Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

15 reviews

phoricho's review

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

aparker89's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book kicks off with a bang and doesn't stop! It's a super fast paced read that holds a lot in its few pages! You are immediately thrown into the middle of a horrific story and you just have to find out what happens! The final twist at the end is a little too thrown together and honestly I would have left it out, but I'm not the author. This is a great book to jump into and just enjoy! 
Note this book is a horror/thriller and while the author does "protect" us from some of it early on that shielding does disappear as the story progresses. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexism, Pregnancy, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, Torture, Body horror, Cursing, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury

evevallarta's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Wow.
Esta demasiado intenso, es una historia muy fuerte, aunque el final cierra bien, hay una luz al final del tunel.
Esta narrado de manera muy unica e incluso al final sorprende un pequeño twist. 
Definitivamente recomiendo checar los trigger warnings ⚠️ porque son a lo larggo de toooodo el libro.
Se gana sus 5 estrellas porque no le encontré ni un error, me engancho desde el principio 
AUNQUE, no es de mis favoritos.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence

spooky_haley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was a book I struggled to fully digest, but absolutely loved. Dot did a wonderful job describing the Garden and the Butterflies in such a beautiful way that I had to constantly remind myself that this was a terrible place where terrible things happen. Definitely my favorite book of 2023 so far!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual content, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Addiction

elkiebear's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Self harm, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Cursing, and Gun violence

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

Moderate: Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

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

cait's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

maybesky's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Child death, Confinement, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Torture

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

jjenkins's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a very dark thriller told from an FBI investigator’s perspective and a victims perspective as they investigate a horrible tragedy involving the kidnapping, abuse, and murder of girls. The writing was stunning and the story unfolded in a very unique way

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Content Warnings

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

b00murded's review

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

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

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