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The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen

August 21, 2013 by Darlene

The Butterfly Sister

The Butterfly Sister is the debut novel of Amy Gail Hansen and it is a haunting novel that touches on love, deceit, madness, and revenge with an added element of mystery. I really enjoyed this novel and while I had uncovered some of the mystery I was ultimately surprised by what ended up transpiring. I listened to the audiobook version of The Butterfly Sister which was narrated by Amy Rubinate and she does a wonderful job. I have listened to her narration before and enjoyed it and she’s becoming one of my favorites. I think she adds a lot to the depth of a character and story with the way she portrays it.

When Ruby first goes to college she seems to have the world at her fingertips. She’s happy, carefree, smart, and enjoying college and her friends. Then Mark, her professor, starts to pay her a little extra attention and she’s thrilled. After all he’s got all the girls at the college crazy about him. Obviously Mark is a jerk and ultimately he does her more harm than good throwing her headlong into a suicide attempt and deep depression. She leaves college without her degree and without any intentions of ever returning.

Yet when a suitcase is delivered to her – one she had borrowed from Beth when she was still at the college she is stumped. Why is the tag with her name still on it? Even more there is a journal inside that leads Ruby to believe that Beth was also having an affair with Mark. Nothing though prepares Ruby for the shock she receives when she phones Beth’s mother only to find that Beth is missing and it’s considered suspicious. Ruby decides to go back to the college to try and fix how she left things and also to try to uncover what’s happened to Beth but more if it had anything to do with her affair with Mark.

All this seems fairly straight forward but it’s anything but because there are the underlying themes of depression and craziness along with a good dose of literary references that kept me glued to this audio. As Ruby takes us back in time to how her suicide attempt came about we also see odd ghostly sightings she has and other things that lead her to believe she’s losing her mind. As well Ruby is fascinated with authors who have struggled with depression and she makes reference to the link between being creative and depression quite often.

I appreciated how the author dealt with the subject of depression and how quite often young people are led astray and unable to handle the aftermath in a productive way. Some have had issues with the later half of the novel dealing with the mystery aspect but I thought it was really interesting how the author wove the literary feel of the novel with the mystery and tied the elements together. All in all The Butterfly Sister was a novel I really enjoyed and I look forward to more from this author.

The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen is touring with TLC Book Tours so be sure to check out the other tour stops.  You can connect with Amy on her website and Facebook page.  Your own copy of The Butterfly Sister can be purchased at Amazon and Amazon Canada.

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Source:  Review copy provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher.  Audiobook copy is my own personal copy.  No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: 2013 - 100+ Books, 2013 ARC's, 2013 Book Reviews, Audiobooks, TLC Tours

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandy says

    August 21, 2013 at 4:43 am

    I really like that cover – it totally inspires your imagination and automatically makes you think of a mystery. You’ve had some great tour books lately!

  2. Melanie Backus says

    August 21, 2013 at 8:33 am

    I want to read this one. Thanks!

  3. bermudaonion (Kathy) says

    August 21, 2013 at 9:37 am

    The reviews of this book have been great – I really want to read it.

  4. JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing says

    August 21, 2013 at 10:33 am

    I already wanted to read this book, but hadn’t considered the audio version. Glad to hear it’s so well done – now I have a decision to make!

  5. blodeuedd says

    August 21, 2013 at 1:38 pm

    It seems to be an interesting book

  6. Harvee @ Book Dilettante says

    August 21, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    I’ve had my eye on this book after seeing it on several blogs. Does sound like a good mystery!

  7. Kim@Time2Read says

    August 21, 2013 at 4:02 pm

    This sounds like a good one. I’m going to watch for it.

  8. bookworm says

    August 21, 2013 at 4:42 pm

    This does sound good. I like it when stories have literary references. Sounds like the author handled the depression issue well. Great post!

  9. Melinda says

    August 22, 2013 at 2:47 am

    I’m glad you enjoyed this one!

  10. Laura Fabiani says

    August 22, 2013 at 11:25 am

    Wow, I have to say your review has me really curious about this book. I like books that explore mental illness in unique ways.

  11. Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours says

    August 23, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    I’m a huge audiobook fan so I’m glad to know that this book works well in that format.

    Thanks for being on the tour!

  12. Elizabeth says

    August 26, 2013 at 1:23 pm

    Very nice blog….following by e-mail.

    Great review too….THANKS.

    I am looking forward to reading this book.

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews
    My Blog

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