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Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Het vlindermeisje by Rene Denfeld

2 reviews

beebeereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

I listened to this book as a follow up to The Child Finder.  I can’t explain why I can tolerate this content. The topic is child abuse and missing children.  But for some reason I fell into The Child Finder last year and raced my way through it.  This year I’ve done the same with The Butterfly Girl.  Although I don’t think its necessary, I believe reading Child Finder first is the best introduction to Naomi Cottle.  The author sets the scenes in both books so vividly that the reader can feel chills as the story gets more ominous. I would not characterize this as a thriller, though some have done so.  It is suspenseful in places, but mostly its a dark story that progresses at a medium pace as the main character searches for her long lost sister.  The characters (except the evil ones) are tender and life affirming.  Thank you to the author for bringing this story to a satisfying conclusion.  

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thatsssorachael's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


I liked this one a lot more than the first, but there were still some things that didn't allow me to fully give it the 4 stars. 

I don't think I like this author's writing. It's not bad, but it doesn't connect with me. I did find myself skimming a bit, especially near the end. 

This book is a sequel, but it picks up in such a strange time and way that I thought maybe I missed a book in the middle. I was confused for the first third of the book, which I really didn't enjoy. If that style had kept up, I wouldn't have finished it.

I think it's also worth noting the author casually uses the word "tranny" which didn't jive for me. While it's not an all out slur, it isn't a great word to be using. It wasn't descriptive enough to understand if she meant a cross dresser, or a trans gendered person. It could have been either, and it made me uncomfortable. 

The Butterfly Girl is an incredibly dark book with graphic depictions of child rape and childhood prostitution. You will be with Celia while she conducts sexual acts for money at the age of 12. It is not for the faint of heart. 


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