Reviews for Butterfly Tattoo

The average rating for Butterfly Tattoo based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-03-05 00:00:00 Paul Fraser Sometimes the right book comes along at the right time in your life. I'm about to get REALLY personal with y'all. I recently (about a month ago) was in a minor explosion at my work, which is normally a ridiculously safe environment. I mean, who has ever heard of a dentist getting injured on the job? Anyway, a piece of the equipment that exploded went through my face above my upper lip and made a through and through wound approximately 2 inches long. I had 30 stitches in my face and looked like hell for about 3 weeks. I have very limited feeling in my upper lip on the right side and in the whole area of the scar. However, I'm looking better now. But the scar... it's still there. My smile, which is really my favorite feature about myself, is now sort of... wonky. My lip is fatter on one side and it looks lopsided and just... off. The area where I had stitches is healing and looking pink, but better, but the asymmetry is hard for me to take. I KNOW I'm being petty and I know that most people aren't noticing my face looking off but I notice. I hate pictures of myself now and it's hard for me, in a silly, superficial way. I know you are thinking, "Get to the point already! Talk about the book!" But I am, at least I'm trying to. This book is all about scars. The main characters, Rebecca and Michael, they both have them. Physical scars, like the one that Rebecca has after surviving a viscous attack from a mentally unstable fan. Her scars span the whole side of her face and parts of her hands and torso. And the scars that Andrea, Micheal's daughter, has after surviving the accident that killed her other father. And the emotional scars that Michael has after being left heartbroken when his partner of 12 years, Alex, died and left him as a single parent, unable to connect with their daughter. It really just tore me up, reading about their scars. I connected with the characters a great deal more now than I would have a few months ago. And I think that most people with scars, both physical and emotional, would connect deeply with this story. I was first attracted to this book because I had been craving a M/F book where the man is bisexual. Yes, I've read dozens of M/Ms with bisexual men, but I wanted to see something from the other side of the spectrum. Though I've read some reviews where this book is criticized for showing bi-phobia, I think that it was important that it was included. Bi-phobia is a real thing. A couple of my gay friends have told me that they wouldn't feel comfortable seriously dating a bisexual guy and I've had straight friends say that too. My straight friends either think that it's gross, the guy having been with a guy (wha?????), or that they would never feel like enough. I get the impression that it's difficult out there, being a bisexual guy. This book really showed that. What was most important to me is that Michael didn't make light of his time with Alex or say that now that he's been with a woman again, he could never imagine being with a man. Michael wasn't like that at all. In fact, his grief at having lost Alex was palpable at times. It was so all-encompassing that it was overwhelming. I'm tearing up just remembering some scenes. There is no one that could read this book and doubt Michael's love for Alex. However, I also saw his love for Rebecca grow and grow. I bought them as a couple too, which was no easy feat because I feel strangely in love with Alex and Michael as a couple (my M/M peeking through). I also liked how neither MC is perfect. Michael has his flaws and Rebecca does too and they show throughout the book. They both are trying to find their ways back to themselves and trust someone enough to start a relationship again. Honestly, this book is an angst-fest of epic proportions. It is rip-your-heart-out kind of stuff. But I think it was worth the pain. Sure, this book isn't perfect either. It veers ever so slightly and subtly in the realm of preachy about the afterlife/possibility of God, which only bothered me a tiny bit. It also had a few scenes at the end that I thought could be improved upon. But, on reflection, I decided to give this book the full 5 stars. I think that reading this book has helped me cope with my scar a tiny bit, though my pain is nothing compared to the characters in this book. It reminded me that everyone has scars and that everyone's scars tell a story.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-05-09 00:00:00 Ashley Blander "Open up your heart and see where it leads you..." Oh boy! What a beautiful, emotional book with a very unconventional love story. This book is about love and healing. That love can be found anywhere if you let it - no boundaries, no limits. And to accept it wherever and however it comes into your life. And that no matter how bad things get, it is always possible to heal. I smiled a lot - there were many sweet moments, I squeed once or twice, and I cried several times. The story was deeply emotional and touching. And of course, has a sweet HEA :) This book has, honest to god, THE single most complex interconnected family dynamic I have ever read. But I loved it. It just reinforced how little difference a 'conventional' family makes. That family are the people you love and who love you - no matter who they are. The book centers around the story of Rebecca, a former famous actress who, 3 years prior to the start of the book, was attacked by a stalker with a knife and scarred this ruining her career in front of the camera, and Michael, an electrician who works on her building who is bisexual. He was straight his whole life until he met, fell in love with, and married Alexander with whom he had a relationship that spanned over a decade and with whom he had a daughter. A year before the book begins, Alex dies in a car accident leaving Michael and their daughter devastated. When Michael meets Rebecca, he is surprised to feel a connection and longing for her despite having been with a man for the past 10 years. But their growing feelings for each other and the way that Rebecca and his daughter bond draw them closer together, helping all of them to heal from the scars of their past and learn to love again. Taking love from whatever direction it comes from. I loved how, through Michael's memories, it almost feels as though his deceased partner Alex is a character in the book. I felt like I knew him as well as I knew Michael, Rebecca and Andrea. The writing style of the book is beautiful. It really gets right inside the character's heads. Makes you see the world directly through their eyes. I loved seeing the characters grow and learn to work through their issues. They were both dealing with horrible, scarring events in their pasts and doing their best to move on. The book deals with many hard questions. Why do bad things happen? How does one move on after them? Is it alright to love again when the person you're in love with dies? Does it betray them to love someone else or is there a way of both honoring their memory and accepting someone new and continuing to live ? "I'm here, he's not, but it doesn't answer the much bigger question...What am I, precisely, now that he's gone? " ~Michael Although there is sex, there is no smut in this book. Its not YA by any means. But its more focused on the emotional love connection. And there are no m/m sex scenes (some people were asking me so I thought I'd mention it) Here's how I see Rebecca and Michael: For more of my reviews, visit