long time. Ben is equally affected, seeing raw pain in a beautiful woman's eyes, a pain he knows all too well.Butterfly is a fast read, at least for me the words whizzed by as I became more and more caught up in Grace and Ben's story. I'm grateful Elle Harper created Ben the way she did--a tender-hearted man with a rough, violent past--and not the formulaic 'bad boy' I have to say I'm tired of reading about in NA. Ben wants to help Grace because he understands her pain, the same pain he saw in his sister but unfortunately wasn't able to help in time. Ben is also carrying a secret which comes to light later on. As he searches for ways to help Grace, they begin to fall in love.Both characters are incredibly likable. Their individual stories are told respectfully and the author doesn't shy away from revealing the raw, gritty pain of their traumas. The road to recovery is also explored and delved into, also respectfully. I thoroughly enjoyed Butterfly and recommend it wholeheartedly. The captivating part of watching a butterfly in action is witnessing it take off in flight--watching those wings with their gorgeous markings as they flap and soar. This movement, this graceful motion of flight, is symbolic of Grace and Ben's love story. Readers get to witness two individuals (one as each wing) join together as one and fly away to face what the world holds for them together. That is a beautiful sight to behold and I am grateful I was able to bear witness to this couple taking flight.