A review by myhomextheroad
The Butterfly Assassin by Finn Longman

dark hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.75

Heartbreaking and hopeful. This is the first book in ages that I've read in 48 hours without trying to slog through it—a fast-paced thriller with a lot of heart. As someone who keeps seeing shows/books with people who were raised to be assassins as kids & turned into total badasses, and who always thought "idk man I feel like that would be deeply traumatizing in ways the story doesn't go into," it was both great and heartbreaking to have Isabel's trauma responses play such a major part in the story. But although this is a very dark book (mind the content warnings if you need to,) it is also deeply hopeful—hope in the characters who keep resolutely showing up to help someone who needs it, who refuse to let the horror of the world deny their ability to do good. The author also writes about how their own pacifism influenced the story, and I found it a really refreshing, thoughtful take on both YA dystopia and revenge narratives.

Dystopia, in my mind, only works if there's a world worth living for; and in Espera, there's a world worth living for. I'm excited to read the rest of the trilogy and see where Isabel's journey takes her.
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