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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
tense
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was was really entertaining book! I want into it not wanting to bc I wanted to reading Somerville fantastique but i’m on a buy book ban so had to do with it. I loooooved it so many plot twist expected or not! I would recommend it to really anyone it very easy to read without being trashy. I will read the next books!
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
The Butterfly Assassin
Finn Longman
“Chaque matin, elle retire la chaise, ouvre les verrous et tente de se rappeler qu’elle est libre”
This review contains spoilers.
I’ve read The Butterfly Assassin in French, translated from English by Finn Longman.
3 / 5
13+
TLTR : A nice read, fast-paced, for teenagers. A bit cliche, but has some interesting themes that you don’t see often in books for teens, mainly around the violence of gangs and child soldiers.
Writing: I would mainly describe the writing style as efficient. The narration is clear. I did find that the author has a habit of repeating themselves. I suppose the goal is to convey that a thought is obsessing the protagonist, but even in that case, I would advise to at least varry the phrasing, because it quickly gets tiring. I will also note that some dialogues sounded unnatural.
Plot : The book is quite fast-paced, the uptempo keeps the tension, and you can hardly let go of the book. The author avoids the common mistake of overcomplicating the story : here, the book goes through stages, which are all individually simple enough so that they don’t feel rushed and can be explored in detail, but once all put together give us a complete story. This means that we always have opened questions, but they get answered before bringing new ones, in a satisfying cycle.
I was pleasantly surprised by how dark and violent this book, which is clearly meant for younger audiences, was willing to go. Putting forward the violence of child soldiers is important, as fiction too often romanticizes it.
I’m curious to see where the series will go, it is intriguing to see Emma go after just the first book.
Characters : Isabel, the protagonist, has a defined personality. A bit cliche, yes, but at least she has one. She’s tough and determined. She seeks truth and freedom. I really love that she didn’t just magically go through a “redemption arc” and became perfect thanks to the power of friendship. Instead, the book questions this trope through Emma, her best friend (queerplatonic relationship?<3). Emma wants to see the best in Isabel, she wants to believe that once taken out of the system, she will heal, get over her trauma, and become a great person. But the story shows us that it is not that simple. It isn’t a fantasy : it isn’t easy to get out of a violent system, trauma is everlasting.
The theme of guilt is the most interesting one. Is a 17, 18-year-old who kills guilty, even if it’s by coercion? When does your responsibility start ?
Overall, the teenagers were interesting.
The adults were not.
They all seemed and sounded like the exact same person. They acted the same, talked the same, and were all mostly good people helping Isabel. It seemed a bit clashing with the dark tone of the book.
Diversity: Isabel is AroAce, which is nice, although it is not a theme of the story. I do love that the author used their experience with disability to write the story. Usually, disability will be talked about through the place of disabled people in an ableist society. Here it truly focuses on the relationship of Isabel with her body. The pain, the loss of control… It’s a very interesting lens.
Also, support trans authors!
Edition : It’s gorgeous, the font is big and spacious, with short chapters. But I found A LOT of typos… it’s quite unacceptable for an edition costing 18 bucks.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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:
Yes
I loved this book a lot.
The characters were well written and three-dimensional and the plot was exciting, the pace was very fitting. Also, the book was heartbreaking, which is always a good sign. If it makes you emotional, it’s usually really good.
Isabel was such an interesting MC, I just wanna protect her from all the harm, she deserves so much better. I also want her to go to therapy.
I absolutely adored Emma and her bubbly personality.
As for the plot twist: I expected it, but that didn’t make it any less sad.
All in all a great read!
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
had a blast baby
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes