Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

10 reviews

britanicadramatica's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

A beautiful garden filled with "butterflies," women who have been kidnapped, secluded, and tattooed, among other things. The Gardener tends to his precious "specimens" with care and devotion, until everything comes crashing down - and the only person with answers is a young woman named "Maya." 

I loved this book. I loved how it was written, I loved the dialogue, and it kept me so engaged. I can't wait to read the next one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Death, Stalking, Torture, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Pedophilia

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

mblanke's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Confinement, Torture, Suicide, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Murder, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Stalking, Self harm, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Abortion, Miscarriage, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

ravenwaltz's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Stalking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

superstitiou_sreader's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Stalking, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

afroheaux's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

This is an intense and gripping thriller with each detail more shocking than the last. The switching of perspectives can get a little confusing sometimes and the timeline isn’t always clear, but the MC’s perseverance is incredible. What I didn’t like was the author’s tendency to describe her expression as anything but a smile. It got tedious after a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Addiction, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Murder, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

zoemain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Um, okay, so I loved this book! It is certainly not for a sensitive audience because there are many very disturbing themes and ideas. However, if you’re like me and love dark, twisted fictions, I cannot recommend this more. There is also a dystopian aspect to the novel that I really enjoyed. And the characters were so complex! I was fascinated by the Gardener and his sons and loved all of the girls. 
The reviews stating that the Butterflies could have easily escaped their entrapment are not wrong. The logic in this book is flawed, but I could easily overlook this. I should probably take a star off because I felt like the book could have been longer and therefore given some more insight into the Garden. Oh, also, every description of layout in this novel is extremely confusing. I employed the help of my friends to translate descriptions of surroundings a few times but they couldn’t fathom what Hutchison had written either.
But I loved the rest of the writing. I loved the way the book focused on the story of the Garden but also gave insight into Maya’s backstory and the police interviews. So it’s  a 5 stars from me! Read the content warnings before purchasing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Slavery, and Trafficking

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

jacquelinepon's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

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

beauty_andbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

While this had a creep essence to it, the story more relied on the story of friendship and community among the “butterflies” in the garden. I wanted more creepy than the friendship factor. I think most people who aren’t used to true crime thrillers will think this is a fine book but the synopsis sort of tricked me into thinking it would be a terrifying read. 

Another thing to keep in mind is there are no chapters. So keeping track of the story can be tough sometimes. It goes between past and present with a border symbol that breaks them apart. It’s an interesting format. This books is also part of a 4 book series but all the books in the series involve totally different crime stories with just the same detectives. So for me personally, I will not be investing my time in reading the others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Stalking, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence